AN IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR EXTRACTING AMMONIA IN THE FORM OF LIQUID AMMONIA FROM CRUDE AMMONIACAL LIQUORS
Year: 1872

page_text: ETTERS PATENT to William Morgan Brown, of the Firm of
Brandon and Morgan Brown, Engineers and Patent Agents, of
38, Southampton Buildings, London, and 13, Rue Gaillon, Paris,
'for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR EXTRACTING
AMMONIA IN THE FORM OF LIQUID AMMONIA FROM CRUDE AMMONIACAL
LIQUORS." A communication from abroad by Jules Henri Elwert,
of Geneva, Switzerland, Engineer, and Jean Jacques Müller Pack,
of Basel, Switzerland, Chemist.
Sealed the 13th August 1872, and dated the 22nd June 1872.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Morgan Brown
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 22nd June 1872.
I, WILLIAM MORGAN BROWN, of the Firm of Brandon and Morgan
5 Brown, Engineers and Patent Agents, of 38, Southampton Buildings,
London, and 13, Rue Gaillon, Paris, do hereby declare the nature of

page_text: the said Invention for "AN IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR EXTRACTING AMMONIA
IN THE FORM OF LIQUID AMMONIA FROM CRUDE AMMONIACAL LIQUORS," to be
as follows:-
This Invention has for its object an improved apparatus for
extracting ammonia in the form of liquid ammonia from crude 5
ammoniacal liquors, and consists in an apparatus serving the purpose
at one operation of separating the ammonia from gas liquors, &c., and
condensing it into a white liquid of any required strength.

page_text: conducted up and down some vertical purifiers filled with charcoal where
matters injurious to. the ammonia are retained, and the pure vapour of
ammonia now passes into the stock condensing chambers where it con-
denses into pure water, and on arriving at the proper strength is placed
in the carboys or other vessel for delivery in commerce.
When the vessel No. 2 is. exhausted. of its ammonia it is emptied,
filled again with the contents of No. 1, No. 1 recharged, and the operation
again proceeded with as a matter of course. The condensing vessels
and purifiers are submitted to any well-known means of refrigeration to
reduce the temperature as low as possible, and the charcoal renowed as
occasion requires..
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Morgan Brown in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 17th December 1872..
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
MORGAN BROWN,. of the Firm of Brandon and Morgan Brown, Engineers
and Patent Agents, of 38, Southampton Buildings, London, and 13, Ruc
Gaillon, Paris, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-second day of June, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two, in the thirty-
fifth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said William Morgan Brown, Her special
license that I, the said William Morgan Brown, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William Morgan'
Brown, my 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 Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "AN
IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR EXTRACTING AMMONIA IN THE FORM OF LIQUID AMMONIA
FROM CRUDE AMMONIACAL LIQUORS," a communication to him from abroad
by Jules Henri Elwert, of Geneva, Switzerland, Engineer, and Jean

page_text: Jacques Müller Pack, of Basel, Switzerland, Chemist, upon the con-
dition (amongst others) that I, the said William Morgan Brown, 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 5
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 William Morgan Brown, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same 1
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement-thereof, that is to say :-
This Invention has for its object an improved apparatus for extracting
ammonia in the form of liquid ammonia from crude ammoniacal liquors,
and consists in an apparatus serving the purpose at one operation of 1
separating the ammonia from gas liquors, etc., and condensing it into a
white liquid of any required strength.

page_text: .
On the application of the fire to No. 2 vessel the ammonical vapour
as it escapes is led by a pipe into the No. 1 vessel, and allowed to escape
into the liquid at its lowest portion as the gas rises, it also absorbs fresh
portions or becomes enriched from the ammonical liquor, from thence
it is led into a condensing chamber, the more condensible portion
escaping back by a proper pipe to the liquid portion of the No. 1 vessel
and the more volatile portion is carried by a refrigerating worm to a
condensing tank, where the hydrocarbons, some free. ammonia, and sal
ammoniac is retained. The purer and uncondensed vapour passing on
is conducted up and down some vertical purifiers filled with charcoal
where matters injurious to the ammonia are retained and the pure
vapour of ammonia now passes into the stock condensing chambers
where it condenses into pure water, and on arriving at the proper strength
is placed in the carboys or other vessel for delivery in commerce.
When the vessel No. 2 is exhausted of its ammonia it is emptied, filled
again with the contents of No. 1, No. 1 recharged, and the operation
again proceeded with. As a matter of course the condensing vessels
and purifiers are submitted to any well-known means of refrigeration.
to reduce the temperature as low as possible, and the charcoal renewed
as occasion requires.
It will be more clearly understood by the following description
referring to the accompanying Drawings in which Figure 1 is a plan;
Figure 2, longitudinal elevation in section through 1,.2, Figure 1;
Figure 3, end elevation in section through 3, 4, Figure 1; Figure 4,
front elevation; Figure 5, end elevation in section through 5, 6, Figure 1;
Figure 6, back elevation; Figure 7, diagram of apparatus developed.
The same letters refer to the same parts.
A is the boiler of wrought iron or suitable material mounted over a
hearth or fire-place. On the dome or upper part of the boiler is adapted
the tube a, a, which passing upwards for a certain distance is then
turned downwards and enters through a tight joint into the boiler A'
nearly to the bottom, it is then carried along nearly the whole length
of the boiler A' and is pierced with numerous holes for the escape of
the gas passing from the boiler A. into this pipe or tube a, a.
On the dome of the boiler A' is adapted the tube b, b, turned down as
a siphon, the other branch going to within 30 centimetres of the bottom

page_text: of the vessel B which is in communication with the boiler A' by the
tube 7.
On the cover of the vase B is fixed the tube c which leads the aqueous
ammoniacal vapours into the coil of the refrigerator C, the tube c when
it leaves the refrigerator is carried to within 20 centimetres of the
bottom of the vessel D fitted with a safety tube d and a cock & opening
a communication by the tube p between the vessel D and the boiler A'.
In the vessel D are deposited the aqueous ammonical vapours con-
densed by the worm whilst the ammoniacal vapour passes by the tube e
to traverse the four tubes in cast iron E, E¹, E³, E³, communicating by
the tubes f, f, fs, these four tubes open at each end are fitted with
rims so that each end may be closed with tight fitting covers in cast
iron.
°
From the tube E* the ammoniacal vapours are carried by the leaden
tube g into the lead condensing cistern G fitted with a funnel-shaped
safety tube h and a cock for emptying at t, the bent tube i takes the
non-condensed gas in G into the vessel H also fitted with a tap for
emptying a funnel-shaped safety tube j and a tube for the last un-
condensible portions of the gas and which should be led away from the
factory.
The crude ammoniacal liquors are introduced by the tube and cock q
which is in communication with a reservoir above the level of the boiler
A', the capacity of the boiler 'A' is 1000 litres, the quantity for.one
charge, to this is added the quantity of milk of lime thrown in hot by
the hole r sufficient to decompose the ammoniacal salts in each charge.
The emptying of the boiler A' into the boiler A. is done by the tube
and valve m to clear the tube m of any matter which might choke it.
The rod o is fitted in a stuffing box which allows it to be passed along
the pipe without loss of any vapour or liquor, the boiler A is fitted with
a tube and valve n by means of which it can be emptied.
To prevent the formation of vacuum in the boiler A there is fitted
.on the tube a, a, a small tube in connection with the vessel u, which
latter is fitted with the safety tube and cock v.
The vessel G is placed in a reservoir made of sheet iron F containing
cold water or a cooling mixture as the vessel G becomes otherwise warm
by the condensation of the ammoniacal vapour into the water.

page_text: On the face of the boiler A about 60 centimetres from the bottom a
small hole is made which is closed with a wooden peg, by means of
which it can be ascertained when the vapour of ammonia has been
driven off.
ACTION OF THE APPARATUS.
The man-holes of the boilers being closed the valve n of the boiler A
is closed, the valve m is opened, the refrigerators C, F, are filled with
cold water, the four tubes E, E', E², E³, are packed or filled with freshly
burnt charcoal of soft wood of the size of nuts (preferably the refuse
from the baker's ovens), the covers screwed on and luted with linseed
meal. In the vessel G is placed 60 to 65 litres of pure water, and in
the vessels H by j½½ litres.
After these preparations the cock 7 being opened 1000 litres of crude
ammoniacal liquor is run into the boiler A', and at the same time by the
hole enough milk of lime to decompose all the ammonia in the 1000
litres.
When the crude liquor mixed with the milk of lime has run into
the boiler A, the cock v, the valve m, and the hole r are closed, and the
fire is lighted, the heat from which passing under the first half of the
boiler A returns under the other half in its passage to the chimney.
As soon as the contents of the boiler obtain the degree of cbullition
the air driven out begins to bubble in the vessel G and H, the boiler A'
and the tubes b and c commence to heat, and when the tube c at the
entrance to the refrigerator C is well hot, the air has then been expelled
and it is time to charge the boiler A'. The cock is then open, the air
cooled by the liquor running into A' produces a vacuum and the aspira-
tion draws the surplus liquid in D along the tubes cand into the
boiler A' at the same time the air enters by the tube d. The boiler A¹
now charged with 1000 litres of crude liquor the cock 7 is closed, the
cock v opened, and the hole r, and through the hole the charge of milk
of lime is added, the contents of the boiler A' are well stirred with a
rod, the holer then closed, and the fire made active.
P
The aqueous ammoniacal vapour of the boiler A. escaping by the
small apertures in the horizontal part of the pipe a, a, agitates the liquor
in the boiler A' rises charged with more ammonia from the liquid and
richer in ammoniacal vapour. This vapour passing by the tube into

page_text: the vessel B partially condenses or loses its aqueous vapour, and with
some of the ammoniacal salts deposits in the vessel, from whence it flows
back to boiler A' by the tube 1, the concentrated vapour passes by the
tube c into the worm where the aqueous vapour is entirely condensed,
retaining a portion of the hydrocarbons, free ammonia, and ammoniacal
salts. The liquid accumulating in the vessel D assists towards the end
of the operation when the vapours are more charged with ammoniacal
salts to wash these vapours and retain the salts. The unconcondensed
vapours pass by the tube e to the charcoal purifiers E, E¹, E³, E³, the
charcoal or braise absorbs besides a small portion of the ammonia all 1
the matters that would injure the alkali, principally the hydrocarbons,
and the pure ammoniacal vapour escapes from the last purifier by the
pipe g into the vessel G, where the pure water absorbs the vapour till
the liquid has acquired the desired strength. The vapours not condensed
in the vessel G, for instance atmospheric air, escape by the tube i and 1
then pass into the liquid in the vessel E, which absorbs the small
quantity of ammoniacal vapour escaping from G, and the last uncon-
densible portions pass by the tube / outside the factory.
During the operation the refrigerators Cand F must be kept constantly
cooled to condense in the first vessel all the non-ammoniacal vapours, 2
and to condense as much as possible of the ammoniacal vapour in the
vessel G.
When the boiler A is discharged of its ammonia the liquid is let
out by the valve n, it is again charged from the boiler A', the cock v
shut as before, and the crude charge let into A' again, the aspiration a
draws the liquid from the vessel D by the tube p and the tube c, thus
clearing away any deposit in the tubes at every time of charging the
boiler.
During the time the boiler A' is being charged the charcoal purifiers
are repacked, the liquid ammonia is drawn off from the vessels G and Ha
and replaced with pure water as before. If the water used in G and H.
is not distilled water, the charge when drawn from G and H must be set
aside to deposit the salts of lime, alum, and magnesia, but with puro
water the charge is ready for delivery at once.
The time occupied in the operation is from 4 to 5 hours, the product a
of 1000 litres of crude liquor of 3° Baumé is from 100 to 110 kilo-
DIMOS white liquid ammonia 22° Baumá

page_text: Having now described and particularly set forth the nature of the
said Invention, and the manner of carrying the same into effect, I
would have it understood that what I claim is, an improved apparatus
for extracting ammonia in the form of liquid ammonia from crude
ammoniacal liquors planned, arranged, and worked, substantially as
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Morgan Brown, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Seventeenth day of December,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
two.
WILLIAM MORGAN BROWN. (L.S.)