Improvements in the Treatment of Locust Beans in order to Obtain Useful Products therefrom.
Year: 1894

page_text: This Print is in accordance with the Original Specification as it stands after
Amendment (under Section 11 of the Patents, &c. Act, 1883), as required by
the decision of the Comptroller General of the 21st day of February 1896.
Date of Application, 13th Nov., 1894
Complete Specification Left, 8th Aug., 1895-Accepted, 21st Sept., 1895
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Treatment of Locust Beans in order to Obtain
Useful Products therefrom.
We, CARL DANIEL EKMAN of 57 Old Broad Street in the City of London,
Chemical Engineer and CHARLES CHRISTIAN of 8 St. James' Square in the
County of London, Esquire, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
The object of this invention is to treat locust beans in such manner as to obtain
therefrom syrup or molasses suitable for use in the manufacture of certain kinds of
beers and ales and also for other purposes.
According to our invention we cut up or disintegrate the beans, then steep them
in cold or warm water, or boil them in water or subject them to the direct action
of steam for a sufficient length of time in either case to allow the water (or steam)
to properly penetrate the disintegrated beans and dissolve the extractive matters;
this process may be facilitated by stirring if necessary. The liquor is then allowed
to drain off or is separated from the beans by pressing or otherwise. The resulting
residue may be again steeped and treated as before, and the process may be
repeated until the beans are exhausted or spent. The liquor obtained is heated and
then evaporated to the required degree of concentration. Syrup or molasses is
thus obtained.
In carrying out the invention the working may be somewhat varied according to
circumstances and to the product desired but for general purposes it is preferred
to cut the beans into slices of say about one-eighth of an inch thick and place them
in a tank or vessel having a perforated false bottom and cover them with water;
they are left in the water for from 6 to 24 hours if cold water is used, but a
shorter time will suffice when hot water is used. Cold water at the temperature
of the surrounding air may be used if the temperature is not so high as to cause
fermentation before the extraction is finished. When the weather is warm very
cold or refrigerated water should be used, or the contents of the vessel may be
refrigerated sufficiently to prevent fermentation but fermentation can also be
prevented by using hot water.
The liquor from the first steeping is drawn off from the bottom of the steeping
tank and run into another tank heated by a steam coil or otherwise and a substance,
for improving the color is then preferably added such as sulphurous acid, bisulphite
of lime or bisulphite of magnesia. After being heated the liquor is filtered if
required. There is then added to the hot liquor, whether filtered or not a
substance preferably milk of lime, in sufficient quantity to cause the liquor to give

page_text: a strong alkaline reaction on red litmus paper and the heating is continued until a
precipitate is formed. The liquor is left to settle, the clear liquid drawn off and
the precipitate or mud passed through a filter press or otherwise treated so as to
separate the liquor it contains. The liquor thus separated as well as the clear
liquor previously drawn off can both be used for the production of syrup after
having been filtered or not as may be desired. The liquor is evaporated,
preferably in vacuum, to the desired concentration the product being syrup or
molasses.
In order to diminish the cost of evaporation it is best to evaporate only the first
or richer liquor from the beans and to use the weaker liquor for mixing with a
fresh quantity of beans. When working on a large manufacturing scale with the
beans cut into slices it is best to have a set or battery of say from 4 to 8 tanks so
arranged that the water can be supplied to the tank containing the most exhausted
beans and then passed successively from tank to tank to the tank last filled with
the beans, from which it is drawn in the state of rich liquor or juice.
Another good way of carrying out the invention is to grind the beans to a coarse
meal, mix them with water and stir the mass for one or two hours more or less and
then separate the liquor by a filter press in which the cakes can be washed with
water while in the press or they can be taken out and again mixed with water, this
water or the wash water being subsequently used for mixing with a fresh quantity
of bean meal. This process is completed so quickly that there is little risk of
fermentation.
23
The syrup obtained as above described contains a large amount of cane sugar."
If it be desired to obtain invert sugar or glucose the inversion can be effected in
any suitable way either before or after the evaporation.
The residue from the beans can be used as cattle food but when this is desired
it is well not to thoroughly exhaust the beans of saccharine matter.
Dated this 13th day of November 1894.
J. C. MEWBURN & ELLIS,
55 and 56 Chancery Lane, London, Patent Agents.
Improvements in the Treatment of Locust Beans, in order to Obtain
Useful Products therefrom.
We, CARL DANIEL EKMAN of 57 Old Broad Street in the City of London,
Chemical Engineer, and CHARLES CHRISTIAN of 8 St. James' Square in the
County of London, Esquire, 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 :-
The object of this invention is to treat locust beans in such manner as to obtain
therefrom syrup, molasses or extracts suitable for use in the manufacture of certain
kinds of beers and ales and also for other purposes, such for example as the
sweetening of liquids or of food products or for the preparation of glucose or other
similar products.
According to our invention we cut up or disintegrate the beans, then steep them
in.cold or warm water, or boil them in water or subject them to the direct action of
steam for a sufficient length of time in either case to allow the water (or steam)
to properly penetrate the disintegrated beans and dissolve the extractive matters;
this process may be facilitated by stirring if necessary. The liquor is then
allowed to drain off or is separated from the beans by pressing or otherwise. The

page_text: resulting residue may be again steeped and treated as before, and the process may
be repeated until the beans are exhausted or spent. The liquor obtained is heated
and then evaporated to the required degree of concentration. Syrup or molasses
is thus obtained.
In carrying out the invention the working may be somewhat varied according to
circumstances and to the product desired but for general purposes it is preferred.
to cut the beans into slices of say about one eighth to one quarter of an inch thick.
and place them in a tank or vessel having a perforated false bottom and cover.
them with water; they are left in the water for from 6 to 24 hours if cold water
is used but a shorter time will suffice when hot water is used or when a less
concentrated extract is required. Cold water at the temperature of the sur-
rounding air may be used if the temperature is not so high as to cause
fermentation before the extraction is finished. When the weather is warm very
cold or refrigerated water should be used or the contents of the vessel may be
refrigerated sufficiently to prevent fermentation but fermentation can also be
prevented by using hot water. In cutting the beans care should be taken not to
break the seeds or kernels because they contain a gum like substance which may
interfere with the further working, and as these seeds yield no saccharine matter
they are removed before submitting the beans to the extracting process.
The liquor from the first steeping is drawn off from the bottom of the steeping
tank and run into another tank heated by a steam coil or otherwise and a substance
for improving the color such as sulphurous acid, bisulphite of lime or bisulphite of
magnesia is preferably added before the heating. There is then added to the hot
liquor milk of lime or other suitable base (as for example a hydrate of magnesia,
alumina, barium or strontium) which will give an alkaline reaction and form a
precipitate and clarify the liquor by heating. We have found it desirable to heat
to 185° Fahrenheit or thereabouts. The milk of lime used must be sufficient to give a
strong alkaline reaction on red litmus paper and the heating is continued until no
more precipitate is formed. The liquor is left to settle, the clear liquid drawn off
aid the precipitate or mud passed through a filter press or otherwise treated so as
to separate the liquor it contains. The liquor thus separated as well as the clear
liquor previously drawn off can both be used for the production of syrup after
having been filtered or not as may be desired. The liquor is evaporated,
preferably in vacuum, to the desired concentration the product being syrup,
molasses or an extract.
In order to diminish the cost of evaporation it is best to evaporate only the first
or richer liquor from the beans and to use the weaker liquor for mixing with a fresh
quantity of beans. When working on a large manufacturing scale with the beans
cut into slices it is best to have a set or battery of say from 4 to 8 tanks so
arranged that the water can be supplied to the tank containing the most exhausted
beans and then passed successively from tank to tank to the tank last filled with
the beans, from which it is drawn in the state of rich liquor or juice.
Another good way of carrying out the invention is to grind the beans to a
coarse meal (the seeds being removed before the grinding) mix the ineal with water
and stir the mass for from one or two hours more or less and then separate the
liquor by a filter press in which the cakes can be washed with water while in the
press or they can be taken out and again mixed with water, and the mixture again
passed through the filter press and this operation may be repeated until the meal is
exhausted to the required degree. The water from the filter press or the wash
water can be subsequently used for mixing with a fresh quantity of bean meal.
This process can be completed so quickly that with ordinary care there is little risk
of fermentation.
"3
The syrup obtained as above described contains a large amount of "cane sugar."
If it be desired to obtain invert sugar or glucose the inversion can be effected in
any suitable way either before or after the evaporation.
The residue from the beans can be used as cattle food but when this is desired
it is well not to thoroughly exhaust the beans of saccharine matter.

page_text: 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 method or process of treating locust beans which consisting in first
disintegrating the beans then subjecting them to the action of water to dissolve
out the extractive matters, then separating from the residue of the beans the
liquor containing the extracted matters and then concentrating the liquor,
whereby syrup or molasses or an extract is obtained, substantially as hereinbefore
.described.
2. The method or process of treating locust beans which consists in first
disintegrating the beans then subjecting them to the action of water to dissolve
out the extractive matters, then separating from the residue of the beans the liquor
containing the extracted matters, then (with or without previously adding a color
improving substance to the liquor) heating the liquor and adding to it while hot a
substance which will precipitate suspended matters and clarify the liquor the
heating being continued until no more precipitate is formed, then, after the
precipitate has settled, drawing off the clear liquor and then concentrating
the liquor whereby syrup or molasses or an extract is obtained, substantially as
herein before described.
3. The treatment of locust beans substantially as hereinbefore described in order
to obtain useful products, therefrom.
Dated this 8th day of August 1895.
J. C. MEWBURN & ELLIS,
55 and 56 Chancery Lane, London, Chartered Patent Agents.