By: Daniel Coleman IIChemistry 5th Hour

Norbert Rillieux

LIFE HISTORY Rillieux was born March 17th ,1806 a He was well privileged for a Southern A.A. and he was well educated. Later on Rillieux's father sent Norbert to France where he studied engineering. He found a teaching post in applied mechanics at his Paris alma mater (Place in Paris near Notre Dame).

He began to do research on steam and its effects, and began working on the problem of evaporating moisture .

……. Ten years after Rillieux started his research and observations,

he tested his multi-effect vacuum evaporating chamber. It was a

bulky locomotive-sized apparatus containing a network of condensing

coils for evaporating raw cane juice.

Norbert used it to evaporate the liquid part of sugar cane juice more efficiently and safely, and less

expensively than the open-kettle system. Rillieux was unable to persuade sugar cane plantation owners to buy his machinery for several years. But its superiority became apparent almost immediately once it began to be used.

THE WORKPLACE Norbert worked at a

sugar refinary where he

learned the process of refining sugar,

and that’s how he discovered

how to make the sugar

evaporator.

EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS

His work required the profession of Engineering, in which he had because his father, Vincent Rillieux, was one and he learned his fathers profession. He also learned a lot

from his Catholic Schools he went to. The main one was L'Ecole Centrale

in Paris.

Engineering

THE SUGAR MAN Norbert Rillieux soon became

known as “The Sugar Man” because of his invention named the multi-effect

vacuum evaporating chamber

THE SUGAR CANE/BEETBack then slaves used to pick these so-called sugar cane

sticks, and later extract the sugar out

of them.

CHEMICAL PRODUCTS INVOLVED

Norbert’s invention(The Rillieux Evaporator) required vapor and

condensation. Norbert used the process of evaporation to evaporate

moisture from cane juice while lowering heat to produce a whiter, more

refined, sugar crystal. The device heated the sugar cane juice in a partial

vacuum, reducing its boiling point, allowing much greater fuel efficiency.

HISTORY OF THEIR WORK

Refining sugar had been a labor-intensive process, involving the

handling of boiling hot liquids. The slaves on the plantations

performed most of this labor. Rillieux's inventions increased sugar

production and reduced production costs. However, the most

important thing was that his inventions protected lives by ending

the older dangerous methods of sugar production.

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THIS In making the evaporator, Norbert help make the production

of sugar increase drastically among people and safely saved time and

money .He also saved the slaves a lot of work that would have needed to be done it the field.

PS : This Invention was made and patented in 1846 so there was a lot of

slavery going on then.

AFFECTING TODAYS LIFE

Norbert’s invention inspired others to make a

product like his so that they can use it to process

sugar faster. We all eat sugar daily even from

breakfast to dinner.

21ST CENTURY There is a new smaller version of rillieux’s vacuum evaporator. This

is the new device they use to process

sugar from sugar cane and sugar beets.

INTERNET RESOURCES http://www.madehow.com/inventorbios/0/Norbert-

Rillieux.html

http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blrillieux.htm

http://www.aaregistry.com/detail.php?id=530

http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blrillieux1.htm (The Patent)

THE END Rillieux returned to France and became

headmaster of the L'ecole Centrale. He began to study Egyptology there and helped deciphere hieroglyphics.

Norbert Rillieux died 1894

By: Daniel Coleman II