Process of Purifying Water for Household Use and Consumption.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 15th Mar., 1893-Accepted, 27th May,
1893
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Process of Purifying Water for Household Use and Consumption.
I FREDERICK WILLIAM GOLBY of 36 Chancery Lane, in the County of
Middlesex, Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of this invention as com-
municated to me by Gustav Oppermann of Roebel, in the Grand Duchy of
Mecklenburg, Germany, Apothecary, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-
It is a well recognised fact that the gaseous chemical combinations which are
formed by electrolyzing water and among which ozone and peroxide of hydrogen
seem to hold a first rank, act in a highly oxidizing and therefore destructive
manner upon organic matter carried by water; experiments in laboratories relative
to this fact have been made upon a small scale, and proved that in fact the
electrolysis of water gave a purifying result.
In consequence of this, it would seem possible to apply the same process of
purifying water on a large scale, that is especially to purify the large quantities
of water required for household use and consumption and distributed by water-
works or the water supply of a city or town.
However, when examining the question it is found that when put into practice
on a large scale, it requires altogether different means of performance than on a
small one, for as is often the case in chemistry and in physics, great difficulties
are met with in practice on a large scale, which were not anticipated when making
experiments. For instance, the plates of platinum required for the electrodes of
the necessary size would cost so much, that only cities with very large means at
their disposal would be able to adopt them, so that the application of the process
would remain limited to a few cities only. Then the question arises whether
platinum could be obtained in such large quantities as to make electrodes, say of
the size of large gates.
Further, to submit at once to electrolysis the enormous quantity of water con-
tained in one of the usual clearing basins, a current of so great a strength would
be necessary, that the expenses of production of this current would prevent the
The idea, then of
process from being adopted in spite of all its advantages.
successfully electrolyzing a volume of 160 to 320 thousand cubic feet of water
would appear to be impracticable. The method as applied to the experiments in
laboratories must therefore be abandoned in practice. By the present invention,
the difficulties herein before mentioned are successfully overcome and the electric
current is utilized for purifying water in any quantity.
The water which is supplied by a natural flow or basin A, is conveyed, when
required, by a pump B through a narrow sinuous channel C, in which a series of
numerous couples of electrodes a a' are situated, and connected to the circuit of a
current. The water will be subject to electrolysis when flowing between each
couple of electrodes and in consequence will dissolve or absorb large quantities of
ozone and peroxide of hydrogen. If after having been treated in another manner,
which will be explained hereafter, the water is allowed to flow into clearing basins,
where it may collect and undergo the action of the decomposing gases, the desired
purification will be attained. The gases evolved by the electrical decomposition
of the water having destroyed the bacteria and products of putrefaction, become
water again as soon as they have served the required purpose.
The feature of conveying the water through a relatively narrow channel
dispenses with the necessity of using large, and consequently very dear plates of
platinum, as sheets of thin platinum may be used, which in large sizes would not
offer the required resistance.
As to the special arrangement of the channel with its fittings, it may be made

page_text: of ordinary bricks embedded in mortar, and lined inside with cement. The
channel will have to be built in a sinuous form as beforesaid, if required to act in
an efficacious manner. In order to prevent the water from flowing too rapidly
through the channel, it is advisable to divide it into compartments at distances of
say 3 feet to 4 feet by partitions c of half the height of the walls of the channel,
and to let the water flow through clay pipes d from one compartment into the
other.
The wires which are connected to the electrodes are cemented in glass tubes e
embedded in the walls of the channel, see Figures 2 and 2". Each end of a wire
made of platinum leaving the bottom of a glass tube is soldered to its electrode.
The wire leaving the top of the glass tube is wound round an insulator and con-
veyed to the next electrode. Each electrode plate has at both sides narrow glass
bands e, by means of which the plate is fixed in the walls of the channel and kept
from contact with the soil beneath.
The waterpipes d nearly touch the bottom of the channel, so that the water
rises uniformly and smoothly between and beside the two electrodes of each
compartment of the channel.
The channel is left open above, to allow an easy escape to the waste gases
developed by the electrolysis. In order to protect the entire construction against
climatic or other influences, it is covered with a roof of pasteboard, or brought
under a building which will allow the gases to escape freely. After the decom-
posing gases have been absorbed in the water and disinfection obtained within the
channel C, it would be preferable in order to be thoroughly efficacious, to allow
the electrolyzed water to flow over waterwheels which are erected behind the com-
partments of the electrodes. This operation thoroughly mingles the particles of
water and the smallest living organisms still present in the water with the decom-
posing gases absorbed by it, and brings them into intimate contact with each other.
Instead of waterwheels, other devices with large distributing contact surfaces may
be used. If it were possible to leave the water thus treated, undisturbed for a
time, say 8 to 10 days in winter, to allow the excess of ozone to escape, a complete
destruction of all micro-organisms would be effected, and no further proceedings
would be necessary.
However, it would be inconvenient for large water works, to keep filled basins
undisturbed for the required length of time, that is:-to have water ready for use
while the electrolyzed water was clearing itself of its excess of ozone.
This
would involve a great extension of the construction, and in consequence considerably
increase the first cost. Therefore the time required to render the electrolyzed
water ready for use must be considerably shortened, otherwise the practical value
of the process would be destroyed. Further, the electrolysis does not give an
absolute guarantee that all pernicious matters are destroyed, and for these reasons
the electrolysis is followed by a second process, based upon the thermic properties
of electricity. By heating the water, the process of disinfection is considerably
accelerated and at the same time the ozone is expelled from the water. Therefore
the electrolyzed water discharged from the channel C is treated as follows:-
Behind the waterwheels or equivalent devices, a gutter E is placed in which the
water has to pass a number of spirals f connected to wires 9 g¹ in the circuit of a
current, in a similar manner to the electrodes (see Figures 1 and 4). The electric
current heats the water which passes through the gutter and expels the excess of
ozone. The heat also acts in a destructive manner upon the organic particles,
remaining vital in the water.
Finally it is preferable to convey the water through a cooling basin F, before it
enters the clearing basins G or reaches the sand filters. Here the lifeless organisms
are mechanically separated from the water, and the latter then is ready for use.
In practical operation, the process offers the advantage of obtaining in a short
time and at a small expense, a pure and germiless water, which answers to the
severest chemical tests, the internal and external application of which is unattended
with any danger of infection.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
A process of purifying water for household use and consumption, consisting in
conveying water, supplied by a natural streamlet, flow, or basin, through a narrow
channel C, in which it is repeatedly electrolyzed by means of electrodes a a¹ placed
in compartments of said chaunel and connected by a current circuit, causing it to
absorb considerable quantities of ozonised oxygen and peroxide of hydrogen, in
which state by means of contact surfaces D the water is thoroughly mixed with
these gases, the decomposing properties of which kill the living organisms, and
then, with a view to destroy the last traces of vital organisms and to rapidly
expel the excess of ozone, the water is heated in a gutter E by the electric current,
after which operation it is mechanically freed from the lifeless organisms in
clearing basins or by filters after an artificial cooling, if required, substantially as
described.
Dated this 15th day of March 1803
F. W. GOLBY,
36, Chancery Lane, London, W.C.,