IMPROVEMENTS IN PRECIPITATING THE MURIATE OF SODA FROM ITS SOLUTIONS IN WATER
Year: 1853

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Augustus Brackenbury, of Camden Town,
in the County of Middlesex, Gentleman, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN PRECIPITATING THE MURIATE OF SODA FROM ITS
SOLUTIONS IN WATER."
Sealed the 28th June 1858, and dated the 6th May 1858.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Augustus Bracken-
bury at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 6th May 1853.
I, AUGUSTUS BRACKENBURY, of Camden Town, in the County of
Middlesex, Gent", do hereby declare the nature of the said Inven-
tion for "IMPROVEMENTS IN PRECIPITATING THE MURIATE OF SODA FROM
ITS SOLUTIONS IN WATER" to be as follows:-
My Invention refers to the application of heated air or gas to effect
the precipitation of muriate of soda from its solution in water by the
evaporation of the aqueous part, and to the apparatus applied & adapted
for that purpose.
According to one arrangement I employ a open vessel of wood, or
other suitable material, to contain the solution, in which I place &

page_text: float a large disc of wood or other buoyant surface. An inverted
chamber occupies the centre of the disc, which chamber has the
under side open to the brine below the disc, all else being closed &
sufficiently tight for the purpose. A tube is erected from the bottom of
the containing vessel, & rises up into the inverted chamber, through
which tube heated air or gas is introduced, being forced by a fan pump
or other suitable means. The pressure of the air or gas thus forced
within the chest or chamber takes effect on the surface of the brine
rising therein, and depresses it below the under surface of the disc.
The air or gas then passes radially in all directions towards the
periphery of the disc, where it escapes into the atmosphere. The
heated medium is thus distributed in a thin film, and necessitated to
pass in close contiguity with a large area of the brine, by which the
aqueous part is rapidly carried off, causing the muriate of soda to be
precipitated to the bottom of the containing vessel. The air or gas is
lieated by passing it over ignited coke or charcoal or otherwise.
•
According to another mode of evaporating water holding muriate of
soda in solution I employ a rotating drum supported with its axis in a
horizontal position with the periphery dipping in the brine. The
periphery of the-drum is of cloth, which in its revolution absorbs &
carries up the liquid. The drum is otherwise enclosed, & I force in
heated air or gas through a tube at the centre on one side. The drum
is suitably supported by a shaft on the other side, on which it is caused
to rotate by the application of any suitable power thereto. Heated air
or gas being thus forced within the drum passes through the wetted
cloth in numerously divided streams, and thus mixes intimately with
the solution held in the cloth, and carries off the aqueous part. The
water being abstracted leaves the muriate of soda remaining on the
cloth, from which it is washed by the brine in the containing vessel
as the drum rotates and becomes precipitated to the bottom.
'Instead of introducing the heated medium as aforesaid the heat may
be generated in the drum. For this purpose I introduce a combustible
gas by a pipe in lieu of the air duct; this pipe has numerous small jets
which are igniteil within the drum, & raise the temperature as
required; this pipe being introduced at the centre .of. drum às before

page_text: explained, leaving a sufficient opening for the admission of the necessary
quantity of air to support combustion. The air thus rarefied ascends
in the drum, & escapes through the wetted periphery as before with
e similar result
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Augustus Brackenbury in the Great Seal Patent
Office, on the 4th November 1858.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,
AUGUSTUS BRACKENBURY, of Camden Town, in the County of Middlesex,
Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Sixth day of May, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-three, in the sixteenth
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said Augustus Brackenbury, Her special
licence that I, the said Augustus Brackenbury, my executors, admi-
nistrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Augustus
Brackenbury, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any
time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times
thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully
might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom
of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of
Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN PRECIPITATING THE MURIATE
OF SODA FROM ITS SOLUTIONS IN WATER," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said Augustus Brackenbury, by an instrument in
writing under my hand and seal, should particularly describe and
ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the
same was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the
Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and imme-
diately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Augustus Brackenbury, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same

page_text: is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in-and
by the following statement (that is to say):
My Invention of improvements in precipitating muriate of suda from
its solutions in water consists in the direct application of air or gas to
such solutions, whereby the aqueous parts is evaporated, and the muriate
of soda thus caused to precipitate.
In seperating muriate of soda from its solutions in water, hitherto, it
has been usual to place the solution in pans, and by the application of
heat to the pan or containing vessel so evaporate the aqueous portion;
in contradistinction to which I apply the heating medium direct to the
solution, without the intervention of any substance.
In carrying out my Invention several modes of operation may be
pursued; according to one method I place the solution in a wooden
tank or other vessel of large superficial area in order to expose a great
extent of surface, on which I cause the evaporating agent to take effect.
For this purpose I place a disc of wood or other plane surface so as to
float on the surface of the solution.
The specific gravity of wood renders it well adapted for the purpose,
but other materials may be used, taking care to render them sufficiently
buoyant in themselves or by counter balancing. The floating disc
should nearly equal the arca of the tank, and is made with an opening
in the centre, over which an inverted chamber is placed, and rises some
three feet above the disc. This chamber is rendered close above the
disc, the only ingress or egress being from below the disc or float. The
float rises and falls with the level of the solution, and should have
suitable guides to maintain its parallelism of motion, and keep it in its
position in the tank. A tube rises up from the bottom of the tank or
containing vessel into the inverted chamber, such tube being of
sufficient height as to be at all times above the surface of the solution.
This tube is for the purpose of introducing the heated air or gas which
is to effect the evaporation of the fluid. The air is heated to a proper
degree for evaporation by passing it through heated tubes, or over
coke or other suitable fires; it is then forced by pumps or other
suitable means through the rising tube in the tank into the inverted

page_text: chamber occupying the centre of the disc. The pressure thus created
in the chamber presses on the surface of the solution in the tank,
causing the disc or floating surface to rise, and the fluid in the chamber
to be depressed, until the air escapes below the disc. In this way the
5 air passes off radially in every direction from the inverted chamber, thus
spreading a thin film of heated air over the area of the tank, which air
is thus kept in close contact with the solution. The air having travelled
from the centre of the disc to the periphery escapes thence into the
atmosphere, and being thus kept in close contact with the solution for
a considerable time it rapidly absorbs and carries off the aqueous
portion thereof. The evaporation of the aqueous part necessarily
causes the muriate of soda to deposit in the bottom of the tank. By
continuing the action of the heated air the whole of the aqueous part
of the brine may be driven off with equal facility, the disc accommo-
dating itself to the varying level of the fluid always insures a uniform
effect. Instead of the ingress tube rising in the tank, the air may be
conducted through a flexible or sliding tube, carried in at the top of thic
dispersion chamber.
Another mode of evaporating water holding muriate of soda in
solution, according to my Invention, consists in the application of a
revolving drum for the purpose of exposing a thin film of the brine
to the action of the heated air or other vehicle of caloric. For this
purpose I place the solution of muriate of soda in a wooden or other
tank of suitable size, and erect over a drum, having its axis hori-
zontal, and in such elevation that the periphery of the drum dips
slightly into the brine below. The supply of brine should be regu-
lated so that it maintains as near as possible a uniform level in the
tauk, which in this case need not be of much greater area than the
space occupied by the drum. The drum is composed of two or more
circular discs or frames supported from the axis, and having suitable
stays between the peripheries of each. Woollen or cotton cloth is
stretched between the circular frames, and forms the periphery of the
drum, which dips into the solution. The sides of the drum are thus
enclosed, with the exception of an apperture in the centre on one side.

page_text: The drum should be overhung in its bearings from the opposite side.
A rotatory motion is given by its axis on one side, while a central
apperture is provided at the other, whereby to introduce heated air for
the purpose of evaporation as hereafter described. The air which may
be heated by passing through pipes, or over a coke or other incandescent
fire, is forced into the drum with a slight pressure, the drum having at
the same time a slow rotatory motion imparted to it while dipping in
the brine. The cloth of the periphery dipping in the tank becomes
saturated with and carries up a quantity of the brine, which, as it rises,
becomes exposed to the action of the heated air in the interior. The
rarefaction of the air, and the slight pressure exerted in its introduction
to the drum, causes it to ascend and pass through the meshes of the
cloth, during which it absorbs the aqueous part of the solution. which is
thus rapidly driven off, and the muriate of soda left in the cloth. As
the rotation of the drum progresses, this deposit of the salt will be
carried down into the solution below, becomes washed off, and deposits
in the bottom of the tank. The brine being thus acted on in very
small quantities, and exposing a large surface to the direct action of
heated air or other evaporating medium, great rapidity of evaporation is
effected. The motion of the drum, and the transmission of the heated
air, may readily be adjusted so as to utilize the whole of the heat.
Instead of introducing the heating medium into the drum as afore-
said, the heat may be generated in the drum by the combustion of
gas. The air duct remains as before for the admission of air to the
drum at the centre. The gas is admitted also at the centre by a suitable
pipe, and ignited at several small jets at a sufficient distance from the
upper part of the cloth periphery to prevent contact or injury by the
flame. The combustion of the gas rarefies and heats the air inside the
drum, which ascends through the saturated cloth with the effect before
described. The passage of the heated air may be facilitated by intro-
ducing the air to support combustion under a slight pressure by means
of a fan or other suitable apparatus.
.
Having described the nature of my Invention, and the manner
in which it is to be performed, I would have it understood that what I

page_text: claim is, the several modes and arrangements of apparatus for evaporating
the aqueous part of solutions of muriate of soda, and facilitating the
deposit of muriate of soda, as herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Augustus Brackenbury, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Fourth day of November, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-three.
AUGUSTUS BRACKENBURY. (L.S.)
Witness, W. CLARK.