Improvements in Cooling Apparatus for Liquids.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 28th July, 1891-Accepted, 29th Aug., 1891
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Cooling Apparatus for Liquids.
I, BERNHARD RETTENMEYER of 128 Böblingerstrasse, Stuttgart, in the Empire.
of Germany, Manufacturer, 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 :-
The object of this invention is a device for cooling liquids by means of an air
current, which is conducted through the apparatus by blast or suction in the
direction opposite to that of the liquid, the air being compelled to frequently pass
the thin stream of liquid, thereby coming as much as possible into contact
therewith.
To accomplish the said purpose, the liquid to be cooled is supplied from above
to the improved apparatus, illustrated by Figs. 1 and 2 of the annexed drawing;
it is passed through a pipe e into the distributing pipe C, whence it is uniformly
distributed on the extremely thin corrugated sheet metal plates a placed step-
fashion above each other. From the uppermost series of plates the liquid flows to
the next lower series and so forth until it has passed all gradations or series of
plates and accumulated in a reservoir D at the bottom of the apparatus, whence it
is discharged. The air drawn from the bottom of the apparatus by means of an
exhaustor E flows between the liquid in the accumulating reservoir D and along
underneath the lowermost series of gradations in the direction indicated by arrows
through the falls of liquid formed by the step-fashion arrangement of the corrugated
sheet metal rows a a and escapes above the uppermost row of plates through air
channel B and exhaustor E into the atmosphere. The air is consequently compelled
to pass through the liquid to be cooled, for instance in the arrangement shewn
by Fig. 1, twenty times, whereby it is considerably cooled. An additional cooling
effect is produced by the air flowing along the bottom sides of the thin sheets a,
greatly cooling the latter, and thereby also the liquid running over the same.
Moreover the air current plays about and cools the stream of liquid on the upper
sides of the gradations. The cooling effect is so intense, that by the passage of
the air, at an atmospheric temperature of about 18° Centigrade in the shade,
liquids can be cooled for instance from 100° to 25-30° Centigrade, from 25° to
about 17° Centigrade etc.
The improved arrangement is particularly advantageous when a mixing of the
air with the liquid to be cooled is desirable and useful, for instance with the cooling
of beer, when, after leaving the hop reservoir, it is to be cooled and brought to
fermentation. Through the air cooling produced by the improved apparatus, the
temperature of the beer amounting to about 90 to 100° Centigrade is rapidly
reduced to below 30 degrees, thus obviating the dangerous formation of lactic acid,
and the beer can subsequently be brought at once to fermentation. The beer is
moreover mixed with air and gains in taste.
It is evident that the improved apparatus can be arranged for any desired
quantity of liquid to be cooled by giving it a corresponding size or number of
superposed gradations of plates. Preferably however no more than five rows of
plates are employed, as the dry air produces the best cooling effect and its cooling
capacity is considerably decreased as soon as it is saturated with a certain quantity
of moisture.
The improved apparatus is also especially adapted for cooling condensation
water from steam engines or for other industrial purposes.
Over the various apparatus for cooling by means of air the improved apparatus
has the advantage of being simple and cheap; it can be easily cleaned and is never
obstructed, which latter inconvenience particularly occurs with superposed sieve

page_text: bottoms by the formation of hard deposits at the passage openings within a few
days after starting the apparatus, so that the cost of cleaning the sieve bottom
holes almost exceeds the advantage gained by the cooling.
The air, instead of being drawn in by suction, may of course also be blown
in, whereby however the temperature of the air, destined to cool, is always
somewhat raised. The application of suction will therefore be generally more
advantageous.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is:
An apparatus for cooling liquids by means of air, characterised by an arrange-
ment, whereby the liquid is passed in a uniformly thin stream over surfaces lying
step-fashion above each other and thereby flows from one surface to the other in
the manner of water falls, while the air is compelled by means of suction or blast
to. penetrate these cascades of liquid in the opposite direction of movement and
thereby come extensively into contact with the liquid, substantially as set forth.
Dated this 28th day of July 1891
BERNHARD RETTENMEYER.
By Huelser & Co.,
His Agents.
BERNHARD RETTENMEYER.
By Huelser & Co.,
His Agents.