New or Improved Process and Apparatus for Purifying Liquids.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 9th Apr., 1894-Accepted, 25th May, 1894
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
New or Improved Process and Apparatus for Purifying Liquids.
We, LOUIS WAGNER, Machinist, of No. 707 Swan Street, and JOHN MARR,
Maltster, of No. 416 North Howard Street, both in Baltimore City, in the State of
Maryland, United States of America, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement :-
It is the object of our invention to effect the purification of liquids, especially
those designed for, or employed in the manufacture of beverages, such for example
as lager-beer, ale, porter, wines, water, etc.
This we effect by destroying the life of organisms in the liquid, promoting their
precipitation, and removing them from the liquid in the manner or by the improved
means hereinafter set forth and claimed.
In order to make our improvement more clearly understood, we have shown in
the accompanying drawings the means for carrying it into practical effect, with-
out, however, limiting the invention in its useful applications. to the particular
construction which, for the sake of illustration, we have delineated. In said
drawings:-
The figure is a sectional view on a vertical plane of an apparatus containing
certain features of, and adapted to carry out our invention.
Referring to the drawings, 1 indicates a casing comprising a base 2, preferably
formed of cast metal, a cylinder or barrel 3, which may be of sheet metal, a top
ring 4 and a removable cover 5, the latter being adapted to be secured when in
place by screw clamps 6. This casing for certain purposes of our invention we
prefer to make air and gas tight, but for all uses of the apparatus this is not
necessary. Exterior to the casing 1 and mounted upon a suitable flange of the
base 2 we provide a jacket 7 which may be of sheet metal, and which is adapted to
contain a brine or other means of cooling the casing and its contents.
8 is a vertical rotary shaft passing upwards through a stuffing box 9 in the center
of the base 2 and provided with a loose-pulley 10, adapted to be actuated by a
constantly running belt (not shown). Rotary motion is adapted to be communicated
to the said shaft at pleasure by means of a clutch member 11 rotating with the shaft
and adapted to be moved longitudinally thereon, and which may be caused to
engage the pulley 10 by means of a shifting lever 12 operated by a screw-threaded
rod 18 which passes through a bearing post 14 and is provided with a hand-wheel 15,
which latter also constitutes a screw-threaded nut engaging the end of the said rod and
resting upon the bearing post. Or an electric motor controlled by a switch in the
usual manner may be connected with said shaft.
The shaft 8 has fixed thereon a supporting collar 16 which rests upon the upper
end of a bearing 17 cast with or secured in the base 2. The upper end of the
shaft is preferably extended to such height as to find a support in a bearing 18 formed
in the cover 5.
19 is a vessel mounted upon the shaft 8 so as to be rotated thereby and situated
within the casing 1. A centrifugal force for certain purposes of our invention may
be produced in the liquid contained in this vessel by its rotation, whether or not the
vessel constitutes a filter or strainer or be provided with filtering or straining
means, but preferably the vessel 19 is so constructed as to perform the office not
only of causing such centrifugal forces to act in the contained liquid, but also so as
to filter or strain the latter. To this end its barrel or cylinder consists of a
perforated sheet metal casing 20, within which is supported a fine wire or other
sieve or strainer 21. The said parts 20 and 21 are secured to and supported by a
base plate 22 of cast metal, the center of which is formed with a hub 23 having a

page_text: groove 24. This hub fits over the shaft 8 so that the plate 22 rests upon the
collar 16 and the said groove 24 is engaged by a rib 25 secured in the shaft. At
their upper ends the parts 20 and 21 are provided with a strengthening ring 26,
having an inwardly extending retaining flange 27.
28 is a liquid gauge communicating with the upper and lower portions of the
casing 1 and adapted to indicate the height and character of the liquid therein,
which gauge is preferably provided at its upper end with a pressure gauge 29
adapted to indicate the air or gas pressure in the casing.
The pipe for the introduction of liquid within the casing is indicated at 30, which
passes through the cover 5 to a point near the bottom of and within the vessel 19.
At its outer end the pipe 30 is provided with a suitable coupling 31 by which it
inay be readily attached to or detached from the conduit (not shown) through
which the liquid is conveyed to the apparatus.
32 is a similar pipe passing through the cover 5 at another point or passing
through some other stationary portion of the casing 1, and adapted to deliver
within the casing such amount of sterilized air, or of carbonic acid gas, as may be
desired to maintain a considerable pressure upon the surface of the liquid which is
being treated. One important function of such pressure is to prevent the foaming,
aeration and expansion of the liquid while under the agitation produced by the
rotation of the vessel 19.
33 and 34 indicate positive and negative electrodes of carbon or other suitable
material, situated within the casing 1 and preferably within and at or near the
bottom of the vessel 19. These electrodes are supported by conductors 35, and the
latter by clamps 36 provided with insulating bushings 37 and secured upon
the pipes 32 and support 30. 38 indicates insulated conductors passing to the
conductors 35 through the cover 5, in which latter they are surrounded by insulating
plugs 39. These conductors receive a suitable current of electricity, say one of
one hundred volts, from any suitable generator, which latter is, indicated
diagrammatically at 40.
41 is a filter or strainer bed situated in the bottom of the casing 1. By
preference we provide said bed with a central sleeve 42 adapted to be passed over
the upper end of the bearing 17 and to rest upon a shoulder 43 thereof. The
outer edge of said bed rests upon suitable supports on the base 2. The filter bed
is in the form of a flat cylinder or ring, the upper and lower faces of which are
formed by perforated metal plates 44 held together by bolts 45 or other suitable
means. Between the plates 44 the filtering material is secured, consisting prefer-
ably of sponge cut into small pieces and packed tightly together but sufficiently
open to permit the free passing of the liquid to be operated upon.
The exit from the casing 1 is formed through the base 2 at 46, and all the
liquid admitted by the pipe 30 is compelled to pass through the filtering bed 41
before it reaches said exit. The pipe from the latter is adapted to conduct the liquid
to a cooling apparatus indicated diagrammatically at 47, and from thence through a
pipe 48 to such point as it is consumed, stored, or further treated.
By removing the cover 5 with its supported parts, and the vessel 19, the filter
bed 41 can be detached and its contained filtering material washed and cleaned.
To facilitate this operation we provide a receptacle 49 having a perforated
bottom 50 and a water supply pipe 51. Into this receptacle the filtering material
may be placed in suitable quantity and subjected to a stream of water from the
pipe 51.
52 is a plunger situated in the receptacle 49 and adapted to be
reciprocated up and down by a handle 53 with which it is connected by a link 54.
It will be understood that by the reciprocation of such plunger, a streain of water
being introduced at the same time, the filtering material will be thoroughly cleansed
and the impurities will pass away with the waste water through the perforations in
the bottom of the receptacle 50 and thence through the waste pipe 55.
In operation the casing 7 is charged with a suitable cooling material, the desired
current is conducted to the electrodes 33 and 34, and the fermented beer or other
liquid to be treated is conducted to the vessel 19 through the pipe 30. At the

page_text: same time the said vessel is rapidly revolved, say at a rate of one thousand
revolutions, and the liquid carried rapidly around in contact with the said
electrodes and also forced out against and through the straining or filtering walls
of the vessel. During this operation, deleterious organisms are destroyed and
their separation from the liquid facilitated, and such separation is effected first by
the filtering walls of the vessel and lastly by the filtering bed in the base of the
casing. The purified liquid then passes out through the pipe 46 for use or for
further treatment as may be desired.
We have shown in the drawings the method we prefer for supplying sterilized
air to the casing 1. Atmospheric air is forced by a pump 56 into a furnace 57
where it is highly heated to kill any germs. It then passes through a cooling
coil 58 into an air filter 59 the filtering bed of which is composed of some fibrous
material, such as cotton or small pieces of sponge, tightly packed, situated in a
vessel 60 adapted to be supplied with brine by a pipe 61. From this filter, where
the air is further cooled and purified, it passes in a sterilized condition directly into
the pipe 32, which conducts it to the casing 1.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is :-
1. The herein described process for the purification of liquids which consists in
subjecting the liquid to the simultaneous actions of centrifugal and electrical
forces, and filtering the liquid by the aid of the said centrifugal force, substantially
as set forth.
2. The herein described process for the purification of beer or other beverage,
consisting in filtering the same by centrifugal force, while under the action of
electrolytic force and under air or gas pressure, substantially as set forth.
3. In an apparatus for the purification of liquids, the combination of a rotary
perforated or straining vessel adapted to hold the liquid, electroues therein, and
means for rotating the vessel, substantially as set forth.
4. The combination of a rotary vessel adapted to hold the liquid, electrodes
therein, means for filtering the liquid, and mechanism for rotating the vessel,
substantially as set forth.
5. The combination of a casing, a rotary vessel therein, electrodes extending
through said casing into the vessel, mechanism for rotating said vessel, and filtering
or straining devices, substantially as set forth.
6. The combination of a casing, a rotary vessel therein having straining or
filtering means, electrodes in the vessel, a strainer or filter at the bottom of the
casing, and mechanism for rotating the vessel, substantially as set forth.
7. The combination of an air tight casing, electrodes and a rotary filtering or
straining vessel therein, means for supplying air or gas pressure to the surface
of the liquid in the casing or vessel, and mechanism for rotating the latter,
substantially as set forth.
8. As a means for washing filtering material the combination of the vessel 49
having the water supply and the perforated or equivalent bottom 50, and the
plunger 52, substantially as set forth.
9. The process for purifying liquids herein described when carried out by the
apparatus set forth and illustrated.
10. The apparatus for purifying liquids when constructed as described and
illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
Dated this 9th day of April 1894.
L. WAGNER,
J. MARR,
Per W. H. Beck,
Agent.