IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PURIFICATION OF WATER FOR DOMESTIC USE AND PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATIONUFACTURING AND OTHER PURPOSES
Year: 1882

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Peter Spence and Francis Mudie Spence of Manchester
in the County of Lancaster, Manufacturing Chemists for an invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PURIFICATION OF WATER FOR DOMESTIC USE AND
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Peter Spence and Francis
Mudie Spence at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 9th May
1882.
PETER SPENCE, and FRANCIS MUDIE SPENCE of Manchester in the County of
Lancaster Manufacturing Chemists " IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PURIFICATION OF
WATER FOR DOMESTIC USE AND FOR MANUFACTURING AND OTHER PURPOSES "
It is well known that alum has by a crude method been sometimes used in the
East Indies and other places for the purification of water from clayey and other
impurities, but in such haphazard modes, and in such unsuitable conditions of the
water, and in such uncertain and excessive quantities of the Aluminous salts, that
sone of the compounds have been left in the water so hardening" it and making
it unwholesome and unfit for dyeing and other purposes and thus a prejudice has
been created against its use.
"
Our improvement consists in purifying all waters that contain the requisite.
quantity of bicarbonates of lime or lime and magnesia in solution, or to which such
bicarbonates have been added by the mode to be subsequently described by us, so
as to enable us to use a sufficient quantity of salts of Alumina or Alumina and iron
to effect such purification. We first analyse the water to find whether it contains
the requisite quantity of bicarbonates in solution to effect the decomposition of all
the sulphate of alumina or sulphate of alumina and ferric oxide we propose to use
or find needful for the purification of the water, and we use by preference what is
well known as Alumino-ferric cake.
If the water does not contain the required quantity of the said bicarbonates we
cause it to run over, or otherwise keep it in contact with limestone, such
limestone being in fragments so as to present a large surface, and we find that
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page_text: nearly all waters are so impregnated with carbonic acid gas that a few minutes
contact with the aforesaid limestone gives the water the amount of bicarbonates
required.
Having thus ascertained that the water is in a suitable condition for our process,
we add to it in solution or dissolve in it so much of the Aluminoferric salt as will
precipitate all soluble colouring matter, all clayey impurities, and certain compounds
of iron, and a considerable proportion of albuminoid bodies if present, the water
then becoming by settlement or filtration perfectly bright and colourless. In all
cases we are careful, and this forms an important part of our invention, to use a less
quantity of the aforesaid salts than the water is capable of decomposing, and which
by testing we are able at any moment to ascertain; so that not a trace of the
aluminous and ferric compounds can possibly be left in the purified water and all
objections to their use in the process are thus completely obviated.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Peter Spence and Francis Mudie Spence in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 9th November 1882.
PETER SPENCE and FRANCIS MUDIE SPENCE of Manchester in the County of
Lancaster Manufacturing Chemists IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PURIFICATION OF
WATER FOR DOMESTIC USE AND FOR MANUFACTURING AND OTHER PURPOSES
It is well known that alum has by a crude method been sometimes used in the
East Indies and other places for the purification of water from clayey and other
impurities but in such haphazard modes and in such unsuitable conditions of the
water and in such uncertain and excessive quantities of the Aluminous salts that
some of these compounds have been left in the water so" hardening" it and making
it unwholesome and unfit for dyeing and other purposes and thus a prejudice has
been created against its use.
Our improvement consists in purifying all waters that contain the requisite
quantity of Bicarbonates of lime or lime and magnesia in solution or to which such
bicarbonates have been added by the mode to be subsequently described by us so as
to enable us to use a sufficient quantity of Salts of Alumina or Alumina and Iron to
effect such purification-We first analyse the water to find whether it contains the
requisite quantity of bicarbonates in solution to effect the decomposition of all the
sulphate of Alumina or Sulphate of Alumina and ferric Oxide we propose to use
or find needful for the purification of the water, and we use by preference what is
well known as Alumino-ferric Cake-If the water does not contain the required
quantity of the said Bicarbonates we cause it to run over or otherwise keep it in
contact with limestone such limestone being in fragments so as to present a large
surface and we find that nearly all waters are so impregnated with carbonic acid
gas that a few minutes contact with the aforesaid limestone gives the water the
amount of Bi-carbonates required-Having thus ascertained that the water is in a
suitable condition for our process we add to it in solution or dissolve in it as much
of the Alumino-ferric Salt as will precipitate all soluble colouring matter all clayey
impurities and certain compounds of iron and a considerable proportion of albuminoid
bodies if present, the water then becoming by settlement or filtration perfectly bright
and colourless-In all cases we are careful and this forms an important part of our
Invention to use a less quantity of the aforesaid salts than the water is capable of
decomposing and which by testing we are able at any moment to ascertain so that
not a trace of the aluminous and ferric compounds can possibly be left in the
purified water and all objections to their use in the process are thus completely
obviated In order that our invention may be better understood and more readily
carried into effect I will now proceed to more particularly describe the same-In
carrying out our said Invention we first take a fair sample of the water to be
purified and ascertain the comparative degree of impurity and colour whereby we
ascertain approximately the quantity of purifying material that will be required we
now ascertain by experiment how much dissolved bicarbonate of lime is contained
in the aforesaid water and if that is insufficient we keep the sample of water for
some time in contact with fragments of clean lime-stone when we find it will in
most cases take up a sufficient quantity of lime for our object; we then take a
measured quantity of the water (say in one gallon glass jars) and add to the
water contained in one of the jars aforesaid one grain of the aluminoferric cake to
the water contained in another jar one and a half grains of such alumino-ferric
cake to the water contained in a third jar two grains of the aforesaid alumino-ferric
cake and so on for as many as may be necessary-Then we allow the water

page_text: contained in the said jars to stand for thirty or forty hours by which time the
action is completed and the jar of water which is purified with the least quantity
of the aforesaid alumino-ferric cake indicates the minimum quantity of such
alumino-ferric cake which will purify the water upon which we are operating-If
for example we find this to be one and a half grains for each gallon of water then
it will require one ton of alumino-ferric cake to purify ten million gallons of water
and pro rata for all other cases-We prefer in practice to add the alumino-ferric
cake in solution to the water as it runs into a reservoir or to allow the cake
required to be dissolved by the inflowing water, such reservoir should be large
enough to contain at least four or five days ordinary consumption-If the alumino-
ferric cake is thus added in proportion to the inflowing water at one end of a
reservoir of four or five hundred feet in length it will be satisfactorily settled and
purified by the time it reaches the outflow at the other end of the said reservoir
all clayey and peaty or other coloring matter is by this means thrown down no
trace of the alumino-ferric cake remains in solution all having been decomposed by
the Bicarbonates of lime or lime and magnesia the alumina or alumina and iron in
precipitating take down all the aforesaid impurities and also a material portion of
the albuminoids in solution and leave the water clear. Having thus described the
nature of our said invention and the manner in which the same is to be performed
I desire it to be understood that we claim as secured to us under the above in
part recited Letters Patent
The purification of water for domestic use and for manufacturing and other
purposes by precipitating soluble and other impurities contained in such water by
means of soluble sulphates of alumina or alumina and iron when the water contains
bi-carbonate of lime or lime and magnesia or when prepared so as to contain such
salts of lime or lime and magnesia substantially as hereinbefore described
In witness whereof I the said Francis Mudie Spence have hereunto set my
hand and seal this eighth day of November in the year of our Lord one
thousand eight hundred and eighty two.