IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PURIFICATION OF SPIRITS FOR THE USE OF BREWING-DISTILLERS AND RECTIFIERS
Year: 1845

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, 1, HENRY
BLUMBERG, of Camberwell Grove, in the County of Surrey, Distiller, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Fourth day of November, in the ninth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Henry Blumberg, Her especial license, full power, sole privilege and authority,
that I, the said Henry Blumberg, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
and such others as I, the said Henry Blumberg, my executors, administrators,
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, the Town of
Berwick-upon-Tweed, and in all Her Majesty's Colonies and Plantations
abroad, and in the Islands of Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, Sark, and Man, my
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PURIFICATION OF SPIRITS FOR THE USE
OF BREWING-DISTILLERS AND RECTIFIERS;" in which said Letters Patent is
_contained a proviso obliging me, the said Henry Blumberg, by an instrument
in writing under my hand and seal, particularly to describe and ascertain the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed,

page_text: and to cause the same to be inrolled in Her Majesty's High Court of Chan-
cery 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
Henry Blumberg, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention,
and the manner in which the same is to be performed, is particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following description thereof, reference being had
to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked
thereon (that is to say):-
My Invention consists in an arrangement of apparatus in which wines or
-spirits may be speedily and effectually purified, by being subjected to a series
of filtration through layers or beds of powdered charcoal.
In the accompanying Drawing Fig. 1 represents my improved apparatus in
elevation; Fig. 2 is a vertical section, and Fig. 3 is a plan view of the same.
It consists of two series of cylindrical tanks A, A, each containing ten tanks
placed in pairs one tier above the other. These series extend one to the right
and the other to the left hand. The tanks at a little distance above their
bottom are each furnished with a perforated disc or false bottom a to receive
the powdered charcoal. B, B, are upright beams for supporting the tanks; C
is a reservoir placed above the tanks A, and midway between the two series.
This reservoir is intended to receive the wine or spirit to be operated upon,
and to supply it as required to the tanks A, through which it is filtered. In
the bottom of the reservoir is a short pipe furnished with a cock, and
communicating with a horizontal pipe D, which leads round to the four
tanks A¹. See the plan view Fig. 3. Over the centre of these tanks vertical
pipes E are provided, which are connected to the pipe D, and receive the
spirit therefrom to conduct it into the funnels F. The peculiar construction
of these funnels will be best seen by referring to the detached views Figs. 4,
in which 1 is a circular bottom with openings or spaces cut on its outer edge
to allow the liquid, when the funnel is standing in the tank, to flow under the
bottom. This bottom 1 carries a cylindrical tube 2, which is formed at its upper
end into a bell mouth, and is at its lower end provided with a ring of small
holes. Within this tube 2, and concentric therewith, is a tube 3, of smaller
diameter, having a flange on each end, that on its upper end being inclined
inwards, and the flange on its lower end being made to fit the space between
the two tubes, and make a water-tight junction between them. The object
of this peculiar formation of funnel is that the spirit to be operated upon, as

page_text: it descends the pipe E, may fall into the space between the tubes 2 and 3,
and when it has filled that space may flow down the tube 3, and out into
the tank through the holes in the bottom of the pipe 2 in small streams, and
thus prevent the charcoal on the perforated bottom of the tank from being
disturbed. The supply of liquor to the tank is regulated by a ball-cock G,
with which the pipes E are provided; and in the bottom of the tanks are
two cocks b and c for drawing off the liquor, after it has passed through
the perforated bottom a. By referring to the Drawing it will be seen that
the tanks A, A, A, A, rest upon that immediately beneath them, and are
in part supported thereby. The liquor from the cocks c flows into the funnels
F beneath, and thence into tho respective tanks of those funnels, which tanks
are provided with a tube H, to allow the air to escape from the space under
the perforated bottoms a when that part of the tank is being filled with
liquor. Beneath each of the cocks 6 is a funnel d, for guiding the liquor
(when required) into the descending pipes e, e, and thence into the horizontal
pipes f, with which the pipes E are respectively in connection. The inner
ends of the pipes f terminate in a receiver I, placed below the tanks A*, aud
immediately under the receiver C, and the other ends of the pipes f re-
spectively terminate in the two receivers J, which are each provided with a force
pump K for impelling the liquor up the ranges of pipes L, L', respectively,
in order that it may descend through the pipes g', g, g³, g', g³, into the tanks as
required, and undergo a further filtration. These pipes g are all provided with
à cock h for cutting off the communication with the tanks A at certain periods
of the operation, and the pipes f are furnished with two cocks i and k, one
of which must be kept closed during the operation of purifying the spirit,
as will be more fully explained hereafter. After the spirit is sufficiently
purified it is allowed to flow into the receiver I, from whence it is raised
by the lift pump M, and carried off to any convenient distance by the
pipe N.
.
Having described the construction and arrangement of my improved ap-
paratus, I will proceed to explain the mode of working the same. Any given
quantity, say, one thousand three hundred gallons of low wine or spirit, not
stronger than thirty degrees under proof, are pumped up into the reservoir C,
to be filtered through one set of tanks. The false bottoms a of the tanks A, are
covered with a disc of filtering cloth, (see the detached view Fig. 5,) and on
the centre of this cloth a smaller disc of cloth is laid, which will prevent the
liquor from percolating through too quickly. Over these cloths the pulverized
charcoal (that made from pine wood well burned and finely pulverized I
prefer) is carefully spread, so as to present an even surface. The proportions

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The quantity of charcoal to be spread over the false bottom of the ten
cylindrical tanks will thus amount to sixty-six pounds. When this operation is
performed the cock of the reservoir C is opened, and the liquor allowed to
run quickly through the pipe D down the pipes E into the funnels F, and
thence to the tanks A¹. The cocks of the tanks A¹ must be opened when
the tanks are half full, to run the liquor out into the funnels d, whence it
proceeds down the pipes e, into the horizontal, pipes f, and thence to the small
receiver J, the cock k of the pipes f being for that purpose open and the
cock i closed. When the liquor has flowed into the receiver J it must be
immediately forced up the pipe L by means of the pump K, and the cock h¹
of the pipe g¹ being open, and all the other cocks in the branch part of the
pipe L closed, the liquor will flow down the pipe g into the funnels F. This
operation of pumping is to be continued until the liquor has lost a part of its
nauseous smell, and is as clear as water. The liquor having been thus purified
the cocks in the tanks A¹ must be closed, and the cocks c opened. The
fluid is then allowed to run through the funnels F into the tanks A³,
and when they are half full the cocks 6 in those tanks are opened, and
the liquor is allowed to flow to the receiver J, whence it is pumped up
the pipe L, and all the cocks in the branch part of that pipe, except the
cocks h³, being closed, the liquor is allowed to descend the pipes 9* pass
through the funnels F, and enter the tanks A². As regards the remaining
tanks A and A', they are proceeded with in exactly the same manner
until the liquor is perfectly clean, and when it has reached that state the
cocks in the pipes fare closed, and the cocks i opened, through which
the clean spirit from the filter casks A' runs out at the cocks b, down the
funnels d, and along the pipes f into the receiver I, from whence it can be
removed at pleasure by means of the force pump M and the pipe N. Should,
however, the low wine or spirit under operation be less empyreumatical, and it
be found during the process that it runs from the third filter cask quite frec
from all nauseous tasto or smell, the fourth filter cask may of course be dispensed

page_text: with. The tanks A³ are reserve filters, and the liquid is only filtered through
them when two thirds of the one thousand three hundred gallons already men-
tioned have been run off. These tanks are then brought into operation in
precisely the same manner as the other filter tanks. The low wine or spirits
cleansed according to this method is so perfectly pure, that in case stronger de-
scriptions are required it can be brought to any degree of strength by merely
mixing it with other spirits of the required strength, cleansed and rectified upon
the principle I recommend. The apparatus shewn in the Drawing, consisting
of ten filtering tanks made of wood or copper, can produce about one
thousand three hundred gallons every twenty-four hours. If larger quantities
are required the series of apparatus must be multiplied. When the above-
mentioned quantity of liquid is cleansed, the charcoal containing the nauseous
parts is removed, as also the remaining liquid, and the cloth of the false
bottoms is throughly washed with water and scoured. In order to save
time in the operation, it is as well to let out from the tanks A¹ the unfiltered
liquid through the cocks 7, which, through a moveable hose in connection with
the funnels d, will pass the liquid to the pipes f, whence it will flow to the
receiver J, and may then be pumped up into the tanks A2 by the next
working, without waiting until the liquid has percolated through the false
bottom. The charcoal containing the empyreumatical and spirituous parts
of the liquid subjected to the cleansing must immediately be distilled, in order
to extract from it the spirituous parts it has imbibed. Spirit thus purified
may of course be brought to any strength by mixing it with stronger spirits, or
by distillation, and it will be found decidedly the purest and best flavoured
spirit ever produced. In the space between the two series of tanks a ladder
should be placed, as shewn at Fig. 2, to enable the workman to carry the
charcoal up and down, and also to perform the other necessary work without
stepping upon the tanks. It may be here remarked, that for the perfect
working of the apparatus the tanks should be placed exactly perpendicular, so
that the bottoms may be perfectly even.
Having now described my Invention, and the manner of carrying the same.
into effect, I would have it understood, that I claim under the above in part
recited Letters Patent,-
.
First, the peculiar arrangement of apparatus for purifying spirits, as above
described, with reference to the annexed Drawing.
Secondly, the mode of subjecting the liquor to repeated filtrations in the
same tank, and thence conducting it to one, two, or more tanks, in which the.
same operation of successive filtrations is carried on as above described, by

page_text: means of which a great saving of time is effected in the purifying operation,
and the quantity of charcoal employed is materially diminished.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry Blumberg, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-fourth day of April, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and forty-six.