1868 The complete Practical Distiller

THE COMPLETE PRACTICAL DISTILLER.

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almost placed in immediate contact with the steam pro- duced by the still. To this effect the steam meets with obstacles in falling, and presents itself multiplied obsta- cles to the ascension of the steam, which this body cannot conquer without passing through the wine; by these means the latter is divided, and so perfect a contact is established, that, in a very short time, the analysis is com- In fact, the wine arrives almost boiling in the column, through the conduit D E, without having lost any part of its alcohol ; and the more it descends toward the still A, the more it is deprived of it, until it falls in the still in a state of spent-wash. The contrary takes place with the vapours supplied the still A ; on leaving it they are quite watery, and they arrive at the point C of the column in a very rich state, although this richness is always proportionate to that of the wine operated upon. The little tube c d is a level necessary for the purpose of observing and conducting the work. It will thus be seen that this column of distillation, little elevated as it is, fills the same functions as a multiplicity of stills. It offers better results and greater effects, with much less copper, and presents the advantage attached to the system of continuity. — This is that part of the apparatus which is marked c G ; it surmounts the column, of which it is only a continuation, and contains the same mechan- ism. The spirituous vapours, such as they are, supplied by the column, pass through the rectifier, by the conduit H, into the wine-warming condenser, which will be imme- diately spoken of. There they are rendered richer in alco- pleted. III. The Rectifier.