US112818A - Improvement in rectifying high-wines - Google Patents

Description

filata ilhulrt Letters Patent No. 112,818, dated March 21, 1871.

' IMPRovEMENT m Reer-Irvine HIGH-WINES.

The' Schedule referred to in theseLetters Patent and making part of the same.

I, ARCHIBALD K. Lun, of Galveston, Texas, have invented an Improved Mode of Rectiiying High-Wines or Spirits, distilled from grain or any other materials iipm which they are made, ot' which the followingis 'a specification. y

My inode of rccticationfinvolves the use of an apparatus which, although composed of elements or parts that, separately considered, may not all be new, yet presents as a whole a Iovel combination and arrangement, whereby I secure, among others-of minor importance, the following economical advantages:

lam enabled to make far 'better spirits than can be done by any other known process or means, and at comparatively much less cost, because my appara'- tus is more compact,l and therefore requires lessroom or space than any-other rectifymg apparatus in existence of the same "capacity ol-power5 becansc,fur ther, iti-provides a very gre'atiucrease of rectit'ying surface as compared with any other apparatus, rcquires less cost and labor, and is more durable than any hitherto devised. It is, moreover, infinitely superior in cleanliness of'operation to lany other apparatus, and when it does become foul, which scarcely'ever can occur within a period less than oneyear, it can be thoroughly cleansed and repacked iu three hours time or-.lessg' whereas, it is well known most rectifying establishments need to be cleansed-every week to scure good results.

Furthermore, my invention guards again-st any possible chance of loss from eaporation, leakage, or waste of any kind, because the tubs are comparatively air-tight, and, therefore, the rectilication tl'noughout the whole process is carried on in. vacuum, which characteristic features edectually prevent the evaporation, -which iu allothcrmethods hitherto known have been au inseparable and most annoying accompaniment ofthe process of rectifiation.

But my apparatus will be more easily understood by reference to the drawing, which presents al1-.-

Figure 1 a side elevation of it, and at Figure 2a vertical section through the center of one of my rectifying-tubs.

On the drawing the letter A marks the receivingtub for the spirits to he rectified, in which the opening through which the same is poured in is provided with auair-tight cover, a., so contrived as to'be readily moved at intervals, as the process goes on, to permit an ingress of air, so that no resistance to the pumping up of its contents through a pipe, B, into the distributing-tub C may result from'theivaeuuni, which otherwise would be produced by this operation. The cover a. being air-tight when in place, obviously prevents loss from evaporation.

My rectiilying-tnbs, of which there are four in number, are placed in relation to .the distributing-tub O,

and to each other, substantially as 'shown on` the drawing, and numbered, in the order in which they stand with respect to said tub, No. 1, No. 2, No. 3, and No. 4, as seen.

No. l is placed several feetbelow the distributingtub; No. 2 a little below No. 1 No. 3 the same distance lower than No. 2; and No. tequally lowerA than No. 3, so that the liquid owing from the distributingtub through all four of these 'rectifying-tnbs will descend with an accelerating, hydi.. A"ic power from No. 1 to and through No. 4,' and therefore pass more and more rapidly through the-rectifying substance in the different tubs as the purification approaches nearer and nearer to completion.-

The distributing-tub O is connected to rcctifyingtub'lSTo.v l by a single pipe, D, in which there is a stop-cock, b, to regulate the flow of the liquid, or to cut itoi altogether if occasion should require it. A

On the other hand all the rectifying-tubs are con'- nected, eacli with the next below it, by two pipes c d, all of which are provided with stop-cocks.

The pipesV d are the conduits proper for the liquid after it haspassed through the rectifying substance in No.1, from or near the bottom of one tub into or near the top of the next succeeding one, and so on through the series', the more` eiiectually to secure the passage of the liquid through the rectifying suhstance in Nos. 2, v3, and lle.`

The pipes c are mere vwaste-pipes, to carry off any excess oi' liquid from one tub to another, andare most of the time closed, by means of thevstop-cocks in them.

Each rectiying-tub .is provided with a glass indicating-tube, t', and a stop-cock, o, the former to show thel precise height of the liquid, and the latter to draw off any surplus that may remain in' the several tubs after the process of rectification is completed.

From No. 4 thehquid, now thoroughly rectified, passes through-a pipe, E, into the recipient F, from which it is drawn into barrels or other vessels by means of a stop-cock, g.

The stop-cock o, employed in connection with tub No. 4f, is connected with a pipe, G, in order that any excess of liquid remaining in this tub, which, ofcourse, will be rectiled, may be Adrawn into the recipient F.

.All the tubs are likewise provided with a pipe, H, as `shown in 4; of tig. l and fig. 2,-so constructed that an air-pump 'may be connected with it, for the purpose of exhausting the air from the rectifying-tubs and producing a vacuum therein before the process Of'recticatiou is commenced-v A stop-cock, h, closes this pipe whenever it is not in use.

The recipient F is placedin a waste-pan J, from which a pipe, K, leads Yinto the receiving-tub A, for the purpose of conveyingany spi rits accidentally spilled in withdrawing it from the recipient F, and thereby be saved from waste.

The internal construction of my rectifying-tubs is peculiar.

I provide in them two open spaces, L and M, the latter at the bottom and very much shallower than the former. The rectifying substance N is placed between these open spaces and protected or kept in place, above and below, by perforated metallic diaphragms P S.

To prevent the buoyancy of the material `of which the rectif'ying substance is composed from lifting the diaphragm I ont of place and becoming thereby too much loosened, I employ two wooden transverse bars K T, between which I place avertical brace or stam chion', W, as shown on the drawing at `fig. 2.

To make the rectiiying-tubs air-tight, the covers V are all accurately fitted on them, and maintained in placer' by means of' screw-bolts X, passing through them, and through lugs projecting outside the tubs, near their tops, as shown also at tig. 2.

l/Vhat I claim is 4 The .receiving-tub A, the;distributing-tub C, and the rcctifying-tnbs l 2 3 4, having` a pipe, H, attached, each being constructed as stated, and so combined and arranged as to furnish awacuum apparatus for the rectifying of high'wines or other like product of distillation, substantially as described.

Witnesses: ARCHIBALD K. LEE.

H. J. Dussen, E. H. LEVY.

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