IMPROVEMENTS IN DISTILLING AND RECTIFYING, AND IN THE APPARATUS TO BE EMPLOYED THEREIN
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Edward Henry Cradock Monckton, of the Parthenon
Club, Regent Street, in the County of Middlesex, for the Invention of
IMPROVEMENTS IN DISTILLING AND RECTIFYING, AND IN THE APPARATUS TO
BE EMPLOYED THEREIN."
Sealed the 1st September 1858, and dated the 3rd March 1858.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Edward Henry Cradock
Monckton at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 3rd March 1858.
I, EDWARD HENRY CRADOCK MONCKTON, of the Parthenon Club, Regent
Street, in the County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN DISTILLING AND RECTIFYING, AND IN THE
APPARATUS TO BE EMPLOYED THEREIN," to be as follows (that is say):
My Invention, which has reference to an improved method of distilling
and rectifying organic substances and bituminous matters for the purpose
of collecting the spirituous or other products therefrom, consists,-
Firstly,in introducing into the upper portions of distilling boilers a suitable
chamber containing charcoal or other filtering substances, through which the
vapour of the spirit is caused to pass for the purpose of deodorising the same,
and depriving it of its essential oil.
Secondly, the employment of a filter placed between the cooler and the
receiver through which the spirit is drawn by a vacuum being created beneath
the-filter..
And, thirdly, the employment of an intermediate filter arranged in-such-
Price 8d1

page_text: manner as to more effectually purify the spirit or vapour by the employment
of salts of various kinds, such as potash, soda, lime, or other substances,
simple or compound, either in a fluid or solid state in connection with
charcoal or otherwise, through which the steam or vapour is caused to pass
on its passage from the distilling boiler to the refrigerator.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Edward Henry Cradock Monckton in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 3rd September 1858.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, EDWARD
HENRY CRADOCK MONCKTON, of the Parthenon Club, Regent Street, in the
County of Middlesex, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Third day of March, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, in the twenty-first year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Edward Henry Cradock Monckton, Her special licence that I,the said Edward
Henry Cradock Monckton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said Edward Henry Cradock Monckton, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others,
from time to time and at all times thereafter during the term therein
expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within
the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and
Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN DISTILLING AND RECTIFYING,
AND IN THE APPARATUS TO BE EMPLOYED THEREIN," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said Edward Henry Cradock Monckton, my executors
or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of
their hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of
the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed, and
cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six
calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters
Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Edward Henry Cradock Monckton, do
hereby declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described. and ascertained in
and by the following statement (that is to say):-
My improvements, which have for their object the purifying or rectifying

page_text: of spirits, essences, and volatile products of every description whencesoever
derived, and more particularly those obtained from roots, stalks of plants,
grain, seeds, fruit, wood, minerals, or otherwise by a more perfect and con-
tinuous process than hitherto, by causing the alcoholic or other vapour to pass
or traverse either through solutions of various descriptions, or through inter-
mediate strata or layers of suitable purifying filtering substances, or through
both, on their passage to the receiver for the purpose of more effectually
deodorizing the raw spirits and other volatile products, and depriving them of
the deleterious properties or impurities with which they are otherwise
charged, and rendering the same suitable for commercial purposes, such as
brandy, gin, rum, (supposing the vapour produced to be alcoholic), spirits of
turpentine, or pyrolignious acid or otherwise, consists in dividing the upper
portion of the boiler or still head into two or more compartments by means of
horizontal perforated plates suitablefor containing animalorothercharcoal,lime,
alkalies, or other ingredients suited to the matter to be operated upon,through
which the spirituous vapous from the roots, wash, or otherwise, is first caused to
pass, and from whence it is conveyed through the medium of an outlet pipe
into a second chamber placed intermediately between the said still or boiler
and the refrigerating coil; this chamber, which may be of any suitable
shape, I cause also to be subdivided, the upper portion into two or more
perforated compartments for containing charcoal or otherwise, and the lower
portion thereof for receiving any suitable salt, such as potash, soda, lime,
soaps, or other substances, simple or compound, either dry or in solution for
purifying the spirits, and into which the syphon-shaped bend of the said outlet
pipe is immersed, ordinary feed and discharge passages being employed in
connection therewith for supplying and discharging the said salts, or otherwise
as required, together with a steam coil submerged within thesaidsaltorotherwise
as above, and supplied with steam for the purpose of raising the temperature
of the same when desirable. From the top or upper portion of the said
intermediate chamber, I connect, through the medium of a second outlet pipe
and the refrigerating coil, a vessel or chamber containing charcoal or other
purifying substance so arranged as to admit of a continuous flow of the
condensed vapour or spirit into the upper portion thereof to be therein further
purified by filtration, which operation may be more effectually performed by
increasing the surface pressure on the fluid, or by exhausting the air beneath
by any suitable means for the said purposes, or by a combination of pressure
at the surface and a vacuum beneath. This vessel, so arranged, may be.used
as above-described, or between the refrigerating vessel of the rectifying
apparatus and the final receiver.

page_text: Before, however, proceeding to describe more fully in detail the process of
distilling and rectifying as performed by me, it may be necessary to observe
that for the distillation of alcohols from beet root or other roots or substances
containing saccharine matter, the said roots or otherwise should be prepared by
submitting the same, previously sliced, to the action of hot air or high pressure
steam, for the purpose of drying the said substances, so that they may retain
the saccharine matter and be deprived only of their aqueous and partly
deleterious portion, the beet roots or otherwise thus losing nearly six-sevenths
of their weight, whilst the entire saccharine matter is contained in the residue,
which being thereby condensed in bulk may be more readily acted upon; the
said desiccating process, moreover, depriving the roots or otherwise of some
portion of their essential oil and flavouring matter, thereby causing in the first
operation a better spirit to be produced, and effectinga great saving in labour,
there being but oue-seventh of the weight to operate upon, the said seventh
containing at least one-half its bulk of saccharine; and, furthermore, the dried
root may be kept any length of time, can be distilled during all periods of the
year, and transported any distance at a cheap rate without fear of damage.
I then cause the said dried roots or otherwise, after due fermentation, to be
placed within the generator or boiler, either with or without water in pro
portionate quantities, and heat applied in the ordinary manner or by a steam
coil, or the admission of steam to the sliced roots and the vapour issuing
therefrom to pass into a main pipe surrounded by a condensing medium,
whereby the superfluous water contained in it is condensed and caused to fall
back into the cylinder or boiler, wheuce it passes at a high strength either
through the filter placed or formed in the top of the said boiler or still, by
which the said vapour becomes partially deodorized, or direct from the pipe
surrounded by the condensing medium (through the intervention of the syphon-
shaped outlet pipe aforesaid) into the salt or otherwise contained in the inter-
mediate purifying chamber, through which it rises and ascends to the upper
portion thereof, which is also provided with filtering layers of charcoal or
otherwise, as above described, whence it passes into the condenser or
refrigerator, for which I prefer a chamber provided with a suitable arrange-
ment of parallel tubes inserted into boxes at top and bottom in place of a spiral
coil, as being more rapid in its condensing action; from this it passes into a
receiver, which I place either in connection with a filter or with a rectifying
boiler and filter, into which the partially purified spirit is conveyed in succession
for filtration or rectification, and final filtration through charcoal prior to
passing into the receiver. I would here also observe that in place of em-
ploying any odd number of cylinders or boilers, I prefer the employment of au

page_text: even number, so as to admit of a coutinuous or uninterrupted distilling
action by working them in pairs so connected that the spent steam from
each may be made to pass to the other when newly filled.
In connection with the said rectifying boiler, I propose that the rectifying
column should be constructed in such manner as to admit of a graduated
stream of water passing continuously through the same through the medium
of a pipe or passage, the object being to regulate the heat, so that the essential
oils only may pass to the top of the column, whilst the purer portions of the
vapour are allowed to escape from a lower level through the medium of a pipe
leading to the condenser, the watery particles, with earths, oils, and other
feculencies, falling back into the boiler. For this purpose the rectifying column
may either be constructed with parallel sides and agraduated serpentine pipe
passing through it and along plates inserted therein, diminishing in bore from
the top to the bottom, or with a column increasing in size from the apex to the
base, furnished also with a sepentine pipe, but of equal bore, passing through
it in like manner, or in lieu thereof a vertical column with a funnel-shaped
pipe, or inverted cone with an open or closed top, without plates, but the
sides of the column graduated or adjusted so as to effect the same object,
the mouth of the said cone, if open, should have a thermometer always
kept in the water to regulate the heat, or if closed, the thermometer may
be inserted in the lid, with the stem outwards.
As another method of rectifying the spirit and depriving it of its essential
oil more rapidly, and by which greater economy is effected that hitherto, I
cause the said spirit to be distilled in vacuo, thus either a pump would be
constantly drawing off the air at first and subsequently the vapour as it rose,
whereby the spirit might be distilled at a much lower temperature, or a con-
denser might be applied of suitable dimensions for creating a sufficient vacuum
for the desired object; thus, supposing one hundred gallons of spirit to con-
tain one ounce of essential oil more volatile than the spirit, the said oil might
be drawn off by such means with but little loss of spirit, whilst the pure
spirit remains behind, whereas by the ordinary processes the whole body of
fluid is distilled over, so much of the essential as can be detained by chemicals
or otherwise remaining in the still, which is but a very imperfect method;
the former process occupying but a short space of time comparatively to
the latter, as only the essential oil which contains greater volatility than
the alcohol is distilled over and not the whole body of the spirit, thus in
reality reversing the old process.
On the completion of the rectifying process in connection with the column-
I convey the partially purified spirit direct through the intervention of suitable

page_text: pipes for that purpose to the final filtering chamber, where the spirit is again
caused to pass through layers of charcoal or other filtering material assisted by
increasing the surface pressure on the fluid or exhausting the air from beneath,
or by combining both methods as above described; the feints or bad spirits
being previously conveyed into receivers kept separately for that purpose,
and again passed if necessary into the boilers for redistillation, or for
removal altogether if desirable. I further use not less than three receivers
attached to the still or boiler or rectifier, their object being to receive,
firstly, the volatile oil; secondly, the impure spirits; and thirdly, the pure
spirit or products; a fourth receiver being used when under the excise
laws. Any impuré product not required to be redistilled has to be removed.
Having now fully described and ascertained the nature of this my said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is to be performed and carried
into effect, I would have it clearly understood that I do not intend to confine
myself to the precise details herein-before described, as any suitable number
of boilers, rectifying columns, purifying vessels, condensers and filters arranged
in any convenient manner, conjointly or separately, may be employed, and
various other organic or inorganic substances, as mineral or bituminous
matters or vapour of any kind derived from any vegetable or other substance,
or any condensed vapour may be treated or operated upon in like manner in
a concentrated or concrete state or otherwise, or the same may be otherwise
váried without departing from the general principle of these my said improve-
ments; but that which I do claim as new and of my said Invention is, the employ
ment of purifying chambers placed intermediately between the boiler, cylinder,
or vessel containing the original matter to be distilled, and the condenser in
connection with the charcoals, salts, chemicals, or otherwise, together with the
process of increasing the surface pressure or exhausting the air from beneath,
or the combination of both during the purifying process, together with the
method of purifying spirits or other matters by distillation in vacuo, as also
the process by which the separation of the volatile oil is effected in the
manner and for the purposes herein-before set forth and described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Edward Henry Cradock Monckton, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Thirty-first day of August, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight.
EDWARD HENRY CRADOCK MONCKTON. (L.S.)