IMPROVEMENTS IN THE " EVATORATION OF LIQUIDS, AND I ATI APPARATUS TO DE BETLOTES 4444
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS -PATENT to Robert Tooth, of Fenchurch Street, in the City
of London, Gentleman, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
"
EVATORATION OF LIQUIDS, AND I ATI
APPARATUS TO DE BETLOTES
4444MM
Sealed the 28th August 1868, and dated the 7th March 1868.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Robert Tooth at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
7th March 1868.
I, ROBERT TOOTH, of Fenchurch Street, in the City of London,
Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE EVAPORATION OF LIQUIDS, AND IN APPARATUS TO BE
EMPLOYED THEREIN," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to the evaporation of saline and other liquids
for the purpose of rapidly and economically concentrating such liquids
with the view to obtaining the soluble substances contained therein in
a dry or crystalline state. This I propose to effect when treating such
liquids (for example, saline,) as are not liable to deterioration from
exposure to the air by bringing currents of cold or heated air into

page_text: contact with descending streams of the liquid desired to be concentrated.
The liquid to be concentrated is discharged in the form of a shower
down a tower or shaft, up which induced currents of hot or cold air,
or air under pressure pass, mingling with the descending liquid and
carrying off vaporized particles therefrom.
A convenient arrangement of apparatus for carrying out the
evaporating process is a cylindrical tower built upon the inner wall
of an annular brick flue which communicates with any suitable hot
air furnace. This annular flue connects by radial openings with a
central space immediately below the tower. The air therefore admitted
to the flue will pass thence up the tower. Sunk in the brickwork
immediately below the tower is a vessel fitted with a shute which
extends through and beyond the outer walls of the flue. This vessel
is intended to receive the descending liquid after it has been acted
upon by the ascending currents of air, and discharge it in a concentrated
state from time to time into a suitable receptacle. The top of the
tower is fitted with a damper for regulating the draft to suit the re-
quirements of the operator. Access is gained to the top of the tower
to effect this regulation and for other purposes by means of a tower
containing a circular staircase, and connected with the evaporating
tower by a short gallery. At about the level of the floor of this
gallery there is in the evaporating tower a grating which divides the
upper part of the tower from the lower, and serves also to carry a
copper vessel, which is pierced with small holes, and is intended to
receive and distribute the liquid to be concentrated down the tower
in the form of a shower. It is fitted with a horizontal division plate,
to which a pendent supply pipe is made fast. The vessel is supplied
with liquor by a pipe entering the upper division of the tower through
the side thereof, it being the continuation of a vertical copper pipe
connected with a force pump. In order that the liquor may enter the
tower in a heated state the pipe is inserted in a vertical steam pipe
which receives steam from an adjacent boiler, and discharges it into
the tower to produce a steam exhaust therein.
The apparatus above described admits of considerable modification
as regards the details of its structure, which will depend greatly upon
the locality where it is required to be erected.
When facility of transport is an object I do not propose to rely upon
the independent strength of the towers, or of the chimney of the steam

page_text: boiler furnace for their stability, but build them of the lightest materials
consistent with safety, and brace them together with tie rods, which
with the aid of gye ropes will enable them to resist heavy gales. I
also form the towers and the chimney in sections of equal lengths which
will allow of the parts being easily packed, and when unpacked put
together without skilled labour being required. These sections may
be made conveniently nine feet long, and any desired number may be
set up one above the other to obtain the required depth of fall for
the liquor. The sections of the tower are built up of ribs of wood
made fast at their opposite ends to rings of angle iron, the horizontal
flanges of which are pierced uniformly in all the rings of the series
of sections to receive coupling bolts. The internal surface of the sections
below the top section I line with sheet copper or other metal which
will offer a clean surface for the liquor to flow down and form an
efficient evaporating surface for the liquor. This copper lining may
be used as above described, or projecting rings may be secured to the
inner circumference of the tower to throw off the liquor from the
sides and gain increased evaporating surface. The sections composing
the tower which contains the staircase, forming with the gallery an
approach to the top of the evaporating tower, are in like manner built
up of ribs of wood fitted to rings of angle iron, but there is no lining
to this tower, and the chimney is composed of tubes of wrought iron
connected together with flanged rings and bolts.
As saccharine liquor is liable to deterioration if unduly exposed
to the action of air, I propose to operate upon it in a vacuum.
To
this end I form a vacuum chamber by interposing between the dish
and cover of the vacuum pan cylindrical sections of corresponding
diameter, and bolting the whole together; I thus form a kind of closed
tower which is heated below like an ordinary vacuum pan, and con-
nected at top with an exhaust pump, and into the upper part of this
vessel or tower I introduce the liquor supply pipe and fit thereto a
pierced cup-shaped distributor. The supply pipe is fitted with a steam
jacket, by which means the temperature of the liquor is raised to the
required degree, and as the liquor is discharged in the form of a shower
in vacuo a rapid evaporating action will take place, the vapour generated
being drawn off as quickly as formed by the air pump connected with.
the vacuum chamber or tower. The pan or bottom of the tower is
connected with two receivers into which the concentrated liquor is

page_text: alternately discharged (for removal) by means of a suitable arrangement
of pipes and taps.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Robert Tooth in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 7th September 1868.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ROBERT
TOOTH, of Fenchurch Street, in the City of London, Gentleman, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Seventh day of March, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, in the thirty-
first year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said Robert Tooth, Her special licence that I,
the said Robert Tooth, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or
such others as I, the said Robert Tooth, 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE EVAPORATION
OF LIQUIDS, AND IN APPARATUS TO BE EMPLOYED THEREIN," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said Robert Tooth, my executors or adminis-
trators, 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 Robert Tooth, do hereby declare
the nature of my 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 herc-
unto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is
to sav

page_text: This Invention relates to the evaporation of saccharine, saline, and
other liquids for the purpose of rapidly and economically concentrating
the liquids with the view to obtaining the saccharine, saline, or other
substances contained therein in a dry or crystalline state. This I propose
to effect when treating such liquids as are not liable to deterioration
from exposure to the air (for example, saline liquids) by bringing
currents of cold or heated air into contact with descending streams of
the liquids desired to be concentrated. The liquid to be concentrated
is discharged in the form of a shower down a tower or shaft, up
which induced currents of hot or cold air, or air under pressure pass,
mingling with the descending liquid and carrying off vaporized particles
therefrom.
In Sheet I. of the accompanying Drawings Fig. 1 is a sectional
elevation of the evaporating apparatus to be used in conjunction with
ascending currents of air, the section being taken in the line 1, 2, of
the sectional plan view Fig. 2, which view is taken in the line 3, 4,
of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a partial sectional elevation taken in the line 5, 6,
of Fig. 2; and, Fig. 4 is a sectional plan taken in the line 7, 8, of
Fig. 3. The other views being illustrations of details will be referred
to as the parts respectively come under notice.
A, A, is a cylindrical tower built upon the inner wall of an annular
brick flue B which communicates with any suitable hot air furnace.
This annular flue is connected by radial openings C in the brickwork
with a central space immediately below the tower. The air therefore
admitted to the flue B will pass through the openings C into the central
space and thence up the tower A. Sunk in the brickwork immediately
below the tower is a conical vessel D (shewn detached at Fig. 5) and
fitted with a shute D' which extends through and beyond the outer
walls of the flue B. This vessel is intended to receive the descending
liquid after it has been acted upon by the ascending currents of air,
and its shute is provided with a sliding door to allow of the discharge
from time to time of the concentrated liquid, and also to give admittance
to a scraper or other instrument for clearing the vessel of crystalline
or other deposits. The top of the tower is fitted with a damper E
which by means of a hand lever E' and catch may be raised to any
required amount and held in position, thereby regulating the draft to
suit the requirements of the operator. Access is gained to the top
of the tower to effect this regulation and for other purposes by means

page_text: of a tower F containing a circular staircase, and connected with the
tower A by a short gallery F¹ (Fig. 2). On or about the level of the
floor of this gallery is a grating G which divides the upper part of the
tower A from the lower, and serves also to carry a copper vessel H
which is pierced with small holes and is intended to receive and
distribute the liquid to be concentrated down the tower in the form
of a shower. This vessel is shewn detached and on an enlarged scale
at Fig. 6; it is cup-shaped but may take any other desired form, and
is fitted with a horizontal division plate a to which a pendent supply
pipe 6 is made fast. The vessel is also provided with a safety valve c
which will allow of any excess of liquor discharged into the vessel
below the plate a rising up and flowing over the edges of the vessel.
The supply pipe passes through the centre of the grating, and a flange
with which it is provided rests upon the grating, and thus serves to
support the vessel H in the position shewn at Fig. 3. The supply pipe b
enters the upper division of the tower through the side thereof, it being
the continuation of a vertical copper pipe shewn at b, Fig. 1, and
connected at bottom with a force pump I. In order that the liquor
may enter the tower in a heated state the pipe b is inserted in a vertical
steam pipe d, d. This pipe receives steam from an adjacent boiler (not
shewn in the Drawing) which is provided chiefly for the purpose of
producing a steam exhaust in the top division of the tower A. The
pipe leading from the boiler is fitted to the joint d' near the bottom of
the pipe d, and an outlet d' at a lower level is provided for the discharge
of the condensed steam. The pipe d is closed at its upper end, but a
branch pipe ds leading therefrom serves to convey steam in the form
of a jet or jets to the upper part of the tower for the purpose of creating
a partial exhaust and thereby increasing the tendency of the heated
air passing from the flue B to rise up the tower. The manner of
connecting the steam pipe d with a liquor supply pipe 6 is best shewn in
the sectional view Fig. 7, where the closing of the bottom of the pipe d
is shewn to be effected by the junction of the pipe b with the bottom
joint 6 of that pipe, which joint is of an increased diameter and
completes the connection with the force pump. K is a chimney shaft
in connection with the flue L which serves to carry off the gases of
combustion from the steam boiler furnace; M is a receptacle for the
concentrated liquor, the discharge of which into the vessel M is effected
by a hand lever N connected with the sliding door of the shute D'.

page_text: It will now be understood that if a current of air derived from a
hot air furnace is admitted to the tower A and the damper of that tower
is raised to the dotted position of Fig. 3, and jets of steam supplied from
the pipe ds are discharged into the tower, a rapid upward current of air
will be established. The force pump I which is coupled with an
adjacent supply vessel being now set to work the liquor to be con-
centrated will be drawn into the pump and discharged through a stand
pipe I into the pipe b, 6', up which it will rise and flow into the
pierced vessel H. During its ascent the liquor will be exposed to the
heat of the jacket of steam contained in the surrounding pipe d, and as
it is discharged from the vessel H in the form of a shower it will run
down the sides of the tower and will also be evenly distributed
throughout the central space. Here meeting with the ascending current
of air a large amount of vapor will be generated and carried off at the
top of the tower. The remaining liquor deprived of much of its water
will fall to the bottom of the tower and collect at the bottom thereof,
or in the conical vessel D from which it may be drawn by raising the
sliding door of the shute by means of the hand lever N. The con-
centrated liquor will then flow into the vessel M, whence if not already
sufficiently concentrated to cause crystallization, it may be removed to
evaporating pans to complete the crystallizing process.
The apparatus above described admits of considerable modification as
regards the details of its structure which will depend greatly upon the
locality where it is required to be erected. The Drawings illustrate
the mode of building up the apparatus for the colonies, and to this end
facile transport is mainly kept in mind. Thus I do not depend upon
the independent strength of the towers and chimney for their stability,
but build them of the lightest materials consistent with safety, and
brace them together with tie rods, which with the aid of stay ropes will
enable them to resist heavy gales. I also form the towers and the
chimney in sections of equal lengths which will allow of the parts being
easily packed, and when unpacked put together without skilled labour
being required. These sections may be made conveniently nine feet
long, and any desired number may be set up one above the other to
obtain the required depth of fall for the liquor. The sections of the
tower A are built up of ribs of wood made fast at their opposite ends to
rings of angle iron, the horizontal flanges of which are pierced uniformly
in all the angle iron rings of the series of sections to receive coupling

page_text: bolts. The internal surface of the sections below the top section I line
with sheet copper or other metal which will offer a clean surface for
the liquor to flow down and form an efficient evaporating surface for
the liquor. This copper lining may be used as above described, or
projecting rings may be secured to the inner circumference of the tower
like that shewn at e, e, (at the base of the tower) to throw off the liquor
from the sides, and gain increased evaporating surface. The sections
composing the tower F which contains the staircase, forming with the
gallery F an approach to the top of the tower A, are in like manner
built up of ribs of wood fitted to rings of angle iron, but there is no
lining to this tower. The staircase is of the corkscrew kind, which in
great part supports itself, but at the levels of the connected flanged rings
it may have lateral support. The chimney is composed of tubes of
wrought iron, connected together with flanged rings and bolts. Tie
rods O, O, (see Fig. 2), bolted to the flanges of the rings are used for
bracing together the whole structure, the steam pipe d receiving also the
like kind of support. By making the lengths of the sections of the
towers and tubes correspond as shewn in the Drawing, and repeating at
the lines of junction of the section the same system of tie rods, a strong
and light structure capable of facile transport and of being readily
erected will be obtained, all that is required to be added in the colony
when the apparatus is to be fixed being the brickwork for the foundations
and flues.
As saccharine liquor is liable to deterioration if unduly exposed to
the action of air I propose to operate upon it in a vacuum.
To this end
I form a vacuum chamber by interposing between the dish and cover
of the vacuum pan cylindrical sections of corresponding diameter, and
bolting the whole together I thus form a kind of closed tower which
may be heated below like an ordinary vacuum pan if thought desirable,
and I connect it at top with an exhaust pump. Into the vacuum or
partial vacuum which I obtain by the action of the exhaust pump
I discharge the saccharine liquor heated, say, to one hundred and forty
degrees, or thereabouts, and thus effect a rapid concentration of the
liquor.
This arrangement of apparatus is shewn in sectional elevation at
Fig. 8, Sheet II., where A is the pan; A¹, the cover; and B, the cylin-
drical sections interposed between the pan and cover to form therewith
a closed tower. The pan is fitted at its centre with a discharge pipe a,

page_text: closed by a slide or other valve, and connected with this pipe by a
branch pipe; 6 is a force pump C of any suitable construction for
keeping up the circulation of the liquor under treatment. This pump
is connected by a pipe c with a heater D, consisting of a vertical case
fitted at its opposite ends with tube plates, in which are fitted tubes
d, d, d, open at both ends. This heater is connected at top by means
of a tube e, with a rose or pierced cup E by which the liquor is dis-
charged in the form of a shower into the closed tower. Steam or hot
water is admitted into the heater D by the pipe f, and allowed to cir-
culate around the tubes d, d. A small pipe g is applied to draw off the
condensed steam, when steam is the heating medium used, but when
treating sugar I find it preferable to use hot water, the temperature of
which will offer an obstacle to the overheating of the saccharine liquor,
that being a result that must be carefully guarded against as it injures
the yield of sugar. To adapt the heater D to receive hot water its
heating surfaces should be increased, and a discharge pipe will be
required. It will now be understood that when liquor has been
supplied to the apparatus, and the pump set in action, and steam or
hot water admitted to the heater, the liquor will be forced up the small
tubes d, d, of the heater, and these tubes being heated by being sur-
rounded by the steam or hot water the temperature of the liquor will
be rapidly raised to the required degree on its passage to the vacuum
tower. The heated liquor flowing up through the tubes d passes out
above the top tube plate, and entering the tube e is discharged through
the perforated cup-shaped distributor into the tower. The construction
and mode of fitting of this cup is shewn on an enlarged scale at Fig. 9.
Affixed to the end of the tube e is a circular plate, from the centre of
which depends a coiled spring e', and it is this spring which forms the
connection between the tube and the discharging cup. If the discharge
of the pumped-up liquor through the pierced holes should at any time
be unequal to the supply the spring will yield to the back pressure of
the liquid and allow a discharge over the lip of the cup, thus avoiding
injury to the apparatus. It will now be understood that as the heated
liquor is discharged in the form of a shower in vacuo a rapid evaporating
action will take place, the vapor generated being drawn off as quickly
as formed by the air pump connected with the vacuum chamber or
tower. As the liquor falls to the bottom of the tower it is drawn off by
the pump C, and again passed up through the heater, and discharged in
the form of a shower in vacuo, and this operation is repeated until the

page_text: desired degree of concentration is attained. The pan or bottom of the
tower I connect through the pipe a with one or more receivers, into
which the liquor when sufficiently concentrated is discharged (for
removal) by means of a suitable arrangement of pipes and taps.
Having now set forth the nature of my Invention of "Improvements 5
in the Evaporation of Liquids, and in Apparatus to be employed therein,"
and explained the manner of carrying the same into effect, I wish it to
be understood that under the above in part recited Letters Patent
I claim,-
First. Effecting the evaporation of liquids by discharging in the form 1
of a shower the liquor to be concentrated into an ascending current of
cold or heated air or into an exhausted chamber as above described.
And, secondly, constructing evaporating apparatus in the manner
above described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Robert Tooth, have hereunto set 1
my hand and scal, the Seventh day of September, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight.
ROBERT TOOTH. (L.S.)