Improvements relating to the Malting of Grain and to Apparatus therefor.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 26th Oct., 1892
Complete Specification Left, 26th July, 1893-Accepted, 26th Oct., 1893
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
[Communicated from abroad by JULIUS HENNING, of 11, Salzufer, Charlottenburg,
near Berlin, in the Empire of Germany, Managing Director.]
Improvements relating to the Malting of Grain and to Apparatus
therefor.
I, HENRY HARRIS LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine Lake & Co., Patent Agents,
45 Southampton Buildings in the County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the
nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to improvements in the process of pneumatic malting by
the aid of drums and to the combination and arrangement of apparatus used in such
process.
The said invention consists in improved means for suitably changing the degree
of moisture and temperature of the air employed for the sprouting process, in
mixing the air with certain gases during the retardation of the germination or during
the withering of the grain, in means for better controlling the quantity and the
temperature of the air introduced in the drum during the drying and kilning
operations, in improvements in the arrangements for separating from the malt and
carrying away the withered germs, and particles of bran, in arrangements for
regulating the temperature of the steeping tanks, and in combining the sprouting
drums with each other in such a manner as to secure a more uniform treatment of
the grain in the drums.
In carrying out my invention I use drums of essentially the same construction
which however vary in number and in size for the different stages of the
process.
"
The sprouting and germinating of the grain requires on an average 7 or 8 days,
the subsequent drying and kilning about one day. For this reason a greater
number of drums are required for the first operations in order to furnish sufficient
I shall
material for the continuous working of the drying and kilning drums.
hereinafter call the drums used in the first stage of the process sprouting drums, to
distinguish them from the drying drums and the kilning drums which, the latter
especially, may be considerably smaller in size.
All the sprouting drums are connected with a conduit through which purified
moist air is supplied at a predetermined temperature and in controllable quantity to
each of the said drums. The means for controlling the admission of the air
consisting in valve arrangements with which each drum is provided. For the
retardation of the germination. purified dry air or a mixture of air and carbonic
acid is introduced in the drums through pipes which connect the drums to an air
supply chamber. The use of carbonic acid during this stage of the operation for
avoiding the oxidation of the saccharine contained in the malt forms a special
feature of my invention.
For obtaining a good mixture of the carbonic acid and the dry air the carbonic
acid is led into the aforementioned air supply chamber wherein the purified air is
made to pass a heated drying apparatus and a series of inclined screens which may
be provided with hygroscopic material for absorbing the moisture of the air.
The usual apparatus heretofore used for preparing the purified moistened air for
the sprouting process consists of a tower wherein are several thick layers of coke
and which is provided with spraying apparatus by which water is introduced in the
form of spray.
In my improved apparatus I make use of essentially the saine

page_text: means but arranged differently and it consists of a chamber divided by vertical
partitions in several, say about three, compartments communicating alternately at
the bottom and at the top, and in each of which compartments a spray of water is
injected from above. The first compartment may at the upper end be provided
with an air heating apparatus and it has near the bottom a grate with a
comparatively thin layer of filtering material. The air rushing down with the
water passes this filter and rises into the second compartment wherein a jet of
steam is introduced in an upward direction contrary to the direction of the water
jets. This jet of steam serves the double purpose of accelerating the ascending
movement of the air through the whole chamber and affording an easy regulation
of the temperature of the air. The air purifying and moistening apparatus
communicates by the before mentioned conduit with the sprouting drums. On
the floor of the apparatus is arranged a tank wherein the surplus water collects,
and from whence it may be pumped for second use without necessity for
reheating it.
It is important to keep the room wherein the sprouting drums are disposed at
about the same temperature as the moist air supplied to the drums and of this I
take advantage for bringing the steeping tanks which supply the material to the:
drums also to about the same temperature. For this purpose the steeping tanks
which are arranged on a floor above the drums are jacketed the said. jacket spaces
communicating through the floor with the room wherein the sprouting drums are
arranged.
The drying and kilning drums are supplied with hot air from a heat accumulator
and mixing chambers. This part of my improvements consists in providing two-
mixing chambers the one for the kilning drum and the other for the drying drum
which are generally disposed on two different floors one above the other. A's the
air to be used in the drying drum varies considerably both in quantity and in
temperature from that used in the kilning drum the passages from the accumulator
which forms the common source of heat to the two mixing chambers are provided
with dampers or slides by which the admission of the hot air can be regulated.
The passages which admit cold air to the mixing chambers are also provided
with dampers or slides and with arrangements for thoroughly mixing the cold air
with the warm air. By these means the temperature in each of the chambers can
be brought to and maintained at any desired degree.
For passing the air through the drying drum and through the kilning drum I.
prefer to use one single fan, but inasmuch as a considerably larger quantity of air
is made to pass through the drying drum, I divide the blades of the fau vertically
in. two unequal parts and make the larger parts act upon the drying drum and the
smaller parts upon the kilning drum.
The air exhausted from the kilning drum passes au upright cylinder in which is
arranged a perforated plate and above and below this plate a revolving brush.
-All the germs, particles of bran and the like carried away by the current of air are
stopped by the said plate and are pushed by the brushes out of the direction of the
current towards the circumference of the cylinder. They then fall and collect at
the bottom of the cylinder.
Dated this 26th day of October 1805
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements relating to the Malting of Grain and to Apparatus
therefor.
I, HENRY HARRIS LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake & Co., Patent
Agents, 45 Southampton Buildings, in the County of Mildlesex, do hereby declare
the nature of this invention, 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 improvements in the process of pneumatic malting
by the aid of drums, and to the combinations and arrangements of apparatus used
in such process.
The said invention consists in improved means for suitably changing the degree
of moisture and temperature of the air employed for the sprouting process: in
mixing the air with certain gases during the retardation of the germination or
during the withering of the grain; in means for better controlling the quantity
and the temperature of the air introduced into the drum during the drying and
kilning operations; in improvements in the arrangements for separating from the
malt and carrying away the withered germs and particles of bran; in arrange-
ments for regulating the temperature of the steeping tanks; and in combining
the sprouting drums with each other in such a manner as to secure a more uniform
treatment of the grain in the said drums.
In carrying my invention into practice I use drums of essentially the same
construction, which however vary in number and in size for the different stages of
the process.
The sprouting and germinating of the grain requires on an average 7 or 8 days,
and the subsequent drying and kilning about one day. For this reason a greater
number of drums are required for the first operation in order to furnish sufficient
I shall
material for the continuous working of the drying and kilning drums.
hereinafter call the drums used in the first stage of the process sprouting drums,
to distinguish them from the drying drums and the kilning drums which, the
latter especially, may be considerably smaller in size.
All the sprouting drums are connected with a conduit through which purified
moist air is supplied, at a predetermined temperature and in controllable quantity,
to each of the said drums. The means for controlling the admission of the air
consists in valve arrangements with which each drum is provided.
For the retardation of the germination, purified dry air or a mixture of air
and carbonic acid is introduced into the drums through pipes which connect the
said drums to an air supply chamber. The use of carbonic acid during this stage
of the operation for avoiding the oxidation of the saccharine contained in the
malt forms a special feature of my invention.
For obtaining a good mixture of the carbonic acid and the dry air, the carbonic
acid is led into the aforementioned air supply chamber wherein the purified air
is made to pass a heated drying apparatus and a series of inclined screens which
may be provided with hygroscopic material for absorbing the moisture of the air.
The apparatus heretofore used for preparing the purified moistened air for the
sprouting process consists of a tower wherein are arranged several thick layers of
coke and which is provided with apparatus by which water is introduced in the
form of spray. In my improved apparatus I make use of essentially the same
means but arranged differently, and it consists of a chamber divided by vertical
partitions in several, say about three compartments communicating alternately at
the bottom and at the top, and in each of which a spray of water is injected from
above. The first compartment may at the upper end be provided with an air
heating apparatus and at or near the bottom with a grate having a comparatively
thin layer of filtering material placed thereon. The air rushing down with the
water passes through this filter and rises in the second compartment wherein a jet

page_text: of steam is introduced in an upward direction contrary to the direction of the
water jets. This jet of steam serves the double purpose of accelerating the
ascending movement of the air through the whole chamber and affording an easy
regulation of the temperature of the air. The air purifying and moistening
apparatus communicates by the before mentioned conduit with the sprouting drums.
On the floor of the apparatus is arranged a tank wherein the surplus water collects
and from whence it may be pumped for further use without the necessity of
reheating it.
It is important to keep the room in which the sprouting drums are arranged at
abont the same temperature as the moist air supplied to the said drums and of this
I take advantage for bringing the steeping tanks which supply the material to the
drums, also to about the same temperature. For this purpose the steeping tanks
which are arranged on a floor above the drums are jacketed, the said jacket spaces
communicating through the floor with the room in which the sprouting drums are
arranged.
The drying and kilning drums are supplied with hot air from a heat accumulator
and mixing chambers. This part of my improvements consist in providing two
mixing chambers, one for the kilning drum and the other for the drying drum
which are generally disposed on two different floors one above the other. As the
air to be used in the drying drum varies considerably both in quantity and in
temperature from that used in the kilning drum the passages from the accumulator
which forms the common source of heat to the two mixing chambers are provided
with dampers or slides by which the admission of the hot air can be regulated.
The passages which admit cold air to the mixing chambers are also provided with
dampers or slides and with arrangements for thoroughly mixing the cold air with
the warm air. By these means the temperature in each of the chambers can be
brought to and maintained at any desired degree.
For passing the air through the drying drum and through the kilning drum
I prefer to use a single fan, but inasmuch as a considerably larger quantity of air
is made to pass through the drying drum, I divide the blades of the fan vertically
in two unequal parts, and make the larger part act upon the drying drum and the
smaller part upon the kilning drum.
The air exhausted from the kilning drum passes an upright cylinder in which is
arranged a perforated plate and above and below this plate a revolving brush. All
the germs, particles of bran, and the like carried away by the current of air, are
stopped by the said plate and are pushed by the brushes out of the direction of the
current towards the circumference of the cylinder. They then fall and collect at
the bottom of the cylinder.
In the accompanying drawings I have shown apparatus by which my improved
process may be conveniently and advantageously carried into practice.
Figure 1 is a longitudinal vertical section of an apparatus for malting grain.
Figure 2 is a vertical cross section of the same on the line of Figure 1.
Figure 3 is a vertical longitudinal section of the apparatus for the kilning aud
curing process and
Figure 4 is a vertical transverse section of the same 'on the line
Figure 3.
of
As shown to the right of Figure 1 the improved apparatus is provided with three
compartments in which the air, which enters through an aperture at the top
of may be heated by any well known meaus, the said compartment k being
provided at the bottom with a layer of purifying material. In each of the said
compartments or chambers the air may be moistened by sprays injected through
pipes and as well as by a steam jet d in the chamber 2 and purified inter-
mittently in the ordinary way. The chamber communicates with the sprouting
drums C by means of a conduit R', and pipes . Dry air or a mixture of dry air
and gases is supplied from chambers B aud B₁ to the sprouting drums in the
sprouting chamber A through pipes and branch pipes t. W, W, indicate the
steeping tanks arranged in the chanıber A' in the upper part of the apparatus,

page_text: the lower portion of the said tanks project into the room or chamber A below, in.
which the sprouting drums are situated. The said steeping tanks are partly
surrounded by a jacket w to which the air of the sprouting chamber A is freely
admitted. In connection with the sprouting chamber are the chambers B and B
in which the hot air or a mixture of hot air and carbonic acid gas is prepared.
The hot air euters the chamber B through an inlet orifice and passes through
screens or sieves and then out of the said chamber through a pipe t¹ into a.
chamber B below the said chamber B. At the bottom of the pipe is introduced
a small pipe h provided with a cock h', through which carbonic acid gas can be fed
from any suitable source. The said gas and the hot air is intimately mixed by
being passed together through a perforated plate t* covering the inner opening of
the pipe in the chamber B, the said mixture then passing upward through the
said chamber into the pipes and to the sprouting drums C. The said.
chamber B is provided with heating pipes and also with deflecting or baffle.
plates which cause the air and gas to take a circuitous path and thereby to
become still further mixed and also to come in intimate contact with the said.
heating pipes. The said baffle plates are provided with a suitable hygroscopic.
material for the purpose of absorbing the moisture contained in the air passing
through the chamber B
The mixture of air and gases after passing into the sprouting drums is conducted
through pipes into a second conduit R, Figure 2, from which it is effectively
withdrawn by means of an exhaust fan Z or other suitable means. The quantity
of air which it is desired should pass from the conduit R, through the pipes into.
the sprouting drums and from the said drums through the pipes into the
conduit R2, can be regulated by cylindrical valves L' and K' respectively
arranged at opposite ends of the drums C.
Connected with the bottom of the conical portion of the steeping tanks are
pipes e and el provided with ordinary cocks e² and e³, the pipe e serving for the feed.
of the liquid to the steeping tanks and the pipe e' serving to extract the said liquid.
therefrom, the whole being so arranged as to work the steeping tauks in a convenient.
manner from within the sprouting room or chamber A.
Figures 3 and 4 of the drawings show ou different floors the arrangement of the
apparatus for the curing and kilning process.
Grepresents a drum of similar construction to the sprouting drums shown in
Figures 1 and 2 which serves to extract a certain degree of moisture from the grain
by treatment under a high temperature.
H is a similar drum in which the kilning process at a considerably elevated
temperature is carried on, the kilned products being discharged from a hopper-like
casing M into a cleaning apparatus N provided with separators and a collecting.
chamber O.
K is a vertical cylindrical drum connected at one side by means of a pipe with
the drum H and at the other side by means of a vertical pipe with an exhaust.
fan V. The object of this vertical drum is to collect the refuse and dust extracted
from the drum H during the kilning process, in which a current of hot air is sent
through the drum whilst the latter revolves at a speed of about 12 revolutions per
hour. At the upper part of the drum K is arranged a screen provided with
brushes which are caused to revolve on the same by any suitable mechanism, in,
order to keep the screen clear of the said refuse.
The hereinbefore mentioned exhaust fan V is of a peculiar design in order to
render the same available for use with both the drums G and H at the same time.
As the drum G is much larger than the drum H, in which latter the dried material
occupies a smaller space, and as also the quantity of air to be sent through G is:
necessarily larger than the quantity of hot air to be sent through H the exhaust.
fan V must act upon G and H in proportion to the air supplied to each during the
process. The blades of the exhaust fan V are for this reason divided laterally by.
a solid partition so as to form practically two separate fans, the dimensions being.
regulated by the requirements of the drums G and H respectively. The use of.

page_text: one exhaust fan for both drums, secures in the simplest way the continuous process
in the said drums, this being the more necessary as, at the other side, the heating
apparatus hereinafter described furnishes the hot air which is afterwards drawn
through the two drums by one and the same means.
Pp and p Figures 3 and 4 are chambers in which the air for the curing and
kilning process is heated, divided and brought to the proper temperature necessary
at the different stages. Y indicates the point at which the heating apparatus which
may be of any well known type, is arranged and into which air is introduced in
regulated quantity. A reverberatory heating chamber is preferably used in
combination with the fire place and valves or air inlets aaa. The said air inlets
permit of fresh air being supplied to the reverberatory chamber and the flue which
carries the hot air in an upward direction. At the top of the heating chamber P
are arranged two slides c and c¹ to regulate the supply of hot air to the chambers ppl
situated directly above the said heating chamber. The said slides may be fully or
only partly opened or one may be opened and the other shut, according to the
quantity of air required in the curing or kilning process, and as it is of importance
to keep the temperature of the hot air under control, I arrange in the chambers
circular valves and b, through which fresh air may be introduced into the hot air
chambers.
In order to thoroughly mix the fresh air with the hot air the fresh air.is caused
to pass through horizontal cylinders v v¹ into the chambers pp' through perforations
at the bottom of the said cylinders. The direction of the current of hot air is
shown in the drawings by the arrows. Above each of the said cylinders is
arranged a perforated partition = and respectively which forms a kind of
resistance to the flow of air. The current of air is then carried through boxes or
screens ss into the upper part of the chambers and respectively.
From the top of the chambers p and p' the hot air passes through cylindrical
outlets or pipes in which are arranged a series of deflecting or baffle plates fƒ and
cylindrical valves i, into the drums G and H respectively, suitable thermometers
being provided on the sides of the said valves in order to control the temperature
of the hot air supplied to each of the said drums.
The advantages derived from the arrangements of the apparatus and of the
special appliances above described are very numerous and may be easily understood
and accounted for after the following explanation.
The sprouting process as carried on in the apparatus shown in Figures 1 and 2
will as hereinbefore mentioned last from 5 to 7 days or more and 6 or 7 sprouting
drums will be required to supply grain for the continuous working of the arrange-
ments shown in Figures 3 and 4 inasmuch as the whole contents of one
sprouting drum C can be cured and kilned in the drums G and H within a
single day.
The air conduits R' and R2 in combination with the sprouting drums and the
exhaust fan Z admit of a thoroughly uniform and properly moistened and warmed
stream of air being supplied to all the sprouting drums. The overhead pipe t² and
its branch pipes secure on the other band an equal treatment of the contents of
the sprouting drums by dry hot air or hot air and gas, the throttle valves arranged
in the pipes t³ regulating the quantity of hot dry air to be admitted to the sprouting
drums.
The withering process carried on in the tanks W (Figures 1 and 2) is con-
siderably stimulated by applying a moderate temperature to the said tanks such
as generally prevails in the room or chamber for the sprouting drums and for
this reason the hopper shaped part of the steeping tanks project down into the
sprouting room whilst the upper part of the same is jacketed so as to allow the air
of the sprouting chamber to freely circulate around the said tanks.
The arrangement shown in Figures 3 and 4 is very economical with regard to
the heating and the passage of hot air through the drums H and G. These
arrangements permit of the application at H of a current of air much more
elevated in temperature than the air which is passed into G.

page_text: I will here refer to a modification not shown in the drawings which may be
carried out in order to still further economize the process of pneumatic malting.
The hot air which is passed through the drumm H at certain stages of the kilning
process may be made available for the process going on in the airing drum G and
for this purpose I may connect the outlet pipe of the drum H with the inlet pipe
of the drum G instead of running the hot air from H into the exhaust fan V. The
intermediate piping thus applied may be shut off from the arrangements shown in
the drawings by ordinary valves so that at any time these intermediate pipes may
be put in use or excluded from the general process above described.
I am aware that purified moistened air has heretofore been used in the process of
pneumatic malting and that it is known that carbonic acid gas at certain stages will
influence that process, and I am also aware that heated air has been used for the
curing and kilning process in combination with pneumatic malting and I do not
claim broadly the use of purified moistened air, the use of carbonic acid gas or hot
air, at the final stage.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to me by
my foreign correspondent, I declare that what I claim in the process of pneumatic
malting is :-
1. The arrangement of divided chambers or compartments k¹ k² and ³ preferably
provided with a heating apparatus at the top, a layer of purifying material at the
bottom of the first compartment and an upwardly projecting nozzle for the intro-
duction of a jet of steam into the second compartment, in combination with jets of
water introduced into each of the said compartments from above, all substantially
as described and shown in the drawings.
2. In combination with the sprouting drums of a pneumatic malting apparatus
and the air conduits R¹ R2, the overhead pipes t and branch pipes serving
to simultaneously or intermittently work the process by the introduction into the
drums C of cold or hot dry air or a mixture of air and gas as hereinbefore
described.
3. In combination with a pneumatic malting apparatus, the chambers B and B²
into which air together with the required quantity of carbonic acid gas is admitted
and heated by a series of pipes t, the deflecting or baffle plates t so arranged as to
intimately mix the air and carbonic acid gas and to cause the same to circulate
round the heating pipes the said baffle plates being provided with hygroscopic
material for the purpose of drying the air passing through the chamber B to the
pipes and t and drums C.
4. In combination with a pneumatic malting apparatus the use of steeping tanks W
Figures 1 and 2 which are provided with air jackets and suspended in the manner
and for the purpose hereinbefore described..
5. In the pneumatic malting apparatus shown in Figures 3 and 4, the arrange-
ment of the drums G and H in such a manner, that the hot air for the kilning and
the curing process can be drawn from the same source of supply the said air being
so divided and regulated as to quantity and temperature that each of the said
drums can be effectively operated independently of each other substantially in the
manner hereinbefore described.
6. In combination with the drums G and H and the heating apparatus therefor
the use of a simple exhaust-fan V substantially as herein described and for the
purpose specified.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.