IMPROVEMENTS IN PROCESS OF AND APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF MANURE FROM THE WASTE FROM DISTILLERIES
Year: 1882

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Edmund Edwards at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents on the 10th January 1882. A communication
from abroad by Messieurs Gaillet and Huet, Chemists Engineers of Lille in
the Republic of France.
EDMUND EDWARDS, of the Firm of Edwards and Co-Patent Agents and
Engineers, of 40, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, in the County of
Middlesex. "IMPROVEMENTS IN PROCESS OF AND APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE
OF MANURE FROM THE WASTE FROM DISTILLERIES." A communication from
abroad by Messieurs Gaillet and Huet, Chemists Engineers, of Lille in the
Republic of France.
This Invention has for its object the utilization of the waste products of
distilleries, the disposal of which is ordinarily a source of great difficulty.
Such waste products cannot be discharged into streams or rivers without polluting
them, and are therefore often collected in reservoirs dug in the earth where they
are absorbed by the soil.
In such arrangement however it generally results that the porosity of the soil is
soon completely destroyed, and the liquid remains at the surface unless the earth
possesses exceptional permeability. In either case considerable evil is likely to
result, for either during the heat of summer active fermentation of the liquid at
the surface of the ground is caused, producing offensive gases which may infect the
neighbourhood for a considerable distance, or it may happen that the infiltration
of the liquid into the ground may affect the underground water sources and
consequently the wells or springs which they feed.
Purification of the liquid product being essential, and the above described methods
not being effective, the present Invention consists of novel chemical processes to
effect the desired object.
For this purpose the waste products coming from the distillery have added to
them a sufficient quantity, which may be varied according to the character of the
liquid, of perchloride of iron, a salt having a metallic base, and the mixture is
agitated and stirred by any suitable mechanism of any of the wellknown kinds.
Caustic lime prepared and thoroughly mixed in a vessel provided with agitating
mechanism, is then added to the mixture.

page_text: The compound of ferruginous liquid and lime is then itself thoroughly agitated
and mixed in a suitable vessel placed below the lime vessel. The lime precipitates
sesquioxide of iron, and the precipitate deposits with it nearly the whole of the
organic matter in the liquid.
The liquid thus chemically purified is pumped up into a reservoir placed at a
considerable height, whence it flows by its own pressure into one or more filtering
presses.
The liquid as it leaves these filtering presses, is perfectly clear, pure, and whole-
some, so that it may be discharged into any neighbouring stream; whilst the solid
matter remains in the presses in solid cakes containing the organic matters
resulting from the purifying process.
Sometimes, instead of placing the reservoir at a height as above described, we
use one or two large vessels supported on strong foundations at a level somewhat
above that of a cock or valve by which the liquid is admitted to the filtering
presses.
A pump raises the liquid into a small reservoir above the large vessels, whence
it descends through a pipe and is admitted through cocks or valves suitably
arranged, into the bottom of one or other of the large vessels which can thus be
alternately filled.
When one vessel is thus filled, the liquid is allowed to settle and a communi-
cation is then opened from it to the filter presses where under the pressure of the
liquid the sediment is collected and caked together.
When the clean liquid reached, the communication with the filters is closed
and the clean liquid is discharged into any convenient stream. By this method
of arrangement it is only necessary that a part of the liquid should pass through
the filters, the number of which may therefore be reduced.
In some cases, where the nature of the liquid allows a rapid settlement of the
deposit, the process may be made continuous with the above described apparatus ;
the cylinder or vertical reservoir filling slowly from the bottom, the matters in
suspension being precipitated below and the clear and purified water flowing off
above and passing directly away to any stream or watercourse.
The sediment is discharged through a blow off cock into one or more filtering
presses.
Whichever of the means described is used for the deposit of the matters in the
liquid, the object of the process is their agglomeration in the form of solid cakes
easily handled.
By this Invention, the precipitate from the waste liquid is formed by simple
pressure into a manure extremely rich in nitrogen and in phosphoric acid. Great
advantage is thus obtained, the resulting cakes being of considerable value.
In some cases, for the perchloride of iron used as above described I substitute
chloride of manganese produced in the manufacture of chlorine, or other metallic
salts of chlorine, so that the precipitation of the metal by the lime is in every case
complete and the purifying process leaves in the purified water only a small
proportion of chloride of calcium.