IMPROVEMENTS. IN APPARatus FOR CONCENTRATING SULPHURIC ACID
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Samuel Chivers, of No. 15, Dumfries Place,
Cardiff, in the County of Glamorgan, Manufacturing Chemist,
and Alfred Chivers, of Pontypridd, in the said County, Manu-
facturing Chemist, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Samuel Chivers
and Alfred Chivers at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents,
with their Petition, on the 29th January 1875.
We, SAMUEL CHIVERS, of No. 15, Dumfries Place, Cardiff, in the
County of Glamorgan, Manufacturing Chemist, and ALFRED CHIVERS,
of Pontypridd, in the said County, Manufacturing Chemist, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS. IN APPARatus
FOR CONCENTRATING SULPHURIC ACID," to be as follows:-
The object of our Invention is to effect the concentration of sulphuric

page_text: acid continuously by means of a single glass retort arranged in com-
bination with other apparatus, as herein-after described.
Sulphuric acid has heretofore been concentrated either continuously
by means of a platinum still fitted with a condenser or of a series of
glass retorts, or intermittently by means of a single glass retort in which
a charge of sulphuric acid is boiled, and from which such acid is drawn
out when concentrated, in order to the admission of a fresh charge.
Now, according to our Invention, we mount a single glass retort in
the usual setting of brickwork, and instead of passing the "brown acid "
to be concentrated direct from the acid-heating pan into the said retort
we arrange between the said pan and retort a leaden feed cup or
cylinder, and a self-adjusting feed syphon, the ends of which are bent
up for a few inches. One leg of this syphon dips into the "brown
acid" in the heating pan, and the other into the said feed cup, in the
lower part of which is fixed a pipe leading to another pipe which passes
through the head of the retort, and is furnished with a funnel. The
feed suphon is suspended by a weighted cord passing over a pulley, so
as to be capable of being raised and lowered as required in order to
regulate the flow of the acid from the pan into the retort, which is
furnished with a discharge syphon (made of glass or platinum, but by
preference, of glass), the shorter leg of which passes through the head of
the retort and descends to within a short distance from the bottom
thereof, the longer log descending to near the bottom of a leaden cooler
immersed in a tank of cold water. In the lower end of the said coolcr
is inserted a pipe which passes up over the edge of the tank, and down
into a leaden cup or cylinder suspended by a weighted cord passing over
a pulley, so as to be capable of being raised and lowered as required, in
order to regulate the flow of the concentrated acid from the retort into
the said cup, whence such acid passes out by a spout.
The action of the apparatus is as follows:-The feed syphon being
adjusted to the required height the acid to be concentrated flows from.
the heating pan into the feed cup, and thence through the funnel and
inlet pipe into the retort, which is heated in the usual manner, so as to
boil the said acid. At the same time the acid flows out as concentrated
through the discharge syphon into the cooler, and thence into the
receiving cup.
;

page_text: Our apparatus may be worked by drawing off. about a third of the
concentrated sulphuric acid, and then filling the retort up to the former
level with "brown acid," but we prefer the process first described.
By means of our improvements we are enabled to concentraté
sulphuric acid continuously in. a single glass retort, and to dispense
with the condenser used in concentrating the said acid in a platinum
still, and we thus effect a great saving, not only in the cost of the
apparatus, but also in time, labour, and expense in carrying on the
process.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Samuel Chivers and Alfred Chivers in the Great
Seal Patent Office on the 29th July 1875...
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, SAMUEL
CHIVERS, of No. 15, Dumfries Place, Cardiff; in the County of
Glamorgan, Manufacturing Chemist, and ALFRED CHIVERS, of Ponty-
pridd, in the said County, Manufacturing Chemist, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-ninth day of January, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, in
the thirty-eighth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and
successors, give and grant unto us, the said Samuel Chivers and
Alfred Chivers, Her special license that we, the said Samuel Chivers
and Alfred Chivers, our executors, administrators, and assigns, or
such others as we, the said Samuel Chivers and Alfred Chivers, our
executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with,
and no others; from time to time and at all times thereafter during
the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use,
exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdoni of Great Britain and
Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR CONCENTRATING SULPHURIC ACID," upon the
condition (amongst others) that we, the said Samuel Chivers and
Alfred Chivers, our executors or administrators, by an instrument in
writing under our or their hands and seals, or under the hand
L
:
J

page_text: and seal one of us or them, should particularly describe and
ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the
same was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the
Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and imme-
diately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Samuel Chivers, on behalf of
myself and the said Alfred Chivers, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to
be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following state-
ment thereof, that is to say:
The object of our Invention is to effect the concentration of sulphuric
acid continuously by means of a single glass retort arranged in com-
bination with other apparatus, as herein-after described.
Sulphuric acid has heretofore been concentrated either continuously
by means of a platinum still fitted with a condenser or of a series of
glass retorts or intermittently by means of a single glass retort, or of
glass retorts set up independently of each other, in which a charge
of sulphuric acid is boiled, and from which such acid is drawn out when
concentrated, and after it has been allowed to cool, which process keeps
the retort idle for from twelve to fourteen hours before the admission of
a fresh charge, and (owing to the alternate heating and cooling of the
retort) necessitates the loss of about two-thirds of the heat generated
in the furnace.
Now, according to our Invention, we mount a single glass retort in
the usual setting of brickwork, and instead of passing the "brown acid"
to be concentrated direct from the acid-beating pan into the said retort
we arrange between the said pan and retort a leaden feed cup or
cylinder, and what is termed a "self-acting" adjustable feed syphon,
the ends of which are bent up for a few inches, or an ordinary syphon
furnished with an earthenware tap. One leg of the syphon dips into the
"brown acid" in the heating pan, and the other leads to the said feed
cup, in the lower part of which is fixed a pipe leading to a
"thistle
funnel," which passes through the head of the retort. The feed syphon,
when it is to be adjustable, is suspended by a weighted cord passing over
a pulley, so as to be capable of being raised and lowered as required, in ¦
order to regulate the flow of the acid from the pan into the retort, which

page_text: is furnished with a discharge syphon (made of glass or platinum), the
shorter leg of which passes through the head of the retort, and descends
to within a short distance from the bottom thereof, the longer leg
descending to near the bottom of a leaden cooler immersed in a tank of
cold water. In the lower part of the said cooler is inserted a pipe, which
passes up over the edge of the tank and down into a leaden cup or
cylinder suspended by a weighted cord passing over a pulley; so as to be
capable of being raised and lowered as required, in order to regulate the
flow of the concentrated acid from the retort into the said cup, whence
> such acid passes out by a spout..
Instead of regulating the flow of the concentrated acid from tho
cooler by means of the adjustable cup described, the flow of the said acid
may be regulated by means of an earthenware tap on the exit pipo
leading from the said cooler.
The action of the apparatus is as follows:-The feed syphon being
adjusted to the required height, or the inlet tap being opened, the acid
to be concentrated flows continuously from the heating pan into the
feed cup, and thence through the "thistle funnel" into the retort,
which is heated in the usual manner, so as to boil the said acid. At the
same time the acid flows out continuously as concentrated through the
discharge syphon into the cooler, and thence into the receiving cup,
where one is used.
Our apparatus may be worked periodically without stopping the
boiling process by drawing off about a third of the concentrated
sulphuric acid, and then filling the retort up to the former level with
brown acid, but we prefer the continuous process first described.
Having now described the nature of our Invention, we will proceed
to describe the manner in which the same is to be performed, reference
being had to the accompanying Drawings, and to the letters and figures
marked thereon.
Figure 1 of the said Drawings represents one arrangement of our
improved apparatus in vertical longitudinal section. A is the pan con-
taining the brown acid to be concentrated, which acid is kept at a
heat of from 250° to 300° Fahrenheit; B is an adjustable "self-acting
syphon, the ends of which are bent up, as shown, one leg of which
"

page_text: :
.
syphon dips into the tank A, and the other into the feed cup or
cylinder C; b¹ is a cord which passes over the pulley 6%, one end of
which cord is attached to the syphon B, and the other to a counter
balance. The syphon B can thus bé suspended at any height required
for regulating the flow of the acid; c is a pipe through which the acid
passes to the thistle funnel" d', passing through the head d of the
glass retort D, by which funnel the said acid enters the said retort;
which is mounted on a stand or tripod e¹ in the chamber E, and is heated
sufficiently to raise the acid to boiling point by means of a furnace F,
the volatile products of combustion from which pass through the fluc e'
to the chamber E, and thence through the flues e², e², e³, under
the pan A to the chimney (not shown). The pipe of the retort
head d enters the fluc e²; d' is a syphon through which the concen-
trated acid passes into the cooler G, which is mounted in a tank H,
which is filled with cold water. The pipe g' of the cooler is bent, as
shown, its discharge end descending to near the bottom of the cup or
cylinder I, which is suspended by the chain and cord ², which latter
passes over a pulley ³, and carries the counterbalance ; is a spout
through which the concentrated acid passes to an ordinary receiver;
h, h², respectively are pipes through which cold water is run into, and
hot water is run out of the tank H.
་་
Figure 2 represents in vertical longitudinal section a modification of
our improved apparatus, in which modification the flow of the acid to and
from the retort is regulated by means of earthenware taps instead of by
means of the adjustable syphon and discharge cup or cylinder herein-
before described. A is the pan containing the brown acid, which is
heated by means of a furnace B, the volatile products of combustion
from which pass up to and under the said pan, and through the
flues 1, 2, to the chimney (not shown); C'is a syphon furnished with
an earthenware tap c by which the flow of acid can be regulated as.
required; D is a feed cup, the pipe d¹ of which leads to the "thistle
funnel" e', which passes through the retort head e into the retort E,
which is mounted in a chamber F, and is heated by means of a
furnace G, the volatile products of combustion from which pass through
the flues g¹, g, 93, 6, to the chimney. The pipe of the retort head e
communicates with a pipe leading to the flue g³; e is the discharge-
syphon through which the concentrated acid passes from the retort E to

page_text: D. & A. Chivers impts. in: Apparatus for Concentrating Sulphuric Acid.
the cooler H, which is mounted in a tank I filled with cold water, tho
the exit pipe of which cooler is furnished with an earthenware tap h²
for regulating the flow of the said acid; ; &, respectively are the pipes
through which cold water is run into, and the hot water is run out of
the tank I.
:
The pans A, A, Figures 1 and 2, may be heated either by means of an
additional furnace, as represented in Figure 2, or by means of a flue
from the retort furnace, as represented in Figure 1..
The apparatus must be so arranged as to have a good fire-draught,
either by making the chimney of sufficient height or by passing a jet of
steam into the chimney.
Although for facility of description we have described our Invention
as applied to a single retort our said Invention may of course be applied.
to a gallery of retorts, in which case each retort would be independent
of the adjoining retort, i.c., it would have its own furnace cooler and
means for regulating the flow of the acid into and from the said
retort.
By means of our improvements we are enabled to concentráte sulphuric
acid continuously either in a single glass retort or in several glass retorts
without allowing the said retort or retorts to cool, and to dispense with
the platinum condenser or cooler used in concentrating the said acid in
a platinum still; and we thus effect a great saving not only in the cost
of the apparatus, but also in time, labuor, and expense in carrying on
the process, one retort doing about the work of three-retorts as they are
ordinarily arranged, and the waste of heat caused by allowing the
apparatus to cool being avoided, and the liability of the retorts to crack
being greatly diminished.
Having now described the nature of our Invention and the manner in
which the same is to be performed, we wish it to be understood that we do
not limit ourselves to the precise details described, as the same may be
modified without departing from the nature of our said Invention,
neither do we claim any of such details per se; but we claim as our said
Invention the improvements hercin-before described in apparatus for
concentrating sulphuric acid in a glass retort or in glass retorts; that is
to say, arranging each retort in combination with a cooler for cooling
the concentrated acid, and with means for regulating the flow of acid

page_text: into and from the said retort, so as to admit of the process of concen-
tration being carried on continuously, thereby avoiding the intermittent
cooling, emptying, and refilling of the retort necessary in the ordinary
concentrating apparatus, in which glass retorts are used.
In witness whereof, I, the said Samuel Chivers, have hereunto sct
my hand and seal, this Twenty-seventh day of July, in the
year of our Lord. One thousand eight hundred and seventy-.
fiven
.
Witness,
H. H. MURDOcă,
Staple Inn,
London..
SAM². CHIVERS. (L.S.)