Improvements in the Process of and Means for Sorting Barm.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 7th Dec.. 1894-Accepted, 4th May, 1895
Improvements in the Process of and Means for Sorting Barm.
I MELCHIOR STENGLEIN of No. 141ª Schoenhauser Allee Berlin in the
Empire of Germany, Manager, 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 :-
My said invention consists of a process for preparing store barm more effectually
than has hitherto been done, by sorting the more fully developed and consequently
specifically heavier barm cells from the less developed and specifically lighter cells
and the sorting is accomplished by introducing the barm into a column of water
as hereinafter more specifically described.
And in order to make the present Specification more easily intelligible reference
is had to the accompanying drawing in which similar letters denote similar parts
throughout the several views,
Fig. 1 being a sectional elevation of an apparatus for carrying out the present
process,
Fig. 2 a similar sectional elevation of a modified form,
Fig. 3 detail plan and sectional side elevation of one form of distributing
device employed in feeding the barm to the receptacle containing the column of
liquid.
is a receptacle advantageously made tapering at its lower end and provided
with an outlet cock A at the bottom. DD are brackets by means of which the
said receptacle may be fixed in position. The column shaped receptacle is
The
advantageously enlarged at B to receive a box C having a gauze bottom.
height of the receptacle from A to B should be about 10 feet as a rule, and the
proportion advantageously of the diameter to the length about 1 : 6.
The apparatus is manipulated in the following manner :-
The receptacle x is filled with clear fresh well water to a little distance above
the bottom of the box C and the barm to be sorted in the form of a thick mash is
poured into the said box carefully so as to run down the sides of the same and thus
meet the upper surface of the water slowly and without causing any perturbation
of the same.
After the box C has been filled and the contents have passed through
it into the water the said box is carefully taken out and the apparatus allowed to
stand. The barm cells will now sink to the bottom according to their specific
gravity and thus the fully developed healthy cells which are specifically heavier
than the less developed lighter cells, will reach the bottom more quickly and collect
in and above the conical part of the receptacle whence they may be drawn off
through the outlet cock A. The liquid remaining in the receptacle may be taken
to the settling tanks or vate in order to deposit the rest of the barm contained
therein in order to allow the same to settle therein together with the commercial
barm. Figures 2 and 3 show a modified form of the apparatus illustrated in Fig. 1.
Here the box C is dispensed with and the barm coming from the tank G led along
a flexible pipe to the point B₁ at which a nozzle or short piece of pipe b enters
the receptacle above a segment shaped disc a fixed horizontally on a bracket c
within the receptacle so that the barm in flowing from the tank G will spread over
the plate a and thus come gently into contact with the upper surface of the water
which should be high enough in the receptacle . to just cover the plate a.
The time required to sort the barm according to the present process varies
according to the quality of the barın. The present process not only sorts the

page_text: barm but also purifies the same to a certain extent as the micro-organisms which
have a disadvantageous effect on the fermenting of the barm are specifically lighter
than the cells which sink to the bottom of the apparatus so that the store barm
obtained will be quite pure provided the water employed in the process is free
from germs.
I wish it to be clearly understood that I do not confine myself to the apparatus
shown in the accompanying drawing as the same may be carried out in a variety
of ways also other liquids may be employed instead of water such as sulphuric
and hydrofluoric acid strongly diluted or other antiseptic means.
The tank G from which the barm is fed to the receptacle r is advantageously
suspended by a cord passed over a roll and provided with a counterpoise and
the level of the barm in the said tank should be kept a little above the point at
which the same enters the receptacle as shown thus as the barm passes to the
receptacle the tank G gets lighter and the weight will draw the same upwards
until it has emptied its contents into the receptacle.
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. A process for sorting barm to separate the fully developed cells from the less
developed ones consisting in introducing the barm to be sorted at the top of a
column of liquid and allowing the same to stand until the specifically heavier
cells have sunk to the bottom the lighter less developed ones remaining at the
upper part of the column and then drawing off the better cells from the lower
end of the column in the manner and for the purpose substantially as described.
2. The combination of a cylindrical receptacle x having a tapering lower end
an outlet cock at said lower end and means for introducing the barm gently to the
top of the receptacle at or under the liquid level substantially as described.
3. The combination of a cylindrical receptacle having tapering lower end an
outlet cock at said lower end a barm inlet B' at upper end a horizontal segmental
plate below said inlet and a barm tank G self-adjusting by means of a counter-
poise and flexible pipe connection to said receptacle substantially as described and
shown.
Dated this 10th day of October 1891
E. T. WHITELOW, A.M. Inst. C.E.,
70, Deansgate, Manchester, Agent for the Applicant.