Decolorization of Sugar Liquor.
Year: 1885

page_text: Decolorization of Sugar Liquor.
I, WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the firm of Haseltine, Lake & Co, Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the
nature of my invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN AND RELATING TO APPARATUS
FOR EFFECTING THE DECOLORIZATION OF SUGAR LIQUOR," and in what manner the'
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by:
the following statement :-
The object of this invention is to provide for a continuous decolorizing operation.
in which all the sugar liquor which is passed through the filtering chamber is
subjected to uniform conditions with respect to the duration of its contact with a
definite quantity of bone-black, the total decolorizing power of which is maintained.
substantially unchanged by the gradual removal of the exhausted bone-black and
collected impurities from the bottom of the filtering chamber and the concurrent
feeding of fresh bone-black into the top of the filtering chamber.
In the type of apparatus to which the present improvements are applied, the
sugar liquor is introduced into the bottom of the filtering chamber under sufficient
pressure or head to enable it to make its way upward, through the column of bone-;
black contained in the filtering chamber, to the level of the outlets through which,
it escapes from the upper part of the filtering chamber.
The stratum of bone-black at the bottom of the column, with which the sugar
liquor is first brought into contact as it enters the filtering chamber, is that which.
Boonest becomes exhausted and hence requires to be removed. When all portions.
of the bottom stratum are removed at a uniform rate the column of bone-black
descends bodily by its own gravity, provided the horizontal area of the stratum
which is removed is equal to the greatest area of the column in horizontal section.
The present invention consists essentially of movable supporting and discharging.
mechanism upon which the column of bone-black contained in the filtering chamber
is supported at the bottom, and which, when appropriately moved, shears or cuts
off from the bottom of the column a stratum of bone-black of prescribed
thickness.
The discharging mechanism may have various forms, but the invention is not
departed from when the filtering chamber and the discharging mechanism are so
constructed relatively to each other that the discharging mechanism, when set in
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page_text: operation, effects the removal of the entire bottom stratum of a column which is of
uniform cross area from top to bottom.
The accompanying drawings represent these improvements applied to apparatus
for effecting the decolorization of sugar liquor by the process of upward filtration
through bone-black, of the kind in which the exhausted bone-black and collected
impurities removed from the bottom of the filtering chamber by the discharging
mechanism fall into an inclined receiving chamber, by which they are conducted to
the bottom of a well provided with a chain and bucket elevator for elevating the
exhausted bone-black and collected impurities from the bottom of the well and
discharging them from the top of the well upon a chute which is above the level
of the outlets through which the sugar liquor is discharged from the filtering
chamber.
The sugar liquor is supplied to the apparatus through a service pipe which is
introduced into the well at a suitable distance below the chute, and the elevator
buckets are made of wire gauze, or are so perforated that the sugar liquor may
drain from them during the latter part of their upward journey. Thus the sugar
liquor passes down the well and upward through the filtering chamber..
In the said drawings,
•
Figure 1 is a vertical section centrally intersecting the filtering and receiving
chambers and the well provided with the chain and bucket elevator.
Figure 2 is a top view.
Figure 3 is a horizontal section on the line x-x Figure 1.
Figures 4 and 5 are vertical sections of the supporter and discharger, taken
at right angles to each other on the lines y-y Figure 3, and - Figure 4
respectively.
The filtering chamber A may be circular, or, as represented in the drawings it
may be rectangular in horizontal section. In either event it surmounts a receiving
chamber B, which, at its upper end, is of greater area in cross section in order that
it may contain the supporter and discharger C, which is adapted to be reciprocated
in a horizontal path.
The supporter and discharger, as represented is in the form of a rectangular grate,
provided with parallel bars c, c, c &c, the upper portions of which bars incline
laterally in the same direction and terminate in sharp cutting edges c', c', c¹, &c.
Although not absolutely essential, it is preferred to have the cutting edges of the
grate bars all terminate in a plane which is slightly inclined from the horizontal in
a direction the opposite to that in which the upper portion of the grate bars are
inclined, so that the cutting edge of each grate bar starting from one side of the
grate to the other is a prescribed distance higher than the edge of the next
adjoining grate bar.
This difference between the levels of two adjoining grate bars influences the
thickness of the chips of stratum of bone-black which is cut off from the bottom
of the column by the forward movement of the grate.
To the end that there may be a uniform rate of removal from all portions of the
bottom of the column of bone-black, the cutting edges of the grate bars are made
to be equidistant from each other, and the grate is made to have a range of
reciprocating motion equal to the distance between the cutting edges of two
adjoining grate bars.
The side members D of the grate frame are each provided with rollers or
wheels d, d, d, which run on horizontal tracks d', d'affixed to the walls of the
receiving chamber B.
The tops of the side members D, D of the grate frame fit loosely, under the
lateral extensions of the shell, which extensions constitute the tops b, b of the
front and rear portions of the receiving chamber. Similarly the tops of the end
members E, E¹ of the grate frame fit under the lateral extensions which constitute
the tops e e¹ of the side portions of the receiving chamber.
A shield * extends horizontally from the top of the end member E of the grate
frame to the cutting edge.³ of the adjoining grate bar, which, as will be seen, is

page_text: the highest cutting edge. The object of this shield is to prevent, during the
movement of the grate, any fall of bone-black behind the cutting edge e³.
The inner side of the end member E¹ of the frame is chamfored, as shown, and
the top of the end member E¹ is the same distance lower than the cutting edge of
the grate bar which adjoins it as that cutting edge is below the level of the cutting
edge of the next adjoining grate bar.
The proportions observed in constructing and arranging the grate bars and
filtering chamber are such that when the inner edge of the top of the end
member E of the frame stands in vertical alignment with the inner surface of the
side wall of the filtering chamber on one side, the cutting edge of the grate bar
adjoining the end member E¹ of the grate frame stands in vertical alignment with
the inner surface of the opposite side wall of the filtering chamber, and these
positions are occupied at the commencement of the forward or cutting movement
of the grate, which in view of the special functions it performa, I have referred to
as the supporter and discharger.
To effect the movement of the grate the end member E of the frame is provided
with two rods F, F, which project outwardly through stuffing boxes F¹, F¹ arranged
in the wall of the receiving chamber.
The outer ends of the bars F, F, are affixed respectively to the yokes f, f.
Each of the yokes has parallel vertical sides and is adapted to receive one of the
vertically sliding boxes G, G, which are perforated to afford the bearings for the
eccentrics G¹, G³, respectively. The eccentrics G², G₁ are affixed to the horizontal
shaft g, to which power is applied for the purpose of rotating the eccentrics and .
thereby imparting reciprocating motion to the grate.
It will be understood that other well known mechanical means may be substituted
for the eccentrics for effecting the reciprocating movement of the grate or supporter
and discharger.
"
The other appurtenances of the apparatus illustrated in the drawings do not in
themselves constitute any portion of the present invention, but are shown for
illustrating the relation which they sustain to the supporting and discharging
mechanism.
These appurtenances consist of the well H with the bottom of which the
downwardly and laterally inclined receiving chamber B communicates, and which
is provided with the chain and bucket elevator 'H' for elevating the exhausted
bone-black and collected impurities from the bottom of the well and discharging
them upon the inclined chute H' at the top of the well, by which chute they are
conducted to a prescribed depository. Also of the service pipe I, for supplying
the sugar liquor which is to be decolorized and which is inserted into the well at a
suitable distance above the chute H. Also of the discharger troughs J and their
shields J, which transversely intersect the column of bone-black at the elevation
at which it is desired to effect the discharge of the sugar liquor from the filtering
chamber; and finally of the upward extension A¹ of the filtering chamber, which
is made sufficiently high to contain a prescribed quantity of fresh bone-black, the
weight of which suitably compresses the lower portion of the column through
which the sugar liquor is forced, and which also serves to continuously supply the
quantity of fresh bone-black required to compensate for the quantity of exhausted
bone-black removed from the bottom of the column by the operation of the
supporting and discharging instrumentality.
For convenience of reference, that portion of the vessel, into which the fresh
bone-black is introduced, which is beneath the discharge troughs J, and above
the supporting and discharging mechanism is herein designated as the filtering
chamber A". It will be seen that the column of bone-black contained in the
filtering chamber is of uniform cross area from top to bottom, and that the
supporting and discharging mechanism is adapted to remove from the column its
entire bottom stratum.
If in constructing apparatus of very large dimensions it should be found
necessary to strengthen the grate frame and bars, an intermediate girder D¹ may

page_text: be introduced, as shown in transverse section in Figure 5, in which, it will be seen,
the intermediate girder is of less depth than the grate bars, and at the top is
rounded or chamfered on both sides so that there will be no lodgement upon it of
the exhausted bone-black removed by those portions of the cutting edges of the
grate bars which are immediately above it.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed as communicated to
me by my foreign Correspondent, I declare that what I claim is
First. In apparatus for effecting the decolorization of sugar liquor by the process
of upward filtration through bone-black, a filtering chamber for containing a
column of bone-black of uniform area in cross section from top to bottom, and
a movable supporting and discharging mechanism whose area of action equals
the cross area of said column; and means for imparting movement to the said
supporting and discharging mechanism for removing from the lower end of the said
column a stratum of bone-black of prescribed uniform depth.
Second. The combination with the filtering chamber All and the receiving
chamber B, of the horizontally reciprocating supporting and discharging mechanism
herein described, the same consisting of a grate the bars of which are set parallel
to, and equidistant from, each other, and have their upper portions inclined laterally
in the same direction.
Third. A reciprocating supporting and discharging mechanism consisting of a
grate, the bars of which are set parallel to and are equidistant from each other,
and have their upper portions inclined laterally and formed into cutting edges
terminating in a plane inclined in the direction opposite to the direction in which
the upper portions of the grate bars are inclined.
Fourth. The supporting and discharging mechanism herein described provided
with the shield e³, as, and for the purpose, set forth.
Fifth. In a supporting and discharging mechanism substantially such as herein
described, the girder D having its upper surface rounded or chamfered, as, and for
the purpose, set forth.
Sixth. In apparatus for effecting the decolorization of sugar liquor by the process
of upward filtration through bone-black, the combination, as herein set forth, of a
filtering chamber for containing a solid column of bone-black of uniform area in
cross section from top to bottom; a supporting and discharging mechanism, for
supporting said column; outlets for the escape of the sugar liquor from the filtering
chamber at a prescribed elevation above the said supporting and discharging
mechanism; means for supplying fresh bone-black at the top of the filtering
chamber; & receiving chamber for receiving the exhausted bone-black and collected
impurities discharged from the filtering chamber; means for removing the said
exhausted bone-black and impurities from the said receiving chamber; and means
for introducing into the receiving chamber sugar liquor under sufficient pressure or
head to enable it to make its way upward through the column of bone-black
contained in the filtering chamber and to escape therefrom through the aforesaid
outlets.