Improvements in or relating to the Purification or Sweetening of Barrels, Casks and the like.
Year: 1897

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or relating to the Purification or Sweetening of
Barrels, Casks and the like.
We, WILLIAN JOHN ENGLEDUE, of Petersham Place, Byfleet, in the County of
Surrey, Colonel late Royal Engineers, and CHARLES JOHN YARNOLD, of 64, Upper
Tulse Hill, Brixton, in the County of Surrey, Gentleman, do hereby declare the
nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to the purification or sweetening of barrels, casks and the
like, particularly after they have been emptied of beer, wine, spirits, or other malt
or alcoholic liquors, which are found to leave behind them an exceedingly
unpleasant smell and in some cases a fungus or microscopic growth. The object
of this invention is to purify or sweeten such empty barrels, casks and the like, by
means of ozone, as often as may be necessary.
In carrying this invention into effect the interior of the barrels, or casks may be
first soaked in water, or treated by say exhaust steam, and then subjected to the
action of ozone prepared in any convenient manner, and delivered under pressure
or otherwise into the barrel or cask so as to pass into intimate contact with the
interior surfaces of the cask or barrel, which may be subjected if desired to a final
washing action.
A convenient plant for the purposes of this invention comprises a filtering and
drying chamber for atmospheric air, a fan which draws cleaned dry air from that
chamber, an ozonizer through which the air is forced by compression or otherwise
to the interior of the chambers in which the barrels are placed for treatment or
into the barrels themselves, a furnace for burning the exhaust from the chambers,
and washing and steaming apparatus.
The barrels may have their ends loosened and the outer bands taken off to enable
the staves to open out in order that the ozone may be able to act easily upon the
whole material of which the barrel is constructed.
By delivering into the furnace the exhaust ozone and such vapours as may pass
over with it, the combustion in the furnace is greatly improved and all objection-
able odour from the apparatus obviated.
Conveniently the chamber for filtering and drying the air has double walls
packed with sawdust and contains trays carrying unslaked lime, cotton wool, or
other filtering and drying materials.
Preferably the nozzles by which the ozone is delivered into the barrels are
arranged to enter the bung-hole and provided with connections whereby steam as
well as ozone may be delivered therethrough.
These nozzles may have spreaders to spread the entering jets within the barrels.
'Refrigerating apparatus may be employed to cool the fluid passing through the
apparatus.
There may be a single chamber for containing a number of barrels to be treated,
or there may be a chamber allotted to each barrel and provided with its own set

page_text: of control valves and appurtenances; preferably, the chambers should be lined
with or formed of a non-oxidisable material.
BOULT & WADE,
Agents for the Applicants.
Improvements in or relating to the Purification or Sweetening of
Barrels, Casks and the like.
We, WILLIAM JOHN ENGLEDUE, of Petersham Place, Byfleet, in the County of
Surrey, Colonel late Royal Engineers, and CHARLES JOHN YARNOLD, of 64, Upper
Tulse Hill, Brixton, in the County of Surrey, Gentleman, 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:
-
"
This invention relates to the purification or sweetening of barrels, casks and the
like, particularly after they have been emptied of beer, wine, spirits, or other malt
or alcoholic liquors, which are found to leave behind them an exceedingly
unpleasant smell and in some cases a fungus or microscopic growth. The object
of this invention is to purify or sweeten such empty barrels, casks and the like, by
means of ozone, as often as may be necessary.
:
In carrying this invention into effect the interior of the barrels, or casks may be
first soaked in water, or treated by say exhaust steam, and then subjected to the
action of ozone prepared in any convenient manner, and delivered under pressure
or otherwise into the barrel or cask so as to pass into intimate contact with the
interior surfaces of the cask or barrel, which may be subjected if desired to a final
washing action.
A convenient plant for the purposes of this invention comprises a filtering and
drying chamber for atmospheric air, a fan which draws cleaned dry air from that
chamber, an ozonizer through which the air is forced by compression or otherwise
to the interior of the chambers in which the barrels are placed for treatment or
into the barrels themselves, a furnace for burning the exhaust from the chambers,
and washing and steaming apparatus.
The barrels may have their ends loosened and the outer bands taken off to enable
the staves to open out in order that the ozone may be able to act easily upon the
whole material of which the barrel is constructed.
By delivering into the furnace the exhaust ozone and such vapours as may pass
over with it, the combustion in the furnace is greatly improved and all objection-
able odour from the apparatus obviated.
Conveniently the chamber for filtering and drying the air has double walls
packed with sawdust and contains trays carrying unslaked lime, cotton wool, or
other filtering and drying materials.
1
Preferably the nozzles by which the ozone is delivered into the barrels are
arranged to enter the bung-hole and provided with connections whereby steam as
well as ozone may be delivered therethrough.
These nozzles may have spreaders to spread the entering jets within the barrels.
Refrigerating apparatus may be employed to cool the fluid passing through the
apparatus.
There may be a single chamber for containing a number of barrels to be treated,
or there may be a chamber allotted.to each barrel and provided with its own set

page_text: of control valves and appurtenances; preferably, the chambers should be linea
with or formed of a non-oxidisable material.
The accompanying drawing illustrates diagrammatically one construction of
apparatus for carrying out the object of this invention.
A is a filtering and drying chamber for atmospheric air which is caused to pass
therethrough by a fan B which draws the cleaned dry air from it and propels it
through the ozoniser C, wherein it is ozonised, to the interior of a series of
chambers D in which the barrels E are placed for treatment preferably with their
ends loosened and with the outer bands taken off so that the staves may open out
a little from each other as shown, in order that the ozone may be able to act easily
upon parts of the staves which might otherwise escape its action. D¹ is an exhaust
pipe leading from the upper part of the chambers C to the ashpit of a boiler F
which supplies steam for use in other parts of the process as hereinafter described.
By thus delivering into the ashpit of a furnace the exhaust ozone and such vapours
as may pass over with it the combustion in the furnace is greatly improved and
all objectionable odour, which might arise if the exhaust discharged freely into
the atmosphere, is destroyed.
In the example chosen for illustration the filtering and drying chamber A,
shown partly in section has double walls A' A2, the space between them being
packed as at A³ with sawdust, and it is covered with a perforated lid A. In the
space below the lid are trays A5 A6, perforated or otherwise arranged so that air
can pass through them, the trays A5 being charged with unslaked lime and the
In the space below the lower tray A5 is a
tray A packed with cotton wool.
perforated pipe A7 communicating with the blower B the perforations existing
only within the chamber A. The blower B draws air through the perforations of
the lid A and the filtering and drying material in the trays A5 A6 through the
perforations of the pipe A7 and forces the air through the ozoniser C into the
chambers D by way of nozzles A8 which enter the bung holes of the barrels and
thence by the pipe D into the ashpit of the boiler F. If desired a spreading
device may be fitted to each nozzle A8 to ensure the diffusion of the entering jet
throughout the interior of the cask. In a hot climate or during warm weather,
a refrigerating plant of requisite size would be added so that the air to be ozonised
would be delivered at a temperature near freezing.
It may be desirable to retain ozone in the chambers P for a considerable period
after the latter have been filled therewith, to act on its contents; this may con-
veniently be done by providing the branches of the inlet pipe A' and exhaust
pipe D with suitable cocks as shown, which will prevent the passage of ozone out
of or into the chambers D. G is a pipe under the control of the valve G¹ leading
from the boiler and having branches G2 leading to the interior of the nozzles A³
each of the branches having its own valve G³ so that if necessary a jet of steam in
addition to the ozone may be delivered thereinto for the purpose of keeping the
barrels moist during treatment.
Each ozoniser is of the type in which the air is subjected to the action of a
silent electrical discharge in narrow passages between sheets of dielectric material
containing or supporting metallic layers connected to the source of electric energy
in a manner well understood.
The chambers D which are constructed of or lined with a non-oxidisable
material are each provided with a front door D³ through which the barrels are put
into them.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is :-
1. In the purification of a barrel or cask as described the employment in com-
bination of an air-drying and cleansing chamber such as A a blower such as B, an
ozoniser C and a chamber such as D for the purpose set forth.

page_text: 2. In the purification or sweetening of a barrel or cask the combination with a
chamber in which the same is treated of a furnace to which the exhaust from the
-chamber is led for the purpose described.
3. The combination and arrangement of parts constituting the complete purify-
ing apparatus substantially as and for the purpose described and illustrated in
the accompanying drawings.
W. J. ENGLEDUE.
CHARLES JOHN YARNOLD.
Boult & Wade,
Agents for the Applicants.
LOOT
Lom
mae Arm
W. J. ENGLEDUE.
CHARLES JOHN YARNOLD.
Boult & Wade,
Agents for the Applicants.