An Improved Process and Means to be Employed for Partially Destroying and Mixing Night-soil and other Refuse, and for Converting the same into Manure suitable for Grass Land and Arable Purposes.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 1st June, 1889
Complete Specification Left, 27th Mar., 1890-Accepted, 3rd May, 1890
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Process and Means to be Employed for Partially
Destroying and Mixing Night-soil and other Refuse, and for
Converting the same into Manure suitable for Grass Land and
Arable Purposes.
I JOHN WILLIAM LODGE, of County Bridge, Sowerby Bridge Yorkshire do hereby
declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
The object of my invention is to destroy the useless and unnecessary parts which
are found with night-soil, excreta, and other like matters gathered together in towns,
and to make manure from the remaining parts.
According to my invention, the ashes or dry night-soil together with the refuse
usually found there with are first of all tipped into a hopper and conveyed thereby to
any ordinary form of stonebreaker or crusher for the purpose of breaking and crushing
into small particles the larger parts of such accumulated refuse which cannot be made
into manure. After being broken by the said stonebreaker the material passes into a
revolving cylindrical riddle placed at an inclination so that the parts too large to pass
through the riddle fall out at the lower end of the said cylindrical riddle, such parts
being afterwards consumed in a cupola furnace, operated upon by a root or other
form of blower; but the parts passing through the riddle fall onto a reciprocatory
riddle; the parts to large to pass through this second riddle fall off at one end to be
used in a boiler furnace for the generation of steam, but the particle's which pass
through the meshes of this reciprocatory riddle fall between a pair of revolving rollers
having yielding axles to permit of hard or unequal sized particles passing through
them, after which the said particles pass through another oscillating riddle and then
fall between another pair of nipping rollers with rigid or unyielding axles. After-
wards the riddled and crushed materials fall upon an endless travelling creeper, and
are conveyed into a revolving unperforated cylinder placed at an inclination or into a
cylinder having one or more internal screw shafts where the dry powdered substances
meet with the excreta and urine conveyed there by a pipe from a cistern, and such dry
powdered substances are now thoroughly mixed with the excreta and urine to a proper
consistency, and thereby deodorized, forming a manure, whereby a marketable product
of commercial value is manufactured.
By the process and means herein described, one part of towns' refuse is entirely
destroyed and the other part utilized.
01 Mo 1000
TASKER & CROSSLEY,
Halifax, Agents.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Process and Means to be Employed for Partially
Destroying and Mixing Night-soil and. other Refuse, and for
Converting the same into Manure suitable for Grass Land and
Arable Purposes.
.1
I, JOHN WILLIAM LODGE, of County Bridge, Sowerby Bridge, Yorkshire, do
hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement :-
.
i
The object of my invention is to destroy the useless and unnecessary parts or bodies
which are found with night-soil, excreta, and other like refuse gathered together in
towns, and to make manure from the remaining parts.

page_text: According to my invention, the ashes, or dry and solid forms of refuse usually
found therewith, are first of all tipped into a hopper, and conveyed thereby to a
reciprocatory riddle, the finer parts passing through the meshes thereof, and fall
between longitudinal fluted rollers, but the larger parts are conveyed to any ordinary
form of stone breaker or crusher, for the purpose of breaking and crushing into
small particles such larger parts of accumulated refuse which cannot be made into
manure nor into any suitable form for spreading on land without being crushed fine.
After being broken or crushed by the said stone breaker, the material passes into a
revolving cylindrical riddle placed at an inclination so that the parts too large to pass
through the meshes of the said riddle may fall out at the lower end of the said
cylindrical riddle, such parts being afterwards consumed in a cupola furnace operated
upon by a root or other form of blower, and the slag residium resulting from this
operation is afterwards sent through the machinery again, but the parts which do pass
through the meshes of this cylindrical riddle now join those finer parts which did
pass through the reciprocating riddle above mentioned, and are directed by guide
plates to fall into a pair of longitudinally fluted rollers working together like toothed
wheels, one of the said rollers having its axles in yielding bearings with strong spring
buffers, to allow unbreakable substances to pass through without damage to the
machinery; the reduced refuse which has thus passed through these rollers then falls
onto another reciprocating riddle balanced on a link motion, formed of finer meshes
than those already referred to, so that the unbreakable parts thereof which may have
passed through the yielding rollers are caught and riddled off to be dealt with by the
aforesaid cupola; but the finer parts which pass through this riddle are guided into
another pair of longitudinal rollers, one of which runs at a slightly different speed
from the other, the object being to produce a rubbing or grinding effect on the
material being operated upon, and having rigid bearings which crush or grind the
parts to a powdery state, which said rollers in their distance apart, can be regulated
to such various degrees of fineness as may be required. The materials then fall from
these rollers into a longitudinal mixing vessel or pan where the ground substances
meet with the excreta and urine, and vegetable refuse and animal garbage in solution
conveyed there by a pipe from a cistern, in which cistern are skimmers or sediment
separators, whereby the surplus urine (if any) can be run off (to be dealt with by
distillation or by such other method as may be found desirable); also revolving
agitators or dashers for mixing the said substances with such chemical solvents or
deodorizers as may be suitable to render this compound of a proper, liquefied con-
sistency so as to enable it to flow down a pipe and enter the mixing vessel or pan at
its smaller end. This mixing vessel or pan may contain one or more revolving shafts,
working therein longitudinally, with screw vanes or mixing blades, whereby the
ground powdered materials, and the prepared excreta, urine, &c., are further blended
with a quantity of gypsum which is also added in this vessel as an absorbent, all of
which are thoroughly blended and mixed and turned out at the largest end of the said
mixing vessel in such consistency and form as desired, and thereby forming a manure
of marketable and commercial value.
Such being the nature and object of my said invention, I will now make reference
to the accompanying sheets of drawings illustrative thereof, wherein Fig. 1 is elevation
of apparatus I employ for treating towns refuse of all descriptions, and for making
manure from certain parts thereof. Fig. 2 is end elevation shewing the gearing for
driving the several parts of the machine, and Fig. 3 is section of Fig. 1, taken
through the line a b, and Fig. 4 an enlarged view of the yielding bearings of the
longitudinal rollers K, K. A represents the vertical standards or framework, which
is of strong construction. The machine by preference is placed so that a cart or
other vehicle can discharge its contents, composed of dry town's refuse, into the
hopper B and thus onto riddle C, which, as well as the second riddle D, onto which
the material next falls, has a reciprocatory motion imparted to it by means of con-
necting rod D¹, one end of which is attached to a face plate E driven by bevel wheels F
from upright shaft G and other bevel wheels H which derive their rotary motion
from roller K or other convenient source. The riddle C is composed of meshes of

page_text: various sizes being smallest at the receiving end gradually becoming larger towards
the delivery end, for which I have found that half inch at the receiving end and an
inch and a half at the delivery end are convenient sizes, but to these dimensions I do
not limit myself, as they may be varied according to circumstances. The riddle D is
composed of meshes all one size, say half an inch, but which size may be varied
according as it is desired to separate more or less of the fuel portion of the cinders.
Upon the dry refuse entering the reciprocatory riddle C, the particles sufficiently
small to pass through the meshes thereof fall onto the lower riddle Dand the particles
sufficiently small in this second riddle pass through the meshes, and fall onto the
double inclined plates I, but the parts too large to pass through riddle D fall into a
shoot U' (see Fig. 2) where such refuse is conveyed away and may be used as fuel
for boiler furnaces for the generation of steain. The parts which could pass through
the meshes of the riddle D, after falling onto the double inclined plate I, fall from
there onto other inclined plates J J, (see Fig. 3) of a more open or larger angle,
for the purpose of catching the material as it falls from the inclined plate I so as to
convey the riddled particles, (as clearly shewn in Figs. I and 3) to two revolving
fluted crushing rollers K, one of such crushing rollers being provided with an axle
working in a yielding bearing as shewn at L in Fig. 4 to allow of hard and unbreak-
able particles passing between the said crushing rollers; the spur gearing by which
these rollers K are driven are of extra long teeth. so that when the rollers yield the
spar driving wheels shall not get out of gear. The materials thus crushed fall onto
a third inclined riddle M made to reciprocate by connecting rods N driven by
wheels in the same or a similar manner to that already described with regard to
riddles C and D; this riddle is mounted on four links M³ by which a slight up and
down as well as lateral motion is imparted to the riddle M. The parts too large
to pass through the meshes of this riddle M fall into a shoot or hopper P, and are
conveyed away to be treated preferably in a cupola furnace operated on by a high
blast, but the particles sufficiently small to pass through the meshes of the recipro-
cating riddle M fall between a pair of crushing rollers Q with rigid bearings, one of
which rollers revolves at a slightly increased speed than the other so that those parts
passing between the said rollers are rubbed, crushed, or ground to a powdered con-
sistency, after which the crushed particles fall into the mixing vessel or pan R con-
taining one or more shafts S, having a spiral fitted thereon as shewn in the drawing,
or paddles or beaters in a spiral form, which blend and work the material forward
and out of the said mixing pan at the end where it is largest in diameter, but the dry
pulverized and powdered substances, on falling into the mixing vessel or pan meet
with excreta and urine conveyed by pipe T into the smaller end of the mixing vessel
from a suitably placed cistern or reservoir, as shewn in Fig. 7, containing floating
skimmers or sediment separators, also dashers or agitators operated by bevel wheel Z
from horizontal shaft 7', receiving its motion from any suitable source, but for the
convenience of getting the fluid into the mixing vessel R, I have taken the motion
by chain wheel Z2 from a chain passing over a chain pulley on the shaft of the stone
breaking machine V, or by other suitable gearing, the excreta and urine is such said
tank R getting thoroughly mixed and blended together. A quantity of sulphuric
acid is introduced into this mixing tank in such proportions as is found necessary to
deodorize and dissolve the materials. Therefore when these mixed substances enter
into the mixing vessel or pan R they are blended with the ground powdered
materials. In this mixing pan gypsum also is added in such proportions as may be
required as an absorbent, so that the whole matter is turned out of a proper
cousistency, thereby becoming a new product or manure of a marketable and
commercial value.
When the machine shewn in Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 4 is used simply for pulverizing
ores, slag, cement, or other dry materials, the tank shewn in Fig. 7 and its
appurtenances are not used, and the mixing vessel or pan R is then used simply as a
means of collecting the pulverized materials and conveying them out of the machine.
So far the method and process described has reference only to the smaller particles
which could pass through the meshes of the two upper riddles Cand D, but the larger

page_text: .
parts which did not penetrate and pass through the meshes of the riddle Care
conveyed by the shoot U (see Fig. 1) into the stone breaking machine V, where the
materials are broken or crushed, leaving the said stone breaking machine by the
shoot W which conveys them to the perforated cylindrical riddle X, the meshes or
holes in which are smallest at the receiving end, and become gradually larger towards
the delivery end, similar in this respect to the meshes in the riddle C, where the
smaller parts may escape through the said perforated riddle X, mixing and blending
with those which previously passed through the meshes of the riddle D, but the
larger particles which fail to pass through the perforations in the cylindrical riddle X
are conveyed away to the shoot Y to be afterwards treated along with those which
failed to pass through riddle M.
The machinery and process I have described so far deal with the elements in
towns refuse such as excreta and urine separately and combined, and the contents
of domestic dust tubs, ashes, &c., but my invention also refers to the treatment of
mixed excreta and ashes, and other refuse found in the old ash places and privies. To
treat and prepare this compound material to be operated upon by the mechanism
previously described and shewn in Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 4, I propose to shoot the mixed
night soil and ashes down the inclined plane A (see Figs. 5 and 6) which materials
enter into a revolving "drummer" B, (preferably square) provided with internal
screw threads, or divisions, four in number, one to represent each flat surface of the
drummer, so that as the said drummer revolves, the materials therein are mixed
and blended and rendered friable, and carried to the opposite end C in regular and
even quantities or proportions, falling into the shoot E, from which it is taken by
travelling buckets or elevators D, which carry the mixed excreta and ashes and other
refuse to and under the hood or cover F and drop it onto riddle C as shewn in Fig. 5,
where it undergoes a process similar to that already described with regard to the dry
ashes as set forth in the first part of this Specification.
The elevator may be driven by any suitable form of mechanism, as will be wel
understood.
By the method above described, and the mechanism as shewn in the drawings, the
various elements of town's refuse are easily separated, the useless portions of which
are destroyed, whilst the other parts are utilized and made into manure or used as
fuel.
The construction of machinery as above described may be employed for utilizing
the residuum from sewage works. Such machinery may be used for grinding and
preparing basic or other slag, cinders and cement, in fact anything which needs to
be pulverized and separated. My improved machinery may also be used for mixing
materials for the manufacture of briquettes made from coal dust in combination with
tar and other ingredients.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is:
Firstly. The combination and arrangement of machinery for separating and
mixing town's refuse, comprising reciprocating and revolving riddles, stone-breaking
mechanism, together with parts for crushing, grinding, rolling, and mixing, all
substantially as described and shewn in Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 4.
Secondly. The use of reciprocating riddles having different sized meshes for
separating town's refuse, the larger parts of which pass into a stone breaker, whilst
the smaller parts escape the stone breaker, and pass to other riddles, all as described
and shewn in Figs. 1, 2, and 3.
Thirdly. In machinery for separating town's refuse, the employment of the per-
forated cylindrical riddle X in combination with the inclined plates I and J,substantially
as described and shewn in Figs. 1, 2, and 3.
Fourthly. The combination and arrangement and use of machinery, such as that
described and shewn in Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4, and 7 for separating, pulverizing, and mixing
together dry town's refuse with excreta and urine previously prepared.

page_text: Fifthly. The use of machinery such as that described and shewn in Figs. 5 and 6
for treating and mixing togther wet town's refuse as found in old privies and ash-
pits mixed with excreta and urine substantially as described.
Sixthly. The general arrangement and combination of parts forming my machinery
as described and shewn in the accompanying drawings when used for the purposes
set forth.
Seventhly. The use of machinery for separating and mixing town's refuse,
comprising reciprocating and revolving riddles, stone breaking mechanism, together
with parts for crushing, grinding, rolling, and mixing in combination with a cupola
for destroying refuse metals and recovering saleable portions thereof, which cupola,
operated by a high blast, is fed from shoots Y and P (Figs. 1 and 3) attached to the
riddles or sieves in manner substantially as described.
Eighthly. The employment of a drummer such as B (Figs. 5 and 6) for blending
the materials and substances found in ash pits or old privies, whereby they are
rendered friable so that they may pass through sieves or riddles as described.
Ninthly. The use of machinery for separating and mixing town's refuse, comprising
reciprocating and revolving riddles, stone breaking mechanism, together with parts
for crushing, rolling, and mixing, in combination with tanks or reservoirs containing
beaters or dashers for mixing excreta and urine, to which is added sulphuric acid for
dissolving and deodorizing same previous to passing to the mixing vessel R
substantially as described.
Tenthly. The process hereinbefore described for treating town's refuse by separating
and mixing the same with excreta and urine, and by absorbing and deodorizing
this compound by the use of gypsum or other similar absorbent, and sulphuric
acid or other similar deodorizer, for the purpose of thereby producing valuable
manure.