AN IMPROVEMENT IN THE TREAT. MENT OF SPIRITS OR ALCOHOLIC LIQUIDS FOR THE PURIFICATION OF THE SAME, AND APPARATUS THEREFOR. A PART OF WHICH INVENTION IS ALSO APPLICABLE TO THE SEPARATION OF THE LIGHTER FROM THE HEAVIER PARTICLES OF OILS AND OTHER LIQUIDS
Year: 1869

page_text: ETTERS. PATENT to Alfred Vincent Newton, of the Office for Patents,
66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Mechanical
Draughtsman, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVEMENT IN THE TREAT.
MENT OF SPIRITS OR ALCOHOLIC LIQUIDS FOR THE PURIFICATION OF THE SAME,
AND APPARATUS THEREFOR. A PART OF WHICH INVENTION IS ALSO APPLICABLE
TO THE SEPARATION OF THE LIGHTER FROM THE HEAVIER PARTICLES OF OILS
AND OTHER LIQUIDS."-A communication from abroad by Reuben
Daniel Turner, of the City of New York, United States of America.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alfred Vincent Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 21st September 1869.
I, ALFRED VINCENT NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery
Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughtsman, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVEMENT IN THE
TREATMENT OF SPIRITS OR ALCOHOLIC LIQUIDS FOR THE PURIFICATION OF THE SAME,
[Price 8d.]

page_text: AND APPARATUS THEREFOR, A PART OF WHICH INVENTION IS ALSO APPLICABLE TO
THE SEPARATION OF THE LIGHTER FROM THE HEAVIER PARTICLES OF OILS AND
OTHER LIQUIDS," to be as follows:-
A main or prominent object of this Invention is the purifying and
refining of spirits, such as brandies, whiskeys, gins, and so forth. To
attain this end the liquor to be treated is subjected in a mist or spray
form to the chemical action of the air or oxygen contained in the latter.
The apparatus for the purpose may be variously modified, but one
constructed as will be presently described will serve to illustrate how
the Invention may be put in practice for the improvement of spirits or
.alcoholic liquids.
Another object of this Invention is to effect the separation of the
lighter and volatile particles from the heavier portions or grades of
various oils and other liquids, including hydrocarbons or explosive oils,
whereby greater safety is secured in the use of the latter.
The Invention in this connection, or as it may be termed second
part of the Invention, as, for instance, applied to the treatment of oils,
consists in a separation of the oil to be treated by or through a spray
action as produced by a blower operating in connection with spray pipes
or tubes, whereby the oil is separated or divided into its original atoms,
admixed with or surrounded by atmospheric air in the form of a current
or blast, which carries off the lighter particles of the oil and leaves or
causes the denser ones to deposit themselves separate therefrom. The
spray chamber may be heated artificially to aid in such separation, and
a condenser may be connected with it for collecting or concentrating
the lighter particles when separated as described.
The apparatus used for treating spirits or alcoholic liquids in accordance
with the Invention may be thus described:-A cylindrical or other
shaped tank of any suitable dimensions is girt with an annular trough
at some distance from its bottom. Above this trough is a closed hollow
belt or tube also made to encircle the tank outside of the trough, and
connected with the trough by a pump fitted with a suction and supply
pipe is a cask or other vessel for containing the liquor to be treated.
This liquid is transferred to the trough by the pump, and any surplus is
returned from the trough by an overflow pipe. A strong blast of air
is thrown by a blower into the hollow belt before mentioned, which is
fitted with a series of radial pipes extending into the interior of the

page_text: tank, and constituting in connection with dip tubes that project down
into the liquor in the trough and suitable nozzle attachments a com-
bination of tubes such as are used in atomizers or spray apparatus of
different kinds. Thus a strong blast of air being kept up in the belt and
issuing out of the radial pipes liquor will be sucked or drawn up and
distributed in a mist or spray along with atmospheric air within the
tank. In this way the liquor is subjected atom by atom to the improving
effect of the oxygen contained in the air, each particle as it were
surrounded by oxygen instead of as under previous methods having only
a stream or general surface exposure. The liquor thus treated falls to
the bottom of the tank, from which it may be run off into any suitable
receiver, while the air (blown into the tank along with the liquor)
passes off above preferably through fibrous or metallic strainers arranged
in the upper portion of the tank for the purpose of separating or
detaching any liquid that may be carried along with the air as the latter
is forced or passes off upwards. To further arrest any loss of liquor
by possible escape of it along with the air blown into the tank said air
as it escapes after passing through the strainers may be led to a worm
of a condenser, which will serve to catch all remaining liquor, the air
finally passing off by an outlet.
The process herein described may either be conducted under a natural
or artificial and raised temperature. Similar apparatus is used for
separating the lighter from the heavier particles of oils and other
liquids. The heavier particles of the oil treated in the apparatus fall to
the bottom of the tank, and may be run off therefrom into any suitable
receiver, while the lighter particles of the oil in the mist or spray
within
the tank are by their atomic separation from the denser portions readily
carried off upwards by the force of the incoming blast through a conical
top or goose neck, and collected in a suitable receiver.
0 SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Alfred Vincent Newton in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 21st March 1870.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALFRED
VINCENT NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the
5 County of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughtsman, send greeting.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-first day of September, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, in the
thirty-third year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, Her special
licence that I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with,
and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter 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 "AN
IMPROVEMENT IN THE TREATMENT OF SPIRITS OR ALCOHOLIC LIQUIDS FOR THE
PURIFICATION OF THE SAME. AND APPARATUS THEREFOR. A PART OF WHICH INVEN-
TION IS ALSO APPLICABLE TO THE SEPARATION OF THE LIGHTER FROM THE HEAVIER
PARTICLES OF OILS AND OTHER LIQUIDS," being a communication to me from
abroad by Reuben Daniel Turner, of the City of New York, United States
of America, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Alfred
Vincent Newton, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in
writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should
particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention,
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 Alfred Vincent Newton, 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 following statement, reference being had to the Drawing here-
unto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is
to say):-
A main or prominent object of this Invention is the purifying and
refining of spirits, such as brandies, whiskeys, gins, and so forth. Prior
to describing this first part or division of the Invention it may here be
observed that various apparatus have been constructed for oxidizing the
fusel and other injurious oils contained in such liquors by exposing the
latter in a stream or other like divided form for a limited time to contact
with the atmosphere, so that without producing acètification of the
alcoholic principle the volatile pyrogenous essences, including fusel, are

page_text: more or less resinified or oxidized, thereby depriving the same in a
measure of their injurious or offensive qualities. Thus the spirit has
been run in a thin stream over or through tortuous channels, also down
or over hollow wicks.
This Invention widely differs from all the previous modes or means,
and operates to improve the quality of the liquor by subjecting it in
minutely separated particles or atomically to the action of atmospheric
air, so that the oxygen in the air produces in an immediate or rapid
manner the desired effect upon the fusel or injurious oils without loss of
quantity in the liquor treated and without danger to the aromatic or
useful principles or injury to the bouquet of the spirit. To attain this
end it is an important and leading feature of the Invention that the
liquor to be treated be subjected in a mist or spray form to the chemical
action of the air or oxygen contained in the latter.
The apparatus for the purpose may be variously modified, but one
with its parts constructed as shewn in the accompanying Drawing will
serve to illustrate how the Invention, or this first part of it may be put
into practice.
Fig. 1 represents mainly a sectional elevation of such apparatus,
Fig. 2 a plan view of certain liquid and air channels with spray pipes
connected, forming a portion of said apparatus, and Fig. 3 a longi-
tudinal section on an enlarged scale of one of the spray pipes or tubes
detached.
A in said Drawing represents a cylindrical or other shaped spray
chamber or tank of any suitable dimensions; B is an annular closed
trough or channel arranged to surround said chamber or tank at some
distance from its bottom; C is a second closed hollow belt or channel,
also made to encircle the tank outside of and above the channel B; D is
a vat or other vessel containing the liquor to be treated, and which is
supposed to be transferred to the channel B by a pump E of any suitable
construction, and any surplus from said channel returned by a pipe a
back to the vat; F is a steam or other pump for forcing or blowing air,
and which may be of any suitable description, the same operating to
throw a strong blast or current of air through a pipe b into the hollow
belt or channel C. Connected with this channel C on its inner side is
a series, in any desired number, of radial pipes c extending into the
interior of the spray chamber A and constituting in connection with dip

page_text: tubes & that project down into the liquor in the channel B a combination
of spray pipes or tubes, the same being preferably constructed, as repre-
sented in Fig. 3, with a return branch to each air pipe c (which dips
into the upper portion or air space of the liquid channel B), a nozzle to
the outlet end of the pipe c, a liquid splitting wire loosely fitted in the
delivery end of the pipe c, back of the nozzle constructed to leave a
contracted annular air outlet or space around the pipe d. These tubes c
and d with their attachments produce a spray action or effect, so that on
a strong blast or current of air being kept up in the channel C and
issuing along or out of the radial pipes c liquor will be sucked or drawn
up the tubes & and distributed in a mist or spray form along with atmo-
spheric air supplied by the pipes c from the nozzle ends of the latter
within the chamber A. In this way the liquor is subjected atom by atom
to the improving effect of the oxygen contained in the air, each particle
as it were being surrounded by oxygen instead of, as under previous
methods, having only a stream or general surface exposure. The liquor
thus treated falls to the bottom of the chamber A, from which it may
be run off into any suitable receiver, while the air blown into the tank
or chamber along with the liquor passes off above, preferably through a
fibrous or metallic strainer or strainers G arranged in the upper portion
of the tank for the purpose of separating or detaching any liquid that
may be carried along with the air as the latter is forced or passes off
upward. To further arrest any loss of liquor by possible escape of it
along with the air blown into the tank, said air as it escapes after passing
through the strainers may be led by a pipe e to a worm f of a condenser
H, which will serve to catch or collect any remaining liquor, the air
finally passing off through an outlet g, and the liquor being drawn off
by a faucet h. The process herein described may either be conducted
under a natural or artificial or raised temperature. If the latter, the
same may be secured by introducing a worm or coil of pipe I in the
lower portion of the spray chamber A and passing hot air or steam there-
through. As before observed, numerous changes may be made in the
apparatus without altering the principle of action involved in this Inven-
tion, which by oxidizing the liquor in a mist or spray form in the
manner described effectually removes or changes, as required, in a most
perfect manner all pyrogenous injurious principles and fusel without
destroying any useful aromatic principle, but retaining the natural
bouquet of the spirit and improving its flavor by adding to it that ordi-
narily acquired by age. Wines as well as spirits may be similarly,

page_text: treated, and in some cases various gases may be introduced along with
the air to act upon the liquor under treatment while in a spray form.
a is the
pump is used
Referring in the next instance to Fig. 4 of the accompanying Drawing,
which represents a sectional elevation of an apparatus for separating the
lighter from the heavier particles of oils and other liquids in accordance
with the second part or division of the Invention, substantially the same
arrangement and combination of parts and devices as shewn in the
apparatus for treating spirits, herein-before described, is or may be used,
subject to the omission of a strainer or strainers in the upper part of the
spray chamber and an open goose-neck connection of the latter at its top
with the condenser. In this Figure A is the spray chamber; B, the oil
or liquid channel; C, the air channel or belt. A similar vat or vessel to
that shewn at Fig. 1 is used for containing the oil to be treated; also a
similar pump for supplying the liquid channel B with oil.
surplus return pipe leading to the vat. A steam or other
for forcing or blowing air by a pipe 6 into the channel C. c and d are
the spray pipes or tubes, constructed or provided and arranged as
described with reference to Fig. 1. These several devices serve, as in the
previously described treatment of spirits, to scatter or distribute the oil
in the liquid chamber B in a mist or spray form within the chamber A.
The heavier particles of the oil thus treated fall to the bottom of the
spray chamber A and may be run off therefrom as required, while the
lighter particles of the oil in the mist or spray within the chamber A are
by their atomic separation from the denser particles readily carried off
upwards by the force of the incoming air blast or currents through a
goose neck J on the upper portion of the chamber A and conveyed along
with the air to the worm of the condenser, which latter serves to collect
the lighter oil thus separated from the denser grades, and from which
condenser said lighter oil may be drawn off by a faucet, while the air
entering the condenser passes off by an outlet provided for the purpose.
The spray chamber A is provided with a worm or coil of pipe I through
which steam or any hot fluid or vapor may be passed for raising the tem-
perature within the tank to aid in effecting the separation of the lighter
from the heavier grades of the oil or liquid being treated. Other liquids
besides oils may be similarly treated for a like purpose of separating the
heavier from the lighter particles or grades thereof.
Having now set forth the nature of the said Invention as communi-
cated to me from abroad, and explained the manner of carrying the same

page_text: into effect, I wish it to be understood that under the above in part
recited Letters Patent I claim,―
First. The treatment, substantially as herein described, of spirits or
alcoholic liquids by exposing them in a mist or spray form to the
oxidizing influence of atmospheric air, essentially as and for the purpose
or purposes herein set forth.
Second. The separation of the lighter from the heavier grades of oil
and other liquids by or through a spray action as produced by a blower
operating in connection with spray pipes or tubes, substantially as
specified.
Third. The combination of the air pipes c and liquid pipes d arranged
radially around the chamber A, substantially as and for the purpose or
purposes herein set forth.
Fourth. The combination of the strainer G with the spray chamber A,
and arranged above the spray tubes c, d, for the separation of the spray
from the escaping air, substantially as set forth.
Fifth. The combination of the liquid channel B, air channel C, and
their pipes c, d, with the chamber A, arranged and operating substan-
.tially as and for the purpose or purposes specified.
Sixth. The combination of the condenser H with the chamber or
tank A and its spray pipes or tubes c, d, substantially as herein set
forth.
Seventh. The combination of the coil I with the chamber or tank A
and its spray pipes or tubes, essentially as and for the purpose or
purposes specified.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, the Twenty-first day of March, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy.
1