Improvements in Apparatus for Purifying Water.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 10th June, 1893-Accepted, 22nd July, 1893
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus for Purifying Water.
I JAMES YATE JOHNSON of 47 Lincoln's Inn Fields in the County of
Middlesex Gentleman do hereby declare the nature of this invention (which has
been communicated to me from abroad by Andrew Howatson of 165 Avenue du
Roule Neuilly (Seine) in the Republic of France Engineer) and in what manner
the same is to be performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement :-
This invention of improvements in apparatus for purifying water relates to
arrangements for automatically and continously preparing lime water and to the
internal arrangement of the decanting or depositing vessel as hereinafter
explained.
And in order that this invention may be fully understood I shall now proceed
more particularly to describe the same, and for that purpose shall refer to the
several figures on the annexed sheets of drawings, the same letters of reference
indicating corresponding parts in all the figures.
Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings represents partly in elevation and
partly in vertical section an example of a complete apparatus, constructed
according to this invention.
Figure 2 represents the apparatus in plan.
The principal parts composing this apparatus are as follows, namely:
:-
1. A tank a for the reception of the water to be purified and from which it is
conducted through suitable pipes to the other parts of the apparatus.
2. A decanting or depositing tank or vessel b.
3. A saturator or vessel c, of peculiar form hereinafter described and in which
the lime water is prepared.
4. A vessel d, with a special arrangement for obtaining the motive power for
working the saturator.
5. A vessel e in which a solution of carbonate of soda or other suitable re-agent
is prepared when such is required for the purification of the water.
The tank a simply acts as a storage tank. The tank b, is provided internally
with a perforated double bottom for the discharge of the mud or matter,
deposited and presents a large area of decanting or depositing surface constituted
by the concentric arrangement of a hollow cone 9 and one or more truncated
inner hollow cones g³ open at the top, the number being according to the diameter
or dimensions of the decanting apparatus. These decanting surfaces are supported
upon transverse bars or bearers g' and the upper end or apex of the cone g
connected by a flange with a pipe h, through which the purified water is discharged
from the apparatus.
is
The water to be purified is mixed with the lime water, and the other re-agents
employed for the purification in a vessel 9" whence it overflows into the decanting
or depositing chamber, where it spreads over the entire surface, descending to the
lower part and ascending in the interior of the hollow cones and escaping through
the pipe h.
When the mixture of water to be purified, and the re-agent overflows into the
decanting vessel, the chemical action takes place resulting from the addition of the
re-agents and the insoluble salts which are formed being heavier than the water
partake of its descending movement but fall vertically and slowly and come in
contact with some part of the external surface of the cone on which they are
consequently deposited.
Those salts which are carried onwards by the movement of the water pass
through an annular opening at k, and in ascending with the water in the interior of
3

page_text: the cone g are brought in contact with the surfaces of the cones g³ to which they
adbere. These insoluble salts partake of the ascending movement of the water
for a few moments only. Being very numerous in the lower part of the vessel
they form relatively to one another centres of attraction producing, from the
innumerable molecules or particles in suspension, denser flaky points or particles
which are deposited on the first surface with which they are brought in contact.
Many of these flaky masses fall directly to the bottom of the decanting vessel and
others which partake for a moment of the ascending movement of the water
become attached to the conical surfaces from which it is impossible for them to
escape. The mud or deposit is discharged through orifices a, provided with
valves.
The vessel c is formed by two cylinders c and c¹ the cylinder e being arranged in
a vertical position, and the cylinder c¹ being arranged horizontally at the lower
part of the cylinder c, which is arranged to fit on to the sides of the cylinder c¹.
The two cylinders are riveted together, and the vessel thus formed is supported
upon four feet c¹¹.
A vertical passage ell at the side of the vertical cylinder c, communicates at its
lower extremity with an orifice l. and at its upper extremity with a pipe l¹ and
enables the lime water to pass from the lime-water tank or vessel c, into the
mixing vessel g¹¹.
At a distance at about one foot from the upper edges of the sides of the
cylinder c there is placed a perforated sheet or grating m, upon which the quick
lime is placed. The water to be converted into lime water is conducted from the
tank a to the vessel c by a pipe m'. The flow of water through the pipe m¹ is
regulated by means of a plug m" subjected to a uniform pressure and perforated
with an orifice of a given area.
Coinciding with the axis of the cylinder c¹ there is a horizontal shaft c
carrying a wheel n with arms or pallets to which a rotary motion is imparted in
opposite directions alternately for the purpose of beating or agitating the lime in
the water and causing the latter to become saturated with the lime. With this
object an arm p fixed on the shaft is connected to a reciprocating rod pl
connected at its upper extremity to the arm of a lever p" pivoted at q upon the
vessel d. The arm p" is connected to a float of considerable size-supported by the
water in the vessel d, and in the interior of this vessel, there is a syphon r of a
height equal to the displacement or movement to be imparted to the float attached
to the lever pin order to cause the arm" to transmit through the intervention
of the connecting rod p' to the arm p (which is equal to p") the movement necessary
for actuating the agitator n.
The vessel d being connected at d¹ with the tank a, the movement is produced
automatically by the action of the water. The passage d' for the supply of water
is of considerably smaller diameter than the syphon r, and when the level of the
water in d, rises to the upper part of the syphon, the latter is started and
immediately empties the tank d down to the level of the leg of this syphon. The
float actuating the lever d¹ is displaced at the same time as the level of the water
being forced up when the water rises and descending directly the syphon is started,
again descending after the level of the water has descended to the lower part of the
syphon, and the latter has consequently ceased to act and so on. The water dis-
charged in this manner passes into the mixing vessel the other part or complement
of the water to be purified being supplied through a pipe s, provided with means for
adjusting the flow at s¹.
The lime employed in the preparation of the lime water is placed upon the
perforated support or sieve m, where it is, slaked and passes through the sieve to
the bottom of the vessel where the agitation of the water produced by the wheel n
converts the water into lime water. This lime water flows up the passage cl
wherein it is clarified aud overflows at l'. The saturator c is provided with a
cleaning out cock or valve t.
The vessel e is filled from the tank a, through a cock e', and when a supply of

page_text: suitably concentrated solution has been prepared, sufficient to supply the apparatus
for a given time it is caused to flow at el into the mixing vessel means being
provided for regulating the supply at this point.
When the level of the water in the decanting or depositing vessel b, rises to a
certain height, a float u, closes a supply valve v controlling the level of the water
in the tank a. When this valve v, is closed, the tank a empties itself and water
ceases to flow at c. d. and s, so that the whole of the apparatus is stopped. The
delivery from the soda tank is controlled by a special float not shewn in the
drawings but which may be suspended at el Figure 2. The vessel e being full it
is sufficient for starting the apparatus to open the valve v. The lime water
immediately flows, the syphon discharges, the complement of the water to be purified
is supplied at s the mixing takes place at g" the calcareous salts are precipitated
and deposited upon the double bottom, and upon the decanting or depositing
surfaces from whence they may be removed from time to time by simply emptying
the vessel b by means of the valves a.
A platform or gallery with a hand-rail and ladder is provided for the purpose of
enabling the valves to be worked. The arrangement illustrated in the drawing is
given merely as an example to assist the explanation of the invention, the shapes
of the parts and the details and materials employed in construction may be modified
according to circumstances without affecting the principle of the invention.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. In an apparatus for purifying water, a motor for producing the agitation of
the lime water, constituted by a syphon situated on the interior or exterior of a
vessel d and producing in this vessel, successive displacements of the level of the
liquid which it contains, these movements being transmitted by the agency of a
float to the agitating mechanism substantially as hereinbefore described with
reference to the accompanying drawings.
2. A decanting vessel of circular, rectangular or other form, containing a
decanting or depositing surface or surfaces formed by one or more concentric cones
and truncated cones (or one or more hollow pyramids and truncated pyramids) one
of such cones (or pyramida) being as the same height as the vessel, and the others
being of less height according to the quantity of matter to be precipitated,
substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying
drawings.
3. The arrangements and combinations of parts constituting the improvements in
apparatus for purifying water, substantially as hereinbefore described and illustrated
n the accompanying drawings.
Dated this 10th day of Luna 1902
J. H. JOHNSON & Co.,
47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C., Agents.