Process and Apparatus for Treating Butter for Purposes of Conserva- tion and Subsequent Restoration to the Fresh Condition.
Year: 1898

page_text: Process and Apparatus for Treating Butter for Purposes of Conserva-
tion and Subsequent Restoration to the Fresh Condition.
I, MATHIEU JULIEN, of 208b, Faubourg St. Denis, Paris, France, Manufac-
turer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to a process of, and apparatus for, treating butter whereby
to enable it to be conserved for an indefinite period of time and to be subse-
quently restored to its primitive fresh condition.
It is well known that butter, unless it be salted and specially treated in a way
which deprives it of its natural flavour, cannot be preserved for a very long time.
It is therefore generally necessary that it should be consumed where produced or
at least at a very limited distance therefrom.
The present invention relates to a process whereby after a preliminary treat-
ment at the locality of production, the butter may be transported to any climate
and to very considerable distances without danger of becoming deteriorated and
may, whenever required, be reconstituted in, or restored to, its primitive fresh
condition.
The method of operation is as follows:-At the locality where the butter is
produced, the butter is melted in a vessel heated by a water bath or in any suitable
manner provided it be at low temperature, say about 40° C. (104° F.) for instance,
or a temperature which is just sufficient to enable the butter to be purified by
the simple subsidence of its impurities, without the use of any chemical agent.
This purification having been effected, the supernatant butter fat is removed in
the melted state and is run into casks wherein it is preserved and transported to
the place of consumption.
The butter being thus melted at low temperature may be conserved for a very
long time without losing its qualities, particularly as regards its flavour.
When the butter thus conserved is required for consumption it is reconstituted,
or restored to its primitive fresh condition, by a treatment which consists in
incorporating with the butter, good fresh or semi-clotted milk in sufficient quantity
(say 20% to 30%) to replace the buttermilk, casein, water, etc., of which it had
been deprived by the preliminary treatment to which it was originally subjected.
The incorporation of the milk with the melted butter may be effected by any
suitable means but that which gives the best results, as regards the intimacy and
homogeneity of the mixture consists in subjecting the butter and milk to a treat-
ment whereby they are brought into a condition of intimate molecular admixture.
This treatment consists in causing the butter and milk under very high pressure
to be projected in the form of very fine jets meeting each other or a common point
of impact at a very high velocity so as to break them up and bring them into
intimate molecular contact with each other. The means whereby this is effected
consists essentially of a piston acting as a regulating valve and traversing a
cylinder connected with a pipe through which the constituents of the mixture are
forced under high pressure by separate pumps of relative capacities for delivery
corresponding to the required proportions of the constituents in the mixture, the
piston being formed of two parts of different diameters passing through cup

page_text: leathers and glands at the opposite ends of the cylinder so as to leave the piston
exposed to pressure in one direction. This pressure is balanced by the stress of a
spring regulated according to the pressure at which the mixer is required to
work. The part of the piston of smaller diameter is tubular and has two or more
minute radial emission orifices leading into its bore. When the pressure in the
cylinder acting on the effective area of the part of larger diameter is sufficient to
overcome the stress of the spring the emission orifices are brought into communi-
cation with the interior of the cylinder so as to give passage to minute jets of the
mixture contained in the cylinder. These jets meet and strike against each other
with great force within the bore of the piston and by the violent concussion thus
produced the molecules become so intimately mixed as to form a kind of emulsion
of which the constituent liquids are no longer separable. The length of the
cylinder is sufficient to admit of the necessary play of the piston under the limited
variations of pressure due to the pulsating action of the pumps. Should the
pressure, however, fall below the predetermined limit the piston will be moved
by the spring so as to cut off the connection of the orifices with the cylinder and
so arrest the mixing action until the necessary pressure has again been reached.
The orifices may be mere needle-holes about one-thirty second of an inch in
diameter, the diameter of these orifices being necessarily limited in view of the
high pressure acting on the cupped leather past which the orifices work and the
large delivery of small orifices under high pressures. It has been found that
a pressure in the cylinder of about 250 atmospheres gives jets of sufficient velocity
to produce a shock of the violence required to bring about an intimate admixture.
The product of the mixing action may be cooled and solidified by being discharged
through a finely-perforated distributor or rose immersed in a receptacle contain-
ing fresh water at a temperature of 3° to 5° C. (35° to 40° F.). The cooled and
solidified product rises to the surface, is collected, and finally kneaded or worked
up to form a solid mass, by any suitable means such as usually employed for
working butter as it leaves the churn.
Between the pumps and the final mixing apparatus above described there may
be interposed a preliminary mixer consisting of a hollow casing traversed by a
rapidly revolving shaft furnished with perforated pallets which work between
internal projections or circumferential ribs formed on the interior of the casing,
the portion of the shaft on which the pallets are formed being of flattened or
other section such that it will itself act as a pallet and give passage in the longi-
tudinal direction to the matters under treatment. The fluids to be mixed are
forced by the pumps into one end of the casing and are projected by the pallet
portion of the shaft into the path of the perforated pallets working in the grooves
or spaces between the internal projections of the casing whereby the fluids are
caused to traverse the holes of the said pallets. The mixed fluids pass on towards
the opposite end of the casing and after being thus subjected to the action of the
whole of the pallets in succession, pass out to the final mixing device before
described.
Process and Apparatus for Treating Butter for Purposes of Conserva-
tion and Subsequent Restoration to the Fresh Condition.
I, MATHIEU JULIEN, of 208bis, Faubourg St. Denis, Paris, France, Manufac-
turer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the

page_text: same is to be performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement:
This invention relates to a process of treating butter whereby to enable it to be
conserved for an indefinite period of time, to be transported long distances from
one part of the world to another, to traverse hot climates, and to be subsequently
restored to a condition undistinguishable (whether as regards flavour, appearance,
or otherwise) from its primitive natural fresh condition.
It is well known that butter, unless it be salted and specially treated in a way
which has the effect of depriving it of its natural fresh flavour, has not hereto-
fore been capable of preservation for a very long time nor of being transported
long distances and through hot climates as in the case of transit from Australia
to England for example. It is therefore generally necessary that the butter
should be consumed where produced, or at least at a very limited distance from
the locality or country of origin.
The present invention relates to a process whereby after a preliminary treat-
ment at the locality of production, butter may be transported to any climate and
to very considerable distances without danger of becoming deteriorated and may
whenever required, be reconstituted in, or restored to, a condition possessing all
the characteristics of fresh butter so as to be undistinguishable by the consumer
from the same butter in its primitive fresh condition.
The method of operation is as follows:-At the locality where the butter is
produced, the butter is melted at a low temperature, say about 40° C. (104° F.)
for instance, or a temperature which is just sufficient to enable the butter to be
purified by subsidence of its impurities, without the use of any chemical agent.
This operation may be performed in a vessel heated by a water bath, or by any
other suitable means provided the proper limit of temperature be not exceeded.
This purification having been effected, the supernatant butter fat is run off or
removed in the melted state and is run into suitable casks wherein it is enclosed
as completely airtight as possible in order to enable it to be conserved until
required for use or to be transported to the place of consumption. The compara-
tively low temperature at which the melting operation is performed is an
important factor as regards the length of time for which the butter may be con-
served without losing its flavour.
When the butter thus conserved is required for consumption it is reconstituted,
that is to say restored to a condition undistinguishable from its primitive fresh
condition, by a treatment which consists in re-melting the butter at a low
temperature and incorporating therewith good fresh or semi-clotted milk in
sufficient quantity (20% to 30%) to replace the buttermilk, casein, water, etc.,
of which the butter had been deprived by the preliminary melting and purifying
treatment to which it was originally subjected. The incorporation of the milk
with the butter must be effected in such manner as to produce the most perfectly
intimate and homogeneous mixture attainable, and without, however, limiting my-
self to the method described I will specify a method of treatment which gives the
best results and whereby the butter and milk are brought into a condition of
intimate molecular admixture. This treatment consists in causing the butter
and milk under very high pressure to be projected in the form of very fine jets
oneeting each other or a common point of impact at a very high velocity, the
means whereby this is effected being illustrated in the accompanying drawings
forming part of this specification wherein Figure 1 is a central longitudinal section
of what may be termed the impact pulverizing and mixing device of which
Figure 2 is a plan and Figure 3 a cross section on line 3-3 Figure 1.
This device consists essentially of a piston traversing a cylinder B connected
at C with a pipe through which the constituents of the mixture are forced under
high pressure by separate pumps, the pumps being of relative capacities for
lelivery corresponding to the required proportions of the constituents in the
mixture. The piston is formed of two parts A a of different diameters and pass-

page_text: ing through leather packings d and glands D D¹, at the opposite ends of the
cylinder so as to leave the piston exposed to pressure over the area of surface
presented by the shoulder at a². This pressure is balanced by the stress of a
spring E regulated according to the pressure at which the mixer is required to
work. For this purpose the spring E is compressed between a fixed crosshead F
and a movable crosshead G against which the piston A abuts, the spring being
coiled about a guide tube H carried by the crosshead G and sliding through the
crosshead F, and crosshead G being fitted to slide on guide rods I by which the
crosshead F is connected to a fixed abutment on the cylinder B with facility of
adjustment by screw nuts to enable the initial compression of the spring to be
regulated, the motion of the sliding crosshead in the forward direction being
limited by shoulders i on the guide rods. The part a of the piston of smaller
diameter, is tubular and has two or more minute radial emission orifices k leading
into its bore K. When the liquid pressure in the cylinder acting on the effective
area of the shoulder a2 is sufficient to overcome the stress of the spring E the
piston is moved longitudinally so that the emission orifices are brought into
communication with the interior of the cylinder B and give passage to minute
jets of the mixture contained in the cylinder. These orifices k being diametri-
cally opposite or radial and in the same transverse plane the jets meet and strike
against each other with great force within the bore K of the piston and by the
violent concussion thus produced the liquids become pulverized, their molecules
becoming so intimately mixed as to form a kind of emulsion of which the con-
stituent liquids are no longer separable. The length of the cylinder is sufficient
to admit of the necessary play of the piston under the limited variations of pres-
sure due to the pulsating action of the pumps. Should the pressure, however,
fall below the predetermined limit the stress of the spring will prevail and the
piston will be moved until the orifices & pass beyond the packing d so that con-
nection of the orifices with the cylinder will be cut off and the action will be
arrested until the necessary pressure has again been attained. The piston thus
acting the part of regulator valve. The orifices
may be mere
needle-holes about one-thirty second of an inch in diameter, the
diameter of these orifices being necessarily very minute in view of
the high pressure employed and in view of the fact that the orifices
work past the leather packing and that the delivery of even minute orifices is
considerable under high pressures. It has been found that a pressure in the
cylinder of about 250 atmospheres giving jets of sufficient velocity to produce a
shock of the violence required to bring about an intimate molecular admixture of
the constituents. The product of the mixing action may be cooled and solidified
by being discharged through a tube connected to the tubular end of the piston <
and terminating in a finely-perforated distributor or rose immersed in a recep-
tacle containing fresh water at a temperature of 3° to 5° C. (35° to 40° F.), the
cooled and solidified product discharged in fine streams, rising to the surface
where it is collected and is finally kneaded or worked up to form a solid mass,
by any suitable means such as usually employed for working butter as it leaves
the churn.
al
The pumps are in pairs, a sufficient number of pairs of pumps working in suc-
cessive rotation being provided to ensure as continuous a delivery as possible of
the constituents of the intended mixture, the two pumps of a pair working simul-
taneously and being of relative capacities corresponding to the intended
proportions of the constituents in the mixture. All the pumps may be worked
by eccentrics from a common shaft and all deliver into the same pipe leading to
the inlet C of the cylinder.
Between the pumps and the cylinder A of the final mixing apparatus herein-
before described there may, or may not, be interposed a preliminary mixer
(illustrated in longitudinal section in Figure 4) consisting of a hollow casing L
traversed by a rapidly revolving shaft M, M¹, mounted in suitably packed bear-
ings in the ends of the said casing and furnished with perforated pallets N which

page_text: work between internally projecting circumferential ribs O formed on the interior
of the casing L, the portion M¹ of the shaft on which the pallets N are formed
being of flattened or other section such that it will itself act as a pallet and give
passage in the longitudinal direction to the fluids to be mixed, which are forced
by the pumps into one end of the casing through the inlet and are projected by
the pallet portion M¹ of the shaft into the path of the perforated pallets N working
in the grooves or spaces between the ribs O whereby the fluids are churned up
and mingled together by being caused to traverse the holes of the pallets, the
fluids in passing longitudinally through the casing being subjected to the action
of all of the pallets in succession and finally passing at the outlet to the
cylinder A of the mixing apparatus first described. The purpose of this pre-
liminary mixing apparatus is to bring the fluids into a more or less intimate
state of admixture before being presented to the action of the jet apparatus so as
to ensure constancy of the final product.
The apparatus herein described forms the subject of another application for
Letters Patent of even date herewith No. 23,638.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:-
1. The hereindescribed process of treating butter for purpose of conservation
and subsequent restoration to fresh condition, which consists essentially in the
two separate operations performed in the localities of production and consump-
tion respectively, namely, first melting the butter at low temperature, separating
it from subsided impurities, and packing into casks for conservation and trans-
port, and secondly effecting a most intimate molecular mixture of the butter with
a suitable proportion of milk, preferably by the impact of jets of the partially
mingled fluids projected and meeting under very high pressure substantially as
herein specified.
2. The step in the process of treating butter for purposes of conservation and
restoration to a natural fresh condition, which consists in effecting the intimate
molecular admixture with butter which has undergone a preliminary treatment as
herein described, of a certain proportion of milk, such admixture being effected
by the impact of jets projected and meeting under very high pressure substan-
tially as herein described.
A. M. & WM. CLARK,
Chartered Patent Agents, 53, Chancery Lane, London.