APPARATUS AND PROCESS FOR PRODUCING MALT
Year: 1885

page_text: I, ADOLPH BEHR, Chemist, of Cöthen in the German Empire, do hereby
declare the nature of my invention for APPARATUS AND PROCESS FOR PRODUCING
MALT, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement: —
Many attempts have been made to remove the inconveniences unavoidably
attached to the preparation of malt by hand, and to effect the several processes by
machinery.
Many kinds of machinery have been invented, but no process is known which is
continuous and ensures complete success, and, even the existing germinating
apparatus has scarcely been introduced into the malt-houses, whereas for drying
purposes, the well known, cumbrous kilns are still in use, and these, even in the
best arranged malt-houses, are only furnished with a mechanical appliance for
turning over the malt. The object of this invention is to supply malt houses with
suitable machinery for preparing the malt continuously and in a thoroughly
mechanical way.
The first machine required for this purpose is the germinating apparatus A.
illustrated by sheets I and II of the annexed drawings. It represents a combination
of the pneumatic and germinating apparatus, since, only in this manner, can an
apparatus be produced capable of meeting all requirements. These requirements
are:
1-The establishment of a'low and, as far as possible, an equable temperature in
the apparatus.
2. The introduction of a sufficient quantity of air saturated with water, the
latter serving to replace what is being evaporated from the grain, and to establish
a uniform moisture in the same.
3. The expulsion of the carbonic acid developed during the process of germi-
nation.
4. The suitable turning over of the grain, which is indispensable for uniform
germination.
In plate I. is shown the arrangement of the germinating apparatus, and, in
plate II, Figs 1-6, the details of the same. The germinating apparatus consists,
as shown in Figs 1 and 3. Sheet II, of a number, (in this case 8) of compartments
I to VIII.
i

page_text: Each of these compartments has an opening, through which the grain is intro-
duced into the apparatus.
The rotation of the apparatus is effected in a suitable manner by means of the
pulley r
When the compartments I to VIII have been partially filled with steeped grain,
and closed by the man-hole covers, the apparatus is made to rotate, and fresh, cold
air is conveyed to it by a peculiar arrangement, namely; An air-pump B, Sheet I,
sucks up fresh air through the tube 1, and forces the same through the tube 2 under
the surface of the well C. The mouth of the tube 2 forms a large funnel with
several small apertures, through which the air escapes, and; distributing itself as
much as possible in the well, rises through the water.
If possible, the well should only contain underground-water, and for this purpose,
its upper part is covered with a layer of cement, which is impervious to the surface-
water, and also with a cover, closing hermetically, through which pass the various
tubes air-tight.
By these means, the water in the well retains an equable temperature in winter
and summer-Moreover, in order to maintain, as far as possible, an equally cool
temperature in the air forced into the well, it is advisable to draw off the air, in
the winter, at the South side, and, in the summer, at the North side of the
building.
In this way, the air forced through the water will acquire a certain degree of
moisture, and be, moreover, of about the same temperature as the underground-
water. The air enters the hollow axle b. Sheet II Fig 2, through the tube 3 and
the mouth-piece a.
From this axle b. a number of tubes lead to the various compartments of the
germinating apparatus; each of these tubes terminates at the main-wall d in a
passage covered with perforated plate, so that the air is equably diffused through
the grain. The perforated plate prevents any grains from entering the mouths e
of the tubes c, and, being fixed like a slide, it can easily be removed to be
cleaned.
Each tube c is supplied with a cock g before the main-wall of the appatus; by
which the air may be allowed to pass into the several compartments or cut off from
them.
As seen in Fig 4 and 6. Sheet II, every two compartments in the germinating
apparatus are connected by a tube, and this connection can be cut off by a
cock or g.
The tubes of the front plate d are shown in Fig. 4 Pl. II, those of the back m in
Fig. 6-If the cold air is to enter the compartment I, the arrangement is as follows;
g₁ open-shut-h, open, the other cocks g, to g, and h, to h, shut, the cocks i
and g open.
The air passes through the tube c₁ the cock g and the mouth e into compartiment I
of the germinating apparatus, permeates the grain in the same, and passes at the
back through the mouth o, the connection-pipe 92-1 and the opening o, into com-
partment II, passes here again through the grain, enters the connection-pipe ka-3
at the opposite wall of the apparatus through the opening ps into compartment III.
In this manner the air passes through the 8 compartments, and escapes from
compartiment VIII at the back plate through the cock h, and the tube i..
The air impregnated with carbonic acid is removed from the hollow axle b. by
the draught of the chimney, which is connected with this axle by a tube. By
suitably arranging the cocks the cold air can be admitted at pleasure into any other
compartment instead of I at first, and the circulation is precisely the same; e.g. if
the air is first let into compartment II, it passes through II-VIII, does not,
however, escape at VIII at the back, but passes at the front into I and leaves this
compartment at the back in the manner described above.
The water in the well gradually attains a higher temperature by depriving the
air forced through it of its heat, and the warmer water naturally rises to the surface,
,

page_text: whence it is advantageously pumped off by the tube 4. Sheet I, and employed for
softening the grain in the steeping cisterns, since strongly aerated water, such as
this, greatly promotes the process of germination.
Each compartment is furnished with a small test slide r. Sheet II through which
the process of the germination can be ascertained at any moment.
If it is seen that the grain is too moist, the cock h₁ of the tube 2 is closed, and
the cock h₂ of the tube 5a opened; the air no longer comes into direct contact
with the water, but is cooled in the pipe coil by the surrounding water and enters
the germinating apparatus cool, but dry.
If the air circulates too quickly in the apparatus, however slowly the air-
compressor B may work, the action of the latter is stopped, and the cock h₂ of the
tube 5b is opened, so that only the draught of the chimney comes into play and
will draw the air through the tubes 1, 56 and 5a directly from the atmosphere
and through the well.
To regulate the temperature in the interior of the germinating apparatus, which
is, moreover, absolutely indispensable to ensure success, an electric thermometer is
placed in the interior of each compartment, and indicates when the maximum
temperature is exceeded. The thermometer is surrounded by a metal casing
hermetically closed, and covered with wire netting to protect it against the grain.
The insulated conducting wires of the 8 electric thermometers in the germinating
apparatus are gathered into a cable in the hollow axle b. and conducted in a
suitable manner to a signalling apparatus like the indicator or annunciator in a
house telegraph.
As soon as the temperature exceeds the maximum, contact takes place in the
thermometer, the conducting wire receives the current and conveys it to the
indicator which shows the number of the compartment in question; at the same
time, a bell warns the workman attending to the germinating apparatus.
In the tubular passage 6 leading to the chimney there is also an electric
thermometer t, connected with the indicator and serving to regulate the mean
temperature of the germinating apparatus.
As soon as the bell and the appearance of a number on the indicator show that
the temperature in one of the compartments has exceeded the maximum, the
current of air is, by a suitable arrangement of the cocks, first admitted to the
compartment whose number appears on the indicator, and then, if the germinating
apparatus stops, it is set in motion, which at once reduces the temperature in the
compartment in question; the contact is broken and the bell stops ringing. When
the formation of the green malt is complete in the apparatus A, and shortly before
emptying the latter, a current of dry air is forced into it by means of the force-
pump B. for the purpose of evaporating the water clinging to the partitions of the
compartments and the outside of the malt.
When the apparatus is emptied and the man-holes and all the cocks h at the
back m are closed, it is cleansed by admitting cold water through the tube 7, the
cocks h at the front d being opened, and these are afterwards also closed.
The apparatus is now made to rotate, and, after some time, the water is allowed
to run off with the solid particles it has washed off by the discharge cocks h₁, one
of which is attached to each compartment. The waste-water formed in the
passage 6 by condensation can be let off by the tube 8.
The green malt formed in the germinating apparatus A. is now subjected to the
process of drying, which, in this case, consists of two distinct operations.
By the first, the greater portion of the water contained in the green malt is
evaporated by means of moderately warm air, while in the second process the
drying, properly speaking, is effected by means of a higher temperature.
For this purpose the air-malting apparatus and the drying apparatus are
requisite, both of which are shown in Sheet III.
The air-malting apparatus consists of 2 stationary cylinders G and G₁, having
moveable axles to which are attached suitable blades for turning over the malt.

page_text: In the upper part of the cylinders there is an opening for filling them which can
be closed by a man-hole cover, and in the lower part a slide-valve with a rack
arrangement for emptying the apparatus.
The discharge slide-valve is furnished with a small test-valve or slide by means
of which the progress of drying can be ascertained at any time.
.
The cylinders G and G₁ are about half filled with green malt, the aqueous
contents of which must be reduced in this apparatus from about 30% to 15%.
This comparatively large quantity of water can only be removed from the malt
by taking certain precautions.
For this purpose the drying-cylinder is warmed by means of hot air, which is
produced and conveyed to the drying apparatus in the following manner.
. C is a ventilator furnished with stepped cones so that it can be inade to rotate
slowly or quickly at pleasure.
F. is a heating chamber containing a row of ribbed heaters which are supplied
direct with fresh boiler steam by the steam-pipe 1 or with waste steam, and they
are connected with each other, so that the steam can circulate in all of them.
The water of condensation is collected in the condenser a.
By means of the ventilator C fresh air is forced through the passage b into the
heating-chamber F, is warmed there by the heaters and conveyed by the tube 2 to
the air-passage b situated in the apparatus G, which passage is flat from top to
bottom and extends along the circumference of the drying-apparatus.
"The blades rotating in the apparatus keep the malt always in motion, and ensure
its being dried uniformly. The cylinder G₁ is arranged like G, and generally
receives the malt first, which then passes by means of a funuel to G.
Barley, with which we have chiefly to do here in the production of malt,, swells
at 37.5° C, whereas it begins to gelatinise at 57.5° As already mentioned,,
about 23% of water must be driven off, and this, for the above-mentioned reasons,
must be effected at a tolerably low temperature, for, if the prescribed temperature
is exceeded, there is formed the much dreaded glass or stone malt, when through
the gelatinising of the starch the interior of the grain acquires a horny consistency
which encloses the diastase, and renders the action of the same illusory.
To prevent this evil, the temperature in G must be kept at about 35° and in G₁
at about 30°.
To this end the tube conveying the warm air from G to G₁ and also the tube 2
are provided with electric thermometers which give warning by a bell signal
whenever the maximum temperature has been exceeded.
Should this take place, the cock of the tube 4 is opened, and the latter is thus
connected with the, tube 2 and, consequently with the apparatus G when cold air is
admitted direct to this apparatus.
1
In the same way, by arranging the cocks in a suitable manner, cold air can be
conveyed to the apparatus G₁ through the tube 5.
4.3
Solid particles carried away from the apparatus are deposited in the dust
chamber S, whence they can be removed by a valve, and particles of dust are
kept back by a sieve placed before the chimney.
The two air-malting appliances G and G₁ are cleansed by admitting water or
steam through the tubes 6 and 7-The foul water runs off through, the tube 8.,
The drying apparatus also comprises two stationary:cylinders Hand H₁ placed
one above the other and having rotating arms in their interior. The air-passages
in the interior of the cylinders, occupying the whole breadth of the latter from top
to bottom, are constructed precisely in the same manner as in the air-malting
apparatus.
The heating chamber F, and the ventilator C₁ correspond to the apparatus
already described.
Each of the drying cylinders is furnished on the outside, up to about half its
height, with a hot-water passage which is fed by the waste-water collected in- {

page_text: the condensing tanks a and a₁, being first forced through the tube 9 into the casing
of the cylinder H₁.
The proper temperature for drying lies on an average between 60° and 70° C.
At this temperature, and with a limited quantity of water, the carbo-hydrates,
albuminous matter, and the products of the greatly changed fatty substance exhibit
great activity, the last named producing the aroma of the malt. In the drying
apparatus, the temperature in the upper cylinder H₁ is somewhat lower than in the
lower one H, and the malt, at first placed in the upper cylinder, can be transferred
to the lower one by the funnel t₁ by moving a slide in the bottom of the apparatus.
Electric thermometers give immediate warning when the maximum temperature
has been exceeded; should this occur in the hot-water jackets, cold water is
conveyed to the casing through the tube 11, and, when the temperature in the
air-passages is too high, cold air is conveyed to them through the tube 12 or 13.
When the drying process in H is complete, this apparatus is emptied, and, in the
meantime, hot air is conveyed to H₁.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is
1. The construction of the germinating apparatus A. divided into several
compartments connected with each other by tubes and cocks in such a manner
that the fresh air can be conveyed to any of these compartments first, and, then,
must pass through the others.
2. In mechanical germinating apparatus, the cooling of the air conveyed by an
air-compression-pump B in such a manner that the air is either forced through
tubes direct into the underground water of a well hermetically closed at the top, or
conveyed through the water of this well by pipe coils.
3. In the production of malt, the employment of stationary drying cylinders (air
malting apparatus) G and G₁ constructed as shown in the drawing, each of which
is provided with a stirring apparatus for turning over the malt, and a flat air-
passage extending from top to bottom along the same.
4. In the production of malt, the employment of stationary drying-cylinders
(malt-drying apparatus) H and H, provided with an apparatus for turning over the
malt, and an air-passage extending from top to bottom along the same, moreover,
surrounded to half its height with an hermetically closed casing which is filled
with hot water for heating the cylinder.
5. The combined employment of the following appliances shown in the drawing;
a. The germinating apparatus A.
b. The ventilators (fans or blowers) C and C₁.
c. The heating-chambers F and F₁.
d. The air-malting appliances G and G₁.
e. The drying-appliances H and H₁ combined in the order named, and for the
purpose of producing malt by mechanical means.