Apparatus and Process for Removing Saccharine and other Impurities from Wines and Spirits.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 9th Oct., 1896-Accepted, 13th Feb., 1897
[Communicated from abroad by JOHN THOMAS BENNETT, of Wynberg, Cape
Town, Hotel Proprietor.]
Apparatus and Process for Removing Saccharine and other
Impurities from Wines and Spirits.
I, CHARLES HENRY MCEUEN, of 97 Cannon Street in the City and County
of London, Merchant, 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 :-
This invention relates to an apparatus and a process for effecting the removal
-in a simple and inexpensive manner-of saccharine, vegetable and other foreign
matters from wines and spirits in which they may exist.
I have found by experiments that by inserting a vessel filled with wine or
spirituous liquor in an inverted position within another vessel containing water,
provided the aperture of the vessel containing wine is considerably smaller than
that of the vessel containing the water, owing to the weight of the atmosphere, no
commingling of the two liquids will take place; but that heavy matter-such as
saccharine or vegetable substances-in the wine or spirit, will pass into the water,
leaving the wine comparatively free from such substances.
In carrying out my invention I employ an apparatus constructed as hereinafter
described, and as shewn on the accompanying drawing upon which
Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improved apparatus, shewn partly in
section.
As will be seen on the drawing, I arrange a shoot or funnel-shaped vessel A
for the reception of the wine or spirit to be treated, over a vat B containing
water, so that the lower and narrow end of the shoot extends a sufficient distance
below the water level, and has an aperture at its lower extremity a of considerably
smaller area than the surface of the water exposed to atmospheric pressure in the
vat. The shoot A is furnished with a cover C hermetically closing the top, and
through this cover Ca suitable supply-pipe D connected therewith by an air-tight
joint c, delivers the wine into the shoot A. A valve or cock E near the delivery
end of the pipe D is arranged to form an air-tight closure between the shoot A
and the supply-pipe D when desired. Near the bottom of the shoot A, a circular
door or valve F is provided, having a handle G for the purpose of operating it
from the outside; by closing this door or valve the action of the apparatus may
be suspended, and the wine in the shoot which has been purified can then be with-
drawn through a tap H immediately above the door or valve F, this tap H serving
also as a test-tap to ascertain when the wine is sufficiently clear; or the water in
the vat B may be run off through a draw-off J provided at the lower part of the
vessel.
The vat B is supplied with water either from a tank K or direct from a service
pipe, through a tap L in the side connected at any desired height above the normal
water-level M. A barrel or other receptacle N may be provided below the
draw-off J to receive the waste liquid or the waste may be allowed to run off i.sto
a drain without first passing into a receptacle.
In operation, the vat B is first filled with water through the supply-tap L up

page_text: to approximately the level M above the lower aperture of the shoot; the supply
and draw-off taps L and J being then closed. The wine or spirit to be purified
is then introduced through the valve E in the pipe D until the shoot A is full,
when the valve. E is closed. By reason of the atmospheric pressure on the exposed
surface of the water in the vat B, and of the absence of air pressure above the
wine in the shoot A, the wine and water, though in contact, will not commingle,
but the heavy substances-saccharine or vegetable impurities-in the wine will
.descend into the water.
By testing the wine or spirit at the test-cock H, it can be ascertained when the
liquor has been sufficiently treated, and it can then be drawn off into bottles or
casks as may be required; the circular door or valve F being first closed and the
test-tap H used as a draw-off; or a separate tap may be provided for this purpose
at the same level as the test-tap.
Should it be found necessary to introduce fresh water into the vat during the
treatment of the wine, owing to the water becoming too fully impregnated with
saccharine or other foreign substances, such fresh water may be admitted through
the tap L, an equivalent outflow being allowed through the tap J. A certain
amount of wine between the level of the water and the test-cock H will be lost
each time the liquor is drawn off, but this quantity will be comparatively small
and its quality inferior, owing to the narrow section of the lower part of the shoot A
and the gravitation of the impurities into this lower part.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. An apparatus for removing saccharine and other impurities from wines and
spirits, consisting of a funnel-shaped vessel A having an air-tight cover C, inlet
valve E, and bottom valve F,-in combination with a vat B open at the top and
provided, with a water inlet L and draw-off J, constructed and operating
substantially as described with reference to the accompanying drawing.
2. A process for removing saccharine and other impurities from wines or spirits,
consisting in suspending the liquor in an air-tight vessel upon a body of water
exposed to atmospheric pressure, so as to allow the impurities to descend into and
be carried off with the water, as described.
Dated this 9th day of October 1896.