Improvements in Apparatus for Purifying Water.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 2nd July, 1889
Complete Specification Left, 25th Mar., 1890-Accepted, 26th Apr., 1890
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus for Purifying Water.
I, WILLIAM ANDERSON of 3 Whitehall Place in the City of Westminster, Engineer
do hereby declare the nature of this Invention to be as follows :-
-
In my Patents Nos. 5496, 1883 and 12,256, 1884 I describe a method of purifying
water and impure fluids by means of agitation with iron. Further experience has
shown that it is an advantage to make the shelves which carry up the iron inside the
revolving cylinder of a curved form so as to hold more iron, and, in addition, to make
the shelves up of short lengths, say feet or so, and to fix them in echelon inside
the cylinder instead of in lines parallel to the axis throughout. By this arrangement
a more uniform stress is brought to bear on the driving machinery and the iron is
more thoroughly brought into contact with the water.
It is sometimes desirable to force air, or some, other gas, into the cylinder in order
to promote the chemical action which should take place and for this purpose I pass a
perforated pipe through the hollow trunnion at either end, supported securely by
means of stays to the cylinder and allowing the pipe to pass through a water tight
gland. I connect it to a pressure pump by means of which the air is forced in. The
excess of air may be allowed to escape by means of an automatically working valve in
the revolver case, or if it be desired to work the machine about half full, then the air
will make its way out by the hollow trunnion.
With the same view I pass a perforated pipe down the delivery pipe and meet the
current of water rising up by a downward jet of air divided into very fine streams.
The complete aeration of the water after the iron has acted upon it is I find very
important.
It is sometimes necessary to retain the iron in more compact masses;-to effect this
I subdivide the inside of the cylinder into cells with. perforated sides and I arrange
apertures for filling these cells in the cylinder sides and cover them by means of doors
which are readily detached.
By means of perforated partitions I cause the water to flow in a sinuous manner
between the cells so as to have as long a contact as possible.
11 11 1
CT1000
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus for Purifying Water.
I, WILLIAM ANDERSON, of 3 Whitehall Place, in the City of Westminster, Engineer,
do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to
be performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement --
In my Patents Nos. 5496, 1883 and 12256, 1884 I describe a method of purifying
water and impure fluids by means of agitation with iron. Further experience has
shown that it is an advantage to make the shelves which carry up the iron inside
the revolving cylinder of a curved form so as to hold more iron, and, in addition, to
make the shelves up of short lengths, say 3 feet or so, and to fix them in echelon
inside the cylinder instead of in lines parallel to the axis throughout. By this
arrangement a more uniform stress is brought to bear on the driving machinery and
the iron is more thoroughly brought into contact with the water.
It is sometimes desirable to force air, or some other gas, into the cylinder in order
to promote the chemical action which should take place and for this purpose I pass a
perforated pipe through the hollow trunnion at either end, supported securely by
means of stays to the cylinder and allowing the pipe to pass through a water tight

page_text: gland. I connect it to a pressure pump by means of which the air is forced in. The
excess of air may be allowed to escape by means of an automatically working valve
in the revolving case, or if it be desired to work the machine about half full, then the
air will make its way out by the hollow trunnion.
With the same view I pass a perforated pipe down the delivery pipe and meet
the current, of water rising up by a downward jet of air divided into very fine
streams. The complete aeration of the water after the iron has acted upon it is I find
very important.
Figure 1 of the drawings hereunto annexed is a longitudinal vertical section of
apparatus constructed as above described with the shelves in short lengths ranged in
echelon and with means for introducing streams of air into the water that the
'apparatus contains. Figure 2 is a cross section showing that each short shelf may be
either a flat radial plate such as heretofore used or a curved plate such as I now
prefer to employ.
D is a
A is a cylinder with hollow trunnions B at its ends mounted in bearings
toothed wheel surrounding the outer circumference of the cylinder-E is a pinion
gearing into and driving the toothed wheel D and thereby revolving the cylinder A-
F is a pipe by which water to be purified can be introduced into the cylinder through
one of the hollow trunnions-G is a pipe passed through the hollow trunnions at the
opposite end of the cylinder-this pipe serves as the outlet pipe for water to pass off
from the cylinder-the entrance to this outlet pipe is covered with a hood H to
prevent iron being carried off from the cylinder by the outflowing water-I is a
perforated pipe supported centrally within the cylinder by stays J. One end of the
pipe is carried out through a stuffing box in a bend in the inlet pipe so that air under
pressure may be supplied to it and allowed to issue in streams from the perforations
into the water in the cylinder-K is a tap carried by the side of the cylinder the
plug of this tap has a weighted arm K' fixed to it which always holds it in one
position. When the tap is at the top of the cylinder as shown in the drawing the
passage through the tap is open and air can escape from the cylinder but when by
the revolving of the cylinder the tap is carried downwards it is closed before it gets
below the level of liquid in the cylinder.
In place of or in addition to aerating the water in this way it may be aerated by
introducing into it streams of air by a perforated pipe passed into a rising delivery
pipe as above stated.
'
It is sometimes necessary to retain the iron in more compact masses; - to effect
this I subdivide the inside of the cylinder into cells with perforated sides and I
arrange apertures for filling these cells in the cylinder sides and cover them by means
of doors which are readily detached. By means of perforated partitions I cause the
water to flow in a sinuous manner between the cells so as to have as long a contact as
possible.
Figure 3 is a longitudinal vertical section of apparatus constructed in this manner.
The parts in this figure which correspond with those shown in the figures above
described are marked with the same letters of reference. L L are pairs of perforated
transverse division plates the spaces between which are filled with the iron. M M are
cover plates closing apertures by which the iron is filled into the spaces.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. In apparatus in which water to be purified is passed through a revolving cylinder
containing iron in a state of division and in which shelves fixed to the inside of the
cylinder are used to carry up the iron and allow it to fall through the water as the
cylinder rotates making the shelves in short lengths and fixing such lengths in
echelon in place of in a straight line parallel with the axis of the cylinder - as
heretofore.
4
2. Making the shelves of a curved form substantially as heteinbefore described and 5
shown at Figure 2.

page_text: 3. The addition of a perforated pipe passed into the cylinder through one of its
hollow trunnions to permit of air or gas being forced into the water in the
cylinder.
.
•
4. The insertion of a perforated pipe into the delivery pipe to permit of air or gas
being forced into the water as it leaves the cylinder.
5. The construction of the cylinder of the apparatus with perforated partition
plates passing across it forming cells to be filled with iron in a state of division.
6. The construction of apparatus for purifying water substantially as hereinbefore
described and shewn by the drawings annexed.
Dated this 22nd day of March 1890.
W. ANDERSON.