AN IMPROVED PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR EVAPORATING AND CONCENTRATING BRINE AND OTHER SOLUTIONS
Year: 1871

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Haseltine, of the "International Patent
Office," Southampton Buildings, London, for the Invention of "AN
IMPROVED PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR EVAPORATING AND CONCENTRATING
BRINE AND OTHER SOLUTIONS."-A communication from abroad by
Robert Gilmour Leckie, of Acton Vale, in the Dominion of Canada,
Gentleman.
Sealed the 1st September 1871, and dated the 5th April 1871.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Haseltine at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
5th April 1871.
I, GEORGE HASELTINE, of the "International Patent Office," South-
ampton Buildings, London, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "AN IMPROVED PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR EVAPORATING AND
CONCENTRATING BRINE AND OTHER SOLUTIONS," a communication, to be as
follows:-
By this Invention salt can be manufactured from brine in a shorter
time, of better quality, at less expence, and with less wear and tear to
the apparatus than by the methods now ordinarily employed, and by

page_text: this process sait may DC produced with citer course or The crystals,
as may be desired.
In practising my Invention I use a vat of any convenient form,
preferably of wood, into which the brine is first received for treatment.
In some brines an appreciable amount of carbonate of iron, and of
sulphate of lime or gypsum is held in solution, and to precipitate these
is the first operation to be performed. Near the bottom of the vat
a pipe perforated at the top or of any convenient arrangement is intro-
duced through which the heated air is injected into the brine with
sufficient force to overcome the pressure of the superincumbent water.
By the action of the oxygen the carbonate of iron is decomposed
and precipitated as a peroxide of iron. A false bottom formed of a
grating covered with strong canvas or its equivalent is placed in the
vat for the purpose of receiving the precipitate and allowing the brine
to pass through. The contents of the vat being raised to a high
temperature by the action of the heated air partial evaporation takes
place, and by the combined action of the heat and concentration of
the brine the sulphate of lime is precipitated in the form of crystals.
The false bottom is made moveable so as to be taken out and cleaned
when requisite. The brine having been partially treated in this manner
is drawn off into a reservoir by pipes provided with cocks, this reservoir
constructed of wood or any other suitable material is used principally
to ensure a regular supply of brine to the evaporating vessel, so as
not to cause any interruption to the work when the vat is being cleaned.
It may however be dispensed with if two vats are used. The brine is
conducted by a pipe furnished with a cock to the evaporating vessel
constructed of wood or any convenient material, the upper part or dome
if desired is made of metal, one side of this vessel being left open to
allow of the removal of the crystals of salt as they form and fall down.
The heated air is introduced into the evaporator by a pipe terminating in
a horizontal pipe from which are carried any suitable number of smaller
perforated pipes, so that the air may be distributed through the brine
in the upper portion of the evaporating vessel. The "mother liquor"
remaining after the formation of the salt crystals may be drawn off
by means of a syphon placed in the open space, or by any other con-
venient method, the crystals having been removed from time to time
without interrupting the progress of the work by any convenient means,
such as a rake or scoop inserted through an opening.
The steam

page_text: arising from the process of evaporation may for the purpose of utilizing
the heat contained in it be conveyed by a pipe continued as a worm
through the reservoir for the purpose of partially warming the brine
contained therein.
The air heater is composed of a steam boiler of any suitable size or
configuration commensurate with the scale of operations to be per-
formed, and from which the products of combustion are carried into
any suitable heater for the purpose of supplying heated air to the
different vessels as herein-before described. In the evaporating vessel
superheated steam generated in any ordinary manner may be used
instead of heated air.
The above process refers more particularly to the manufacture of
salt in fine crystals, but should crystals of a large size be required,
the precipitation will take place at a lower temperature, and the
operation be performed as follows:-The brine having been brought
as above in the evaporating vessel to the point of supersaturation is
drawn off by any convenient method and conveyed for the purpose
of crystallization to any open pan or vessel having a smooth bottom.
Crystallization having in this open pan and at a lower temperaturo
taken place to a certain degree, the supernatant liquid is reconveyed
to the evaporating vessel for furthur treatment and concentration
until again brought to the point of supersaturation, when it is again
conveyed to the crystallizing vessel, and so on till the supernatant
liquid is reduced to what is called "mother liquor" in which the
chlorides of calcium and magnesia are no longer held in solution, and
it is then drawn off and fresh brine introduced. The heat from the
evaporating vessel may also be utilized by conveying a pipe to a spaco
between the pan and casing of a crystallizing vessel, to which place
also the exhaust steam from the engine is conducted for the same
purpose. In this pan the brine is subjected to the usual treatment.
The evaporating vessel acts in combination with a large shallow
crystallizing vessel divided by longitudinal and transverse partitions
into any suitable number of chambers, there is a receiving chamber
into which the brine is first introduced and from which it is conveyed
by a pipe to the evaporating vessel in which it is treated as previously
described by the introduction of heated air through perforated pipes,
the pipe in the dome serves as before to convey the steam arising

page_text: from the process of evaporation to any desired point. The tempe-
rature of the brine in the evaporating vessel being higher than in
the receiving chamber secures the steady and continuous flow of the
brine from the latter to the former, and the brine having been partially
evaporated or brought in the vessel to the point of supersaturation
escapes through any suitable aperture in the side of the evaporating
vessel into the proper chamber and flows along slowly, the transverse
partitions causing it to flow in a circuitous manner, thus retarding
its progress and enabling it to deposit crystals, until it again reaches
the receiving chamber, when it is again conveyed to the evaporator
and re-operated upon as described in the previous modifications until
the brine is reduced to the condition of mother liquor, when it is as
before removed and fresh brine introduced.
The crystals formed by the foregoing processes may now be conveyed
in any ordinary manner to the drying room through which the waste
products of combustion from the steam boiler and air heaters may be
carried for the purpose of economizing fuel, or they may be discharged
through a chimney.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said George Haseltine in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 4th October 1871.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
HASELTINE, of the "International Patent Office," Southampton Build-
ings, London, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fifth day of April, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one, in the thirty-fourth
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto me, the said George Haseltine, Her special licence that I,
the said George Haseltine, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as I, the said George Haseltine, my executors, adminis-
trators, 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,

page_text: within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel
Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "AN IMPROVED PROCESS AND
APPARATUS FOR EVAPORATING AND CONCENTRATING BRINE AND OTHER SOLUTIONS,"
a communication to me from abroad by Robert Gilmour Leckie, of
Acton Vale, in the Dominion of Canada, Gentleman, upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said George Haseltine, my executors or
administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one
of their hands and seals, 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 George Haseltine, 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, reference being had to the accompanying
Drawing forming a part of this Specification.
By this Invention salt can be manufactured from brine in a shorter
time, of better quality, at less expence, and with less wear and tear to the
apparatus than by the methods now ordinarily employed, and by this
process salt may be produced with either coarse or fine crystals as may
be desired.
.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.
Figure 1 is a sectional view of the said improved apparatus; Figure 2
is a plan of heating pipes in the evaporator; Figure 3 is a section of the
boiler and air heater; Figure 4 is a plan of the crystallizing pan;
Figure 5 is a section of the same; Figure 6 is a plan of a combined
crystallizing vessel and evaporator; Figure 7 is a side elevation of the
same; Figure 8 is a sectional elevation on the line A, B, showing the
pipe; Figure 9 is an end view also shewing the said pipe. Like letters
indicate the same parts throughout the Drawing.
a is a vat of any convenient form, preferably of wood, into which
the brine is first received for treatment. In some brines an appreciable
amount of carbonate of iron and of sulphate of lime or gypsum is held in
solution, and to precipitate these is the first operation to be performed.
Near the bottom of the vat a a pipe & perforated at the top, or of any
b

page_text: convenient arrangement is introduced through which the heated air is
injected into the brine with sufficient force to overcome the pressure of
the superincumbent water. By the action of the oxygen the carbonate
of iron is decomposed and precipitated as a peroxide of iron. A falsc
bottom c formed of a grating covered with strong canvas or its equi-
valent is placed in the vat a for the purpose of receiving the precipitate
and allowing the brine to pass through. The contents of the vat a being
raised to a high temperature by the action of the heated air partial
evaporation takes place, and by the combined action of the licat and
concentration of the brine the sulphate of lime is precipitated in the
form of crystals. The false bottom is made moveable so as to be taken
out and cleaned when requisite. The brine having been partially treated
in this manner is drawn off into a reservoir d by pipes e provided
with cocks This reservoir d, constructed of wood or any other suit-
able material, is used principally to ensure a regular supply of brine
to the evaporating vessel g, so as not to cause any interruption to the
work when the vat a is being cleaned. It may however be dispensed
with if two vats a are used. The brine is conducted by a pipe h, as
shown, furnished with a cock to the evaporating vessel 9 constructed
of the form shown of wood or any convenient material; the upper part or
dome g' if desired is made of metal, one side of this vessel as at y being
left open to allow of the removal of the crystals of salt as they form and
fall down. The heated air is introduced into the evaporator by a pipe k,
terminating in a horizontal pipe ', from which are carried any suitable
number of smaller perforated pipes, as shown, so that the air may be
distributed through the brine in the upper portion of the evaporating
vessel g. The "mother liquor" remaining after the formation of the
salt crystals may be drawn off by means of a syphon placed in the open
space g, or by any other convenient method, the crystals having been
removed from time to time without interrupting the progress of the
work by any convenient means, such as a rake or scoop inserted through
the opening g. The steam arising from the process of evaporation may
for the purpose of utilizing the heat contained in it be conveyed by the
pipe continued as a worm through the reservoir d for the purpose of
partially warming the brine contained therein.
The air heater is composed of a steam boiler m of any suitable size or
configuration commensurate with the scale of operations to be performed,
and from which the products of combustion are carried into any suitable

page_text: heater n for the purpose of supplying heated air to the different vessels,
as herein-before described. In the evaporating vessel g superheated
steam generated in any ordinary manner may be used instead of heated
air.
The above process refers more particularly to the manufacture of salt
in finc crystals, but should crystals of a large size be required the
precipitation will take place at a lower temperature, and the operation
be performed as follows:-The brine having been brought as above in
the evaporating vessel to the point of supersaturation is drawn off by
any convenient method and conveyed for the purpose of crystallization
to any open pan or vessel having a smooth bottom. Crystallization
having in this open pan and at a lower temperature taken place to a
certain degree, the supernatant liquid is re-conveyed to the evaporating
vessel for further treatment and concentration until again brought
to the point of supersaturation, when it is again conveyed to the
crystallizing vessel, and so on until the supernatant liquid is reduced to
what is called "mother liquor," in which the chlorides of calcium and
magnesia are no longer held in solution, and it is then drawn off and
fresh brine introduced. The heat from the evaporating vessel may also
be utilized by conveying the pipe to the space o between the pan p and
casing of a crystallizing vessel, to which place also the exhaust steam
from the engine is conducted for the same purpose. In this pan the
brine is subjected to the usual treatment.
Figures 6, 7, 8, and 9 show the action of the evaporating vessel g
in combination with a large shallow crystallizing vessel 2, divided by
longitudinal and transverse partitions into any suitable number of
chambers; is the receiving chamber into which the brine is first
introduced and from which it is conveyed by a pipe s, as shewn in
Figures 7 and 8, to the evaporating vessel g, in which it is treated as
previously described by the introduction of heated air through the
perforated pipes ³, the pipe in the dome g' serves as before to convey
the stream arising from the process of evaporation to any desired point.
The temperature of the brine in the evaporating vessel g being higher
than in the receiving chamber secures the steady and continuous flow
of the brine from the latter to the former, and the brine having been
partially evaporated or brought in the vessel g to the point of super-
saturation escapes through any suitable aperture in the side of the

page_text: evaporating vessel into the chamber, and flows slowly in the direction
indicated by the arrows Figure 6, the transverse partitions causing
it to flow in a more circuitous manner, so retarding its progress and
enabling it to deposit crystals until it again reaches the receiving
chamber, when it is again conveyed to the evaporator and re-operated
upon as described in the previous modifications, until the brine is
reduced to the condition of "mother liquor," when it is as before
removed and fresh brinc is introduced.
The crystals formed by the foregoing processes may now be conveyed
in any ordinary manner to the drying room through which the waste
products of combustion from the steam boiler and air heater may be
carried for the purpose of economizing fuel, or they may be discharged
through a chimney, as shewn in the Drawing.
Having thus fully described the construction and operation of my
Invention for "Evaporating and Concentrating Brine and other Liquids "
as communicated to me by my foreign correspondent, I beg to state
that I do not confine myself to the precise detail of shape, arrangement,
and number of the vessels, pipes, and other parts as they must necessarily
be varied to suit the requirements of different establishments, neither
do I confine myself to any specific mode of heating the air or of forcing
it into the brine, and I claim,—
First. The novel arrangement of the vat a, pipe b, and other com-
ponent parts with or without the reservoir d together with the evaporating
vessel I, and pipes k, k¹, k, and in combination with the steam boiler m,
and air heating vessel n, all working together, substantially in the manner
and for the purpose described.
Second. The novel arrangement and use of the vat a and pipe b, or
equivalent contrivance, by means of which the carbonate of iron and
other impurities are precipitated, substantially in the manner and for the
purpose described.
Third. The novel arrangement and action of the vat a, evaporating
vessel g, pan p, with or without space o, and casing 7, with steam
boiler m, and air heating vessel n, all working together, substantially in
the manner and for the purpose described..
Fourth. The novel arrangement of the pipe 1, and vessel d for utilizing
the heat of the steam from the evaporating vessel g, substantially in the
manner and for the purpose described.

page_text: con-
Fifth. The novel evaporating vessel g and crystallizing vessel
structed, arranged, and operating substantially in the manner and for
the purpose described.
Sixth. The process of evaporating brine by hot air or superheated
steam, substantially in the manner and for the purpose described.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Haseltine, have hereunto
set my hand and scal, this Fourth day of October, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one.
Witness,
E. C. JACKSON.
GEORGE HASELTINE. (L.S.)