Improvements in Means or Apparatus for Sterilising Water.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 4th Feb., 1891
Complete Specification Left, 4th Nov., 1891-Accepted, 4th Feb., 18º2
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Means or Apparatus for Sterilising Water.
I JAMES YATE JOHNSON of 47 Lincolns Inn Fields in the County of Middlesex
Gentleman do hereby declare the nature of this invention (which has been com-
municated to me from abroad by the La Société Geneste. Herscher & Co.
of 42 Rue du Chemin Vert, Paris in the Republic of France, Engineers) to be as
follows:-
:-
This invention relates to improved means or apparatus for sterilising water by
exposing it to a sufficiently elevated temperature to destroy any living organisms
that it may contain and at the same time enabling it to retain the qualities which
are necessary to render it suitable for human consumption. With this object the
water is maintained under pressure during the heating and cooling processes so as
to prevent the escape of the gases in solution and prevent the precipitation of
certain salts. The pressure also facilitates the redissolution of any gas that may
have been generated in the heating process. The apparatus is so arranged as to
automatically stop working directly the conditions necessary either for the effectual
sterilisation or for the preservation of the useful qualities of the water cease to be
present. The water is heated to from say about 120 to 130 degrees Centigrade
and is maintained at this temperature for from about 10 to 15 minutes for example.
When the temperature falls below a certain limit the apparatus automatically
ceases to act and the heating arrangements are such that the temperature cannot
be raised beyond a certain point so as to prejudice the condition of the water.
The water is uniformly cooled before it leaves the apparatus and the pressure to
which it is subjected during its passage through the apparatus is independent of
the temperature. The action of the apparatus arranged as hereinafter described
is self regulating and independent of any skill on the part of the attendant.
The
The apparatus is constructed with a boiler capable of withstanding a pressure of
say 3 kilos. which supplies steam for heating the water to be sterilised. This
steam circulates in tubes in the sterilising vessel the water of condensation being
returned to the boiler. A feed pump worked by steam taken direct from the
boiler or from a crank pipe forming a heating coil in the upper part of the sterilising
vessel supplies water to a cooler or temperature exchanger in which it circulates
and becomes heated by contact with a worm or tube containing hot water.
water leaves this vessel at the upper part and is conducted thence to the lower part
of another similarly arranged vessel or cooler it then circulates in the sterilising
vessel for the requisite period being discharged at the upper part where it is highly
heated by the steam pipe. The water afterwards passes in an upward direction
through a clarifyer of any suitable composition and then enters the upper end of
the coil or worm in one of the coolers after which it circulates in the other cooler.
From this cooler it passes through a valve provided with a piston or diapbragm
adjusted to move under a certain pressure and open an orifice whose area is regulated
according to the pressure. The pressure thus regulated by the valve is greater
than that in the boiler so that the water cannot evaporate in the interior of the
apparatus.
The relation between the motor or steam piston and the pump piston is regulated
in accordance with the pressure in the boiler and the pressure obtained by the
valve the effective power of the pump being in accordance with the relative areas
of the pistons and the difference between the pressures exerted thereon.
When
the boiler pressure falls below a certain point the pressures on the two pistons
become equal and the pump ceases to work. On the other hand the safety valves
the boiler prevent the pressure in the latter from rising above a certain
on

page_text: limit so that a corresponding limit is imposed on the pressure produced by the
pump.
A branch from the delivery pipe of the pump leading to the boiler supplies the
latter with water to compensate for waste.
The sterilising vessel is divided into three compartments. The first compartment
is of relatively small volume or capacity and presents an extensive heating surface.
The second and third compartments are of larger capacity the second containing
two heating tubes and the third containing the coil or worm through which the
steam circulates on its way to the pump. This worm acts as a regulator. When
the temperature of the water surrounding it is too low the steam being condensed
is prevented from working the pump so that the apparatus ceases to act when the
water is insufficiently heated. The period during which the water is exposed to
the high temperature is regulated by the action of the valve hereinbefore referred
to which also controls the supply of steam to the pump. The temperature cannot
rise beyond certain limits being dependent on the temperature of the steam
supplied by the boiler. The apparatus may be placed on a carriage or on a fixed
support and the boiler may be heated in any suitable manner.
Although the air originally contained in the water remains dissolved therein
during its passage through the apparatus or is redissolved under the combined
action of pressure and refrigeration; an additional quantity of air may be introduced
if required by the action of the pump piston or otherwise.
Dated this 4th day of Wahmu 1901
J. H. JOHNSON & Co.,
47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, Agents.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Means or Apparatus for Sterilising Water.
I, JAMES YATE JOHNSON of 47 Lincolns Inn Fields in the County of Middlesex
Gentleman do hereby declare the nature of this invention (which has been communi-
cated to me from abroad by La Société Geneste Herscher & Co. of 42 Rue du
Chemin Vert Paris in the Republic of France Engineers) and in what manner the
same is to be performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement:-
The problem of obtaining an effectual sterilisation by means of heat of water
destined for human consumption is one of those whose solution is most imperatively
demanded by the progress of modern hygiene.
One of the most simple sterilising processes known consists in boiling the water
under atmospheric pressure that is to say at a temperature of 100 degrees
Centigrade. This method is very useful and is sufficiently effectual in many
instances.
But when absolutely perfect sterilisation is required and the water has to be
completely deprived of living organisms it is necessary, as recent bacteriological
researches have proved, to raise the temperature of the water to a degree
considerably higher than 100 degrees Centigrade and to maintain this temperature
for a certain period.
On the other hand it is a long established fact that in order to enable water to
retain those properties that render it drinkable it is adviscable to maintain it under
pressure during the heating and cooling process. This pressure prevents or partly
prevents the gas held in solution in the water from escaping from the liquid under
the influence of the heat and it also prevents certain salts from being precipitated.
Moreover during the cooling the pressure facilitates the redissolving of the portion
of the gases which have been liberated during the heating.
The apparatus forming the object of the present invention produces cheaply and
abundantly, water sterilised and yet drinkable or retaining its freshness by the two
means combined as herein before set forth.
i

page_text: This apparatus is also constructed so as to present every guarantee for the efficacy
of these two means.
This guarantee is obtained by so arranging the apparatus
that its action is automatically suspended whenever the conditions necessary for the
effectual sterilisation or for preserving the palatability of the water supplied by
the apparatus cease to be present.
In order that the action of the apparatus employed to produce the results herein-
before set forth may be perfectly satisfactory in practice it is essential that the
operations which it has to perform should be regulated and at the same time con-
trolled in an automatic manner in order to be certain that the water which is
supplied shall always comply with this double condition of being sterilised and
palatable or drinkable. With this object it is so arranged as to comply with the
following conditions namely:-
1. With regard to the sterilisation the water is heated in the apparatus to a
suitable temperature of from 120 to 130 degrees Centigrade for example and is
maintained at this temperature during the necessary time or from 10 to 15 minutes.
If from any cause the necessary degree of heat is not attained the apparatus
immediately ceases to act. In like manner the heating apparatus is so constructed
that this degree of heat cannot be greatly exceeded (so as to needlessly diminish
the drinkable nature of the water).
It
2. With regard to the palatability or drinkability the sterilised water is regularly
or uniformly cooled before it leaves the apparatus. It is subjected to a regulated
amount of pressure during the whole of the time that it circulates in the apparatus
and this pressure (which is solely for the purpose of preserving the palatability) is
not necessarily in proportion to the temperature necessary for the sterilisation.
may be affirmed on the contrary that the more the temperature is raised the more
the water will be certain to retain its original drinkable quality. This pressure must
not be allowed to fall below a certain predetermined limit in order to avoid impairing
the palatability; on the other hand it must not rise above a certain degree of heat
lest the parts of the apparatus suffer injury.
The accompanying drawings illustrate a portable apparatus constructed
according to this invention and in which these conditions are obtained in a
manner which is quite independent of the intelligence of the person in charge of
the apparatus.
1
Figure represents the apparatus in side elevation.
Figures 2 and 3 represent the apparatus in end elevation and in plan
respectively.
Figures 4 and 5 represent the sterilising vessel in longitudinal and transverse
section respectively.
The boiler A capable of resisting a working pressure of 3 kilogrammes for
example supplies steam for heating the water to be sterilised. This steam flows
from the boiler through a pipe and circulates in the tubes (Figure 5) of the
sterilising vessel B and the water condensed in these tubes returns to the lower
part of the boiler through a pipe 1. On the same steam pipe is a branch pipe t
(Figures 4 and 5) which is coiled in the form of a worm in the upper part of the
sterilising vessel and supplies steam through a pipe 10 for working a feed pump E.
The steam for supplying the worm t² and the pump E may be taken direct from the
boiler, if preferred.
This steam pump draws the impure water from a cistern, pond, a well or other
source through a pipe 11 and forces it through a pipe 1 into a first refrigerator
vessel or exchanger of temperature, D' (represented with a portion of the side
broken away in Figure 1 so as to expose the interior) where it circulates from the
bottom to the top in contact with a coil or worm S becoming heated in its passage
by hot water contained in the said worm. From the top of this vessel the water
passes through a pipe 2, to the lower part of a second refrigerator vessel D
(Figure 3) and becomes again heated in ascending around a similar worm contained
in this vessel on leaving which it passes through a pipe 3 and enters the lower part
of the steriliser B in which it circulates for a sufficient time before issuing at the

page_text: upper part through a pipe 4. In this steriliser or vessel B the water is highly
heated by the steam worms, or coils of pipe band t².
The hot water from the pipe 4 afterwards passes upwards through a clarifyer
or filter containing any suitable filtering composition or material then passes
through a pipe 5 to the upper end of the worm in the refrigerator D; escaping at
the lower part of this vessel it passes through a pipe 6 and enters at the upper part
of the worin S in the refrigerator D leaving this vessel at the lower part through
a pipe 7 and passing to the valve or cock F. This cock is constructed with a
piston or diaphragm so adjusted as to move under a predeterinined pressure of the
water (6 kilogrammes for example). This movement has the effect of opening or
uncovering an orifice of a certain area 'regulated in the construction of the valve
and which allows the water to escape at a rate governed by the amount of the
pressure and the area of this orifice.
The pressure thus regulated by the valve cock is greater than that in the boiler
so that the water under treatment can never be evaporated in the interior of the
apparatus.
The steam motor piston of the pump and the water piston bear a certain pro-
portion to one another. For example supposing the boiler to be marked to bear a
pressure of 3 kilogramines; the valve cock to be adjusted for 6 kilogrammes and
that the steam piston is made of a diameter of 0m 070 and the water. or pumping
piston of a diameter of 0 045 there will be obtained approximately for the
pressures of 3 and 6 kilogrammes forces equal to 116 kilogrammes and 95 kilo-
grammes or a motive power of 21 kilogrammes actuating the pump.
With a pressure in the boiler of 25 kilos. the force exerted on the two pistons
becomes equal and the pump cannot work and as the boiler owing to the action of
its valves cannot supply a pressure of steam above 3 kilos. the maximum pressure
that the pump can give is 7-2 kilos.
The condensed steam returns as herein before explained to the boiler A and in
addition in order to compensate for any waste that may occur a branch pipe t
(Fig. 1) is provided on the delivery pipe of the pump which conducts a certain
quantity of water to the boiler. It will now be understood how all the conditions
above specified are complied with.
The water is heated in the first place in the refrigerators or temperature
exchangers D D. Its heating is completed in the sterilising vessel B which is
divided by partitions into compartments as represented in Figures 4 and 5. The
first compartment is of small capacity and large heating surface in order that the
water may be quickly heated to its maximum temperature. The second and
third compartments are of relatively large capacity and contain in the one case
two heating tubes and in the other case the coil or worm 2 traversed by the
steam which works the pump. This worm acts as a regulator; when the water
which surrounds it is not of an elevated temperature the steam for working the
pump is condensed therein and the latter ceases to work so that the delivery from
the apparatus is stopped. By these means there is a certainty that the apparatus
will only supply water which has actually been heated to the required temperature.
The duration of the heating is regulated by the volume or capacity of the
sterilising vessel. It may here be observed that this duration depends in fact on
the delivery and the latter is regulated automatically by the valve cock F.
When the flow ceases the duration of the period during which the water remains in
the apparatus is prolonged but this does no harm and merely favours the
sterilisation.
The heating tubes are sure to be always supplied with steam at a high
temperature as the pump cannot work except on condition that the valve supplying
steam to these tubes is open and that the pressure in the boiler is not below a
given pressure (25 kilos. for example). The water cannot be heated to excess
because the heat is supplied to it by steam from a boiler and the temperature of
such steam is necessarily limited. The valve cock F ensures that the pressure
necessary to retain the palatability of the water, is always present.

page_text: The apparatus herein before described is susceptible of modifications in the
details of its form and construction. For example it may be constructed as a
fixture or be mounted on wheels as represented in the drawing. The boiler may
be of any construction and be heated either by coal or by gas for example. It
may even be dispensed with altogether when the steam can be obtained from
another source.
The pressure of the steam that it supplies and the pressure for
which the valve cock is adjusted may be regulated according to circumstances.
In like manner the number of refrigerators may be varied and they may be
made of any suitable dimensions. In certain cases a hand pump may be employed
in place of the steam pump. Although the air normally contained in the drinking
water remains therein during the transit of this water or at any rate is redissolved
therein under the combined action of pressure and refrigeration the water may be
further aerated if desired by introducing a certain quantity of air from the pump.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. A combination of means or apparatus for sterilising water in which the water
is exposed for a predetermined period of time to the elevated temperature necessary
for effectual sterilisation and subjected to a pressure enabling it to retain the
qualities which render it suitable for human consumption the said pressure being
independent of the temperature obtained all substantially as hereinbefore
described.
2. For sterilising water under the conditions hereinbefore set forth the combi-
nation of the boiler A with the sterilising vessel B, the temperature exchangers D D²,
the pump E and the automatic valve or regulator F substantially as hereinbefore
described with reference to Figures 1, 2 and 3 of the accompanying drawing.
3. In an apparatus for sterilising water under the conditions hereinbefore set
forth a sterilising vessel B divided into three compartments and in which the water
is heated by steam substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to
Figures 4 and 5 of the accompanying drawing.
4. The arrangements and combinations of parts constituting the improvements
in means or apparatus for sterilising water substantially as herein before described.
Dated this 4th day of November 1891.
J. H. JOHNSON & Co.,
Agents.