IMPROVEMENTS IN THE DISTILLATION OF
Year: 1883

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Peter Couper, of Edinburgh in the County of Midlothian,
Accountant, and Martin Rae of Middleton Hall, in the County of Linlithgow,
North Britain for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE DISTILLATION OF
"
LETTERS PATENT to Peter Couper, of Edinburgh in the County of Midlothian,
Accountant, and Martin Rae of Middleton Hall, in the County of Linlithgow,
North Britain for an Invention of IMPROVEMENTS IN THE DISTILLATION OF
COAL, SHALE AND OTHER CARBONACEOUS SUBSTANCES TIELDING RYDROCARBONS
AND NITROGENOUS COMPOUNDS AND IN THE APPARATUS OR MEANS EMPLOYED
THEREFOR
"
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Peter Couper and Martin
Rae at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 13th December
1883.
PETER COUPER of Edinburgh in the County of Midlothian Accountant and
MARTIN RAE of Middleton Hall in the County of Linlithgow North Britain
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE DISTILLATION OF COAL, SHALE AND OTHER CARBONACEOUS
SUBSTANCES YIELDING HYDROCARBONS AND NITROGENOUS COMPOUNDS AND IN THE
APPARATUS OR MEANS EMPLOYED THEREFOR".
•
This invention which relates to improvements in the distillation of coal, sbale and
other carbonaceous substances from which hydrocarbons or nitrogenous compounds
can be obtained has for its object to obtain a high percentage products and to
utilize the heat giving properties of the said substances prior to the unconsumable
ash or earthy portions of the said substances being discharged from the retort or
distilling chamber.
For the purpose of effecting this object there is formed below the retort a
chamber preferably of fire-brick and of larger capacity for example twice, thrice
or a greater number of even capacities of the retort itself. At such times as it
becomes necessary to fill into the Retort a fresh charge of shale, coal or other
material, sufficient ash is withdrawn by means of a door in the under part of the
chamber to allow the hot and partially exhausted charge in the retort to sink
into the chamber preferably to the level corresponding to the top of the chamber.
One or more jets of steam is or are admitted into the lower part of the enlarged
[Dains 077

page_text: distilling chamber and which are preferably so arranged as to draw in that
quantity of air necessary for securing the combustion and distillation hereinafter
described.
The retort constituting the upper part of this apparatus is heated partly from
surrounding flues or in any other convenient manner and partly by the heat
escaping upwards from the enlarged chamber below.
The distillation continued in this lower chamber is not effected by means of
flues or other outside heat but by the combustion conducted within the chamber
itself and mainly of the organic matters remaining in the substance.
In place of making the enlarged chamber below, any even number of times the
capacity of the retort, it is not necessary to observe this proportion exactly but
it is preferred to do so.
The products of distillation are withdrawn from the upper part of the retort.

page_text: "
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Peter Couper and Martin Rae in the Patent Office on the 12th
June 1884.
PETER COUPER of Edinburgh in the County of Midlothian, Accountant and
MARTIN RAE of Middleton Hall in the County of Linlithgow, North Britain
IMPROVEMENTS IN THE DISTILLATION OF COAL, SHALE, AND OTHER CARBONACEOUS
SUBSTANCES YIELDING HYDROCARBONS AND NITROGENOUS COMPOUNDS AND IN THE
APPARATUS OR MEANS EMPLOYED THEREFOR"
Our said Invention which relates to improvements in the distillation of coal,
shale and other carbonaceous substances which contain hydrocarbons, nitrogenous
and other compounds has for its object to obtain all the products and to utilize
the whole or as far as is practicable, the whole of the heat giving properties of
the said substances, prior to the unconsumable ash or earthy portions of the said
substances being discharged from the distilling and heat producing apparatus.
In the improved apparatus, constituting part of the subject matter of the
present Invention, the upper part thereof consists of a retort, and below it is a
chamber built preferably of firebrick whose capacity is preferably, such as to
contain several charges of the retort.-A further distinctive feature of the
apparatus is, that whilst the retort containing the charge of raw material is
surrounded by flues and heated externally from the heat produced by a separate
fire or fires; the chamber below the said retort, namely, that part of the apparatus
which is preferably of such dimensions as to contain more than one capacity of
the retort, is solidly built, so that it has not flues or any other provision from
which to acquire heat from an external source, but the heat, which acts upon the
materials in it, is generated solely from the materials within itself, by the action
of steam, or steam and air upon the residues of the said material contained
therein and which are let fall thereinto from the retort.
And in order that our said Invention may be properly understood, we now
proceed more particularly to set forth the system, mode or manner in or under
which the same is or may be used or practically carried into effect, reference being
had to the accompanying Drawings and to the Letters and Figures marked thereon,
that is to say :-
Figure 1, represents a transverse vertical section through a bench of retorts
taken on the line a, b, Figure 2, constructed in accordance with our said
Invention.
Figure 2, is a horizontal section of the same on the line a², 6', Figure 1.
Figure 3, is a part front elevation and part longitudinal section taken on the
line c, d, Figure 2, of the said bench of retorts.
Figure 4, is a horizontal section of the apparatus in which the retorts and
chambers are situated in a position at right angles to that shown at Figures 1, 2
and 3.
Below each retort A, is a chamber B, preferably of fire-brick as shewn, and of
larger capacity, for example, twice, thrice or a greater number of capacities of the
retort itself. On the annexed Drawings we have shewn each chamber B, of about
twice the cubic capacity of each retort A. In a retort so provided, the ash or
unconsumed portion of the charge descends to the lower part or discharge opening b,
of the chamber B, and as it is raked out from time to time, that is to say, at such
times when it becomes necessary to place in the retort A, a fresh charge of shale,
coal or other material, sufficient ash only is withdrawn from the lower part of the
chamber B, as to allow of the hot charge in the retort A, to sink to the level

page_text: corresponding to about the top of the chamber B. One or more jets of steam is or
are admitted by nozzles C, into the lower part of each chamber B, and which are
preferably so arranged as to draw in by mechanical induction amongst the hot
materials in the chamber B, any desired quantity of air for the purposes of reducing
the solid residue of the distillation; for uniting the hydrogen of the steam with the
nitrogen contained in the residue to form ammonia, and for the extraction of those
oils and other products which are not taken off in the retort proper.
In an apparatus so constructed, the more volatile hydrocarbons are distilled from
the carbonaceous material in the retort preferably at a low red heat and are
removed from the retort by means of a pipe E, placed at the upper part thereof
and being aided in the passing off by any of the well known exhausters and led
into the main conduit. The condensible hydrocarbons, ammoniacal liquor, or other
products are condensed by any of the ordinary means. After the shale or other
carbonaceous material has remained in the upper retort for such time as is necessary
to separate the more ordinary volatile products, it is then lowered into the upper
part of the chamber B, by the extraction through the door b, of a proportion of the
exhausted ash.
In this chamber B, or second portion of the apparatus the material under
treatment undergoes a second heating at a temperature slightly higher than that
to which it is subjected in the retort A, and which heat is obtained as aforesaid by
the combustion of the residual carbon contained in the material in the lower part
of the chamber B, no outside heat being employed. The result of this, is, that by
virtue of a slight, instead of a considerable increase of heat in the chamber B, any
volatile hydrocarbons that may remain in the material under treatment after the
first process in the externally heated retort are distilled as condensible products
instead of being removed as permanent gases together with excess of alkaloidal
tars, as in some other retorts, whose lower part corresponding to the chamber B, is
heated from surrounding flues and subject to a high temperature. After this second
heating, the residual mass contains no further volatile condensible hydrocarbons,
but still retains a proportion of carbon. In this latter condition it passes on into
the lower portion of the chamber B, by the removal of more of the exhausted or
spent ash by the door b, and it is then burned with air and steam introduced by
the steam pipe and air nozzles at C, as aforesaid, whereby it is utilized as a heat
generator or fuel, whilst any nitrogen contained in the material is volatilized as
ammonia and is condensed with the excess of water vapour in the same apparatus
as the condensible hydrocarbons. The above remarks apply to an apparatus in
which the capacity of the lower chamber, is twice that of the upper or externally
fired retort, but the remarks apply equally to the said apparatus when the
chamber B, has a greater or less capacity than twice that of the externally fired
retort A, only that in such cases the material treated remains a longer or shorter
time in the apparatus depending upon the relative proportions of the parts A, and B,
thereof. It is preferred that the admission of steam or steam and air be so
regulated that the combustion in the lower chamber B, shall not extend to a greater
proportion of the material under treatment than what is equivalent to the capacity
of the externally fired retort A, or to that of the raw materials introduced into
this externally fired retort.
The general effect of operating upon shale and other carbonaceous substances in
the apparatus and manner described is, that the whole of the separable products
are continuously given off and collected in the condensers and chambers attached
to the retorts until the residue consists only, or as far as practicable, of earthy
unconsumable matter or ash, and the entire heat due to the reduction of the shale
to the aforesaid condition is utilized within the apparatus, that is to say that no
part of the charge of shale or carbonaceous matter is discharged from the retort
until it is reduced to the condition of being incapable of yielding any more products
in the manner hereinbefore described.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of our said
Invention and the system, mode or manner of carrying the same into practical

page_text: effect, we wish to point out that we are aware that there is no novelty in an
arrangement of apparatus divided into what is practically an upper and lower
distilling chamber, nor is there any novelty in the admission of steam or steam
and air into the lower part of such lower chamber for the purpose of incinerating
or reducing the coke and carbonaceous residues passed thereinto from the upper
chamber in order to eliminate nitrogen and form ammonia, and we wish to be
understood as not claiming either or any of these aforesaid features as forming any
part of our present Invention excepting as parts of the combination of which our
said Invention in part consists, but what we do consider to be novel and original
and therefore claim as the Invention secured to us by the hereinbefore in part
recited Letters Patent is :-
First. In the distillation of coal, shale and other carbonaceous substances yielding
hydrocarbons, nitrogenous and other compounds, the use of apparatus such as is
herein described whose lower part consists of a chamber of greater, preferably
several times the capacity of the externally heated retort or upper part of the said
apparatus, and which lower chamber is built solidly, that is to say is not
surrounded by flues and in the upper part of which chamber a further distillation
takes place at a slightly higher temperature by the heat generated through the
action of steam or steam and air upon the partially distilled or exhausted products
which are passed thereinto from the externally fired retort, and from which lower
chamber the said partially distilled products are not discharged until the whole, or
practically the whole, of the volatile and carbonaceous matters are distilled, the
apparatus being constructed substantially as hereinbefore described and shewn upon
the annexed Sheet of Drawings.
Second. The combination of parts forming the apparatus for treating coal, shalo
and other carbonaceous substances yielding hydrocarbons, nitrogenous and other
compounds, constructed and used in the manner and for the purposes substantially
as herein described.
In Witness Whereof I the said Peter Couper have hereunto set my hand and
seal this eleventh day of June in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred
and eighty-four.