Manufacture of Spirits.
Year: 1885

page_text: 27
Manufacture of Spirits.
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 OR RELATING TO THE TREATMENT OF
MAIZE IN THE MANUFACTURE OF SPIRITS to be as follows:-
"
This invention relates to improvements in the treatment of Indian corn or maize'
in the manufacture of distilled spirits, whereby a starch meal is produced from the
maize in a simple and economical manner, which starch meal is substantially free
from impurities, and is employed for producing pure distilled spirits.
A kernel of Indian corn or maize consists of three principal parts, viz:-the
inner portion or body which consists principally of starch cells; the outer enclosing
hull and its glutinous lining which consist of wood fibre, nitrogenous compounds,
albumen and oil, which are useful for cattle food; and the germ which is located
at the cob end of the kernel, and is very rich in oil, the latter constituting about
seventy per cent of its component parts.
In manufacturing distilled spirits from maize it has heretofore been the general
practice to crush or grind the grain, and to mash, ferment and distill all the
constituent parts of the crusbed or ground grain together, whereby a large amount
of impurities or deleterious substances contained in or emanating from, the hulls
and germs are mixed with the spirits from which they must be afterwards
removed, partly by rectification, and in the case of the more volatile impurities
such as fusel-oil, by the slow process of aging. It has also been customary in
some localities to strain the mash before fermenting, thereby removing the hulls
and other coarse particles from the wort or liquid to be fermented, whereby said
objectionable results are to a certain extent avoided, without however avoiding
the effects of the more finely reduced portions of the hulls and germs which cannot
be strained out, and of the oily ingredients which have become mixed with the
liquid and which will produce the above mentioned difficulties.
It has also been proposed to manufacture distilled spirits from starch made in
the usual manner, but this is impracticable because such starch is very expensive

page_text: and the quantity of starch so obtained from a given quantity of maize does not
produce even the ordinary yield of spirits which is obtained from a given quantity
of maize by the ordinary methods.
The object of this invention is to avoid these difficulties by thoroughly removing
the hulls and the germs from the starch granules before developing or mashing the
starch.
In practising this invention, the maize is first steeped in a suitable tank at a
temperature of about 140 degrees Fahrenheit, for about fifteen hours, whereby the
kernels become expanded or swelled. This temperature is maintained by renewing
the water from time to time from a hot-water tank. When the maize has been
steeped it will be found that by the combined action of the heat and moisture the
starchy body of each kernel has become enlarged and soft; that the germ has
become similarly enlarged and tends to separate itself, by reason of its oily
character, from the surrounding portions of the starchy body which has absorbed
water, and that the hull has become tough and tends to separate with its glutinous
lining from the starchy body and the oily germ. In steeping the maize care must
be taken that the temperature does not rise to 155 degrees Fahrenheit, at which
temperature the sacks of the starch cells begin to burst and discharge their contents,
which will then adhere to the hulls and germs and render the subsequent separation
of the parts difficult, if not impossible. In order to facilitate this separation, cold
water is introduced into the steeping tank after the operation of steeping is
completed, whereby the maize is chilled, and the hulls are still further toughened
and the oily germs further loosened from the surrounding portions of the starchy
bodies. The cold water also operates to cool the maize before it is fed to the
reducing machine. The water is next permitted to drain off thoroughly from the
steeped maize, a period of five hours being usually allowed for this purpose.
The steeped maize, after having been thoroughly drained, is next subjected to
the action of a reducing machine, consisting preferably of several concentric rows
of beaters or whippers revolving at a high speed in opposite directions within an
enclosing case. The maize enters the machine through a feed spout near the centre,
and after having been acted upon by the beaters, it escapes through a discharge
spout. In order to facilitate the discharge of the reduced material from this
machine the outer row of beaters is provided with one or more scrapers which
prevent the material from adhering to the inner side of the enclosing case of the
machine. In this machine the steeped maize is whipped or beaten, whereby the hulls
are opened and stripped in large flakes from the inner starchy bodies and from the
germs, the starchy bodies being at the same time reduced to fine granules, while the
germs are detached from the starchy portions and hulls without being pulverized.
The steeped kernels are in this manner reduced into three distinct products, viz :—
the finely granulated starchy, portions, the germs which are considerably larger
than these granules, and the still larger flakes of bulls and their glutinous linings.
This distinguishes' this method of reduction from grinding or crushing operations
in which all the constituent parts of the kernels are to a certain extent pulverized
and commingled. It will be obvious that the maize is reduced in the moist con-
dition in which it comes from the steep and that no water is added in the reducing
machine.
The rapidly rotating beaters of the reducing machine keep the material in
agitation while passing through the machine and at the same time drive an air
current through the machine with the material, whereby the latter is partially
dried and relieved from a portion of the moisture which it has absorbed in the
steep. This facilitates the operation of detaching the starch particles from the
germs and hulls and also serves to cool the material, so that the meal, hulls and
germs are separated in a cool state. The drying effect due to the operation of the
reducing machine itself may be supplemented by an air current directed into the
machine by a suitable fan.
The reduced material is discharged from the machine into the foot of an elevator
and is discharged from the head of the elevator into a receiving hopper.

page_text: The reduced material is next sifted so as to separate the fine starchy portions
from the hulls and germs. This is effected by a suitable vibrating or rolling screen
which receives the material from the hopper and is preferably clothed for about
two thirds of its length from its head with fine wire cloth, which permits the
starch granules to pass through while it retains the germs and hulls; and for the
remainder of its length with coarse wire cloth, which permits the germs to pass
through while the hulls escape over the tail of the screen.
A receiver collects the meal which passes through the upper finely clothed
portion of the screen, a second receiver collects the germs passing through the
lower coarsely clothed portion of the screen, and a third receiver collects the hulls
which escape over the tail of the screen. The second and third receivers are
separated by a movable partition which can be placed vertically, when it is desired
to collect the germs separately, and which can be inclined when it is desired to mix
the germs with the hulls.
If it is desired to reduce the meal to a higher degree of fineness, this may be
done by a second reducing. mill, which receives the meal from the first receiver.
The mill preferably employed for this purpose is known as the "Bogardus" mill
and consists essentially of two serrated or.
.grooved discs having a slight excentric
movement with reference to each other, whereby the gumming or clogging up of
the discs by the meal is avoided. A fourth receiver receives the ground meal from
the said second reducing mill, and a conveyor is provided whereby the ground
meal is conducted to a fifth receiver from which it is elevated by an elevator to a
receiving hopper.
A supplementary reducing machine is provided constructed like the first reducing
machine in which the steeped grain is reduced, and receiving the hulls or germs, or
both, from the second and third receivers for the purpose of detaching from these
products of the separation any starch particles which may adhere to the same, if
such further treatment is necessary or desirable. The reduced material coming
from the supplementary machine is conducted by an elevator into a hopper from
which it is directed upon a separating screen which is arranged on one side of the
screen and which effects a separation of the detached meal from the germs and
hulls, the meal passing into the first receiver and the germs and. hulls into the sixth
and seventh receivers. The latter receivers are separated by a movable partition
so that the germs and hulls can be directed into one or the other receiver and both
products commingled or collected separately as may be preferred.
A closed developing tank or vessel receives the meal from an elevator hopper, in
which tank the meal is boiled under pressure and at a high temperature for the
purpose of developing the starch and preparing the same for mashing. The said
tank is provided with a revolving agitator or stirrer and with suitable steam pipes,
a safety valve and a pressure gauge for regulating the process of developing the
starch. In this tank the meal is mixed with water and boiled under a pressure of
about 40 pounds to the square inch for several hours until the starch has been
fully developed. The process of developing the starch proceeds rapidly, and
uniformly, because the meal under treatment has been freed from the coarse refuse,
and consists of fine starch granules of uniform size, whereby the heat is enabled to
act uniformly upon all the starch particles under treatment, thereby preventing the
formation of lumps or aggregations of partly developed starch, and rendering the
mixture much less liable to be scorched or burnt, which latter condition is fatal to
a successful prosecution of the subsequent operations of distilling.
A mash tub receives the developed starch liquid from the developing tank
through a pipe in which tub the starch is mashed by the addition of rye at a
temperature of about 150 degrees Fahrenheit and the subsequent addition of malt
at a temperature of about 135 degrees Falrrenheit. Fermenting tubs in which the
mash is fermented by the addition of yeast receive the mash from the mash tub.
The fermented beer derived from the fermenting tubs is distilled in a still of any
ordinary or suitable construction,

page_text: If it is desired not to use the closed developing tank the meal may be mashed in
an open mash tub or tank in the usual manner.
By using this improved meal instead of the whole grain the following important
advantages are gained.
The liberation of fusel-oil and other deleterious substances, which result mainly
from the presence of the germs and hulls in the mashed, fermented and distilled
material, is avoided and the spirits produced are free from such substances. During
the process of mashing, the material under treatment consists of a meal composed
of granules of uniform size or thickness, whereby the development of the starch
proceeds uniformly and produces a uniform product, not containing lumps or
'aggregations of partly developed starch to any considerable extent. During the
process of fermenting, the absence of the coarse hulls equalizes and facilitates the
action of the ferment upon the material under treatment and avoids great changes
of temperature during fermentation, thereby permitting the temperature of the
fermenting material to be kept closely to the maximum point, without danger of
acetic acid being formed thus increasing the yield. During the process of
distillation, the absence of the coarse hulls or solid material enables the alcohol to
pass over into the coil more readily, thereby permitting the distillation to be
carried on less violently or at a lower temperature, whereby the liability of the
alcohol carrying impurities with it is correspondingly reduced. The absence of
the coarse hulls avoids the loss of alcohol by the hulls absorbing a portion of the
same and conveying it into the slops, and prevents the action of the steam in the
still from being retarded, the said hulls tending to adhere to the sides of the still
and conduit pipes, thereby necessitating the employment of more steam and power
to move the material than is required in the present process, in which the bulk of
the material to be treated is greatly reduced, whereby the size and capacity of the
apparatus can be correspondingly reduced. The spirits produced are of better
quality and will be fit for consumption in less time than heretofore. The hulls
and germs being but slightly moist, can be kept a considerable length of time
without souring, and if not required for immediate consumption can be dried at
small expense and stored or shipped. The hulls and germs form a desirable food
for cattle, milch cows, horses, pigs and other animals, and may be mixed for that
purpose, or the germs may be pressed to extract the oil which is suitable for many
uses and the oil cakes may be used as feed, the loss and inconvenience often
attending the production of large unsaleable quantities of slops are thereby avoided.
It is obvious that the arrangement of the parts of the apparatus may be modified
in accordance with the space at disposal and the general form or character of the
building in which it is placed.

page_text: Manufacture of Spirits.
I, WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the firm of Haseltine, Lake, and Co, Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature
of my invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN OR RELATING TO THE TREATMENT OF
MAIZE IN THE MANUFACTURE OF SPIRITS" and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-
This invention relates to the treatment of Indian corn or maize in the manu-
facture of distilled spirits, whereby a starch meal is produced from the maize in a
simple and economical manner, which starch meal is substantially free from
impurities, and is employed for producing pure distilled spirits.
A kernel of Indian corn or maize consists of three principal parts, viz: the inner
portion or body which consists principally of starch cells; the outer enclosing hull
and its glutinous lining consisting of wood fibre, nitrogenous compounds, albumen
and oil, which are useful for cattle food; and the germ which is located at the cob
end of the kernel, and is very rich in oil, the latter constituting about seventy per
cent. of its component parts.
In manufacturing distilled spirits from maize, it has heretofore been the general
practice to crush or grind the grain, and to mash, ferment and distil all the con-
stituent parts of the crushed or ground grain together, whereby a large amount of
impurities or deleterious substances contained in, or emanating from, the hulls and
germs are mixed with the spirits, from which they must be afterwards removed,
partly by rectification, and, in the case of the more volatile impurities, such as
fusel-oil, by the slow process of ageing. It has also been customary, in some
localities, to strain the mash before fermenting, thereby removing the hulls and
other coarse particles from the wort or liquid to be fermented, whereby said
objectionable results are, to a certain extent, avoided, without, however, avoiding
the effects of the more finely reduced portions of the hulls and germs which cannot
be strained out, and of the oily ingredients which have become mixed with the
liquid, and which will produce the above mentioned difficulties.
It has also been proposed to manufacture distilled spirits from starch made in
the usual manner, but this is impracticable because such starch is very expensive
and the quantity of starch so obtained from a given quantity of maize does not
produce even the ordinary yield of spirits which is obtained from the same quantity
of maize by the ordinary methods.
The object of this invention is to avoid these difficulties by thoroughly removing
the hulls and the germs from the starch granules before developing or mashing
the starch.
thi
In the accompanying drawing,
Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional elevation of a plant of machinery by which

page_text: Figure 2 is a longitudinal sectional elevation of the reducing machine.
Figure 3 is a vertical cross section of the same.
Figure 4 is a top plan view of the separating sieves.
Figure 5 is a vertical section on line x, x, Figure 4.
Figure 6 is a sectional view of a kernel of maize on an enlarged scale.
Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several Figures.
According to this invention, the maize is first steeped in a suitable tank A at a
temperature of about 140 degrees Fahrenheit, for about fifteen hours, whereby the
kernels become expanded or swelled. The temperature is maintained by renewing
the water from time to time from a hot-water tank B. When the maize has been
steeped, it will be found that, by the combined action of the heat and moisture, the
starchy body S of each kernel has become enlarged, and soft; that the germ T has
become similarly enlarged and tends to separate itself, by reason of its oily
character, from the surrounding portions of the starchy body which has absorbed
water, and that the hull U has become tough and tends to separate with its
glutinous lining from the starchy body and the oily germ. In steeping the maize,
care must be taken that the temperature does not rise to 155 degrees Fahrenheit,
at which temperature the sacks of the starch cells begin to burst and discharge
their contents, which will then adhere to the hulls and germs and render the
subsequent separation of the parts difficult, if not impossible. In order to facilitate
this separation, cold water is introduced into the steeping tank A, after the
opération of steeping is completed, whereby the maize is chilled, and the hulls are
still further toughened and the oily germs further loosened from the surrounding
portions of the starchy bodies. The cold water also operates to cool the maize
before it is fed to the reducing machine. The water is next permitted to drain off
thoroughly from the steeped maize, a period of five hours being usually allowed
for this purpose.
The steeped maize, after having been thoroughly drained, is next subjected to
the action of a reducing machine, C, consisting preferably of several concentric
rows of beaters or whippers c revolving at a high speed in opposite directions
within an enclosing case c¹. The maize enters the machine through a feed
spout near the centre, and, after having been acted upon by the beaters, it escapes
through the discharge spout c³. In order to facilitate the discharge of the reduced
material from this machine, the outer row of beaters is provided with one or more
scrapers c, which prevent the material from adhering to the inner side of the
enclosing case of the machine. In this machine, the steeped maize is whipped or
beaten, whereby the hulls are opened and stripped in large flakes from the inner
starchy, bodies and from the germs, the starchy bodies being at the same time
reduced to fine granules, while the germs are detached from the starchy portions
and hulls without being pulverized. The steeped kernels are in this manner
reduced into three distinct products, viz:-the finely granulated starchy portions,
the germs which are considerably larger than these granules, and the still larger
flakes of hulls and their glutinous linings. This distinguishes this method of
reduction from grinding or crushing operations in which all the constituent parts
of the kernels are, to a certain extent, pulverized and commingled. It will be
observed that the maize is reduced in the moist condition in which it comes from
the steep and that no water is added in the reducing machine.
The rapidly rotating beaters of the reducing machine keep the material in
agitation while passing through the machine, and, at the same time, drive an air
current through the machine with the material, whereby the latter is partially
dried and relieved from a portion of the moisture which it has absorbed in the
steep. This facilitates the operation of detaching the starch particles from the
germs and hulls, and also serves to cool the material, so that the meal, hulls and
germs are separated in a cool state. The drying effect due to the operation of the
reducing machine itself may be supplemented by an air current directed into the
machine by a suitable fan.

page_text: The reduced material is discharged from the machine C into the foot of an
elevator D, and is discharged from the head of the said elevator into a receiving
hopper E.
The reduced material is next sifted so as to separate the fine starchy portions
from the hulls and germs. This is effected by a suitable vibrating or rolling
screen F, which receives the material from the hopper E and is preferably clothed
for about two-thirds of its length from its head with fine wire cloth, which permits
the starch granules to pass through, while it retains the germs. and hulls; and, for
the remainder of its length, with coarse wire cloth, which permits the germs to
pass through, while the hulls escape over the tail of the screen.
G represents a receiver which collects the meal which passes through the upper
finely clothed portion of the screen F; H a receiver which collects the germs
passing through the lower coarsely clothed portion of the screen, and I a receiver
which collects the hulls escaping over the tail of the screen. The receivers H
and I are separated by a movable partition which can be placed vertically, as
shown in full lines in Figure 1, when it is desired to collect the germs separately;
and which can be inclined, as shown in dotted lines, when it is desired to mix the
germs with the hulls.
If it is desired to reduce the meal to a higher degree of fineness, this may be done
by a suitable mill K, which receives the meal from the receiver G. The mill preferably
employed for this purpose is known as the "Bogardus " mill, and consists essentially
of two serrated or grooved discs having a slight eccentric movement with reference
to each other, whereby the gumming or clogging up of the discs by the meal is
avoided. L is a receiver, which receives the ground meal from the mill K, and
M is a conveyor whereby the ground meal is conducted to a final receiver M¹, from
which it is elevated by an elevator P to a receiving hopper P¹.
N is a supplementary reducing machine constructed like the machine C in which
the steeped grain is reduced, and receiving the hulls or germs or both, from the
hoppers H and I for the purpose of detaching from these products of the separation,
any starch particles which may adhere to the same, if such further treatment is
necessary or desirable. The reduced material coming from the machine N is con-
ducted by an elevator O into a hopper E', from which it is directed upon a separating
screen F arranged on one side of the screen F, and which effects a separation of
the detached meal from the germs and hulls, the meal passing into the receiver G
and the germs and hulls into receivers H¹ and I'. The receivers H¹ and I' are also
separated by a movable partition h¹, so that the germs and hulls can be directed
into the receivers H¹ or I¹ and both products be commingled, or collected separately,
as may be preferred.
Q represents a closed developing tank or vessel, which receives the meal from
the hopper P, and in which the meal is boiled under pressure and at a high tem-
perature for the purpose of developing the starch and preparing the same for
mashing. The tank Q is provided with a revolving agitator or stirrer and with
suitable steam pipes, a safety-valve, and a pressure-gauge for regulating the process
of developing the starch. In this tank, the meal is mixed with water and boiled
under a pressure of about 40 pounds to the square inch for several hours, until the
starch has been fully developed. The process of developing the starch proceeds
rapidly and uniformly because the meal under treatment has been freed from the
coarse refuse, and consists of fine starch granules of uniform size, whereby the heat
is enabled to act uniformly upon all the starch particles under treatment, thereby
preventing the formation of lumps or aggregations of partly developed starch,
and rendering the mixture much less liable to be scorched or burnt, which latter
condition is fatal to a successful prosecution of the subsequent operations of
distilling.
R represents a mash tub, which receives the developed starch liquid from the
tank Q by a pipe q, and in which the starch is mashed by the addition of rye at

page_text: a temperature of about 150 degrees Fahrenheit, and the subsequent addition of
malt at a temperature of about 135 degrees Fahrenheit.
R R¹ represent the fermenting tubs, which receive the mash from the mash
tub R, and in which the mash is fermented by the addition of yeast. The fer-
mented beer derived from the fermenting tubs R¹ is distilled in a still of any
ordinary or suitable construction.
If it is desired not to use the closed developing tank Q, the meal. may be
mashed in an open mash tub or tank in the usual manner.
By using this improved meal, instead of the whole grain, the following
important advantages are gained:
The liberation of fusel-oil and other deleterious substances, which result mainly
from the presence of the germs and hulls in the mashed, fermented and distilled
material, is avoided, and the spirits produced are free from such substances.
During the process of mashing, the material under treatment consists of a mea!
composed of granules of uniform size or thickness, therefore the development of
the starch proceeds uniformly and produces a uniform product, not containing
lumps or aggregations of partly developed starch to any considerable extent.
During the process of fermenting, the absence of the coarse hulls equalizes and
facilitates the action of the ferment upon the material under treatment; and
avoids great changes of temperature during fermentation, thereby permitting the
temperature of the fermenting material to be kept closely to the maximum point,
without danger of acetic acid being formed, thus increasing the yield. During
the process of distillation, the absence of the coarse hulls or solid material
enables the alcohol to pass over into the coil more readily, thereby. permitting
the distillation to be carried on less violently, or at a lower temperature, whereby
the liability of the alcohol carrying impurities with it is correspondingly reduced.
The absence of the coarse hulls avoids the loss of alcohol by the hulls absorbing
a portion of the same and conveying it into the slops, and prevents the action
of the steam in the still from being retarded by the adherence of the hulls to the
sides of the still and conduit pipes, thereby necessitating the employment of more
steam and power to move the material than is required in the present process, in
which the bulk of the material to be treated is greatly reduced, so that the size
and capacity of the apparatus can be correspondingly reduced. The spirits pro-
duced are of better quality and will be fit for consumption in less time than
heretofore. The hulls and germs, being but slightly moist can be kept a con-
siderable length of time without souring and, if not required for immediate
consumption, can be dried at small expense and stored or shipped. The hulls and
germs form' a desirable food for cattle, milch cows, horses, pigs, and other animals,.
and may be mixed for that purpose; or the germs may be pressed to extract the
oil which is suitable for many uses, and the oil-cakes inay be used as feed; the loss
and inconvenience often attending the production of large unsaleable quantities of
slops are thereby avoided.
It is obvious that the arrangement of the parts of the apparatus may be modified
in accordance with the space at disposal, and the general form or character of the
building in which it is placed.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my 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. The herein described method of preparing the mash, which consists in
steeping the maize, then detaching the hulls and germs from the starchy portions
of the kernels by whipping or beating without additional water, then separating
the hulls and germs from the starch meal by sifting, and then mashing the starch
meal, substantially as set forth.
Second. The herein described method of preparing the mash, which consists in
steeping the maize, then detaching the hulls and germs from the starchy portions

page_text: of the kernels by whipping or beating without additional water, then separating
the hulls and germs from the starch meal by sifting, then boiling the starch meal
under pressure to develop the starch, and then mashing the developed starch,
substantially as set forth.
Third. The herein described method of producing distilled spirits from maize,
which consists in steeping the maize, then detaching the hulls and germs from the
starchy portions of the kernels by whipping or beating without additional water,
then separating the hulls and geris from the starch meal by sifting, then boiling
the starch-meal under pressure to develop the starch, then mashing the developed
starch, fermenting the mash and distilling the fermented beer, substantially as set
forth.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
For the Applicant.