IMPROVEMENTS IN TREATING FERMENTABLE AND OTHER LIQUIDS, SO AS TO CAUSE IMPURITIES OR MATTERS TO BE EXTRACTED OR PRECIPITATED
Year: 1847

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, 1, ANDRRW
CROSSE, of Bloomfield, in the County of Somerset, Esquire, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Second day of March,
One thousand eight hundred and forty-seven, in the tenth year of Her reign, did,
for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said Andrew
Crosse, my exors, admors, and assigns, Her especial licence, full power, sole
privilege and authority, that I, the said Andrew Crosse, my exors, admors, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said Andrew Crosse, my exors, adññors, or assigns,
should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times
during the term of years therein expressed, should and lawfully might make,
use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-
Tweed, and in the Islands of Guernsey, Jersey, Alderney, Sark, and Man, and
also in all Her said Majesty's Colonies and Plantations abroad, my Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN TREATING FERMENTABLE AND OTHER LIQUIDS, SO AS TO CAUSE
IMPURITIES OR MATTERS TO BE EXTRACTED OR PRECIPITATED;" in which said
Letters Patent is contained a proviso that I, the said Andrew Crosse, shall
cause a particular description of the nature of my said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, by an instrument in writing under my
hand and seal, to be inrolled in Her said Majesty's High Court of Chancery
within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said
in part recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same, reference being'
thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Andrew Crosse, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention, and the
manner in which the same is to be performed, are fully described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement thereof, reference being had to the
Drawing hereunto annexed, and to the figures and letters marked thereon,
that is to say:-
'
My Invention consists in employing electric currents to act on fermentable,
fermented, and other liquids, from which it is desired to extract or precipitate
impurities or matters. In treating wine, beer, cider, or other fermentable,
fermented, or unfermented liquids, I can apply electric currents when the
same is being fermented, or before or after fermentation, except in the case of
beer, with which the electric current appears best applied after fermentation;
when, during fermentation, I cause the liquids to be treated as heretofore,
simply adding the influence of electricity, by which I obtain very beneficial
results; and I attenuate such liquids to the same extent as they have respectively
before been attenuated, and then cask the liquids and bung them as heretofore.
And I believe the most convenient apparatus for applying electricity to
fermented and other liquors is that shewn in the Drawing, and which consists
of porous tubes a, b, which are immersed in the liquid to be operated on, so
that the upper part comes above the liquid; and when such apparatus is to
be used in or applied to closed vessels containing the liquid to be treated, the
upper parts of the porous tubes a, b, rise out of the vessel containing the
liquid, and the porous tubes a, b, are open to the atmosphere. The apparatus
a, b, and containing vessel c, are suitable to operate on five hundred gallons.
The vessel c, being closely covered, has produced the most beneficial results
when used in operating upon alcoholic liquids. It may, however, be open, or
it may be of a different shape.
Supposing the liquid placed in the vessel c be wine or cider, or other fer-
mentable liquid, then, during the process of fermentation, I keep up the influence
of the electric apparatus till it is ascertained that the degree of attenuation has
been obtained, when I remove the liquid and cask it off, and close it. When
operating upon other liquids, I keep up the electric action till the degree of
purity required is ascertained, by tasting or otherwise testing. When the
impure matters have not been sufficiently precipitated, I have found it
beneficial to separate the same by passing the liquid through calico or other
bags. I use water in the porous tubes a, b, and I have found it sometimes
desirable to change it. Into the porous tube a is placed a cylinder of zinc,
and in the porous tube 6 I place a cylinder or it may be a coil of iron, and
connect these together by a metallic strip e; and with respect to fermented

page_text: liquids I have found that such process materially improves the character of
the wine, beer, cider, or other liquid operated on, also rendering it less liable
to become sour. I have found that applying apparatus suitable for obtaining
like electric action on a fermented liquid, such as beer, in a closed cask or
other vessel, will tend to prevent its becoming acid, in which case electric appa-
ratus, such as I have described, is to be introduced through the cask or vessel,
in such manner as to leave the porous tubes a, b, open to the atmosphere; and
by like means may wine, beer, and other liquids be restored from partial
acidity, and preserved from becoming more and more acid, and the impurities
in spirituous liquors may by the same process be removed.
My Invention is also applicable to acting upon other liquids or water, for
the purpose of separating impurities therefrom, and for this purpose a similar
vessel c and electric apparatus would be used, and the impurities of the water
would be precipitated and gaseous matter evolved; and any acid and alkaline
properties would go to the porous tubes a and b which are employed, and by
such means will water be found to be purified. In applying the Invention to
sea water, I first cause the water to be distilled once, and then operate by
electric action as before described.
I would remark that I do not confine myself to the use of the arrangement
of apparatus above described, though I have found that to be effectual, and
by its simplicity to be of very general utility; but, for the purpose of obtaining
more powerful currents, I substitute for the two cylinders of zinc and iron two
compound cylinders of zinc and iron, each compound cylinder to be constructed
of two or more concentric cylinders of the same metal, one within the other,
with an opening from the top to the bottom of each cylinder, to allow the
fluid in which it is immersed to pass between them, such compound cylinders
being closely connected by metallic strips, &c. &c. This apparatus I apply
in a similar way to that described above.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and the manner in which
the same is to be performed, I would have it understood that I do not confine
myself to the details; but what I claim is, the applying electric action to
extract or separate impurities or matters from fermentable, fermented, and
other liquids.
In witness whereof, I, the said Andrew Crosse, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-seventh day of August, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and forty-seven.
ANDREW (L.S.) CROSSE.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Twenty-seventh day of August,
in the year of our Lord 1847, the aforesaid Andrew Crosse came before our
said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification
aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained and specified, in form
above written. And also the Specification aforesaid. was stamped according. to.
the tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.