CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN EXTRACTING THE SACCHARINE PARTS OF THE SUGAR REEDS AND OF OTHER SACCHARIFEROUS SUBSTANCES
Year: 1854

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Pierre André Decoster, Civil Engineer, of Paris, in
the French Empire, for the Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN
EXTRACTING THE SACCHARINE PARTS OF THE SUGAR REEDS AND OF OTHER
SACCHARIFEROUS SUBSTANCES."
Sealed the 9th February 1855, and dated the 2nd September 1854.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Pierre André Decoster
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
2nd September 1854.
I, PIERRE ANDRÉ DECOSTER, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN EXTRACTING THE SACCHARINE PARTS OF
THE SUGAR REEDS AND OF OTHER SACCHARIFEROUS SUBSTANCES" to be as follows :-
Before passing the sugar reeds or canes through the rolls of the sugar mill,
I cut them into small pieces by means of a rapidly revolving disc, which
carries a series of cutters or knives, which split or divide the canes, and
another cutter or cutters, which cut off the pieces from the canes, which are
introduced into a hopper inclined at an angle of forty-five degrees, more or
less. The sliced or chopped cane falls upon an endless web of wire cloth,
under which is placed a vessel to receive any juice which may exude and drop
through the wire cloth. The endless web conveys the sliced cane to the sugar
mill, which is constructed with three horizontal rolls, and furnished with an
intermediate guide plate attached to a lever with a weight. This guide plate

page_text: guides the fragments of cane after they have been pressed or squeezed between
the first and second rolls, to receive a second pressure between the second and
third rolls. The fragments of cane then fall into a truck or waggon, the
bottom of which is of wire cloth. Several of these waggons are employed,
and each one when filled is conveyed upon a railway to a position directly
over a pan in which the cane juice is being boiled or concentrated. A cover,
either closed, or partially open at top, is placed over the waggon, to confine the
steam, and the fragments of cane thus become saturated with the steam, a
portion of which condenses in the pores of the canes, and dissolves any crys-
talline sugar which may remain there. The fragments of cane are then passed
through a second mill, the rolls of which may be. upon the same axes as those
of the first mill; an additional quantity of saccharine liquor is thus extracted.
The saccharine liquors are concentrated, and crystallized or granulated, and
the sugar thus obtained is purified from molasses or uncrystallizable sugar by
centrifugal apparatus, consisting of a perforated cylindrical drum, lined with
wire gauze, and attached to a horizontal plate or disc, which is caused to
revolve with great rapidity by means of straps and pulleys. Two long conical
pulleys placed in reverse positions are employed, with an endless strap or belt,
capable of being shifted from one end of the pulleys to the other. When the
strap is on the sinall end of the driving pulley and the large end of the driven
pulley, the motion communicated to the centrifugal apparatus is comparatively
slow, but on advancing the strap towards the large end of the driving pulley
and the small end of the driven pulley, the speed is greatly accelerated. The
horizontal dise of the centrifugal machine is driven by a strap from the
conical pulley passing round a pulley placed under the disc, the spindle
of which turns in a long socket well supplied with oil. The machinery
for communicating the motion is thus kept beneath and out of the way of
the workmen. The perforated drum is not permanently fixed to the disc,
but connected so that it may be readily removed when the operation is com-
pleted, and another charged drum substituted, so that time may not be lost in
removing the purified sugar. It is advisable to employ self-oiling apparatus
with the bearings of the spindles which revolve at high velocities, or are
exposed to great pressure. By means of this Invention a larger quantity of
crystalline sugar is obtained than by the ordinary means.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Pierre André Decoster in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 28th February 1855.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, PIERRE
ANDRÉ DECOSTER, Civil Engineer, of Paris, in the French Empire, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Second day of September, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-four, in the eighteenth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Pierre André Decoster, Her special licence that I, the said Pierre André
Decoster, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said Pierre André Decoster, my exccutors, administrators, and assigns, should
at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use,
exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland,
the Channel Islands and Isle of Man, an Invention for "CERTAIN IMPROVE-
MENTS IN EXTRACTING THE SACCHARINE PARTS OF THE SUGAR REEDS AND OF OTHER
SACCHARIFEROUS SUBSTANCES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the
said Pierre André Decoster, by an instrument in writing under my hand and
seal, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Inven-
tion, and in what manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same
to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next
and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Pierre André Decoster, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the fol-
lowing statement thereof, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings,
and to the figures and letters marked thereon, that is to say:-
The object of the Invention is to improve the manufacture of sugar in two
of the principal operations, namely, the extraction by the sugar mill, and the
extraction by the centrifugal machine.
For the ordinary sugar mill, I substitute an apparatus for dividing or cutting
up the sugar reeds or canes in combination with a sugar mill; and, in lien of
the ordinary centrifugal machine; I substitute a centrifugal machine having a'
differential or variable motion, and constructed as herein-after described.

page_text: The apparatus for dividing or cutting the canes, which I call the cane-cutter,
is shewn in detail in Sheet I. of the accompanying Drawings. Figure 1 is an
clevation of the cane-cutter in connection with the mill; Figure 2 is a trans-
verse section of the mill; Figure 4 is a plan of the apparatus; Figure 3 is an
elevation of a tubular boiler, which serves to steam the cut or divided canes
after they have been pressed a first time in the mill. The cane-cutter consists
of a round plate or disc A, turning in a vertical plane, and having a series of
apertures or sockets, in which are fitted the knives a and blades b, which cut
and divide the canes, which are thrown into a hopper B, which is about two
feet long and six inches wide. As the canes arrive at the plate A, they are
first split in a longitudinal direction by the knives a, and afterwards cut trans-
versely by the blades b, which are of the same length as the hopper. The
fragments of cane fall upon an endless metallic cloth C, which conducts them
to the mill. The hopper is placed at an angle of forty-five degrees to the
plate A, so that the canes inay slide in and present themselves to the cutters.
The spindle of the plate A turns in self-lubricating bearings g and g', firmly
fixed upon a wooden frame, or on masonry. The end of the spindle carries
the fast and loose pulleys c and c', which are driven by a twisted strap d from
the shaft D, and make about five hundred revolutions per minute. The frag-
ments of cane fall upon the endless cloth C, through openings in the plate A,
being guided by a sort of funnel E. At the end of the cloth is a board, which
serves to regulate the quantity of fragments which pass through the cylinders
F, F, F. To prevent the fragments of cane from falling off the endless
cloth a board is placed along each side of it. The endless cloth receives a
slow motion by means of a large pulley G, driven by a strap from the shaft D.
The velocity of this motion may be varied. The endless cloth passez round two
rollers, one of which carries a toothed wheel, or pulley, which drives an endless
chain attached to the endless cloth. The cut or chopped canes pass first
between the cylinders F and F, which crush them and extract a portion.of
the juice; they are then conducted by the motion of the cylinder F, and the
curved plate p, between the cylinders F and F", which press them a second
time, and extract the remainder of the juice or the greater part of it. If
the curved plate p should become choked up with an accumulation of the frag-
ments of cane it yields to the pressure, being supported by a lever and balance
weight, and thus prevents the fracture of the parts. The juice falls from
the mill through a moveable sieve t of metallic cloth, which may be removed
occasionally for the purpose of cleaning it. The juice then passes into a
trough f, which conveys it to the evaporating apparatus. The juice which may

page_text: drain out of the chopped canes during their passage along the endless cloth C
is received in a wooden vessel placed beneath it, which conveys it into the
trough f. The cylinders of the mill are driven by geering. Upon the axis of
the cylinder F is fixed a toothed wheel R, which is driven by a pinion P, -
which receives its motion from a strap on the fast and loose pulleys H and H'.
The cylinders communicate their motion from one to another by means of
strong toothed wheels. The cylinders make about one hundred revolutions
per minute, and their journals turn in self-lubricating bearings, firmly fixed
upon wood or stone.
The chopped and pressed canes on leaving the mill fall into a large box I,
mounted on four wheels, and having a bottom of metallic cloth; when this box
is filled, it is carried away and placed above a tubular or other boiler, shewn at
K in Figure 3, and covered with a wooden or metal cover, which is capable of
being raised and lowered at pleasure; or, in lieu of a close cover, a wooden
chimney with a small opening at the top may be employed. The steam which
escapes from the boiling juice penetrates and moistens the spongy fragments
of cane, and renders them fit for undergoing a third and fourth pressing
between the cylinders L, L', and L", which form a prolongation of the cylin-
ders F, F, and F, of the mill. These additional pressings are for the purpose
of extracting the crystalline sugar contained in the capillary tubes or pores of
the cane, and which is dissolved by the steam. A large increase in the quan-
tity of sugar extracted from the cane is thus obtained without increasing the
original quantity of liquid contained in the cane, for the steam which rises from
the juice itself is employed to moisten the chopped and pressed canes. The
juice is filtered and evaporated in the ordinary manner, and brought to the
state in which it is fit to be placed in the centrifugal machine, for extracting
the sugar from its mixture with the molasses and other impurities. In
Sheet II. of the accompanying Drawings I have shewn an improved centri-
fugal machine for this purpose. Figure 5 is a vertical section of the centrifugal
apparatus; Figure 6 is a plan of the apparatus or machinery for driving the
same, and which is put in motion by conical pulleys or otherwise, and commu-,
nicates its motion by means of a friction clutch, consisting of two discs or plates
a and a', one of which a is driven by the steam engine or other motive power,
while the other plate a¹ gives motion to a pulley driving the centrifugal.
machine, whenever the friction between the plates is sufficient to overcome
the resistance. I prefer to drive the disc or plate a by means of conical pulleys;
for this purpose, two long conical pulleys placed in reverse positions are em-
ployed, with an endless strap. or belt, capable of being shifted from one end of

page_text: the pulleys to the other. When the strap is on the small end of the driving
pulley and the large end of the driven pulley, the motion communicated to the
centrifugal apparatus is comparatively slow, but on advancing the strap towards
the large end of the driving pulley and the small end of the driven pulley, the
speed is greatly accelerated. The centrifugal machine, Figure 5, is driven by
a pulley b, either placed beneath its bottom plate c or round its circumference,
as shown at . The plate e is attached to a long shaft d, revolving in a self-
lubricating bearing e. The drum or body f of the machine is not lined with
wire cloth in the ordinary manner, but is perforated by a number of very
narrow oblong holes or slits g, which may be placed either horizontally or ver-
tically and at various distances apart. These slits are made to enlarge from
the interior to the exterior of the vessel, as shewn in the enlarged view,
Figure 7, so as to prevent their becoming clogged and obstructed; they thus
prevent the passage of the crystals of sugar, while they allow of the passage of
the liquid or molasses, and at the same time the interior of the vessel is smooth,
and admits of the easy removal of the crystals of sugar. The perforated drum
is not fixed at its base, and may thus be quickly and easily removed when
required; it is closed at the top by a moveable lid or cover g', which is fixed
by a nut i, screwed on the hollow central stem a, and the whole drum is in-
closed in a casing, covered by a lid h, which is secured by a bolt f¹, and is
provided with a balance weight for facilitating the raising and lowering of it.
The top of the central stem a enters a conical socket fixed on the lid h, which
serves to guide it. The clairee, or solution of sugar or other liquid, employed
for purifying the crystals, is introduced from below, by means of a pump or
otherwise, through a central pipe passing through the shaft d, or it may be
introduced at the top by a funuel K; in either case the liquid enters the hollow
central stem a, and flies out through the apertures m, m, and strikes against a
hoop n, which is supported by the stem a, but is capable of revolving freely
upon it. Four large fans or wings o, o, (two of which are shown in the
Drawing) are attached to the hoop n, and by their resistance to the air prevent
the hoop n from revolving at any great velocity, notwithstanding the rapid
motion of the drum. The liquid, in striking against the hoop n, is thus brought
to a state of rest, or nearly so, and falls to the bottom of the drum, whence it is
thrown outwards by the centrifugal force, and distributed over the inner surface
of the drum. In lieu of placing the sugar at once in the drum, it may be intro-
duced within an inner vessel or lining fitted to the drum, and made of a
metallic trellis or network, with large meshes, attached to a ring at top and
bottom, and furnished with handles for lifting it. The crystals of sugar are

page_text: thrown by the action of the centrifugal force against the trellis, and do not
adhere to the smooth surface of the drum. When the operation is completed,
the trellis with the purified sugar is lifted out at once. Figure 8 is a vertical
section of a centrifugal machine of a somewhat similar construction; Figure 9
is a plan, on a much smaller scale, of an arrangement of several of such
machines, with the straps for driving them. p, in Figure 8, is a hollow stem
attached to a plate q, which carries the drum r, which is perforated, as before
described. This drum may be made of the form of a sugar loaf, or of any other
required form. The clairce, or purifying liquid, is introduced through the hollow
spindle y, which is driven by a band and pulley; the drum is not permanently
fixed to the spindle y, but may be lifted off and replaced at pleasure. Loaves
of sugar of various forms may thus be made in drums or perforated moulds of
corresponding form, and purified by the introduction of the clairce, or purifying
liquid, through the central tube. The centrifugal machinery herein-before
described is applicable for the extraction of the sugar from the evaporated
juice of the beet root and other sacchariferous substances, as well as from the
juice of the sugar cane.
Having now described the nature of my Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that what I claim is,-
Firstly, the constructing machinery or apparatus for chopping or cutting up
the sugar canes, as herein-before described.
Secondly, the extracting the saccharine juice or liquid from sugar canes by
means of the series of combined operations herein-before described, consisting
of the cutting up of the canes into small pieces, pressing them, steaming and
again pressing them, as herein-before described.
Thirdly, the mode of constructing centrifugal machines with a detached
drum, capable of being readily removed and replaced, and perforated with long
narrow slits, widened at the exterior, and having a central pipe or hollow stem,
for the admission of the clairce, or purifying liquid, as herein-before described.
Fourthly, the constructing centrifugal machinery with the arrangement of
wings or fans, for deadening the shock or destroying the motion of the clairce,
or purifying liquid, as it flies out from the central stem or spindle, as herein-
before described.
Fifthly, the constructing centrifugal machinery with the detached trellis or
network, for removing the sugar from the perforated drum, as herein-before
described.
Sixthly, the mode of extracting or separating the crystallized sugar from the
molasses and impurities, by moulding it into loaves in detached moulds perfo-

page_text: rated with narrow slits, which moulds are fitted to revolving spindles and
furnished with central pipes, through which the clairce, or purifying liquid, is
introduced, in manner herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Pierre André Decoster, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Seventeenth day of February, in the year of
our. Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five.
P. A. DE COSTER. (L.S.)
Witness,
CH. ARMENGAUD, Ing* Civil,
Rue Filles du Calvaire, 6, á Paris.