IMPROVEMENTS IN TREATING RICE AND OTHER GRAIN FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF STARCH, ALSO TO PREPARE THEM FOR USE AS FOOD, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
Year: 1865

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Ransford, of Brompton, in the County of
Middlesex, Gentleman, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN TREATING
RICE AND OTHER GRAIN FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF STARCH, ALSO TO PREPARE
THEM FOR USE AS FOOD, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES."
Sealed the 15th August 1865, and dated the 12th May 1865.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Ransford at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 12th
May 1865.
I, HENRY RANSFORD, of Brompton, in the County of Middlesex, Gentle-
man, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN TREATING RICE AND OTHER GRAIN FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF STARCH, ALSO
TO PREPARE THEM FOR USE AS FOOD, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES," to be as
follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in treating rice and other
grain for the manufacture of starch, also to prepare them for use as food, and
for other purposes.
Starch is at the present time commonly made from rice by a process of
which the following is an outline:-The grain is steeped in alkali, then
ground in a wet state, and the paste from the mill mixed with water or an

page_text: "
.}
starch in the
alkaline solution. The gluten of the grain (which it is the main object of
the starch-making process to separate from the starch) is then in solution,
whilst the starch and fibre are in suspension in the liquid. On standing, the
fibre is first deposited and afterwards the starch, and so the two are separated
the one from the other, whilst the gluten waste is run off. The starch is
poured into boxes, dried and twice stoved before the
'crystallized" form is ready for the market. This process is tedious, and in
practice it involves many washings and depositings, to which no allusion is
made above. It has been attempted to obtain starch by a simpler process,
omitting altogether the wet grinding, the washing out of the gluten from
the ground grain, and all the operations rendered necessary thereby. This
process however failed to produce a useful laundry starch, principally as I
find because the means resorted to for separating the gluten from the rice are
altogether insufficient for the purpose.
In operating according to my Invention I keep the grain whole or un-
ground until the end of the operation, and omit altogether the wet grinding
and the washing out of the gluten with water, but I substitute therefor a
pressing process, and by this means I am enabled to separate the gluten
from the grain so completely as to make a good laundry starch. When
working with rice I proceed as follows :-I take decorticated rice, I steep it
in soda or other alkali, and afterwards wash it well with water; then I
submit it to beavy pressure, by preference, in a hydraulic press, and so squeeze
out as much of the gluten as may be dissolved. If my object is to make
good laundry starch I repeat these processes, and sometimes even more than
once again steeping, washing, and pressing. Lastly, I dry the grain in a
stove, and grind it for use. When the object is to prepare the grain for use,
as a food, that is to say, to make from it a material more or less resembling
arrowroot in its properties, one pressing operation may serve sufficiently to
separate the gluten, and the same may be the case in preparing a starcby
material for some manufacturing purposes.
Indian corn may very usefully be treated according to my Invention, in
this case it is best to crack the grain at the commencement of the process.
The prepared grain may be sometimes conveniently sent into the market in an
unground state.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Henry Ransford in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 11th
November 1865.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HENRY
RANSFORD, of Brompton, in the County of Middlesex, Gentleman, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twelfth day of May, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, in the twenty-eighth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, givo and grant unto me, the said
Henry Ransford, Her special licence that I, the said Henry Ransford, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Heury
Ransford, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agreo
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 Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel
Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN TREATING RICE
AND OTHER GRAIN FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF STARCH, ALSO TO PREPARE THEM FOR
USE AS FOOD, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES," upon the condition (amongst others)
that 1, the said Henry Ransford, my executors or administrators, by an
instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and
seals, 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 immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Henry Ransford, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement thereof, that is to say:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in treating rice and other
grain for the manufacture of starch, also to prepare them for use as food, and
for other purposes.
Starch is at the present time commonly made from rice by a process of
which the following is an outline:-The grain is steeped in alkali, then
ground in a wet state, and the paste from the mill mixed with water or an
alkaline solution. The gluten of the grain (which it is the main object of the
starch-making process to separate from the starch) is then in solution whilst
the starch and fibre are in suspension in the liquid. On standing, the fibre

page_text: is first deposited and afterwards the starch, and so the two are separated the
one from the other, whilst the gluten waste is run off. The starch is poured
'into boxes, dried and twice stoved, before the starch in the crystallized form
is ready for the market. This process is tedious, and in practice it involves
many washings and depositings to which no allusion is made above. It has
.been attempted to obtain starch by a simpler process, omitting altogether the
wet grinding, the washing out of the gluten from the ground grain, and all
the operations rendered necessary thereby. This process however failed to
produce a useful laundry starch, principally as I find because the means
.resorted to for separating the gluten from the rice are altogether insufficient
for the purpose.
In operating according to my Invention I keep the grain whole or un-
ground until the end of the operation, and omit altogether the wet grinding
and the washing out of the gluten with water, but I substitute therefor a
pressing process, and by this means I am enabled to separate the gluten from
the grain so completely as to make a good laundry starch. When working
with rice I proceed as follows:-I take decorticated rice and steep it in soda
or other alkali. I prefer to use a solution of soda of a like strength to that
now employed by rice-starch makers; and I conduct the steeping process in
all respects as now practised by the large makers. Afterwards I wash the
rice by agitating it well with water, and then I submit it to heavy pressure,
by preference, in an bydraulic press, and so squeeze out as much of the gluten
as may be dissolved.
I place the starch for this purpose in bags, the gunny
bags in which the rice is imported may be employed, and I pile up the bags
one above the other in the hydraulic press so as to fill the press. The layer
of rice.contained in each bag may be two or three inches thick before pressing.
The pressure I prefer to be as heavy as can conveniently be obtained, indeed
the heavier the better, so long as the press cake on coming out of the press
will crumble readily between the fingers into separate grains. If my object
is to make good laundry starch I repeat these processes, putting the press
cake again into alkaline ley, and steeping as before; as it absorbs the liquid
the press cake breaks up, and the grains of rice fall apart. After the steeping
the rice is again washed and pressed as before. Lastly, I dry the grain in a
stove, which may be similar to the stoves now employed by starch makers for
drying starch, grind it for use; the grinding may be done conveniently by mill
stones such as are used for grinding corn, When the object is to prepare the
make from it a material more or
grain for use as a food, that is to say, to
less resembling arrowroot in its properties, one pressing operation may serve
sufficiently to separate the gluten, and the same may be the case in preparing

page_text: a starchy material for some manufacturing purposes.
I would remark that
the repeated steeping of the rice or grain in conjunction with the subsequent
drying of the same in the whole or unground state is in itself an important
feature of my Invention, so that it is possible (although not desirable) to
omit the pressing. In this case the rice or grain is steeped in alkali, as
already described, and washed, then again steeped and again washed, and so
on; and after the last washing it is dried, and lastly, if required, it is ground.
It is not possible, I believe, by this process with any reasonable number of
washings to obtain so good a result as where pressing is resorted to. A
laundry starch may, however, be produced in 3 or 4 steepings and washings,
and to prepare the rice or grain for use as food a smaller number of steepings
and washings, say 2 or 3, will be sufficient.
Indian corn may very usefully be treated according to my Invention; in
this case it is best to crack the grain at the commencement of the process by
passing it between rollers set at a suitable distance apart. The prepared
grain may be sometimes conveniently sent into the market in an unground
state, or it may be ground and the busk or bran afterwards separated by
suitable screens.
Having thus described the nature of my said Invention, and the manner of
performing the same, I would have it understood that I do not confine myself
to the exact details described; but what I claim is the treating rice and other
grain to obtain starch or a starch-like matter by the combined processes of
steeping in alkali, pressing, drying, and then grinding; also when the grain
is not required to be ground, 1 claim the steeping in alkali, pressing, and
drying the rice or grain in the unground state as herein-before described;
also I claim the submitting the whole or unground rice or grain to repeated
steepings in alkali, then drying, and lastly grinding it as described; also I
claim the repeated steeping in alkali, and afterwards drying whole or unground
rice or grain as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry Ransford, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-sixth day of October, in the year of our
Lrl One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five.
HENRY RANSFORD. (L.S.)