AN IMPROVED TITRATION APPARATUS FOR ALKALIMETRICAL AND ACIDIMETRICAL DETERMINATIONS
Year: 1884

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
I, CHARLES DENTON ABEL of N° 28 Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane in
the County of Middlesex, Consulting Engineer and Patent Agent, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVED TITRATION APPARATUS FOR
ALKALIMETRICAL AND ACIDIMETRICAL DETERMINATIONS and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following.
statement:-
This Invention has mainly for its object to provide simple and reliable means for
determining the alkalinicity of the saturation juices obtained in the manufacture of
sugar; the apparatus is also generally applicable for numerous other alkalimetrical
and acidimetrical or titration investigations.
In the accompanying Drawings, Fig. 1 shews the complete apparatus arranged
on a wooden stand. Several such apparatus might be arranged in a row in one
and the same stand. Fig. 2 shews the supply and discharge burette and cock
combined, in vertical section to an enlarged scale. Fig. 2 shews a sectional plan
of the plug of the cock in which the passages a and b communicate with the very
small vertical passage leading into the burette. Fig. 3 shews the scale of the
burette when the apparatus is used as an alkalimeter for sugar factories; to the
right of the vertical lines are divisions representing cubic centimeters and decimals
thereof up to 10-7; to the left are divisions representing percentages of lime, the
division indicating 0-30 p. c. of which coincides with the division indicating
10-7 cubic centimeters of normal acid..
The vessel A, which has a tubular opening, at top closed by a glass ground
stopper having a very minute opening, receives the titration liquid and is connected
at bottom by a tube D with a peculiarly constructed burette cock, the lower end
of which, forming the plug of the cock, has both a vertical passage and two side
passages a b. C is the wooden stand on which the apparatus is mounted, having
two side brackets for funnels H and one for a small bottle G, for Lachmus tincture
or Rosalie acid or other compound required for such investigations. The bottle
has at top a ground glass stopper with a minute opening, and at bottom, a tube
fitted in with a caoutchouc plug, and having a compression tap and a small
discharge orifice, the end of which extends almost into the titration pan E. The
tube D is fitted to the openings of the vessel A and cock B by means of caoutchouc
plugs. The pan E is of porcelain of about 10 centimeters diameter; F F are
gauged beakers of 10, 20, 50, or 100 cubic centimeters' capacity. H are glass
funnels for filtering.

page_text: The method of operating with this apparatus is as follows:-
The vessel A. being charged with the titration liquid (/10th normal acid) the plug
of the cock is turned one quarter round, to the right, whereby the liquid will flow
into the burette B, being allowed to rise therein to zero point of the scale; on then
further turning the plug one quarter round to the right, the supply is cut off.
Into the pan E are then introduced 20 cubic centimeters of the liquid to be tested,
such as saturation juice, and from the bottle G are introduced a few drops of
Lachmus by means of the compression tap. The plug of the cock B is then again
turned slowly one quarter round to the right until the titration liquid flows by
drops into the juice in the pan. On a change of color taking place, the plug is
again turned one quarter round to the right, cutting off the supply of liquid,
whereupon the scale of the burette B will indicate directly and accurately the
number of cubic centimeters (or of decimals thereof) of the acid used, and the
alkalinicity of the juice in 1/100 per cent. This operation can be repeated until
the receptacle A is empty. The scale of the burette may be variously modified
according to requirements.
The above described apparatus supplies a great want. In the present perfect
state of sugar manufacture, it is required that the alkalinicity of each charge of the
saturation pan
should be determined before running it off. A first and second,
and sometimes a third.saturation being employed, each of which produces in
24 hours about 100 charges, there are required 300 determinations of alkalinicity
daily, for which, up to the present time, no practically useful apparatus such as
could be manipulated rapidly and with accuracy, existed. By the above described
apparatus every kind of titration can be carried out, and the scale indicates the
alkalinicity of liquids, in particular of the saturation juices, directly in percentages,
and it can be readily used by workmen. The capacity of the vessel A is made
I such as to enable about 500 determinations to be niade."
If two such apparatus be arranged side by side on one board, the funnels Hon
the inner sides being omitted, and the one Lachmus bottle G serving for both
apparatus while the one vessel A. is charged with a titrated acid, and the other
with soda lye of corresponding per centage, such combined apparatus can then be
used for numerous alkalimetrical and acidimetrical investigations.
Having thus described the nature of this Invention and in what manner the
same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is :-
First. A titration apparatus for alkalimetrical or acidimetrical investigations ;
consisting of the vessel A charged with the normal acid or soda lye, or other liquid,
in combination with the burette cock B with graduated burette, the lower end of
which forms the plug of the cock, so that, by turning this round to a certain
extent, the burette is charged with liquid from the vessel A, and by turning it
farther round such liquid is made to flow into the pan E containing the liquid to
be treated.
Second. The burette B provided with a scale indicating the alkalinicity of
saturation juices directly in per centages, and having its lower end formed as the
plug of a cock having two side passages communicating with a very small vertical
passage in the burette whereby the discharge of the liquid by drops is rendered
possible.