improvements in a method of Preserving Animal and Vegetable Food and Liquids.
Year: 1885

page_text: improvements in a method of Preserving Animal and Vegetable
Food and Liquids.
I BENJAMIN HOWARTH THWAITE a Fellow of the Chemical Society and Civil
Engineer, of 37 Victoria St. Liverpool in the County of Lancaster do hereby declare
the nature of my invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN A METHOD OF PRESERVING
ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE FOOD AND LIQUIDS to be as follows:-
My invention relates to a method of generating antiseptic gases, and collecting
them for the purpose of preserving food, and relates to an invention granted to me
and numbered 16,565, 1884. Instead of consuming the liquid hydrocarbon in an
ordinary oil lamp I adopt the following arrangement. I store or collect the liquid
hydrocarbon, preferably refined petroleum, in a suitable receptacle by means of a
special tube, to steam or compressed air injectors, the suction of which draws the
liquid hydrocarbon, in a spray or finely divided form and it issues along with the
jet of steam into a delivery tube around which I place an annular space which
I connect by means of suitable pipes to the food preserving chamber or chambers-
the flow of the oil and steam through the injector induces an aspiratory action in
the pipes connected with the preserving chambers, and the air which is drawn from
the latter supplies the necessary oxygen for the combustion of the petroleum oil or
liquid hydrocarbon the injector debouches into a combustion chamber which is
lined and filled with refractory bricks built in chequer work and the combustion
chamber is surrounded with an air tight casing.
The combustion chamber is connected to the preserving chamber by means of
pipes which I may make to traverse a condenser to cool the gaseous products of
combustion of the oil before they enter into the preserving chamber.
It will easily be seen that as long as there is air in the preserving chamber it
will be drawn and will support the combustion of the oil, but as soon as the food
preserving chamber is filled with the products of combustion of the liquid hydro-
carbon these gases will be drawn into the injector, and extinguish combustion When
this occurs the air tight valves which are provided in the pipes connected to the
preserving chambers are closed.
When a considerable volume of gaseous antiseptics is required I may force
them into a special holder which may be of the type used for the storage of
illuminating pas.

page_text: If the preserving chambers are of a large size I may construct them of wrought
or of cast iron plates-made air tight-and enamelled or I may construct them of
wood lined with sheet zinc or some other metal.
The doors or other movable openings I may line with india rubber or other
elastic substance which will permit them to be closed in a perfectly air tight
manner.
When there is not a separate steam generator I utilise the heat of the combustion
of the oil for generating steam.
I may place such steam generator immediately over the combustion chamber
and compell the heated products of combustion to pass on their way to the
preserving chamber through tubes in the said generator.
To provide steam in the first instance I may provide a small supplementary
steam generator heated in any well known manner.
When I make use of my ordinary food preserving apparatus-constructed
according to the patent granted to me in October 1885 and numbered 16,565-1884,
I connect the air supply chamber of the oil lamp with the water vessel or with the
preserving chambers so that the air displaced from the chambers is consumed by
the lamps and as soon as the preserving chambers are filled with the products of
combustion of liquid hydrocarbon the combustion is arrested-by suffocation.
I may place the whole of the apparatus on a truck, or on wheels, for convenience
of portability.
Any animal life existing in the food is extinguished by asphixia by the use of
my invention.
Dated thin Leaninth day of November 1885

page_text: The various parts constituting my Invention are shewn upon the accompanying
sheet of explanatory drawings.
Figure 1 represents a vertical section of the essential parts but not including
preservatory chamber.
Figure 2 is a plan of the essential parts including the preservatory chamber.
Figures 3 and 4 are respectively a plan and section shewing my invention when
applied on a large scale, but especially for board ship.
Figures 5 and 6 shew an alternate method of generating the antiseptic gas.
In figures 1 and 2, a is the receptacle, preferably of the Richter type for storing
pure liquid hydrocarbon, such as trebly refined petrolium and b is the steam jet
injector for aspirating the liquid hydrocarbon in spray, by means of the pipe c,
aspirating also the air for supporting the combustion of the liquid hydrocarbon by
the pipe, a¹. d is the combustion chamber filled and lined with refractory material,
the products of combustion pass through the tubes of a steam generator e placed
above or alongside combustion chamber and connected to the steam jet injector b
by means of a pipe e¹ the products of combustion are led or delivered into a
condenser g by which the aqueous vapour is condensed and can be drawn off by a
small valvular outlet pipe, the antiseptic gases pass into preservatory chambers h
by means of valvular connections.-The doors of the antiseptic preservatory.
chamber are rebated, and have india rubber joints. The doors are kept tightly
closed, by means of a screw arrangement and pivoted lever i.
I may line the preservatory chamber with zinc or enamelled iron or other
metallic but incorrodable substance, or I may line it with vulcanite or ebonite.
When I apply my invention on a large scale for board ship I prefer to utilise the
arrangement shewn on figures 3 and 4, in which j is the Richter liquid hydro-
carbon container, k is the injector and is the combustion chamber with its steam
generator m placed immediately over it. n is the condenser, o represents the air
supply main connecting the preserving tanks p with injector; q represents the
connecting main for supplying the antiseptic or preservative vapour to the various
preservatory tanks.
The preservatory tanks I construct with a distilled water cavity or mercury
seals the cover lids I suspend with cord and balance weight arrangement t, when
I am preserving fruit, I may use trays of wire or of other material to prevent the
shaking of the fruit. By the use of the balanced cover lids I can apply con-
siderable compression to the enclosed antiseptic gases.
The modus operandi, when using my invention with apparatus as represented in
figures 123 and 4 is as follows-
After placing the vegetable or animal substances in the preserving vats or tanks,
I turn on the steam to injector, I then open the valves v connecting the antiseptic
gas generating apparatus with preservatory chamber-The steam injector aspires
the liquid hydrocarbon from the Richter petrolium container, and the air from the
preservatory chamber, and combustion ensues in the combustion chamber, and
steam is raised by the sensible heat of the gases in passing through tubes of steam
generator the antiseptic CO, and CO and any nascent hydrogen there may be '
produced, enter the preservatory chamber to replace the air withdrawn therefrom
by the injector and thus the cycle of actions is completed, the air is withdrawn to
support combustion and its place is filled with antiseptic gases, a single preser-
vatory arrangement made according to my invention would fill a great number of
preservatory chambers of very considerable capacity with antiseptic gases at a very
trifling cost.
When the petrolium or liquid hydrocarbon is not available, I may use the
apparatus shewn by figures 5 and 6 or if I require a considerable pressure of
antiseptic gas, in addition to that obtained by the arrangement already described,
I use the apparatus shewn in figures 5 and 6 in which 1 is a porcelain glass or
earthenware vessel provided with a glass or porcelain inlet tube provided with a
glass ball valve 2 and having a safety seal bend 3-through this I pour hydro-
chloric acid H Cl. By means of a glass or earthenware ball 4, covered with a

page_text: weighted lid 5, I feed calcic carbonate into the receptacle, the well known action
of the HCl on the Ca Co, is to produce H, O+ Ca Cl, + Co, or carbonic acid in a
gaseous form along with the calcic chloride.
The carbonic acid escapes by means of the ball non return valvular pipes 6 from
which I conduct it to a condenser 7 and afterwards to a preservatory chamber 8
from which I aspire the air contained therein as fast as the carbonic acid
enters, or I may continue the action until there is a considerable pressure of the
antiseptic gases in the preservatory chamber.
In order to maintain a degree of moisture in the preservatory tanks I may keep
a supply of water both at the bottom of the tanks and all round them, the water
I distill or mix with disinfectants, or I may use instead liquid hydrocarbon.
I wish it to be distinctly understood that I do not confine myself to the exact
arrangement shewn in illustrations herein referred to, and which form part of this
specification, as it will be easily seen that I could vary the details thereof without
departing from the nature of my invention-I wish it to be understood that I do
not claim the apparatus shewn in figures 5 and 6.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
Invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I claim
1st. The combination of apparatus and cycle of operations by which a preser-
vatory chamber is exhausted of air and filled with antiseptic gases-substantially
in the manner and as herein shewn and described.
2nd. The use of liquid hydrocarbon spray injectors in combination with the
combustion chambers for the purpose of generating antiseptic gases substantially
in the manner, and as herein shewn and described.
3rd. The manner of applying my invention to a number of preservatory tanks
substantially as herein shewn and described.
4th. The device for obtaining a pressure of antiseptic gases, by means of balanced
and weighted lids, substantially as herein shewn and described.
Dated this 25th day of August 1886