CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS ON STILLS OR APPARATUS FOR DISTILLING
Year: 1831

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
GODFREY KNELLER, of Hackney, in the County of Middlesex, Chemist, send
greeting.
WHEREAS His present most Excellent Majesty King William the Fourth,
by His Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date
at Westminster, the Twenty-ninth day of June, in the second year of His
reign, did, for Himself, His heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said William Godfrey Kneller, His especial licence, sole privilege and
authority, that I, the said William Godfrey Kneller, my exors, adiñors, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said William Godfrey Kneller, my exors,
adfiors, or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time
to time and at all times during the term of years therein mentioned, should
and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales,
and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and also in all His said Majesty's
Colonies and Plantations abroad, my Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS ON
STILLS OR APPARATUS FOR DISTILLING;" in which said Letters Patent is con-
tained a proviso, that I, the said William Godfrey Kneller, shall cause a
particular description of the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be inrolled in His said Majesty's High Court
of Chancery within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of
the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same, reference being
thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
William Godfrey Kneller, do hereby declare that the nature of my said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, are par-

page_text: ticularly described and ascertained in and by the Drawing hereunto annexed,
and the following description thereof (that is to say):-
In the said Drawing, A, Fig. 1, represents part of the body of a still set in
brickwork over a fire-place, and furnished with a man-hole, guage, &c., in the
usual manner. The apparatus B is a congeries of metal cylinders mounted
upon
the body of the still A, and the construction of which said apparatus is
as follows: Fig. 2 is a vertical section on an enlarged scale through the said
cylinders, of which Fig. 3 is a plan taken at the dotted lino C, D, in Fig. 2;
the same letters of reference in these and the other Figures indicating the
similar parts. The outer cylinder B has a flanch G at its upper edge or
border, and another H below, as shewn in Figs. 1 and 2, and by the latter
flanch H it is secured to the body of the still A by screws and nuts, as shewn,
or otherwise. This cylinder B has no bottom to it, and is open to the body
of the still A. Within the cylinder B another cylinder E is fitted by means
of a flanch F, shewn in the partly separated cylinders, Fig. 4, at its upper
border, and several studs I, I, &c., which are affixed to it at proper distances
to keep theso and the other cylinders, to be herein-after described, apart, as
shewn in Figs. 2 and 3. This cylinder E has also a bottom J to it, as shewn
in Fig. 2, and it ascends within the still body A, as shewn by the dotted lines
in Fig. 1, and in section in Fig. 2. Around the upper part of the cylinder E
a series of slits or apertures K, K, &c., are formed, as shewn in Fig. 2, and
still better in the partly separated one, Fig. 4. Through theso slits the
vapours from the body of the still enter and descend between the cylinder E
and another cylinder L without a bottom, which is enclosed within it, as
shewn in Figs. 2, 3, and 4, and which said cylinder L reaches within a short
distance of the bottom J of the cylinder E, as shewn in Fig. 2; another
cylinder M, having a bottom N to it, is fitted in a similar manner within the
cylinder L, then another cylinder without a bottom O, next another cylinder P
with a bottom Q, which contains the cylinder R without a bottom, and this
again has the cylinder S with its bottom T placed within it; another
cylinder without a bottom U is contained in the cylinder S, and another V,
having a bottom W, is placed within it; and, lastly, the inner cylinder X
without a bottom completes this apparatus, congeries, or combination of
cylinders. The bottoms J, N, Q, T, W, of the cylinders are covered to a
certain depth with water or other liquid, as shewn in Fig. 2, which is in-
troduced through the pipe Y, Figs. 1 and 2, and which is then to be closed,
as shewn, and the overplus of which said water or other liquid flows suc-
cessively into the body of the still A through apertures Z, Z, &c., provided for
that purpose at a proper height from the said bottoms, and as shewn in

page_text: Fig. 2.
The course of the aqueous and alcoholic or other vapours in their
passage up and down through this apparatus or congeries of cylinders is
clearly shewn by the darts or arrows in Fig. 2, they rising and entering, as
above mentioned, at the apertures K around the upper part of the cylinder E;
and descending pass underneath the lower part of the cylinder L, and through
the water or other liquid contained in the cylinder E, where they will deposit
a portion of any empyreumatic or essential oil, or any other foreign impuritics
they may be contaminated with. The water or other liquid contained in the
cylinder E may likewise be mixed or charged with such chemical agents as
the distiller may require in the process. The vapours will also encounter the
cooling effect produced by the portion of liquid contained in the cylinder M,
which will produce a partial separation or condensation of the aqueous.or
other less volatile parts of the vapour, and which will flow back through the
aperture Z. into the body of the still A. The remaining portions of tho
vapour; after undergoing the washing effect produced by their passing through
the water or other liquid, will then ascend between the cylinders L and M,
and enter the latter through the aperture K formed around its upper part.
The lower edge of the cylinder L being immersed in the water or other liquid
contained in the cylinder E to a sufficient depth, thus opposes the too free
passage of the vapour into the succeeding cylinder or vessel M, and thereby
produces a partial sealing or closure between those said vessels, which is,
however, overcome by the pressure of the vapour in its passage through the
cylinders on its way to the final condenser;. at the same time a partial or
imperfect vacuum is produced, sufficient, however, to cause the spirituous parts
of the vapour to ascend with greater facility in consequence of such partial
vacuum removing a part of the atmospheric pressure. In like manner a
series of similar effects are produced during the entire and lengthened passage
of the vapour upwards and downwards through the congeries of cylinders to
the final condenser; the aqueous or less volatile parts of the vapour con-
tinually returning back into the body of the still A through the apertures Z, Z,
provided for that purpose at the lower parts of the cylinders E, M, P, S, V,
whilst the alcoholic or more volatile parts of the vapour re-ascend and pass
through the upper apertures K, K, &c., whence they again descend and pass
through the successive waters or other liquids contained in the bottoms of the
different vessels or cylinders, gradually becoming more and more volatile and
pure during their said passage, and before they proceed to the final condenser
through the head and neck of the still into the worm or other final condenser.
The gradually increasing breadth of the flanches of the cylinders is clearly
shewn at F, F, &c. in Fig. 4. I have here shewn a series of five cylinders or

page_text: vessels with bottoms to them, and of six cylinders having no bottoms; but
I do not mean or intend thereby to limit or confine myself to any definite
number thereof, but to increase or lessen their number as well as the greater or
lesser extent of space between the said cylinders, and also the depth into
which they enter the several waters or other liquids, or even in some cases and
where it might be deemed adviseable, to use no water or other liquids therein;
neither do I mean or intend hereby to limit or confine myself to the cylindrical
forms here shewn, although I prefer them on account of the facility of con-
structing them; but I hereby claim the power of forming them in any other fit
and proper shape or shapes, provided their essential properties remain, and
likewise of any fit and proper material or materials, which will vary of course
according to the nature of the matters to be operated upon.
My said improvements consisting in the combining or arranging of
cylindrical or other shaped bodies, tubes, or pipes one within another, and
having bottoms to every other of the said bodies, tubes, or pipes, the inter-
mediato ones being without bottoms and descending nearly to the bottoms of
the alternate ones, and also in providing apertures near the upper parts of the
said bodies, tubes, or pipes, for the vapours to enter at, and likewise other
apertures below to permit the condensed or less volatile liquids to flow back
into the body of the still, into the upper part of which said body of a still the
said congeries or series of bodies, tubes, or pipes is fitted in the manner herein
shewn and described, and is likewise furnished with a head and neck to
conduct the alcoholic or other more volatile parts of the matters distilled into
the worm or other final condenser; or otherwise I can cause the vapours,
instead of being conveyed to the worm at once, to pass through another similar
apparatus or congeries of cylinders placed in the open air, either above or on
one side of the former apparatus, previous to conveying them into the worm
or final condenser. I may observe that the distances between the sides of the
different bodies, tubes, or pipes forming this apparatus ought to be varied
according to the greater or lesser size of the stills they may be applied to, as
well also as the depth to which the alternate bodies, tubes, or pipes without
bottoms to them descend in those bodies, tubes, or pipes having bottoms to
them, and also the depth into which those without bottoms dip into the water
or other liquid contained in those with bottoms; for instance, in a four-hundred
gallon still the distance between the sides of the bodies, tubes, or pipes may
be one inch, and those without bottoms may descend to within an inch of the
bottoms of the others, each bottom being also four inches apart. The water
or other liquid may be two and a half inches deep in each vessel, and the
lower ends of the bedies, tubes, or pipes may dip one inch and a half into the

page_text: said water or other liquid, and thus the vapours will have to displace that
depth of water or other liquid. For larger stills the distances between the
sides and bottoms of the bodies, tubes, or pipes must be increased as well also
as the depth of the water or other liquid contained therein. Instead of
mounting the said apparatus or congeries of cylinders upon the body of the
still and partly within it, as here shewn, it may also be placed on one side
thereof, or in any other position, and the vapours from the still be conveyed
thereto through a pipe from the still head into an outer case containing the
said apparatus or set of cylinders, or even through another set, if found
desirable, previous to conveying them to the worm or other final condenser.
In employing this apparatus for the distillation of ardent spirits, I would
recommend that the several parts composing it be made either of copper or
copper well tinned, or of pewter, and that the flanches be brought into closo
contact, and with the still head be firmly united together by means of screws
and screwed nuts, as shewn; and also that the exterior edges of the flanches
be surrounded with a metal band or hoop. From the various experiments
hitherto made with an apparatus similar to the above, and upon a sufficient
scale, it results that in distillation the processes have been compleated in one
half the usual time, and the products brought over in a highly concentrated
and purified state, while the cost of the new apparatus is so inconsiderable
that it can never prove an obstacle to its general adoption.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Godfrey Kneller, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-fourth day of December, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and thirty one