CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PROCESS OF MAKING AND PURIFYING SUGABS
Year: 1830

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I MARMADUKE
ROBINSON, of Great George Street, in the City of Westminster, Navy Agent,
send greeting.
WHEREAS His most Excellent Majesty King William the Fourth did, by
Ilis Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Fifth day of August, in the first year of Ilis reign, give
and grant unto me, tho said Marmaduke Robinson, my exors, adñiors, and
assigns, His special licence, full power, sole privilege and authority, that I,
the said Marmaduke Robinson, my exors, adшiors, and assigns, should and
lawfully might during the term of years therein mentioned, make, use,
exercise, and vend, within that part of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland called England, the Dominion of Wales, and the Town of
Berwick-on-Tweed, and also in all His Majesty's Colonies and Plantations
abroad, the Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PROCESS OF MAKING
AND PURIFYING SUGABS," communicated to me by a certain person residing
abroad; in which said Letters Patent there is contained a proviso, that if I, the
said Marmaduke Robinson, should not particularly describe and ascertain the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed,
by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, and cause the same to
be inrolled in His Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar
months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent, then
that all liberties and advantages whatsoever thereby granted should utterly

page_text: cease, determine, and become void, as in and by the same, relation being
thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Marmaduke Robinson, do hereby declare that the nature of the said In-
vention, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, are described
and ascertained in manner following (that is to say):-
The cane juice which is to be operated upon being received from the mill
in the vessel in which it is to be heated (and which vessel may be of any
convenient form and size), I do mix well with such juice finings, composed of
a saturation of alum and lime, and I do apply such finings, in the proportion
of about two pounds of finings diluted in pure water to every one hundred
gallons of juice, and having stirred the same up with the juice I next proceed
to render the juice perfectly neutral, so that there be no excess of either acid
or alkali, and the method which I prefer for so neutralizing the juice and for
ascertaining when the neutralization is perfect is as follows:-I do mix with
the juice lime dissolved in water, and made into what is commonly called milk
of lime, which should be made sufficiently thin to allow the undissolved
particles of lime to subside and give to the water the appearance of milk,
using such milk of lime in the first instances in small portions, and adding
thereto from time to time until I have ascertained in the manner and by
the experiments herein-after mentioned that sufficient milk of lime has been
applied. After each throwing in or addition of the milk of lime I do care-
fully examine the liquor with any one of the test papers commonly used for
detecting the presence of acids in liquids. When this paper has ceased to
change its color I do examine the liquor with one of the test papers commonly
employed for detecting the presence of alkali in liquids, in order to ascertain
whether too much milk of lime has been applied, in which case I add more of
the juice until the last-mentioned test paper has ceased to change its color,
and I proceed in this manner, throwing in fresh portions of the milk of lime
or of the juice, according to the indications of the respective test papers until
I have ascertained that no change is perceptible on either of the test papers,
and that therefore the juice is perfectly neutral. The liquor being rendered
neutral, I next proceed to heat the same until it has nearly reached the boiling
point or degree, taking care, however, not to allow it actually to boil. I prefer
heating in wooden vessels by the application of steam as follows:-The wooden
vessel may be made of any convenient shape and size, fitted with a copper
worm or pipe of a size suited to the dimensions of the vessel, circulating with
one or more turns in the interior of the vessel. The steam should be made to
circulate through this worm or pipe, which should be fitted with cocks to

page_text: regulate the letting on of the steam and the escape of the waste steam or
condensed water. The worm or pipe is to be connected with the steam
generator as to admit of the steam circulating through it. After having
heated, as aforesaid, I do discontinue the application of the heat, and mix with
the liquor a further quantity of the aforesaid finings, in the proportion of about
three pounds more to every one hundred gallons of juice (the finings being
diluted as before mentioned), and after stirring the same up I examine the
liquor in a tumbler or other glass vessel to observe the rapidity with which the
impurities precipitate, and I go on adding further portions of the said finings
until I find that the addition of such finings does not increase the rapidity of
the precipitation, from which circumstance I ascertain that a sufficient quantity
of the finings has been applied.
My improvement, so far as regards the application of the finings, consists in
the finings being applied to the cane juice itself; but I declare, that although
I have found such application of the finings highly useful in carrying tho
said improvements into effect, still that such application is not indispensably
necessary, and that the said improvements may be carried into effect
(although less advantageously) without such application of the finings; I then
allow the liquor to remain at rest. The impurities which by the ordinary
mode of operating remain suspended in the body of the liquor (and are
got rid of by skimming during the boiling of the liquor) will then be
precipitated to the bottom, and those impurities which in the ordinary method
of operating float on the surface of the liquor previously to the boiling will float
in the same manner, when the operation is conducted according to the present
Specification. I allow the liquor to stand till the body of it has become
cleared from both theso impurities; I then draw it off into the evaporators, so
as to allow the pure liquor to pass off, separated from the impurities which
have precipitated, as well as from those which float at the top. This may be
conveniently effected by the means of cocks placed at a convenient height from
the bottom of the vessel. The remainder of the liquor is afterwards separately
drawn off, together with the impurities into another vessel, in which I mix
with it a small quantity of pure warm water, and allow the mixture to settle;
the impurities will then separate themselves from the mixture. As soon as
the body of this liquor has become clear, I draw off the clear part from the
impurities, as on the former occasion, by means of a cock placed at a con
venient distance from the bottom of the last-mentioned vessel, and add it to
the liquor already in the evaporators.
I claim the benefit of these Letters Patent for the above-described method
of precipitating and separating that portion of the impurities' which in the ordi-

page_text: nary method of operating remain suspended in the body of the liquor, and is
only got rid of by skimming during the process of boiling, and I declare that
although I much prefer to all other methods of heating, for the present
purpose, the method of heating in wooden vessels, as above described, yet the
precipitation above described may also be effected when other methods of
heating are used, provided the cane juice be in other respects treated according
to this Specification, and provided also the vessel in which it is intended that
the precipitation should take place be cold. I do next proceed to boil the said
liquor into syrup or sugar, and I prefer boiling it in vacuo by the application
of steam, and in that case I prefer employing what is commonly called high-
pressure steam, that is to say, steam generated under a pressure of not less
than twenty pounds to the square inch; steam of a pressure from twenty to
forty pounds to the square inch will fully answer the purpose, but in general
cases I would recommend a pressure of about thirty-five pounds. I do also
declare that this application of high-pressure steam to the boiling in vacuo will
be found highly beneficial in the boiling of any saccharine solution for tho
purpose of manufacturing refined or other sugars. I apply such steam by
means of a vacuum pan formed like Howard's, or any other known vacuum pan,
except that there is no contrivance for applying steam to the exterior of the
vacuum pan, and except so far as the construction of the vacuum pan is altered
by the construction herein-after described. One or more branch pipes are carried
from the steam main, which proceeds from the boiler of a high-pressure steam
engine. These branch pipes enter the vacuum pan at different heights, and
cach branch pipe terminates in a worm or coil of pipes circulating horizontally
round the interior of the vacuum pan. The worms or coils of pipes, when
there are more than one, lie one over the other, but are not in actual contact,
and it will be convenient to make them all finally terminate and unite within
the vacuum pan in one single pipe, by which the condensed water or wasto
steam is to be discharged. This discharge pipe passes through the bottom of
the vacuum pan, and it is furnished outside of the vacuum pan, and at a con-
venient distance from it, with a common high-pressure steam regulating cock,
the use of which is well understood. The juice or other saccharine solution
having been poured into the vacuum pan, and the vacuum having been
produced, as in Howard's, or any other known method, the high-pressure steam
is let into the branch pipes, and will circulate through then and through the
worms or coils of pipes in which they terminate, and the condensed water or
waste steam will be discharged by the discharge pipe. I declare that I claim
the benefit of these Letters Patent generally for the above method of applying
the high-pressure steam to the boiling in vacuo, both for boiling cane juico

page_text: and for boiling any saccharine solution for the purpose of manufacturing
refined or other sugars. With respect to the liquor which has been treated in
the method described in so much of this. Specification as precedes the directions.
for boiling by high-pressure steam in vacuo, I declare that if from any circum-
stance it should-be found inconvenient to boil in vacuo, tho liquor may be
boiled in wooden tubs made of any convenient size, and by the application of
steam. In this last case the tubs should be fitted in the interior, with a
copper worm of a size suited to the dimensions of the tubs, through which
worm (having the necessary cocks to let on the steam and allow the condensed
water or waste steam to escape), the steam is allowed to circulate. The tubs
should be placed one higher than the other, in such manner, as to admit of
the liquid being drawn from one to the other successively,, and so into the
concentrator or teache, by means of cocks or valves. The sugar when
boiled may be drawn from the cencentrator by a cock, valve, or any other
convenient means. The advantages of boiling in wooden tubs are very con-
siderable; but I do declare that I do not claim the benefit of the present
Letters Patent for the boiling in such wooden tubs, and that I do greatly
prefer the method of boiling in vacuo and by high-pressure steam, as herein-
before mentioned. I do treat the sugar (when boiled by either of the above-
mentioned methods) in the way now usually practised by sugar boilers, and
which it is unnecessary to particularize, and I put such sugar either into hogs-
heads or moulds, as may be found most convenient; and, lastly, I do hereby
declare, that I claim the benefit of the said Letters Patent so granted to me as
aforesaid in respect only,―
First, of the above-described method of purifying cane juice by precipitating
that part of the impurities, which, according to the ordinary method, is only
got rid of by skimming during the boiling of the liquor.
Secondly, of the application of finings to the cane juice itself.
And, thirdly, of the application of high-pressure, steam to the boiling in
vacuo of cane juice, or of other saccharine solutions, for the purpose of
manufacturing refined or other sugars; and with respect to all other matters
and parts of the operation herein-before described (and which are already well
known) I hereby disclaim all title to originality, and declare that so far as I
have described the same I have done so only for the better explanation of the
said improvements.
În witness whereof, I, the said Marmaduke Robinson, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Third day of February, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and thirty-one..
MARM
(L.B.) ROBINSON.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Third day of February, in the
year of our Lord 1831, the aforesaid Marmaduke Robinson came before our
said Lord the King in His 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.