IMPROVEMENTS IN: CLARIFYING RAW CANE AND OTHER VEGETABLE AND SACCHARINE JUICES, AND IN BLEACHING SUCH RAW JUICES
Year: 1835

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
FERGUSON SAUNDERS, of Tenterden Street, Hanover Square, in the County of
Middlesex, Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS His present most Excellent Majesty King William the Fourth,.
by His Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the First day of September, in the sixth year of His reign, did,.
for Himself, His heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said James.
Ferguson Saunders, His especial licence, full power, solė privilege and
authority, that I, the said James Ferguson Saunders, my exors, admors,
and, assigns, or such others as I, the said James Ferguson Saunders, my
exors, admors, or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from
time to time, and at all times during the term of years therein expressed,
should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England,
Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and also in all His said
Majesty's Colonies and Plantations abroad, the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN: CLARIFYING RAW CANE AND OTHER VEGETABLE AND SACCHARINE JUICES, AND IN
BLEACHING SUCH RAW JUICES," communicated to: me from a person residing
abroad; in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso, that I, the said
James Ferguson Saunders, shall cause a particular description of the nature of
the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be
inrolled in His said Majesty's High Court of Chancery, within six calendar
months next and immediately after the date of the said in part recited Letters

page_text: and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
James Ferguson Saunders, do hereby declare the nature of the Invention,
and the manner in which the same is to be performed, are fully described and
ascertained in and by the following description thereof, that is to say:-
The Invention relates to submitting the juice of the sugar cane and other
juices containing saccharine matter to a process hereafter described, whereby
the oily, mucilaginous, and other matters prejudical to crystallization are sepa-
rated and precipitated previously to applying heat to such juices in the process
of manufacturing sugar. According to the ordinary practice of producing
sugar, particularly from cane juice, the same is as quickly as possible sub-
mitted to the application of heat, which together with the admixture of alkalies
or other materials, cause the mucilaginous and other impurities to rise to the
surface in the form of scum, which is removed by the scummer. This is not
only a troublesome process and expensive, but at the same time is not fully
effectual in clarifying the juice, and owing to the necessary application of heat
in order to conduct this part of the process, much of the impurities or matters
prejudicial to crystallization are so embodied with the saccharine properties of
the juices, that they cannot be separated the one from the other previously to
crystallization by any subsequent process; but by the Invention as communicated
to me from abroad, these matters are more entirely separated previously to
the application of heat, and at the same time the further process of bleaching
such juices may be effected more advantageously than heretofore by the
application of animal or other charcoal. The Invention consists in mixing, in a
suitable vessel, earth with raw cane or other juices containing saccharine matters,
stirring the same regularly in one direction, as the earth is applied; by this
means the earth and mucilaginous and oily and other matters prejudicial to
crystallization take to each other, and when left will quickly subside and leave
the pure or clarified juice at the top, which is to be drawn off and submitted
to the ordinary process of evaporation in order to concentrate it for crystal-
lization. It may be here desirable to remark that on an extensive practical
enquiry and application of this Invention, it has not been discovered that one
description of earth has a materially different effect to others, but all have a
like property of taking to the mucilaginous, oily, and other impurities, and
precipitating them, thereby separating the same from the pure saccharine
matter contained in the juice. As juices, even from the same vegetable
substance, vary in quality, little attention and practice will soon enable
an individual to perform the operation or process with the fullest effect and

page_text: in order to facilitate this operation being fully understood it should be
stated that the earth is preferred to be taken sufficiently below the surface
to prevent any vegetable substances being introduced with it into the juice.
The earth being first sifted in order to remove stones, and by water is
made wet to about the consistency of thick mud, it is to be gradually stirred
into the juice, observing that when small streams of clarified juice follow the
course of the stirring instrument or stick no further earth will be required nor
will further stirring be necessary, and the quantity of earth will generally be
found to be about one by measure to ten of juice. It is not desirable to
continue the addition of earth during the whole time of stirring, but on the
contrary it is better to add the earth from time to time, watching the effect of
the stirring, aud judging whether a further application of earth is necessary,
though the whole quantity of earth would be better if applied at once,
if the operator from experience has obtained a knowledge of the proper
quantity.
Having thus far explained the nature of the Invention, I would have it
understood that the result depending on a porous property or affinity which the
earth has for the oily, mucilaginous, and other impurities, and its being of a
greater specific gravity than the juice, which cause such impurities to be
precipitated with the earth that clarify the juice, it will be evident that
those matters having similar properties, such for instance, as pulverized
pummice stone, will have a like effect; I do not therefore confine myself to
any particular earth or material, though so far as experience goes common
earth is not only the cheapest but most effective. The Invention in respect
of clarifying the juices, it should be understood, relates to the process of pre-
cipitating the oily, mucilaginous, and other impurities by means of the materials
described previously to the application of heat. Having performed the
operation of stirring and mixing, as above mentioned, the whole is to stand
quiet till the earth or other suitable material has precipitated with the
impurities. The clarified juice may then be drawn off by suitable plugs or
taps placed in the vessel, and it will be found that the earth and impurities
will retain but a very small portion of juice, the same drawing off very freely.
It now only remains to explain the manner of bleaching the juice in con-
junction with the clarifying process. This consists in introducing into the
receiver, previous to the juice running into it, a quantity, varying a little
according to the quantity of color contained in the juice) of animal or other
charcoal having known bleaching properties, reduced to fine impalpable
powder and saturated with water. This charcoal having been stirred up ten or
fifteen minutes with the juice, earth must be added, as in the former process,

page_text: to precipitate the whole. The approximate proportion requisite will be lb.
of animal charcoal to a gallon of juice; of other charcoals lb.; using in each
case a double quantity. in the first instance of either charcoal will insure it
being sufficient for three operations.
Having now described the nature of the Invention, as communicated to me a
from abroad, I would have it understood that I am aware that alkaline and.
other earthy substances, as well also as animal and other charcoal, 'have been
used in various ways in the manufacture of sugar; I do not therefore lay claim
to the application of the same generally; but do confine the claim of Invention,
secured by the present Letters Patent, to the process herein described for 1
clarifying and bleaching cane and other juices by precipitation by means of
the materials herein, set forth, when such process is performed previous to
such juices undergoing the application of heat, as above described.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Ferguson Saunders, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Eighth day of September, in the year of our 1
Lord One thousand eight hundred and thirty-five..
JAMES F. (L.S.) SAUNDERS...
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Eighth day of September, in the
year of our Lord 1835, the aforesaid James Ferguson Saunders 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 First day of March, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and thirty-six.