Improvements in the Construction of Vertical Stills for the Distillation of Ammoniacal and other Liquors or Liquids.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 28th Oct., 1891
Complete Specification Left, 9th July, 1892-Accepted, 17th Sept., 1892
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Construction of Vertical Stills for the
Distillation of Ammoniacal and other Liquors or Liquids.
I JAMES WRIGHT of 17 Hartington Road Stockton on Tees in the County of
Durham Mechanical Engineer do hereby declare the nature of this invention to
be as follows:-
My invention relates to those forms of stills known as columnar or vertical in
which ammoniacal or other liquids liquors or vapours are treated for the evolution
of gases and volatile products in thin layers, by means of a current of steam, whilst
the liquids move down the succession of trays plates & cylinders of which the still
is constructed. Instead of making the upward current of steam and gas pass
through one central opening over each tray, as in the ordinary still hitherto
constructed I divide it into two or any greater number of sections by arranging
the openings through the trays in places proportioned to the internal area of the
still. The interior caps covering the steam & gas openings have hitherto been
made of many forms from under which the vapours & gases discharged on the
outside periphery only. According to my invention those caps will be made of
various annular forms, so as to have their discharging surfaces for the gas under
the interior bottom serrated edges or periphery as well as on the exterior periphery,
thereby greatly increasing the effective contact surface of the steam & gases with
the liquor apon the various trays. shall also make the caps in some cases of two
or more annular rings on each tray each discharging gases from both interior and
exterior edges or surfaces or peripheries.
Another part of my invention relates to the construction of the columnar part
of these stills, hitherto they have been made in short pieces having a multiplicity of
joints; by my invention the liquor trays or tables will be so arranged that a smaller
number of cylindrical castings & faced surfaces will be required to construct a still,
whilst at the same time keeping all parts accessible.
Another part of my invention relates to the arrangement of the pipes conveying
the gases through the liming chamber instead of taking them by one pipe in the
centre or thereabouts, I employ two or any greater number with the object first
of getting a better divided & more equal distribution of the gases, and second a
greater heating effect on the contents of the chamber. The discovery also
enables me to provide or supply a better distribution of steam in the bottom of
the lime chamber from the centre thereof, for agitating the lime water and
contents.
I shall construct the still in the usual way in one column having the requisite
number of trays and annular caps above & below the lime chamber for the purpose
of liberating the volatile ammoniacal or other gases when the still is used for
the latter purpose; I do not now fix upon any number of trays to be put either
above or below the lime chamber on account of the varying nature of the work
required, sometimes the lime chamber may be needed at the top, & at other times
helow the trays, according to the qualities & strengths of the various gases to be
dealt with.
The spent water after having given up its ammonia in its passage through the
still described above will be conducted to a liquor trap with a sealing arrangement
specially designed to give facilities for cleaning out, and to which can be fixed a
heater of any of the well known forms when it is for any purpose required to
abstract heat from the escaping water.
Dated this 27th day of October 1891

page_text: .
OUBLE LETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Construction of Vertical Stills for the
Distillation of Ammoniacal and other Liquors or Liquids.
I JAMES WRIGHT of Springhurst, Hartburn, Stockton on Tees, formerly of
17 Hartington Road in the same borough, Mechanical Engineer, 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 :-
My invention relates to those forms of stills known as columnar or vertical, in
which ammoniacal, or other liquids, liquors, or vapours, are treated for the
evolution of gases and volatile products in thin layers by means of a current of
steam, whilst the liquids move down the succession of trays plates & cylinders of
which the still is constructed. Instead of making the upward current of steam and
gas pass through one central opening in each tray, as in the ordinary still hitherto
constructed I divide it into two, or any greater number of sections, by arranging
the openings through the trays in places proportional to the internal area of the
still. The interior caps covering the steam and gas openings have hitherto been
made of many forms; from under which the vapours & gases discharged on the
outside periphery only. According to my invention, those caps will be made of
various annular forms, so as to have their discharging surfaces for the gas under
the interior bottom serrated edges or periphery as well as on the exterior
periphery, thereby greatly increasing the effective contact surface of the steam
& gases with the liquor upon the various trays; I shall also make the caps in
some cases of two or more annular rings on each tray, each discharging gases
from both interior & exterior edges or surfaces or peripheries. Another part of
my invention relates to the construction of the columnar part of these stills,
hitherto they have been made in short pieces having a multiplicity of joints;
by my invention the liquor trays or tables will be so arranged that a smaller
number of cylindrical castings & faced surfaces will be required to construct a
still, whilst at the same time keeping all parts accessible.
Another part of my invention relates to the arrangement of the pipes conveying
the gases through the liming chamber; instead of taking the gases by one pipe
in the centre or thereabouts, I employ two or any greater number with the object,
first of getting a better divided & more equal distribution of the gases, & second
a greater heating effect on the contents of the chamber.
The discovery also enables me to provide or supply a better distribution of
steam in the bottom of the lime chamber viz. from the centre thereof for agitating
• the lime water & contents. I shall construct the still in the usual way in one
column, having the requisite number of trays and annular caps above & below the
lime chamber for the purpose of liberating the volatile, ammoniacal or other gases
when the still is used for the latter purpose. I do not now fix upon any number
of trays to be put either above or below the lime, chamber, on account of the
varying nature of the work required, sometimes the lime chamber may be needed
at the top & at other times below the trays, according to the qualities & strengths
of the various gases & liquors to be dealt with.
The spent water after having given up its ammonia in its passage through the still
described above, will be conducted to a liquor trap with a sealing arrangement
specially designed to give facilities for cleaning out, & to which can be fixed a
heater of any of the well known forms when it is for any purpose required to
abstract heat from the escaping water.
The above sets forth generally the nature, object & purposes of this invention
but in order that the same may be more clearly understood I have hereunto
annexed one sheet of drawings illustrative thereof & forming part of this
Specification.

page_text: DESCRIPTION OF DRAWING.
Figure 1 is an elevation partly in section of the ammonia still embodying
improvements according to my invention. It is constructed of a series of vertical,
shallow, cylindrical vessels, numbered 12 in the drawing, of any height & any
number but may be made of any other form, having at the top an outlet pipe
(No. 13) for the egress of the volatilised product to convey it to the apparatus for
fixing by sulphuric or other acid, & an inlet (No. 14) for the hot liquor. No. 15
denotes the lime chamber which for the purposes of this Specification is shewn
about the centre of the height of the still.
The parts numbered 16 are the annular (not necessarily circular) caps placed on
the trays & plates over the various passages A, A, A, for the ascending current
of hot gas & steam, so constructed as to have discharging surfaces or edges both
on the exterior, & interior peripheries; these caps are placed on ledges, trays or
plates, 6 inches apart, or thereabouts, so arranged that two of them are provided
for in each cylindrical casting & made accessible for cleaning by small doors at
equidistant points round the circumference.
The figures numbered respectively Nos. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, & 10 shew a few of
the many shapes; in plan. it is possible to make these caps; the exterior edges or
peripheries being denoted by the letter B & the interior by the letter C.
It should be noted that the discharging edges in the caps are in all cases serrated
or notched to within a proper distance from the overflow level of the liquor under
treatment. The overflow & dipping pipes 17 are arranged in suitable numbers
on each tray to the work required, both inside & outside the serrated edges of
the caps above referred to. The pipes conveying the gases through the liming
chamber are numbered 18 in Figures 1 & 11 whilst the steam distributing pipe is
marked 19 at the bottom of the lime chamber in the same figures.
The liquor overflow pipes from one of the upper into the lime chamber are
numbered 20. The spent water pipe is shewn at the bottom of Figure 1 &
numbered 21; it is sealed in the well known way usual in gas works viz. :-by
discharging into a well casting or cylinder (22) of the requisite depth to
give the seal & pressure required from whence the hot spent fluid may be led
anywhere.
In the foregoing description & drawings the same reference numeral & letter
are used to mark the same or like parts wherever they are repeated in any of the
figures.
This invention is not confined to the precise arrangement & details shewn in the
drawings, as these admit of many variations within the scope of the invention,
some few of which are shewn by the illustrations.
The operation with respect to the flow of the liquor, steam & gases may be
thus shortly described. The steam enters the still in the usual way at the lower
part & ascends from tray to tray by the passages A, A, marked on the various
figures; it gathers in the interior of the annular caps 16 & escaping forces its way
by the interior & exterior peripheries into the surrounding spaces & so on
successively until it reaches the lime chamber through which it is conveyed by
the pipes 18 heating the lime & the water as it passes through. From thence it is
conveyed in a similar way over the upper trays to the outlet 13 meeting on the
top tier or tray the boiling hot liquor at the inlet 14 which in its turn descends by
means of the overflow pipes 17 & 20 from tray to tray until what remains of it
finally reaches the outlet pipe 21 & seal pot 22 at the bottom.
The steam to the lime chamber is admitted through the cross pipe 19 shewn on
Figures 1 & 11.
Having now particularly described & ascertained the nature of my said invention
& in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I claim is :-
1. In apparatus for distilling ammoniacal or other liquors or gases, the con-
struction of the interior caps on the trays of various annular forms (not necessarily

page_text: circular in plan) but having discharging surfaces for the upward current of steam
or gas, both on the exterior & interior peripheries.
2. The use of more than one annular cap or ring (circular or otherwise) on each
tray or horizontal diaphragm for the same object.
3. The use of two or any greater number of gas or steam passages in each
tray.
4. The use of two or any greater number of liquor overflow & seal pipes on
each tray near the exterior & interior of the improved caps mentioned in Claim 1.
5. The use of two or any greater number of gas passages through the lime
chamber.
T
JAMES WRIGHT, Mem. Inst. M.E.,
Springhurst, Hartburn, Stockton-on-Tees.
JAMES WRIGHT, Mem. Inst. M.E.,
Springhurst, Hartburn, Stockton-on-Tees.