IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR DIS- TILLING ALCOHOLIC SPIRITS
Year: 1878

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to David Walker, of Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster,
Distiller, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR DIS-
TILLING ALCOHOLIC SPIRITS."
Sealed the 24th September 1878, and dated the 9th April 1878.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said David Walker at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 9th April 1878.
DAVID WALKER, of Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster, Distiller. "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN APPARATUS FOR DISTILLING ALCOHOLIC SPIRITS."
This Invention relates to improved arrangements for obtaining two qualities of
spirit from the saine combined distilling apparatus, by which arrangements certain
practical advantages are secured.
The Invention consists in combining what is known as Coffey's distilling appa-
ratus with ordinary stills or other suitable distilling or evaporating vessels or
chambers. The parts of the combined apparatus are connected by pipes in such a
way that the wash after it has passed through the rectifying column of the Coffey
apparatus is led into one or more common stills, or into evaporating chambers of
any convenient form, in which it is distilled by the application of heat by means of
steam jackets, or of steam pipes, or by the heat of a common or gas fire. The wash
is afterwards conducted into the analysing column of the Coffey apparatus, wherein
the spirit remaining in it is thoroughly separated.
The action of the apparatus is continuous, but the spirit distilled in the ordinary
stills or evaporators is dealt with separately from that obtained in the Coffey ana-
lysing apparatus, the former being economically and otherwise applicable for some
classes of whiskies, whilst the latter is or may be made equal in strength and purity
to that usually produced by the uncombined Coffey apparatus.
The manner of arranging the combined apparatus and the form or construction
of the added evaporating vessel are susceptible of considerable variation or modifi-
cation; but in a convenient and preferable arrangement for carrying out the

page_text: Invention the rectifying and analysing columns of the Coffey apparatus are placed
near together in the manner usual with such apparatus, and the added evaporating
vessel is placed at a level a little higher than the tops of the two Coffey columns.
The evaporating vessel is a rectangular chest of an oblong form, horizontally,
and is fitted with steam pipes extending along the bottom from an inlet
steam casing at one end to an outlet casing at the other end. A large pipe pro-
ceeds from the top of the chest at one end to lead the evolved vapors to condensing
apparatus, and inlet and outlet pipes with stop valves for the wash are fitted at the
lower parts of the ends. The wash which reaches the bottom of the rectifying
column is pumped through an external pipe up to the evaporating vessel, and after
it passes through that vessel it descends by a separate pipe to the top of the ana-
lysing column, such descending pipe being made with an overflow bend which
determines the depth of wash in the evaporating vessel, whilst a valve is also pro-
vided through which the wash can be entirely run off from that vessel.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said David Walker in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 8th October
1878.
DAVID WALKER, of Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster.
APPARATUS FOR DISTILLING ALCOHOLIC SPIRITS."
"IMPROVEMENTS IN
My said Invention relates to improved arrangements for obtaining two qualitics
of spirit from the same combined distilling apparatus, by which arrangements
certain practical advantages are secured.
My Invention consists in combining what is known as Coffey's distilling appa-
ratus with ordinary stills or other suitable distilling or evaporating vessels or
chambers. The manner of arranging the combined apparatus and the form or con-
struction of the added evaporating vessel are susceptible of considerable variation
or modification; but in one convenient arrangement for carrying out my Invention
. the parts of the combined apparatus are connected by pipes in such a way that the
wash after it has passed through the rectifying column of the Coffey apparatus is
led into one or more common stills, or into evaporating chambers of any convenient
form, in which it is partially distilled by the application of heat by means of steam
jackets, or of steam pipes, or by the heat of a common or gas fire. The wash is
afterwards conducted into the analysing column of the Coffey apparatus, wherein
the spirit remaining in it is thoroughly separated.
The advantage of the arrangement or modification herein-before described is that
the wash is heated up in the wash pipes of the Coffey rectifier before entering the
ordinary still or evaporating chamber; but in another modification wash is supplied
to the ordinary still or evaporating chamber without passing through the Coffey
rectifier pipes, and the Coffey apparatus is employed to distil a separate supply of

page_text: wash in the ordinary way, and in addition the partially exhausted wash which has
passed through the ordinary still or evaporating chamber.
The wash thus separately supplied to the ordinary still or evaporating chamber
may be previously heated by the low wines' vapor from such stills or chamber, or it
may be heated in any other convenient way.
In a third modification the wash is supplied to the ordinary still or evaporating
chamber, and passes thence to the Coffey analyser, and water instead of wash is
passed through the Coffey rectifier pipes, but is not allowed to enter the analyser,
being instead led away from the apparatus and utilised as hot water, or otherwise
disposed of.
Two or more ordinary wash stills may be combined with a single pair of Coffey
columns, such stills being arranged to discharge their partially exhausted wash into
the Coffey analyser in succession.
The action of any of the modifications of my improved apparatus is continuous,
but the spirit distilled in the ordinary stills or evaporating chambers is dealt with
separately from that obtained in the Coffey apparatus, the former being economically
and otherwise applicable for some classes of whiskies, whilst the latter is or may
be made equal in strength and purity to that usually produced by the uncombined
Coffey apparatus.
And in order that my said Invention, and the manner of performing the saine
inny be properly understood, I hereunto append a Sheet of explanatory Drawings
to be herein-after referred to, and representing a preferable arrangement or com-
bination of apparatus for effecting my improvements. In these Drawings the
saine reference numerals are used to mark the same or like parts wherever they
aro repeated.
Figure on the accompanying Sheet of Drawings is an end elevation showing
the upper part of a Coffey analysing column 5, also the end of a rectangular chest
G, to be used as an evaporating vessel or common still.
Figure 2 is an end elevation of the upper part of the Coffey rectifying column 7,
working in connection with the analysing column 5.
Figure 3 is a side elevation of the parts shown in Figure 1 (without the
reflecting column 7), and Figure 4 is a horizontal section of the evaporating vessel 6.
This evaporating vessel 6 is placed at a level a little higher than the tops of the
two Coffey columns 5, 7. It is a rectangular iron chest or frame lined with copper,
of an oblong form in plan, and is fitted internally with steam pipes 8, extending
along the bottom from an inlet steam casing 9 at one end to an outlet casing 10 at
the other end, a pipe and stop valve 11 lending into one casing 9, and a pipe 12
leading the water of condensation or steain away from the other casing 10.
Brushes or scrapers may be fitted to the pipes 8 for the purpose of cleaning them,
being worked by rods passing out through stuffing boxes. A large pipe 13 pro-
ceeds from the top of the chest 6 at one end to lead the evolved low wines' vapors
to condensing apparatus; and inlet and outlet pipes 14, 15, with stop valves 16,
17, for the wash, are fitted to the bottom of the chest at the opposite ends. The
wash which passes through the wash pipes 18 of the rectifying column 7, is led from
the bottom of that column by a pipe 19 in the usual way to the top of the analysing
column 5; at the top of the analysing column 5 the pipe 19 is connected to a pipo
20, fitted with a stop valve 21, and leading directly into the analysing column; and
it is also connected with the wash inlet pipe 14 of the added evaporating vessel G.
With this arrangement, on suitably adjusting the stop valves 16, 21, the wash may
be led wholly into the analysing column 5, or wholly into the evaporating vessel 0,
or in any desired proportions into both. The exhausted or partly exhausted wash
passos from the evaporating vessel by the pipe 15, and through a siphon or overflow
bend 22, the top of which is at the level whereat it is considered best to maintain
the wash in the evaporating vessel G. The siphon bend 22 communicates with the
pipe 15 on opposite sides of the stop valvo 17, which valve is opened only when it
is wished to run off all the wash from the evaporating vessel 6. The wash passing

page_text: over the bend 22 proceeds by the continuation of the pipe 15 into the analysing
column 5, to be therein acted on in the ordinary way.
When the process is modified as herein-before indicated the pipe connections must
of course be arranged accordingly.
Having thus particularly described my said Invention, and the manner of per-
forming the same, I have to state that I do not restrict myself to the precise details
herein described or delineated, but that what I believe to be novel and original,
and claim as the Invention secured to me by and in terms of the herein-before in
part recited Letters Patent is, the combining of Coffey's distilling apparatus with
ordinary stills or other suitable distilling or evaporating vessels or chambers, sub-
stantially in the manner and for the purposes herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said David Walker, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Fifth day of October, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and seventy-eight.
DAVID WALKER. (L.S.)
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