CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN CONVERTING SEA WATER INTO FRESH, AND IN VENTILATING SHIPS AND OTHER VESSELS, APPLICABLE ALSO TO THE EVAPORATION OF LIQUIDS, AND TO THE CONCEN- TRATION AND CRYSTALLIZATION OF SYRUPS AND SALINE SOLUTIONS
Year: 1849

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
MURDOCH, of Staple Inn, in the County of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughts-
man and Patent Agent, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent, under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the First day of
August, One thousand eight hundred and forty-nine, in the thirteenth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said James Murdoch, my exors, adñors, and assigns, Her especial
licence, full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said James
Murdoch, my exors, adñiors and assigns, and such others as I, the said
my exors, admors, 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 in the Islands
of Guernsey, Jersey, Alderney, Sark, and Man, and in all Her said Majesty's
Colonies and Plantations abroad, the Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN
CONVERTING SEA WATER INTO FRESH, AND IN VENTILATING SHIPS AND OTHER
VESSELS, APPLICABLE ALSO TO THE EVAPORATION OF LIQUIDS, AND TO THE CONCEN-
TRATION AND CRYSTALLIZATION OF SYRUPS AND SALINE SOLUTIONS," communicated
to me from abroad; in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso that

page_text: I, the said James Murdoch, should cause a particular description of the
nature of the said-Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, to be-inrolled
in Her said Majesty's High Court of Chancery, within six calendar months
next and immediately after the date of. the said in part 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
James Murdoch, do hereby declare the nature of my said Invention to
consist,―
Firstly, as regards the improvements in the conversion of sea water into
fresh by distillation, in accelerating the evaporating of the water in the
distilling vessel, by creating a current of air over the surface of the water by
exhausting fan, in conjunction with a peculiarly constructed con-
denser, which improvement is also applicable to the evaporation of alcoholic
and other spirituous liquids in the process of distillation, as also (omitting the
condenser) to the evaporation of other liquids, and. to the concentration and
crystallization of syrups and saline solutions; and,
Secondly, in an improved evaporating vessel, having a very extended heating
surface, and which is applicable also to the evaporation of liquids and the
concentration and crystallization of syrups and other solutions; and,'
Thirdly, as regards: the improvements, in the ventilation of ships. They
consist in creating a descending and an ascending, current. of 'air in the. holds
or cabins of vessels, by means of .an: exhausting fan; and in combining such
means of ventilating with the process of converting sea water into fresh.
And in further compliance. with the said proviso, I, the said James
Murdoch, do hereby describe the manner in which the said Invention is to be
performed by the following statement thereof, reference being had to the.
Drawings annexed, and to the figures and letters niarked thereon, that is to
Figure 1 represents in, section an apparatus (adapted to an ordinary ship's
cooking range) for converting salt water into fresh, and also for the ventilation
of vessels, upon the principle. of the. Invention: d is the..boiler. of a 'ship's
range, with a saucepan in use at the. time, and which. boiler serves as the
evaporating vessel of the apparatus,. and is supposed to be charged. with sea
water to the water line z, z. To the under side of the cover. b is attached a
pipe 6, perforated with numerous small holes, and communicating with the

page_text: atinosphere by a cock c. dr is the neck or steam pipe by which the steam
passes. through the deck to the condenser, A-being an upper deck; and Ba
lower deck of a vessel. The condenser is placed preferably in. the lower part
of the vessel, and is constructed as follows:-e, e, is a tank. fitted with a cover
f, and, divided horizontally into two compartments g and h. by a disc i, the
lower one of which compartments 9 forms the cold water. cistern.. j is the
induction pipe passing through the disc and the cover f, its upper end being
connected to the steam pipe d, and the lower end opening into a shallow
vessel or chamber k, situated in the cold-water cistern, and having attached to
its under side a zig-zag pipe l, which passes through the side of the cistern,
and terminates in an inverted syphon. The vessel k is connected with the
compartment h by a number of open pipes :m, m, which, as also the pipe j,.
contain each a rod n, upon,which are fixed; at about two inches apart, a
number of discs o, of wire gauze or perforated metal (shewn in plan in
Figure 2). Alittle above the mouths of the. pipes m, m, is a disc of wire
gauze or perforated metal o' (shewn in plan in Figure 3); and over a hole pin
the cover is fixed an exhausting fan q; which is enclosed.in a box q', having
a central. aperture q", for the entry of the air from the. chamber or compart-
ment h, and surrounded by a casing r,, which forms an air-tight joint with the
cover f. s.is the discharge pipe connected to the exhausting fan, and rising
above the upper deck. t is the aperture at which the cold water is supplied
to the condensing cistern, and t the aperture at which the heated water is
discharged. vis the supply aperture to the boiler and v¹ the aperture. at
which a portion of the water as it becomes surcharged with salt is discharged.
w; an ordinary saucepan or cooking vessel, which, when not required, may be
replaced by a lid or cover. The operation of the apparatus is as follows:-
The boiler. being charged, with sea water to the water line z, z, the fire lighted,
and the fan set in motion, the external air rushes through the cock c into and
from the perforated pipe into the pipe.d; sweeping in its passage over the
surface of the liquid, and a rapid evaporation soon takes place. The air-and
steam soon enter by the pipe d into the. condenser below, where the steam,
encountering the metallic discs in the pipes, becomes condensed, and falls into
the chamber k, whence it passes out at the. syphon into a receiver as fresh
water, whilst the air is drawn over by the exhausting fan, and: is 'expelled
through the discharge pipe's. From the intimate mixture of the steam and air
during this process,' the fresh water absorbs a considerable portion of air,
whereby it is rendered pleasant to drink. In lieu of the condenser repre-
sented in the Figures, the ordinary worm condenser may be employed by
F

page_text: connecting one of the lowermost coils either with an ascending worm sur-
rounded by cold-water, and communicating above with an exhausting fan, or
with a tube or tubes surrounded by cold water, and containing perforated
discs (similar to the discs ), and communicating above with an exhausting
fan. I would observe, that although I have represented the evaporation as
being carried on in the boiler of the cooking apparatus, it is preferable, where
circumstances will admit, to employ a separate evaporator, constructed on the
principle of that represented in Figures 4, 5, 6, and 7, and which will be
described when I come to treat of the application of the Invention to the
concentration and crystallization of syrups.
The process above described, with reference to the conversion of sea water
into fresh, may be applied to the evaporation of alcoholic and other spirituous
liquids, by the addition of a perforated pipe to the still or evaporating vessel,
for the admission of the external air, and by connecting the still with a
condenser similar to that above described, and having an exhausting fan con-
nected with it.
The ventilation of vessels, as regards the apparatus just described, is
effected as follows:-A perforated pipe x, laid along under the lower deck B
of the vessel, communicates with an upright pipe a, which rises above the
upper deck A, and is open to the atmosphere, and a perforated pipe y, lying
immediately under the upper deck A, communicates with the discharge pipe s
at The foul air is thus withdrawn from the upper part of the vessel,
and the external air rushes in through the pipes w² to supply its place. The
ventilation may of course be effected by a separate ventilator, if preferred.
Figures 4, 5, 6, and 7 represent my Invention as applied to the concen-
tration and crystallization of syrups and saline solutions. Figure 4 is a
longitudinal section of the apparatus; Figure 5 a plan; Figure 6 a section on
the line w, w, looking towards a; and Figure 7 a section on the line y, y,
looking towards z. a is the evaporating vessel, composed of a series of com-
partments forming a continuous zig-zag channel, and inserted in a casing b.
Steam is admitted into the casing at the neck c, and circulates between the
compartments, which-present a great extent of heating surface, and the water
of condensation passes off at an inverted syphon connected with the neck d.
e is a close fitting cover, to the under side of which is attached a perforated
pipef, communicating with the atmosphere by the cock 9; and over an aper-
ture h, in the cover, is fixed an exhausting fan i, enclosed in a box j, which
has a central aperture k for the admission of the air, and is surrounded by the
casing, attached by an air-tight joint to the cover.
The liquid to be evapo-

page_text: rated is introduced at an aperture m at one corner of the vessel, at the lower
part; and when the desired point of concentration is attained it may be.
allowed to run off at the aperture n in a continuous current, regulated to the
rate of evaporation by the inlet and discharge cocks, or it may be admitted
and discharged at intervals at the apertures m and n² respectively. If the
crystallization is to be effected in the vessel, the lid is lifted when the crystal-
lization is sufficiently advanced, and the crystals are withdrawn.
by which the vessel can be wholly emptied.
o is a cock
Although I prefer the form of evaporating vessel shewn, on account of the
extent of heating surface which it presents, it may be formed simply as a flat-
bottomed shallow vessel, of any suitable figure. The steam also may be
generated in the casing, in lieu of employing a separate boiler for the purpose,
or the evaporator may be heated by a naked fire.
Having thus described the nature of the Invention, and the manner of
carrying it into effect, I proceed to state my claims in reference thereto. I
claim,―
Firstly, the employment of a current of air produced by an exhausting fan,
combined with a condenser, constructed upon the principle of that herein-
before described, for the purpose of accelerating evaporation in the conversion
of sea water into fresh by distillation, and in the distillation of alcoholic and
other spirituous liquids, as herein-before described.
Secondly, the employment of a current of air, produced by an exhausting
fan, in the concentration and crystallization of syrups and saline solutions, as
herein-before described.
Thirdly, the employment, for the evaporation of liquids, of an èvaporating
vessel, composed of a series of metallic compartments, forming a continuous
zig-zag channel, as herein-before described, whether such vessel be closed and
connected or not with an exhausting fan for the process of distillation, or
whether it be employed simply as an open evaporating vessel.
Lastly, the ventilating of ships by means of descending and ascending
currents of air, produced by means of an exhausting fan, and the combining
such method of ventilation with the process herein-before described of con-
verting sea water into fresh.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Murdoch, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Thirtieth day of January, One thousand eight
hundred and fifty.
JAMES (L.S.) MURDOCH.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Thirtieth-day of January, in
the year of our Lord 1850, the aforesaid James Murdoch came before our
said Lady the. Queen in Her 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:
Enrolled the First day of January, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty.