CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE. APPARATUS FOR AND PROCESS OF DISTILLATION
Year: 1826

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, RICHARD
EVANS, of Bread Street and Queen Street, Cheapside, in the City of London,
Coffee Merchant, send greeting. .
WHEREAS: His present most Excellent Majesty King, George the Fourth,
by His Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Seventh day of January, in the sixth year of His reign, did,
for Himself, His heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Richard Evans, His especial licence that I, the said Richard Evans, my exors,
adñiors and assigns, or such others as I, the said Richard Evans, my exors,
adñiors, 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 expressed, 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 IN THE.
APPARATUS FOR AND PROCESS OF DISTILLATION;" in which said Letters Patent is:
contained a proviso, obliging me, the said Richard Evans, 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 per-
formed, and to cause the same to be inrolled in His said Majesty's High Court.
of Chancery within six calender months next and immediately after the date:

page_text: of the said 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
Richard Evans, do hereby declare the nature of my said Invention to consist,
first, in improvements on the apparatus for distillation, by causing the still,
and that part which I call a rectifier, to revolve during the process of distilla-
tion; and secondly, in improvements in the process of distillation, by using
grain which has been soaked and dried, instead of the unmalted grain usually
employed in the said process.
And in further compliance with the said proviso, I, the said Richard Evans,
do hereby describe the manner in which my said several improvements are
to be performed by the following description thereof, reference being had to
the Drawing annexed, and the letters marked thereon for those improvements
which relate to the apparatus aforesaid (that is to say) :-
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.
1
A is a inctal cylinder, furnished with beads or ledges, as shown at B, which
ledges disturb the wash in the cylinder as it revolves; C is the wash;
D, D, are the two hollow axes of the cylinder; E, F, is a rope and strap.
which pass through a pulley fixed above the apparatus, for the purpose of
raising the cylinder to the position shown by the dotted lines, and which is the
position for charging or discharging the cylinder; G is a plug or cock to
prevent the vapour from escaping at that, part when at work; 'II is a swivel
joint, and J, a bracket, to support the axes on which the swivel joint turns;
K is an ordinary furnace. And hero would end my description of the rotary
cylinder or. still, (for it is hardly necessary to observe that the said cylinder is
in fact my improved still), but as that part of my improvements which refers
to what I call the rectifier is connected with what I have already described, I
will proceed to show how they are connected, and will describe what I call the
rectifier, before I describe the manner in which one common motion is given
to both. The worm L is what I call the rectifier, fitted with what I call an
axis shaft M; the mode of fixing this axis shaft will be sufficiently understood
by looking at the Drawing. Thoso parts of the axis which take on the
bearings, it will be seen, are parts of the worm itself, and the end O. of one of
these parts of the worm is connected with the hollow axis of the still by the
union screw joint P; this union screw joint enables the still to be detached
from the worm, so as to take the position shewn by the dotted lines when
required. Qis the opposite end of the worm to O, and works into a stuffing
box marked R, which stufling box is attached to the upper end of the worm of

page_text: an ordinary refrigerator. It will be scen that the rectifier here described
works in a case S, which I call an air case, and is merely for the purpose of
more easily preserving an even temperature round the rectifier, which tempe-
rature is ascertained by means of the thermometer. T. It now only remains
for me to describe the manner of giving motion to the still and rectifier, which
is done by the motion shaft V, which is furnished with the two toothed wheels
W, W, of equal diameters, working into the two pinions X, X, which are also
of equal diameters. This motion gear must be set so as to turn the rectifier in
the direction of the arrow marked Y, and the effect of this motion will be to
return the condensed particles of vapour back into the still, so that none but
the most highly rectified spirit can pass into the worm of the refrigerator.
Having now described those parts of my said improvements which relate to
the apparatus, I will proceed to describe that part of my said improvements
which relates to the process of distillation, and which is as follows, that is to
say: Instead of the quantity of what is termed unmalted grain, which is
usually mixed with the malted grain used in the process of distillation, I use
the same quantity of grain, prepared in the following manner, that is to say :-
I soak the said quantity of grain in cold water until the water ceases to be
discolored by it, which is generally in the course of two days, changing the
water once or twice a day, according as the water is more or less highly
colored. I then dry the grain which has been so soaked as aforesaid carefully
and gradually on a kiln, or otherwise, without altering it to germinate, and
thus I preserve more of the strength of the grain, and yet get rid of much of
that which is injurious to the process of distillation.
Now, whereas, I claim as my Invention, first, a still, or vessel answering
the purpose of a still, turning on axes during the process of distillation, as
herein-before described; secondly, a worm which I called a rectifier, turning
on axes during the process of distillation, as herein-before described; and,
thirdly, the substitution of a similar portion of grain prepared by soaking
and drying, as herein-before described, for that portion of unmalted grain
usually used with malted grain in the process of distillation; which three
several particulars constitute my said improvements, and which said improve-
ments are, to the best of my knowledge and belief, entirely new, and have
never before been used within that part of His said Majesty's United Kingdom
of Great Britain and Ireland called England, His said Dominion of Wales, or
Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, or in the British Colonies; therefore I do hereby
declare this to be my Specification of the same, and that I do verily believe
this my said Specification doth comply in all respects, fully and without
reserve or disguise, with the proviso in the said herein-before in part recited

page_text: Letters Patent contained; wherefore I hereby claim to maintain exclusive
right and privilege to my said Invention.
In witness whereof, I, the said Richard Evans, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-seventh day of June, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and twenty-six.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Twenty-seventh day of June,
in the year of our Lord 1826, the aforesaid Richard Evans came before our
said Lord the King in His Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification
aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained and specified, in form above
written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according to the
tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.
Inrolled the Seventh day of July, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and twenty-six.