AN IMPROVED MODE OF BLEACHING AND PURIFYING OR REFINING SUGAR AND VEGETABLE JUICES OR EXTRACTS
Year: 1859

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Edward Newton, of the Office for Patents,
66,, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, for
the Invention of "AN IMPROVED MODE OF BLEACHING AND PURIFYING OR
REFINING SUGAR AND VEGETABLE JUICES OR EXTRACTS."-A communication
from Emile Rousseau, of Paris, in the Empire of France.
Sealed the 22nd July 1859, and dated the 9th February 1859.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Edward Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
9th February 1859.
I, WILLIAM EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane,
in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention for "AN IMPROVED MODE OF BLEACHING AND PURIFYING OR
REPINING SUGAR AND VEGETABLE JUICES OR EXTRACTS," to be as follows:-
This Invention consists in the employment for the purpose of bleaching,
purifying, or refining syrups of some highly oxydized substance, which is not
liable to injure the sugar, but will by parting with a portion of its oxygen
extract or discharge the color from the syrup. The substances which the
Inventor has found most convenient for the purpose, as they do not act
deleteriously on the sugar, are the hydrated peroxides of manganese and iron,
either artificial or natural, or the carbonates of these bases. The peroxide
should be well mixed with the syrup, and animal black added, and the whole

page_text: boiled up, taking care not to boil too long, or some of the oxide will be dissolved;
should any free acids be found to exist in the syrup, it must be neutralized by
the addition of carbonate of lime or some other suitable chemical agent, before
the bleaching process commences.
5
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Edward Newton in the Great Seal Patent Office.
on the 9th August 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Ninth day of February, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, in the twenty-second
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto me, the said William Edward Newton, Her special license
that 1, the said William Edward Newton, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said William Edward Newton, 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 MODE
OF BLEACHING AND PURIFYING OR REFINING SUGAR AND VEGETABLE JUICES OR
EXTRACTS," being a communication from abroad, by Emile Rousseau, of Paris,
upon the-condition (amongst others) that I, the said William Edward Newton,
by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal 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 William Edward Newton, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement (that is to say):-.
This Invention of "An Improved Mode of Bleaching and Purifying. or
Refining Sugar and Vegetable Juices or Extracts," has been communicated to

page_text: me by my foreign correspondent in nearly the following words :-On observing
the nature of the matters which color vegetable juices (raw sugar being taken
as an example), it will be remarked immediately that deoxidizing agents, such
as sulphurous acid, will quickly extract the color from the syrups, but that such
colour will reappear immediately the decoloring agent ceases to predominate,.
and that during evaporation the syrup will again acquire color from the,
oxidizing action of the air. The action of the ordinary deoxidizing agents is,
therefore only transitory, and does not effectually destroy the coloring matter..
Oxidizing matters, on the contrary, appear to produce in a few instants what
is effected by the air in a longer space of time and under the influence of heat..
Everybody has observed the brown matters which are formed when any juice
is evaporated, and to which the name of extractive matter has been given.
Most juices, but more especially that of sugar, also contain another coloring
matter, which is carried off mechanically by means of animal charcoal.
From the above, the Inventor of the present process has been led to examine
and ascertain what would be the action of a body, which would first oxidize
the matter capable of being colored by the air (that is to say) to produce in the
body of the liquid, and in a very short time, the same action which is produced
more slowly by the air, and to unite the matter thus produced with the
purifying agent without introducing into the juices any extraneous matters
which might injure, their purity. All chemical oxidizing agents will in general.
produce this effect, but although the Inventor reserves the right of employing
such substances for other analogous purposes, he will confine himself in the
present description to the application of this principle to the refining of raw
sugar and the bleaching of syrups, molasses, and such like substances. For
this purpose neutral substances, which may be obtained at a cheap rate, nust
be employed, and such substances must not have an injurious effect upon the
sugar, but must form an insoluble product which may be easily separated from
the syrups. All these conditions are perfectly fulfilled by the peroxides, such as
the peroxide of manganese Mn² + 0%, or the peroxide of iron, hydrated,
artificial, or natural, or by the carbonates of the same bases. The action of
the peroxides is by far the most energetic; I shall therefore choose for example
the hydrated peroxide of iron, as applied to the process of refining. This oxide
may be produced in abundance, and may be used without injurious effect upon
the health; it is insoluble in sugar, and will give up a portion of its oxygen,
and form a lake with the coloring matter.
The following is the mode of operating, the process of bleaching raw
sugar for the refining process being taken as an example.. The sugar having
been dissolved in the boiler in the usual manner, hydrated peroxide of irọn

page_text: previously diluted either with water or a little syrup is introduced; the mixture
is then stirred in order to bring the whole of the parts intimately into contact;
it is then heated up to the boiling point, but not beyond it, as at one hundred:
degrees the sugar might react upon the oxide, and bring it back to its minimum:
degree of oxidation, in which state it becomes soluble in sugar. The ordinary.
quantity of animal charcoal is then introduced, and the syrup is filtered in any:
suitable manner; the syrup will now be perfectly bleached, and the remaining'
operations are conducted in the ordinary manner.
:
The proportion of hydrated peroxide of iron will necessarily vary according to
the color of the sugar, as its action is proportionate to the depth of that color.
In order, however, to give an approximate proportion, it may be stated that-
the quantity of peroxide employed in the state of a firm paste is generally from
three to five per cent. by weight to the weight of sugar. If the sugar be acid,
as is sometimes the case with foreign sugars, it will be necessary to introduce
first into the boiler a quantity of chalk (carbonate of lime) sufficient to
neutralize the acid. If, on the contrary, the sugar be highly charged with
lime, a small quantity of carbonate of iron must be added to the peroxide, and
the carbonic acid formed from the oxide of iron will precipitate the lime in
the state of carbonate. When from any cause, the sugar has dissolved a small
quantity of oxide of iron, it may be readily removed by adding to the syrup a.
small quantity of chalk (carbonate of lime) before filtration. The addition of
this substance will in all cases produce a beneficial effect.
As regards syrups of inferior quality, and molasses, when these products are
very highly colored, it is advisable to dilute them or decrease their density as
much as possible, as the bleaching action will be thereby increased.
The syrups thus operated upon will be found to be perfectly bleached, and
will not be liable to be again colored by evaporation, either in the open air or
in vacuo. From this it may be concluded that this improved process offers
the following advantages, viz'.,—
Firstly, the bleaching process is performed as efficiently as possible.
Secondly, it may be carried on in the cold as well as in the hot state.
Thirdly, the bleaching agent neither produces any injurious action upon the
sugar nor introduces any soluble substance into the syrups.
Fourthly, the bleaching is permanent.
Fifthly, by means of this reaction, the employment of lime and blood are
done away with.
Sixthly, as the bleaching operation is almost perfect, the quantity of refuse
products, and molasses is decreased, if not entirely done away with.
Seventhly, it diminishes considerably, if it does not entirely do away with th

page_text: employment of powdered animal charcoal, thus materially diminishing the cost
of material and of manipulation.
Having now described the nature of this Invention, as communicated to me
by my foreign correspondent, I would observe in conclusion that I do not
confine myself to the processes above described, as they may be varied according
to the nature of the substances to be operated upon without departing from
the nature and object of the present Invention; but that which I consider to
be new, and desire to claim as the Invention secured to me under the above
in part recited Letters Patent, is, the employment for the purpose of bleaching
and purifying or refining sugar and vegetable juices and extracts of some highly
oxidized substances, such as the peroxides of manganese and iron, either
artificial or natural, or the carbonates of these bases.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Edward Newton, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, the Ninth day of August, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine.
Witness,
J. W. MOFfatt,
66, Chancery Lane.
W. E. NEWTON. (L.S.)