Improvements in Machinery or Apparatus for Drying Distillers' or Brewers' Draff or Dreg, but which is also applicable for Drying other similar Materials.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 20th Mar., 1891-Accepted. 25th Apr., 1891
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION,
Improvements in Machinery or Apparatus for Drying Distillers' or
Brewers' Draff or Dreg, but which is also applicable for Drying
other similar Materials.
I, JAMES MITCHELL, of 4ª, Mardale Crescent, Edinburgh, in the County of
Midlothian, North Britain, Merchant, do hereby declare the nature of this inven-
tion, 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 improvements in machinery or apparatus for drying
distillers or brewers drait or dreg and which is also applicable for drying other
materials of a like nature, and has for its object the production of a drying machine
which receives the wet draff or dreg from a feeding hopper and delivers it out again
in a perfectly dry state ready to be sold er utilized for cattle feeding or other
purposes.
My improvements are particularly applicable to the drying of the wet press bag
or filtered dreg from distilleries: hitherto great difliculty has been experienced in
dealing with this material, with a view to drying it owing to its peculiar pasty and
It is
sticky character, the dreg clogging up the drying machine or apparatus used.
also desirable that in the drying operation the dreg be prevented from accumulating
into lumps, the object being to reduce the dried dreg to a fine meal in the drying
machine without the necessity of providing special apparatus for grinding it into
that condition.
My improvements are also directed to the reduction of cost in drying dreg and
to the production of a machine which requires no skilled labour to work and is not
liable to get out of order.
In the carrying out of my invention I mount within a suitable air chamber one or
more series of horizontally arranged troughs. The said troughs are heated by
steam jackets or casings which are supplied with exhaust or other steam by a
suitable arrangement of pipes. Inside each of the said troughs I mount a shaft
carrying a number of blades. The wet material enters through a feeding hopper
on to the one end of the first of a series of troughs arranged side by side where it is
fel along, and tossed up, by the revolving blades to the other end of the first trough
where it is thrown by a particular arrangeme of the blades into the end of the
adjacent trough of the same series and is thus passed in a zig-zag direction through
each of the troughs of the series until it is dropped from the end of the last trough
into a similar series of troughs below, where it is passed through the said series in a
similar manner, and so on through the whole machine, till it passes out through a
suitable delivering shoot.
But in order that my said invention may be more readily understood, and easily
carried into effect I will proceed to describe the same with reference to the accom-
panying drawings, throughout which the same reference figures denote the same
parts.
Figures 1, 2 and 3, Sheet 1, are side elevation, plan, and end elevation
respectively of my machine as constructed to deal with a large quantity of
material.
Figure 4. Sheet 1, is a sectional detail, and Figures 5 and 6, Sheet 2, are
elevation and plan respectively of a modification of my machine as constructed to
deal with a small quantity of inaterial.
Referring to Figures 1, 2 and 3, the said machine has a series of three rows of
drying troughs A, Figure 1, each row consisting of five troughs, Figures 2 and 3.
The said troughs are suitably mounted within an air chamber B, which is
provided with deflecting plates b. Figure 1, so arranged as to regulate and guide

page_text: the flow of the air currents through the chamber, which is also provided with
hinged walls Figure 3, so as to facilitate the inspection of the material at any
time during the drying operation. The chamber is also provided with standards
and cross beams C, so arranged as to support and carry the troughs. In cases such
as is shown in the drawing where 1 employ several troughs arranged side by side,
Figures 2 and 3, I preferably have one steam jacket a, common to the whole row
of the troughs as shewn more particularly in Figure 4. Each end of the steam
jacket of each of the rows of troughs is provided with one or more steam inlet
and outlet openings a', and when several length of troughs are employed in the
construction of a large drying machine, such as is shewn in the drawing,
utilize the flanges a², of the said steam inlet and outlet openings a¹, as means
for connecting together the several lengths of troughs to each other, as shewn
more particularly in Figures and 2. The spaces between the several lengths
of troughs are filled up by means of sheet iron or other filling in pieces D,
as to form one continuous length of trough.
80
Within each of the troughs 1 provide a shaft E, having blades e Fig. 2.
The said blades are so constructed and arranged spirally around the said shafts,
that while carrying the material along the troughs they keep cutting up and
tossing the material, and thus expose the material intimately to the heated air
in the chamber. Upon the wet material being caused to enter the scoop or
feeding hopper F. it falls into the end of the first trough of the top set. The
material is fed along the trough or the length of troughs till it arrives at the
opposite end of the machine, where it is tossed by the blades into the adjacent
trough of the said top series, openings a, Fig. 2, being formed at the ends of
the trough for this purpose, and the blades of that trough which are set at an
opposite angle to that of the blades in the first trough, carry along the material
back again to the front end of the machine, when the material is tossed by the
blades into the third adjacent trough of the series, and the material is carried
again to the other end of the machine and so on all through the top series of
the troughs until the material arrives at the delivering end of the last trough
of the said top set, where I provide a sheet iron or other shoot G, to deliver
the material to the next row of troughs below, or when finished to the conveyor
or bags.
In order to assist in the transference of the material from the one trough to
the other by the blades, I mount two or more of the blades e, at the delivering
end of the blade shaft, square upon the shaft, as shown in Figure 2, so that
these particular blades shove or throw the material into the end of the adjacent
trough.
By the particular arrangement of rotating blades as hereinbefore described I am
enabled by altering the angles of the blades of any particular line of shafting or by
altering a few of the blades, or if necessary by putting a few of the blades at an
opposite angle to the rest of the blades, to vary the rate of travel of the material
through the machine or through any particular trough of the machine, or through
any of the series of troughs, all according to the particular class of material that is
being dried, or according to the manner in which the drying is found to be
going on.
The whole of the said shafts with their blades are caused to rotate in their
respective directions by means of the spur or other gearing II, which is driven by
means of the pinion h, on driving shaft, and which may be driven by means of
belts and pulleys, and any kind of motor.
The supply of steam to the troughs is preferably arranged so that the steam when
at its highest temperature acts upon the material when in its dampest state and at
its lowest temperature when nearly dry; and if desired the steam may either be
live or exhaust steam, or as is shewn in the drawings the top set of troughs may be
supplied with live steam through the pipe J, Fig. 1, and exhausted through the
pipe while the lower sets are supplied with exhaust steam by the pipe K, and
exhausted by the pipe K, there being suitable connecting pipes K²; or if desired the

page_text: steam may be fed in at the one end of the top set of troughs and exhausted at the
one end of the lower set of troughs; and in order to drain off any water from said
troughs steam jackets, I provide suitable drain or drip taps M and piping N.
In order to carry off the evaporation from the material being dried I draw a
current of air through the machine by means of an ordinary fan or otherwise, in
such a manner that the air enters at the lower end of the machine, passes along
under the lower set of troughs then up their ends where it is deflected along their
tops by means of the plate b, and so on as shewn by the arrows, during which passage
it becomes heated from the troughs A. and reaches the dampest material when at its
highest temperature just before passing up the exhaust opening L.
It will be observed that by constructing my drying apparatus, as hereinbefore
described, am enabled at once, and without trouble to enlarge or reduce the
machine according to the quantity of material to be dealt with, or according to the
amount of room that can be given for the machine, and also in accordance with
the amount of drying that any particular class of material is found to require, for
example by arranging the length of troughs in sections I am enabled to readily add
or take away one or more of the lengths of troughs, the same with regard to the
number of series of troughs. A further advantage of the said construction of
apparatus is that all the parts are in duplicate sections, so that the machine can be
repaired at any time without loss of time.
In lieu of a series of five, as shewn in the drawing, or other number of troughs
arranged side by side I may have an arrangement of single troughs one above or
below the other.
Or as a modification of said machine when used for drying small quantities of
material, I may in lieu of employing three sets of troughs the one above the other,
as shown in Figures 1, 2, and 3, I may simply employ one set of two troughs or two
lengths of troughs-arranged side by side, as shown in Figures 5 and 6 Sheet 2; in
which case the said trough A, having steam jackets etc. as before, are suitably
mounted within the chamber B, which has the deflecting plate 6, and hinged
walls b', as also the beams C; the said troughs when composed of more than one
section are provided with filling in pieces D, as before and each section of said
troughs with drip taps M and piping N. Inside the said troughs mount the
shafts E, with blades e and e', (as before described) in such a manner that on the
material being fed through the hopper F, it enters the one end of the first trough
and is driven along it by the blades and thrown into the one end of the next trough
through which it is conveyed and again thrown into the first trough again through
the extra opening a³, and so on till it is found to be sufficiently dried, when the
delivering shoot G, which has been closed by a suitable damper or door I: is opened,
and thus allows the material to drop out of the machine; the said shafts E being
driven by spur gearing Has shown by means of belts and pullies, from any
desired motor. The said troughs steam jacket being supplied with either live or
exhaust steam by the pipe K, and exhausted by the pipe K and the air currents
withdrawn through the exhaust opening L. Thus forming a machine which acts
after the manner of an endless conveyor and stirrer.
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 :-
1st. The general arrangement and construction of apparatus constituting my
machine for drying draft and dreg, more especially press bag or filtered dreg, and
other material of a like nature, substantially as hereinbefore described and shown in
the accompanying drawings.
2nd. The combination consisting of the revolving blades or stirrers, the arrange-
ment of the series of steam jacketed troughs, and the air chamber, all substantially
as, and for the purposes hereinbefore described and shown in the accompanying
drawings.
3rd. In an air chamber B, the arrangement of steam supply for heating the

page_text: trough jackets, in combination with the arrangement of the air supply or current,
all substantially as, and for the purposes hereinbefore described and shown in the
accompanying drawings.
4th. The arrangement of steam jacketed troughs side by side whereby a tortuous
horizontal travel is given to the material being dried, in combination with the
arrangement of said troughs in vertical series, substantially as herein before
described and shown in the accompanying drawings.
5th. The drying apparatus, substantially as hereinbefore described and shown in
Figures 5 and 6 of the accompanying drawings.
Dated this 19th day of March 1891.
JOHNSONS,
115, St. Vincent Street, Glasgow, Applicant's Agents.