AN IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR DISTILLING
Year: 1817

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HENRY
TRITTON, of Clapham, in the County of Surry, Esquire, send greeting.
WHEREAS His prescut Majesty King George the Third, in and by
His Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, bearing dateat His Palace at Westminster, the Fifteenth
day of July last, for Himself, His heirs and successors, did give and grant
unto ine, the said Henry Tritton, my exors, aditiors, and assigns, His especial
licence, licence, full power, sole privilegeandauthority, that I, the said Henry
Tritton, my exors adñiors, and assigns, and every of them, by myself, and them-
selves, or by my or their deputy or deputies, servants or agents, or such others
as I, the said Henry Tritton, my exors, adñors, or assigns, should at any time
agree with, and noothers, from time to time and at all times hereafter, during
the term of years therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use,
exercise, aud vend my Invention of "AN IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR DISTILLING
within that part of His Majesty's United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland, called England, His Dominion of Wales, and Town of Berwick-
upon Tweed, and also in all His Majesty's Colonies and Plantations abroad;
in which said Letters Patent there is contained a proviso that if I, the said
Henry Trittou,should not particularly describe and ascertain the nature of my
said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, by an
instrument in writing under my hand and seal, and cause the same to be
inrolled in His Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar months
next and immediately after the date of the said recited Letters Patent, that

page_text: then the same Letters Patent, and all liberties and advantages whatsoever
thereby granted, should utterly cease, determine, and become void, as in and
by the same Letters Patent, reference being thereunto had, will more fully
appear :-
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Henry Tritton, in compliance with the
said previso, do hereby declare that the following statement under my hand,
and the annexed Drawings, do particularly describe and ascertain the nature
of my said Invention, and the manner in which the same is to be performed,
videlicet:-
I attach to the still, which is made so as to bear exhaustion by the air
pump, an outer case or cases, and I immerse the still in water or other liquid,
by filling such outer case or cases therewith, by which immersion still, when
exhausted, is more effectually secured from the entrance of the external air,
while at the same time the most regular application of heat to the still may be
secured by its transmission through such surrounding liquid. A close con-
densing vessel (also made so as to bear exhaustion by the air pump) is
connected by a pipe or pipes with the lower end of the neck of the still, and in
a similar manner, (that is to say,) by a pipe or pipes, with the receiver herein-
after described, so that the vapour passing through the neck of the still may
alsopass through such close condensing vessel, which, as well as the receiver,
is surrounded with cold water or other liquid during the distillation, as the worm
or condensing pipe commonly in use, and so be more or less condensed therein,
and when condensed flow entirely into the receiver. A close receiver (also
made so as to bear exhaustion by the air pump), capable of containing the entire
produceofthedistillation, is connected, as above mentioned, with the close con-
densing vessel, and through the close condensing vessel with the still. The
receiver has anair pump capable of exhausting the whole apparatus attached by
a pipe or pipes to the top thereof; and also a proper cock or cocks by which
its contents may be discharged, and a proper cock or cocks by which air may
be admitted into the receiver, when exhausted, at any period of the operation
without permitting the escape of the condensed vapour therein. There is a
stopcock or cocks in the pipe or pipes conveying the condensed vapour from
the close condensing vessel into the receiver, by which stop cock or cocks the
entrance of such condensed vapour into the receiver may be prevented, and
the channel of communication between the receiver and close condensing vesse
and still may be completely closed at pleasure. Thus I can, either by keeping
the stopcock open, carry on the distillation till I consider the operation is com
plete, without opening any part of the apparatus; or by turning the stopcock
and thus closing the channel of communication between the receiver and the

page_text: close condensing vessel. I can, at any period during the distillation, open the
receiver, either to ascertain the quantity of condensed vapour it contains or
draw off any portion thereof for examination, without interrupting the progress
of the distillation, the close condensing vessel during such period acting as the
receiver.
The use of an air pump to remove or diminish the pressure of the atmo-
sphere upon fluids, so as to produce boiling and evaporation at a low
temperature, is not new nor of my Invention, neither is the mode of com-
municating heat by immersion in a liquid through which the heat is to be
transmitted, nor the immersion of an exhausted or partially exhausted vessel
in aliquid for the purpos of securing it more effectually against the admission
of the external air. It is also to be observed that in my improved apparatus
fordistilling above and herein-after more particularly described, I do notclaim
as of my Invention any particular form of still or condensing vessel or receiver,
or pipe, or stopcock, or case; but I claim as of my Invention the combination
in an apparatus for distilling of the air pump with the immersion for the pur-
poses above mentioned of the still and vessels connected therewith, in water
or other liquid, and which combination may be advantageously effected and
applied in the manner above and herein-after described. I moreover claim as
of my invention that particular combination of vessels and machinery above
and herein-after described, by means of which the condensed vapour in the
receiver or receivers inay be examined or drawn therefrom, without interruption
to the progress of the distillation. It is obvious that the still may be more or
less surrounded or covered with liquid, as may be found convenient. By this
improved apparatus I am enabled to apply, so as to effect distillation, a degree
of heat much below the boiling point with so much regularity that accidents of
burning are avoided, fuel saved, the durability of the vessels promoted, and a
very superior produce obtained, especially in the distillation of ardent spirits.
The receiver may have a common manhole in the top thereof, by which access
may be had to it, so that it may be cleansed as occasion requires, and may be
placed in the same tub or cistern of cold water as the close condensing vessel,
or they may be placed in separate cisterns; I have shewn them in the Drawing
in separate cisterns. The condensing tubs or cisterns may have the usual dis-
charge pipes as the worm tubs in common use. The condensed vapour may,
if desired, be pumped out of the receiver, if a proper pump be attached to it
for that purpose, there being in the suction a proper stopcock or valve
effectually to prevent the admission of air into the receiver by that channel
when exhaustion is desired. The construction of such pump and stopcock is
too well known to require particular description. When the size of the appa.

page_text: ratus requires an air pump of considerable dimensions, it will require to be
very strongly fixed, either to the side of the condensing cistern, or perhaps in
separate framework, in any such case the pipe or pipes by which it is con-
nected with the receiver, may be carried through or over the side of the con-
densing cistern. Adouble barrelled air pump is of course used, when required,
and when too large to be worked by hand is worked by any known suitable
machinery. An additional receiver may be used, if for any purpose it is
needed, and such additional receiver may be made as the first, and be in the
same manner connected with the close condensing vessel. There may be a
separate air-pump attached to this additional receiver as to the first, or there
may be a pipe connecting the tops of the two receivers with two stopcocks
therein, and one air pump may be attached by a pipe or pipes to the pipe
connecting the two receivers, such pipe or pipes being insorted between the
two above-mentioned stopcocks, by which means, after the first exhaustion,
air might be admitted into either receiver, and such receiver be re-exhausted
without the other being affected. Such additional vessel might in this way
be connected with the first receiver instead of with the close condensing
vessel. The discharge pipe of the still may pass through the bottom or
side of the outer case, according as the heat is applied by fire under the
outer case, or by a pipe conveying steam through the liquid therein; or there
may be only a plug or valve in the bottom of the still for occasional use, when
the still is being cleansed, and the contents may in general be emptied by the
use of a crane through the manhole or cap screw by which it is charged.
The charging pipe may be raised so as only to be just covered by the liquid
surrounding the still, in order that it may not be necessary to draw off more
than a small quantity of such liquid, when the still is to be recharged. The
outer case or cases of the still may be opened or covered. If covered, there
must be a pipe or pipes to convey away the steain which rises from the
liquid within on the application of the necessary heat. If the outer case or
cases of the still be covered the covers must be moveable, or there must be
convenient access through such covered cases to the manhole and charging
pipes of the still within; the outer cases, whether covered or open, must have
proper discharge cocks therein. A convex bottom to the still best resisting
external pressure is to be preferred, in which case the discharge pipe should
be in the center of the bottom; but, if it is wished to give the usual concavity to
the bottom of the outer case, which concavity certainly promotes the action
of the fire, the bottom of the still cannot be made convex without increasing
the quantity of the surrounding liquid. For the purpose of facilitating the
transmission of heat to the contents of the still, a pipe or pipes may, when

page_text: required, be adopted, and in very large stills they will be useful, by which the
liquid that surrounds the still may be made to pass through the fluid contained
in the still, but if the stills be made wide and shallow such pipes will not
in general be required. When the vessels are made of metal, to avoid making
them so thick as to retard the action of the heat, they may be strengthened by
flanches dividing thesurfaces into compartments of inoderate dimensions, and
a few upright pieces may be carried from top to bottom, which will tend greatly
to resist external pressure. The flanches crossing the bottom must of course
be perforated for the passage of the fluid to the discharge cock of the res-
pective vessels. The discharge cock or cocks of the still, the discharge cock
or cocks of the receiver, and the cock or cocks for the occasional admission of
air into the receiver, may be made with common screw noses to receive nuts
with leather washers thereon, and such parts of such discharge cocks as come
through the outer cases may be immersed in water by small outer cases made
to fit on to them to prevent more effectually the entrance of air into the still
or receiver. A stop cock or cocks for the admission of air into the still and
close condensing vessel, in case such admission at any time should be found
desirable, may be affixed on the pipe by which they are connected. In the
improved apparatus the form of the neck of the still may be much varied
from that in general use, if such variation should in any case be desired, by
Inaking the head of the still a cylinder of large diameter, but not very high,
and by fixing in it a pipe open towards the top of the head, such pipe being
carried through any part of the still to connect it with the close condensing
vessel, for when the still and other vessels connected with it are exhausted, the
vapour will, with equal facility, descend through the pipe referred to as
rise to enter the connecting shewn in the Figure. The still; receiver, and
close condensing vessel, and the several other parts of the apparatus, may
be made of the usual or any suitable material. In Figure 1, which is a
section of the improved apparatus for distilling. A is the still; N, O, discharge
pipe and cock of the still; P, the manhole, in which may be also a cap screw
for the readier charging of the still. C, C, C, C, the outer cases surrounding
the stiil, and in which it is immersed. Q, q, discharge cocks of the outer
cases. B is the receiver. G, the air pump fixed thereon. I, the discharge
cock of the receiver. H, the cock for the occasional admission of air into
the receiver. D is the close condensing vessel attached to the receiver by the
pipe of communication E, E, and to the lower end of the neck of the still
by the pipe L, M. F is the stopcock by which the channel of commu-
nication between the receiver and close condensing vessel may be occasionally

page_text: closed. Rand T are the condensing cisterns, in which the close condensing
vessel and receiver are surrounded with water or other liquid. S and V
discharge cocks of the condensing cisterns. 1, 2, 3, and 4, are stays, support-
ing the still in the outer case C, C. 5 and 6, stays supporting the close
condensing vessel in the condensing cistern R; 7 and 8, stays supporting the
receiver in the condensing cistern T. Figure 2 is a plan of the same appa-
ratus with similar colours and letters.
In order to use the improved apparatus I charge the still, I then close all
channels of communication between the still and external air; and, having
charged the two condensing cisterns with water or other liquid, and so covered
the close condensing vessel and receiver, I then charge,the outer cases of the
still with water or other liquid, to which I then apply heat by fire or steam,
orany other efficacious mode; I then exhaust the still receiver, close condensing
vessel and connecting pipe or pipes by working the air pump. When the
pipe at the top of the close condensing vessel becomes as hot as the hand can
bear, I judge the operation to have effectually commenced, and maintain the
heat of the liquid in the outer case at the same pitch for a time, but increasing
it in a gentle degree as the operation advances, and always taking care that
the pipe at the top of the condensing vessel keeps hot, which shews that the
steam continues rising from the fluid in the still. If at any period I wish
to examine the produce I turn off the stopcock F, and then draw off the
water or other liquid that covers the stopcock H, and open it very gradually,
so as to admit air into the receiver, and then, by the discharge cock I, I can
take out any sample at pleasure. This being done I reclose the stopcocks
H. and I, and after adding water or other liquid to the cistern T, so as to
cover the stopcock H, I re-exhaust the receiver. I then turn on again the
cock F, when the condensed vapour will again flow into the receiver. By
this means I easily ascertain what is running, and when to discontinue the
operation. If the still be covered with liquid by two outer cases, as in the
Figures, the quantity of liquid around the still head in the smaller case being
inconsiderable, I put such liquid hot in the first instance into that case, in
order that the rise of the vapours through the still head may be facilitated,
which I find preferable to waiting for the gradual heat which may be im-
parted by the steam of the liquid in the larger case. Distillation may be
effected in this improved apparatus by merely causing hot water to flow from
a copper or boiler into the outer case surrounding the body of the still, keeping
up a fresh supply as the heat decreases, and by reconveying the waste water
to the copper or boiler in manufactories where large quantities of hot fluid

page_text: re in use. Snch method might be advantageously adopted, or one small
boiler, being made with several pipes to convey its steam into the outer cases
of several sets of the improved apparatus, will suffice to effect several distinct
distillations. It is evident that the condensing liquid surrounding the close
condensing vessel and the receiver may be carried by a pipe or pipes through
either or both of those vessels, for the purpose of promoting condensation
and the refrigeration of the spirit. It is evident that the neck of the still
and the pipe or pipes connecting the lower end thereof with the close con-
densing vessel may be covered with water or other liquid by surrounding them
entirely by an outer case or cases, as may also the pipe or pipes connecting
the close condensing vessel and the receiver. The still may be charged from
any vessel below its own level through any convenient channel of commu-
nication by effecting a partial exhaustion in the still by the air pump when the
pressure of the atmosphere on the fluid in the lower vessel would raisesuch fluid
into the still. In such case there should be a stopcock in the channel of
communication between the lower vessel and the still, so that such channel of
communication may be stopped whenever the still has received the quantity
of fluid intended to be introduced into it, and, in such case, the height to
which the fluid is to be raised in order to enter the still must never exceed
the power of atmospheric pressure, and thedegree in which the still is exhausted
for that purpose, may be greater or less, according to the distance between
the lower vessel and the still. When fire is used under the outer case of the
still, the stays which support the still may be fixed to the side of the outer case
rather than to the bottom, that there may not be any liability of buruing in the
points where they attach, or the still may be made with a flanch round the
shoulder thereof, and the outer case in two parts, the lower part having a rim,
to which the flanch above mentioned may be attached, the upper part of the
outer case following the form of the upper part and head of the still, leaving
passage of
a small space for the fluid to pass between it and the still, for the
which fluid the flanch is perforated. In this case the manhole and charging
pipe of the still may be on the top of the head of the still, the neck of the
still entering the head a little below the edge of the manhole, and passing of
course through the head of the outer case.
In witness whereof, I, have hereunto set my hand and seal, the Twelfth
day of January, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred
HENRY TRITTON. (L.S.)

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Twelfth day of January, in the
year of our Lord 1818, the aforesaid Henry Tritton came before our said
Lord the King in His 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.
Inrolled the Twelfth day of January, in the year of our Lord One
thousand