in the Oxidation of Matters Suspended or Dissolved therein.
Year: 1885

page_text: in the Oxidation of Matters Suspended or Dissolved therein.
I, JAMES GRIEVE LORRAIN of 37 Brooke Street, Holborn, in the City of
London, Consulting Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of my invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE FILTRATION AND PURIFICATION OF FLUIDS AND
IN THE OXIDATION OF MATTERS SUSPENDED OR DISSOLVED THEREIN
" to be as
follows:-
My invention relates to the filtration and purification of fluids and to the
oxidation of matters therein.
"1
In carrying my invention into effect I take advantage of the phenomenon known
as "catalysis by which the combination of distinct bodies or the decomposition
of a compound is caused by the presence or contact of a body which has itself no
tendency to unite with either of the bodies which it causes to combine, or with the
compound whose decomposition it brings about, or with the components thereof,
but remains entirely unaffected by the actions which it effects. To bring about
this catalytic action I employ platinum, palladium or other body capable of pro-
ducing catalytic action, and preferably in a porous or finely divided state; for
example, if platinum be used, I prefer it in the form of "spongy platinum" or better
still in the form of "platinum black." In order to economise such a valuable sub-
stance as platinum and at the same time to obtain more extended surface I may
deposit it on the surface of a suitable porous material, as on carbon blocks, crushed
retort carbon, powdered charcoal, bone black; animal charcoal, carbonised tissue or
woven fabric, asbestos or asbestos cloth, unglazed earthenware, dried clay &c. I may
obtain spongy platinum by heating ammonium platinochloride 2 NH, Cl Pt Cl. or
by any of the other known methods, and platinum black I may obtain, amongst
other methods, by boiling a solution of platinous chloride Pt Cl, in potassic hydrate
with alcohol. One method of coating the carbon or other porous material with
platinum black is by dipping it in a 10 (ten) per cent solution of platinous chloride,
straining off and then heating to a dark red heat in a closed vessel. If the fluid
to be filtered or purified be a liquid I prefer to bring it in contact with the platinised
carbon or other material in such a manner that the whole of the platinised carbon
shall not be covered by or immersed in the liquid, but that some of it shall stand
out thereof and be only moist or wet, say be capillary attraction, so as the better

page_text: to absorb oxygen from the air. If the fluid to be filtered or purified be a gas or
air the platinised carbon or other material may either be dry or kept moist by
resting in a shallow vessel containing water so that the said platinised carbon or
other material may be always moist by capillarity. Or the gas itself may be
moistened by any suitable method before coming in contact with the platinised
carbon or other material.
The action of my invention is as follows-The platinised carbon not only acts
mechanically as a sieve to separate mechanically suspended matter, but by virtue
of its catalytic action it causes chemical combination between the oxygen of the
atmosphere, whether free or dissolved in the water or other liquid which it is
filtering, or in the film of water with which the platinised carbon is moistened,
and the matter which it is desired to oxidise. For example water or air containing
sewer gas in solution would be purified on filtration through the platinised carbon
by oxidation. The sewer gas and the oxygen would be condensed on the greatly
extended surface of the platinised carbon, or in the film of moisture covering it,
and combination thus induced by the bringing of their molecules within the sphere
of each others mutual attraction.
It is obvious that the moistening of air before passing it through the platinised
carbon would be similar in effect to passing the dry air through moist platinised
carbon.

page_text: improvements in the Filtration and Purification of Fluids and
in the Oxidation of Matters Suspended or Dissolved therein.
I, JAMES GRIEVE LORRAIN of 3 Vernon Chambers, Southampton Row, in the
county of Middlesex, formerly of 37 Brooke Street, Holborn, in the City of London,
Consulting Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of my invention for IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE FILTRATION AND PURIFICATION OF FLUIDS AND IN THE OXIDATION
OF MATTERS SUSPENDED OR DISSOLVED THEREIN, and in what manner the same is
to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-
My invention relates to the filtration and purification of fluids and to the
oxidation of matters therein. In carrying my invention into effect, I take advantage
of the phenomenon known as " Catalysis" by which the combination of distinct
bodies or the decomposition of a compound is caused by the presence or contact of
a body which has itself no tendency to unite with either of the bodies which it
causes to combine, or with the compound whose decomposition it brings about, or
with the components thereof, but remains entirely unaffected by the actions which
it effects. To bring about this catalytic action I employ platinum, palladium or
other metallic body capable of producing catalytic action, and preferably in a
porous or finely divided state in order that it may the more readily absorb air or
oxygen, for example, if platinum be used, I prefer it in the form of " "Spongy
platinum or better still in the form of "platinum black." In order to economise
such a valuable substance as platinum and at the same time to obtain extended
surface, I may deposit it on the surface of a suitable porous material as on carbon
blocks, crushed retort carbon, powdered charcoal, bone black, animal charcoal,
carbonised tissue or woven fabric, asbestos or asbestos cloth or other asbestos fabric
or tissue, unglazed earthenware, dried clay or the like.
"
When I employ carbon tissue or fabric covered with catalytic material I prefer
to place it between the folds of some other tissue or fabric such as asbestos cloth
for the sake of support. When I use a fabric or plates or sheets coated or impreg-
nated with catalytic material I frequently place such vertically or so inclined to
the horizontal that the liquid to be filtered or purified shall pass through laterally
and leave about one third or one fourth projecting above the surface of such
liquid.
In order to increase the effective surface of the filtering material, exposed to the
air or to the liquid, in the cases where I employ blocks sheets or similar masses
I prefer to provide such with corrugations, indentations, perforations or the like as
for example by adopting such forms as are used for increasing the active surface of
the plates in secondary electrical batteries.
I may obtain spongy platinum by any of the well known methods as for
example by beating ammonium platino-chloride 2 NH, CI, Pt Cl, and platinum
black I may obtain, amongst other well known methods, by boiling a solution of
platinous chloride Pt Cl₂ in potassic hydrate with alcohol,

page_text: One method of coating the carbon or other material with platinum black is by
dipping it in a 10 (ten) per cent solution of platinous chloride, straining off and
then heating to a dark red heat in a closed vessel.
If the fluid to be filtered or purified be a liquid I bring it in contact with the
platinised carbon or other material in such a manner that the whole of the platinised
carbon or other material shall not be covered by or immersed in the liquid, but
that some of it shall stand out thereof and be only moist or wet, say by capillary
attraction, so as the better to absorb oxygen from the air. For this purpose
I arrange that a considerable portion of the filtering material, preferably about
one third or one fourth shall project out of the liquid to be filtered or purified.
This exposed portion which is kept moist by capillarity seems to have the effect of
absorbing air or oxygen from the atmosphere and rapidly passing it to the sub-
merged portion where the oxygen may enter into combination with the oxidisable
matter in suspension or solution. The importance of a supply of fresh air to
the filtering material is thus indicated. To attain this end I employ suitable
arrangements of filtering apparatus some types of which I shall now proceed to
illustrate.
One such arrangement is to have the pipe, lip, spout, or edge through or over
which the liquid leaves the chamber containing the filtering material, so low that
overflow will take place before the liquid rises sufficiently to cover the filtering
material. Such an arrangement is diagrammatically represented in Figure 1, in
which A is the filtering material (in this case shown in the form of a block) shown
projecting above the level of the chamber B. It will be seen that the filtering
material cannot be submerged as the liquid will flow away over the lip or edge.
Another arrangement is to place the filtering material in a chamber out of which
the liquid is allowed to flow more quickly than it can enter for example by having
the admission pipe or orifice smaller than the exit or by other equivalent means,
due provision of course being made for the proper admission of air to the filtering
material. Such an arrangement is diagrammatically represented in Figure 2 in
which A is the filtering material. The liquid passes from the chamber B to the
filtering material by means of the two passages C and from it by means of the
five passages D. The top of the chamber containing the filtering material is in
this case shown open for free access of air. Another arrangement is to have a ball-
cock or other equivalent device to regulate the passage by or rate at which the
liquid flows to or from any part of the apparatus or to set a limit to the height to
which the liquid can rise by shutting off the supply. This arrangement is diagram-
matically represented in Figure 3 in which A is a ball-cock operating the valve B
in the inlet pipe C in such manner that the supply of liquid will be decreased and
finally cut off before its level can rise sufficiently high to submerge the filtering
material. In this figure the filtering material D forms a partition between the
chambers E and G the former containing the unfiltered liquid and the latter the
filtered liquid as shown. Another arrangement is to have two distinct chambers
connected to each other permanently or otherwise. One of these contains the
filtering material while the other contains the filtered or unfiltered liquid and I use
in connection with this arrangement any of the arrangements hereinbefore men-
tioned and diagrammatically represented in figures 1, 2 and 3 for the purpose of
preventing the entire submersion of the filtering material. Such an arrangement
is diagrammatically represented in Figure 4 in which the plan shown in Figure 1 is
utilised. A is the vessel containing the filtering material, B is a vessel containing
the liquid to be filtered, C a pipe connecting the two, and D an overflow lip in B
determining the level to which the liquid may rise in the vessel containing the
filtering material. This arrangement shows how the level of the liquid in the
chamber containing the filtering material is limited by the level in the other
chamber namely that containing the unfiltered liquid. Similarly the level in the
chamber containing the filtering material may be determined by the level of the
liquid in a separate chamber for the reception of the filtered liquid. Another

page_text: arrangement is to support the filtering material so that it will float on the liquid
and rise and fall with it thus preventing it from being totally immersed. This
arrangement is diagrammatically represented by Figure 5 in which A is the filtering
material in this instance shown of a cup-like form attached to the float B. The
metal extension C of the cup of filtering material overlaps the vessel D in such
manner that should the liquid to be filtered pass into the cup more quickly than it
can filter through it, the liquid will flow over the outside instead of inside the
vessel D. By another arrangement the filtering material is so disposed that it is
kept wholly above the level of the filtered liquid and a device employed by which
air will have access to the underside of the filtering material. In this case the
filtering material may be entirely covered above by unfiltered liquid. Such an
arrangement is diagrammatically represented by figure 6 in which A is the filtering
material separating the upper chamber B from the lower chamber C which latter
contains the filtered liquid. The maximum height of this in the chamber C is
determined by the spout E-D, D, D, D are orifices for the free admission of air to
the under surface of the filtering material.
It will be readily understood that I may combine any of the arrangements herein
referred to.
If the fluid to be filtered or purified be a gas or air the platinised carbon or other
material should preferably be kept moist as for example by resting in a shallow
vessel containing water so that the said platinised carbon or other material may be
kept moist by capillarity or by allowing water to drop upon or into the said
filtering material from above and so keeping it moist or by supplying it with steam
or vapour.
One such form of air filter is diagrammatically represented in Figure 7 in which A
is the filtering material the bottom of which is shown resting in the dish B con-
taining water. CCC are orifices in the walls of the case containing the filtering
material for the passage of the air to be filtered.
Or the air or gas itself may be moistened by any suitable method such as by
passing it through moistened fabrics or over the surface of water or by moistening it
by spray or by a steam jet or the like before coming in contact with the platinised
carbon or other material.
The action of my invention is as follows-The platinised carbon or other filtering
material as hereinbefore described not only acts mechanically as a sieve to separate
mechanically suspended matter but by virtue of its catalytic action it causes
chemical combustion or combination between the oxygen of the atmosphere whether
free or dissolved in the water or other liquid which it is filtering or in the film of
water with which the filtering material is moistened and the matter which it is
desired to oxidise. For example water or air containing sewer gas in solution
would be purified on filtration through the platinised carbon by oxidation of the
sewer gas. The sewer gas and the oxygen may be considered to be condensed on
the greatly extended surface of the platinised carbon or in the film of moisture
covering it and combination thus induced by the bringing of their molecules within
the sphere of each others mutual attraction.
It is obvious that the moistening of air before passing it through the platinised
carbon or other material would be similar in effect to passing the dry air through
moist platinised carbon.
I frequently prefer to strain by any of the well known methods the fluid to be
filtered so as to separate mechanically suspended matter before the fluid comes in
contact with the catalytic material.
My invention may be applied to the filtration and purification of water for
domestic purposes, to the purification of air at inlet ventilators, to the purification
of air passing from sewer pipes man-holes and the like, to the filtration of sugar
solutions or syrups, the purification of spirits, the discharging of dyeing solutions,
and generally to the purification of fluids from deleterious or other oxidisable
matter, and the oxidation of matters in fluids.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is
1. As a material for the filtration and purification of fluids and for the oxidation
of matters therein a catalytic metal or a material coated with a catalytic metal
arranged so as to absorb air or oxygen substantially as set forth.
2. In apparatus for the filtration and purification of liquids and for the oxidation
of matters therein by means of filtering material as herein described the arrange.
ments for preventing total submersion of the filtering material substantially as
described and as illustrated in figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6.
3. In an air filter or apparatus for purifying air or gas or for oxidising matter
therein the use of catalytic filtering material substantially as set forth.
4. In apparatus for the filtration and purification of air or gas or the oxidation
of matters therein by means of filtering material as berein specified the arrange-
ments for keeping the said filtering material moist or wet substantially as set forth.
5. In apparatus for the filtration and purification of gas or air or the oxidation
of matters therein by means of filtering material as herein specified the arrange-
ments for moistening the air or gas before passing it through the filtering material
substantially as described.