IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY AND APPARATUS FOR THE MANU- PACHIRE AD PRAM RUL AND PHAT CHARCOAT
Year: 1873

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Daniel Kinnear Clark, of Buckingham Street,
Adelphi, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, for the In-
vention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY AND APPARATUS FOR THE MANU-
PACHIRE AD PRAM RUL AND PHAT CHARCOAT
"
Sealed the 29th August 1878, and dated the 2nd April 1873.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Daniel Kinnear
Clark at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 2nd April 1873.
I, DANIEL KINNEAR CLARK, of Buckingham Street, Adelphi, in the
County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY AND APPARATUS FOR
THE MANUFACTURE OF PEAT FUEL and Peat CHARCOAL," to be as follows:-
The object of the first part of this Invention is to break up raw peat,
and reduce it to a pulpy and non-elastic condition by means of an
improved arrangement of machinery for this purpose.
Secondly. To separate by mechanical means a portion of the water
usually found in combination with peat in its natural.state.

page_text: Thirdly, To evaporate the remainder of the water or moisture out of
the peat to convert it into peat fuel by means of improved arrangements
of drying chambers and apparatus for this purpose.
Fourthly. To convert the dried peat into peat charcoal by means of
improved arrangements of retorts, furnaces, and apparatus combined
therewith for this purpose.
In order to break up and reduce raw peat in accordance with my
improvements, a masticator similar to a pug mill is employed, into the
hopper or receiver of which the peat is delivered. The peat is broken
up and mixed, and is then forced through a pair of grids in combination,
one of such grids being stationary, and the other arranged to revolve.
The bars of one grid act with those of the other grid as shears, bruising
and cutting the fibres and other matters as they are forced through the
grids.
The grids may be cylindrical, flat, conical, spherical, or of other forms. ]
Both grids may be arranged to revolve, but at different speeds, so as to
have a shearing action upon the peat; or the grids may be arranged so
as to have a reciprocating motion upon one another. The moveable grid
may be interior or exterior to the fixed grid, but exterior by preference.
Each grid consists essentially of a series of bars and interspaces, or of
surfaces otherwise perforated or reticulated, having perforations or
openings of any suitable form and proportions so as to act as shears,
bruising, cutting, and destroying the elasticity of the fibres by one
operation or passage of the peat through the apparatus. When it is
desired to reduce the peat to very fine division it may be passed through 2
the apparatus a second time, or through a second pair of grids.
The cutting edges of one grid may be so formed as to be inclined to
those of the other in the direction of the motion of one grid over the
other. The peat thus prepared is collected and removed in any con-
venient manner.
The shell or casing of the masticator may be perforated with numerous
small holes, and covered with porous woven material so as to strain off
a portion of the water contained in the peat during the process of
mastication, or the shell may be made of strong wire gauze or netting
covered with cloth.

page_text: The peat (either before or after it is masticated) is delivered into a
tube or cylindrical vessel, vertical, horizontal, or inclined, which is
perforated with numerous small holes, or it may be made of strong wire
gauze or netting, or otherwise so formed for the escape of water from
the peat, and covered with woollen cloth or other suitable porous
material which permits the water to pass through it, and at the same
time prevents the escape of the whole or the greater part of the pulpy
matter of the peat.
The peat (by preference after being masticated) is forced into and
through the tube by means of a feeding screw of a given pitch and of
suitable length. One or more additional screws of successively de-
creasing pitches are arranged upon the same shaft or axis within the
tube at suitable distances apart, and the intervals between the screws
may be arranged with propelling knives mounted upon the screw shaft
or axis.
The peat is forced by the first feeding screw through the tube at a
rate proportional to the pitch of the screw, and is partially resisted, by
the second screw, which, being of less pitch than the first, will pass the
peat at a less rate of progression than that of the first. The intervening
peat between the screws is thus subjected to a compressive pressure, and
a portion of its contained water thus placed under what may be called a
differential pressure is forced through the perforated walls of the pipe
or tube.
The opening of the peat and the separation of the water are assisted
by the action of the propelling knives. The peat as it advances towards
the third screw is similarly subjected to differential compression and
parts with an additional quantity of water. The compressing and
straining process may be prolonged or repeated to such an extent as
may be found requisite, and the peat may be finally discharged from
the tube or cylinder through dies, and cut into bricks or sections by any
of the usual and well known means.
The screws may if preferred be made continuous throughout the tube,
and of gradually diminishing pitch; or the feeding and the succeeding
screws may be made of equal pitches, and be arranged so as to revolve
in the tube at diminishing speeds to afford the required differential
resistance to the advance of the peat therein, the second screw making
a less number of revolutions per minute than the first screw, and the
2.

page_text: third fewer than the second, and so on in succession; or the tube may be
of diminishing diameters, and the screws proportionately smaller and of
equal pitch; or the straining vessel may be of conical form with a
screw or screws of diminishing diameters arranged to revolve therein so
as to cause a differential compressive action.
In some cases the feeding screw only may be used, arranged either
with or without propelling knives in addition, the compressing resistance
being obtained by means of the accumulated friction of the peat on the
walls of the tube.
The masticating and the straining operations may be arranged and 1
combined into one machine in which either operation may succeed the
other.
I will now describe the arrangement of drying chambers which I
prefer to employ in carrying my improvements into practice for drying
peat fuel. Pieces or bricks of peat are placed upon trays which are then
piled upon trucks and run into drying chambers arranged with lines of rails
and air-tight doors at both ends. The trucks enter at one end of the
drying chambers and pass out at the other, and the chambers are
traversed by currents of air heated by preference which pass in a
contrary direction to that of the trucks. The loaded trucks occupy or 1
nearly occupy the whole of the sectional area of the chambers, and are
fitted with moveable ends or diaphragms adjusted so as to mix and
direct the current of air traversing the chamber to obtain a uniform
temperature and an equal draught above and below. The trucks may
be moved through the drying chambers by means of endless chains or
ropes travelling over rollers, being connected to the trucks and actuated
by suitable motive power.
The heated current I employ for drying the peat when formed into
blocks consists of the hot products of combustion obtained from the
charring ovens herein-after described, or from other sources, and by
burning additional fuel for the purpose if necessary in combination with
a supply of cold air which is mixed with the products of combustion to
reduce them to a temperature suitable for the purpose.
The current of atmospheric air is supplied by a blast from a fan, and
the hot gaseous products are drawn into the current by induction, and
thus are thoroughly mixed with it so as to produce a uniform temperature
of the drying current passing through the drying chambers. The pro-

page_text: portions of the air and heated products are regulated by means of
valves.
An exhaust fan to draw the drying currents from the drying chambers
is employed to act in conjunction with the forcing fan. Other forcing
and exhausting apparatus may be employed in place of fans. I prefer
to introduce the hot products of combustion into the current of atmo-
spheric air before it passes through the forcing fan or other air propelling
apparatus, so that the two currents may become intimately mixed and
combined in their passage through the fan or other air forcing apparatus
before reaching the drying chambers.
I will now describe my improvements in charring ovens for converting
dried peat into charcoal :-Dried peat is charred in close vertical retorts
enclosed in an oven or ovens) the peat being introduced from above and
withdrawn from below the retorts. The retorts are arranged in rows,
and those of each row are connected by mid-feathers or walls between
the retorts carried up to within a short distance of the roof of the oven,
so that the products of combustion from the fire-place are caused to
ascend on one side of the row of retorts to pass over the mid-walls and
to descend on the other side of the retorts, and are finally conducted
away by a flue situated at a low level, by which arrangement the heat is
uniformly distributed over and around the retorts.
All the products resulting from the distillation of the peat are
collected and discharged into the fire-place or fire-places of the oven or
ovens for the purpose of being burnt in order to supply heat for the
charring process.
In order to effect the complete combustion of the products of
distillation they are driven into the furnace or fire-place by means of
jets of steam, and so mixed with air in the furnace. The air may be
driven into the furnace with the products of distillation through tubes
or other openings by the jets of steam, so that an intimate mixture is at
once effected for the purpose of combustion; or the supply of air for
supporting combustion may be derived from the blast of a fan or other
mechanical means, and such blast would act by induction to draw in
and mix with the air the products of distillation.
The products of combustion resulting from the charring process are
utilized for drying the peat. The whole of the fuel required for the

page_text: processes of charring and drying the peat may be burned in the charring
ovens, thereby dispensing with auxiliary furnaces for supplying heat for
drying.
The charcoal when made is lowered into a close receptacle below,
which is made air-tight to smother the charcoal and leave it to cool
before being discharged; or it may be dropped into iron boxes on wheels
to be closed up and removed.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Daniel Kinnear Clark in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 2nd October 1873.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, DANIEL
KINNEAR CLARK, of Buckingham Street, Adelphi, in the County of
Middlesex, Civil Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Second day of April, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, in the thirty-
sixth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Daniel Kinnear Clark, Her special
license that I, the said Daniel Kinnear Clark, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Daniel
Kinnear Clark, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at
any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times
thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might
make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Inven-
tion for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY AND APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFAC-
TURE OF PEAT FUEL AND PEAT CHARCOAL," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said Daniel Kinnear Clark, my executors or
administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one
of their hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to
be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent
Office within six calendar months next and immediately after the date
of the said Letters Patent.

page_text: declare the nature of the said invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement thereof, that is to say :-
The objects of this Invention are,-
-
First. To cut up, bruise, and mix raw peat, and reduce it to a pulpy,
non-elastic, and homogeneous condition, by means of an improved
arrangement of machinery for this purpose, such peat constituting, when
dried, a hard, dense, and compact fuel.
Secondly. To separate by mechanical means a portion of the water
found in combination with peat in its natural state.
Thirdly. To evaporate water or moisture from peat by means of
improved arrangements of drying chambers and apparatus for this
purpose.
Fourthly. To convert peat into peat charcoal by means of improved
arrangements of retorts, furnaces, and apparatus combined therewith for
this purpose.
In order to cut up and reduce raw peat in accordance with my
improvements a mill or masticator, vertical or horizontal, is employed,
into the hopper or receiver of which the peat is delivered. A certain
proportion of moisture in the raw material is desirable for the proper
working of it, and water may be added to the peat, if necessary, for
effecting this object. The peat is received from the hopper, and treated
by revolving screws and skew blades, by means of which the larger
pieces of the peat are broken up, and the peat is then forced through a
pair of grids acting in combination on the same axis, one of such grids
being stationary, and the other arranged to revolve. The bars or arms
of one grid act with those of the other grid as shears or choppers,
bruising and cutting the fibres, roots, and other matters, as they are
forced through the grids, and thus destroying the elasticity of the peat.
The grids may bo cylindrical, flat, conical, spherical, or of other forms.
Both grids may be arranged to revolve at different speeds, or in contrary
directions, so as to have a shearing action upon the peat. Or the grids
may be arranged so to have a reciprocating motion one on the other.
The moveable grid may be interior or exterior to the fixed grid, but it
is preferred that it should be exterior to the fixed grid.

page_text: The cutting or bruising edges of one grid may be so formed as to be
inclined to those of the other in the direction of the motion of one grid
over the other. The peat, after having been passed through the grids
and pulped, may be delivered through one or more dies in continuous
streams, and cut into sections of suitable length by any of the usual and
well known means employed in forming bricks of clay or other plastic
substances. Or the peat, when milled, may be collected and removed in
any other convenient manner. Peat prepared in the manner described
dries and contracts, without requiring any assistance by mechanical
compression, into a hard, solid, and dense mass.
A friction coupling may be fitted to the driving gear according to any
of the well known arrangements, to prevent the mill being overstrained
by stones or other solid substances passing through it.
]
Double-acting or reversing driving gear of any of the well known
forms may be applied to the mill, by means of which the mill may be 1
reversed, for the purpose of clearing itself from stones or other foreign
substances, or from accumulations of fibre or roots of peat on the edges
of the grids, the knives, or the screws.
The shell or casing of the mill may be perforated with numerous small
holes, and covered with woven material or other porous fabric, so as to
strain off a portion of the water contained in the peat during the process
of mastication, or the shell may be made of strong wire gauze or netting
covered with cloth.
When it is designed to separate a portion of the water contained in
peat by mechanical means the peat, either before or after it is masticated
(by preference after it is masticated) is delivered into a hopper attached
to a tube or other vessel of circular section, vertical, horizontal, or
inclined, which is perforated with numerous small holes, or it may be
made of strong wire gauze, or otherwise so formed for the escape of
water from the peat, and covered, if necessary, with woollen cloth or
other suitable porous material, which permits the water to pass through
it, and at the same time prevents the escape of the whole or the greater
part of the pulpy matter of the peat.
The peat is forced into and through the tube by means of skew blades,
or of a feeding screw propellor of suitable pitch and length, fixed on a
central revolving shaft. One or more additional screws of successively
decreasing pitches are arranged to follow the feeding screw upon the

page_text: .
same shaft. The peat is forced by the first feeding screw through the
tube at a rate proportional to the pitch of the screw, and is partially
resisted by the second screw, which being of less pitch than the first will
pass the peat at a less rate of progression than that of the first. The
peat, thus urged forward by the feeding screw, and to a certain degree
resisted by the second screw, is subjected to a compressive pressure, and
a portion of its contained water thus placed under what may be called a
differential pressure is forced or strained through the perforated walls of
the pipe or tube. The peat as it passes into and through the third screw
is similarly subjected to differential compressive pressure, and parts with
an additional quantity of water. The compressing and straining process
may be prolonged or repeated by passing on the peat through other
screws of successively diminishing pitches on the same shaft, and the
peat may be finally discharged from the tube or cylinder through dies,
and cut into bricks or sections.
A few blades or stirrers may be interposed between the screws at
suitable intervals, by the action of which the peat is opened and turned
over, and the separation of the water facilitated.
The screws may be made continuous throughout the tube, and of con-
tinually diminishing pitch. Or the feeding and succeeding screws may
be made of equal pitches, and be arranged so as to revolve in the tube at
diminishing speeds, to afford the required resistance by differental
pressure to the advance of the peat therein, the second screw making a
less number of revolutions per minute than the first screw, and the third
3 fewer than the second, and so on in succession. Or the tube may be of
diminishing diameters, and the screws proportionately smaller in diameter,
though of equal pitch. Or the straining vessel may be of conical form,
with a screw or screws of diminishing diameters arranged to revolve
therein, so as to cause a differential compressive action.
) The masticating and the straining operations may be arranged and
combined into one machine in which either operation may precede the
other.
I will now describe the arrangement of drying chambers which I
employ in carrying my improvements into practice for drying peat fuel.
5 Pieces or bricks of wet or moist peat are placed upon trays, which are
then piled upon trucks. The loaded trucks are run into drying chambers
arranged with lines of rails and closed with air-tight doors at each end.

page_text: The current I employ for drying the peat consists of the hot products of
combustion obtained from the charring ovens herein-after described, and
the products of combustion obtained by burning additional fuel for the
purpose, if necessary, in combination with a supply of air, which is
mixed with the products of combustion to reduce them to a temperature
suitable for the purpose. The trucks enter at one end of the drying
chambers and pass out at the other end, and the chambers are traversed
by the heated currents of air which pass in a contrary direction to that
of the trucks. The trucks with their load are so arranged as to occupy
the whole or nearly the whole of the sectional area of the chambers, and
are fitted with and carry moveable flaps or diaphragms adjustable so as
to mix and direct the currents of air traversing the chamber, to obtain a
uniform temperature, and to act equally on the peat at upper and lower
levels within the chamber. The trucks are moved into and through the
drying chambers by means of endless chains or ropes (extending through
the chambers) travelling over rollers, and being connected to the trucks,
and actuated by suitable motive power. The currents of atmospheric
air for the service of the drying chambers are forced into them by a blast
from one or more fans, and the hot gaseous products are drawn into the
current by induction, and thoroughly mixed with it, or the gaseous
products may be drawn into the fan on one side. The proportions
of the air and hot products are regulated by means of valves or dampers.
One or more exhaust fans are employed as auxiliary to the forcing fan
or fans to draw the drying currents from the drying chambers. Other
forcing or exhausting apparatus may be employed in place of fans.
The waste or spare heat from other furnaces may be employed for the
purpose of the drying chambers. Special furnaces for generating heat
by combustion may be employed for the same purpose.
.
I will now describe my improvements in ovens and apparatus for
converting peat into charcoal. The peat is charged into vertical retorts
enclosed in an oven or ovens, the peat being introduced from above and
withdrawn below the retorts. The retorts are arranged in one or more
rows. The furnace or fire-place is situated at or near the level of the
base of the retorts and at one end of a row or between two rows of
retorts. The furnace is roofed over and the roof is prolonged horizontally,
so as to reach from end to end of the row or rows of retorts forming a
flue or heat chamber, from which the products of combustion pass into
the oven through openings between the retorts. The retorts in each row

page_text: are connected by mid-feathers or walls between each two retorts carried
up to within a short distance of the roof of the oven, so that the
products of combustion from the fire-place are caused to ascend on one
side of the row of retorts, to pass over the mid-walls, and to descend on
the other side of the retorts, and are finally conducted away by flues
situated at a low level, by which arrangement the heat is uniformly
distributed over and around the retorts.
The gaseous products resulting from the distillation of the peat arc
collected from the retorts and discharged into the fire-place or fire-places
of the oven or ovens, where they are burnt for the purpose of supplying
heat by their combustion for the charring process, and in order to effect
their prompt and complete combustion they are driven into the furnace
or fire-place by means of jets of steam, and so quickly mixed and burned
with air in the furnace. The air required for combustion may also be
driven into the furnace with the products of distillation by jets of steam.
Or the supply of air for supporting combustion may be derived from the
blast of a fan or other mechanical means, and such blast would act by
induction to draw into the furnace and mix with the air the products of
distillation.
The waste heat of the products of combustion in the charring ovens is
utilized for drying peat, as already described.
The whole of the fuel required for the supply of heat necessary in
the processes both of charring and drying peat may be burned in the
charring ovens, thereby dispensing with special furnaces for supplying
additional heat for drying.
The charcoal, when made, is lowered from the retort into a close
receptacle below, which is made air-tight to smother the charcoal and
leave it to cool before being discharged; or it may be dropped into iron
boxes, on wheels, which are closed up and removed.
The induction apparatus for blowing the gaseous products of dis-
tillation into the charring ovens and mixing them is applicable to
any other form of oven and retorts used for the manufacture of peat
charcoal.
And in order that my improvements may be clearly understood, and
readily carried into practice, I will now proceed to describe the Drawings
hereunto annexed.

page_text: Figure 1, Sheet 1, is a longitudinal section of a horizontal mill or
masticator arranged and constructed in accordance with my improve-
ments, and Figure 2 is a transverse section through the line a, a.
A is the hopper or receiver into which the raw peat is delivered;
B is the cylinder or body of the machine through which it is passed,
and C is the conical delivery piece from which the milled or masticated
peat is delivered through the dies D, D; E, E, is the driving shaft on
which are fixed the feeding screw propeller F; the knives or breakers
G, G; the grid screw H, and the clearer I. The fixed or stationary
grid K is fixed to the end of the cylinder B, and the revolving grid L
is keyed on the shaft and revolves in contact with the fixed grid. The
working faces of these grids are flat surfaces. The delivery screw M
(double-bladed) is also fixed on the shaft E, and it revolves within the
cone C. The receptacle N is placed for the reception of hard unyielding
substances which may pass into the machine with the peat, and which
are intercepted by the fixed grid. The machine is supported on the
standards O, O. The shaft is turned by means of ordinary driving gear,
as shewn on the Drawing, and a pulley or a toothed wheel P on the
end of the shaft may be employed for driving the receiving tables or
frames on which the peat is delivered from the dies D, D.
Figure 3 is a cross section of the cone in the plane b, b, showing
the working face of the fixed grid; and Figure 4 is a section at b, b,
showing the working face of the revolving grid; Figure 5 is a section
of the spokes of the fixed and stationary grids in the attitude of shearing,
taken at the line e, e, Figure 1.
When the raw peat as raised from the bog is delivered unto the
hopper A it falls to the bottom and is seized by the feeding screw F,
by which it is carried into the cylinder B and forced into contact
with the breakers G, G, which break up the larger pieces of peat.
The breakers, which are skewed, pass on the peat to the grid screw H,
the pitch of which is less than that of the feeding screw F. The grid
screw becomes charged with peat and forces it onwards into and
through the fixed grid K. The grid screw may be brought into
close contact with the grid, but it is preferred that it should work
at a little distance clear of the grid, as shewn in the Drawings, and

page_text: the clearer I is interposed to remove obstructions. The peat having
passed through between the bars of the fixed grid is shorn, chopped,
bruised, or masticated by the bars of the revolving grid L, which
pass in contact with or close to the bars of the fixed grid. The fibres
of the peat are thus cut up and so deprived of elasticity, and the
mass of the peat, by reason of the successive cuts made by each
revolving bar in the course of its revolution, becomes thoroughly and
intimately mixed as it leaves the revolving grid. The peat is next
carried forward and discharged by the delivery screw M through an
aperture in one side of the cone C, and thence laterally through the
dies D, D, in continuous bars or streams, which are received on endless
bands, trays, travelling tables, or rollers, and cut up into pieces of
suitable length by any of the well-known systems employed in brick-
making machinery. The pieces, blocks, bricks, or briquets thus formed.
are removed to be dried.
To aid in forcing the peat into the hopper, if necessary, a vertical
shaft with screws or knives, or skew blades, may be applied within the
hopper, suitably formed for the purpose, to carry down and deliver the
peat to the feeding screw.
The grids are made of cast steel or malleable cast iron; or they may
be of cast iron fitted with steel cutting edges. The edges of the bars
may be either square or rounded, as shown at Figures 5 and 5*, one or
both sides of the bars being bevilled to facilitate the passage of the peat.
The grids may be made of larger diameter than the body of the cylinder,
5 the latter being expanded to take them in.
The upper part of the cylinder of the mill may be hinged to the
lower part, so as to be opened and closed readily, and fixed by clamps.
or bolts and nuts.
Figure 6, Sheet 1, is a vertical section of a mill or masticator for
O operating upon and treating peat in accordance with my improvements
with a vertical working shaft, and Figure 7 is a horizontal section on
the line a, a, Figure 6, through the grids. A is a conical receiver into
which the raw peat is introduced, and C is a table on which the masti-
cated peat is discharged; E is the central revolving shaft; F, the feed
5 screw; G, G, knives or breakers; H, H, grid screws; K, the fixed grid,
and L the revolving grid, the grids in this example being cylindrical
and concentric as shewn in the section Figure 7, with conical working

page_text: faces as shewn in the section Figure 6. N, a receptacle for stones or
other unmanagable matter. The masticated peat is delivered in masses
on the revolving table C which is fixed on the shaft, from which it is
removed for further treatment.
Figure 8, Sheet 1, is a vertical section of a portion of another form of
vertical mill arranged to operate upon peat in accordance with my im-
provements, in which B is the cylinder; C, the delivery piece; D, the
dies; E, the central shaft; H, the grid screw%; K, the fixed grid; L,
the revolving grid; M, the delivery screw, and N, clearing space. The
grids are flat-faced, and the revolving grid works below the fixed grid.
Figure 1, Sheet 2, is a longitudinal section of a strainer or apparatus
arranged to operate upon peat in accordance with my improvements, in
which A is the hopper or receiver to receive the wet or moist peat; B,
the cylinder which is perforated and covered with canvas, calico, or
other porous web; C, C, the central driving shaft; D, knives or skew
blades fixed on the shaft under the receiver; E, the feeding screw; F,
G, H, I, K, L, M, N, O, P, screws following the feeding screw and of
successively diminishing pitches. The screws instead of forming one
continued series are parted into three groups, between which a few skew
blades for stirring or turning over the peat are interposed at two places 1
Q and R; S, the dies through which the peat is discharged.
When raw unmasticated peat is delivered to the machine, the skew
blades D at the base of the receiver A serve to break up the larger
pieces of peat, and at the same time to propel them into the cylinder B
to be carried forward by the feeding screw E. In ordinary circumstances
a propelling screw may be substituted for the knives D, as the action of
the strainer has already been fully described; it is not necessary here to
repeat the description. It is obvious that the straining process may be
continued to any desirable extent by a continuation of the straining
cylinder and screws of diminishing pitch, or by passing it again through
the cylinder.
The propelling power may be applied at either or both ends of the
screw shaft or at any intermediate point by means of appropriate

page_text: pitch with a cylinder in sections of successively small diameters, as at
T, G, H.
Figure 3, Sheet 2, shows a section of a peat strainer arranged in
accordance with my improvements having a conical propelling screw F,
F, of uniform pitch working in a conical straining vessel, the peat being
introduced into the larger end, and delivered from the cone at the
smaller end.
The screws in Figures 2 and 3 may be made with varied pitches.
Figures 4 and 5, Sheet 2, shew the form of straining screw preferred
in end view and longitudinal section. The thread is of a wedge form in
section, as shewn at a, a, a, so as to develop the compressive action on
the peat, and the expulsion of the contained water outwardly, or the
thread may be of curved form, as in example shown by dotted lines
Figure 5.
Figure 6, Sheet 2, shews a combination in one machine, with one
driving shaft, of the peat mill or masticator, and the peat strainer
arranged in accordance with my improvement. A is the receiver;
B, the cylinder of the mill; K, L, are the fixed and revolving grids,
and M the delivery screw, from which the masticated peat is passed into
the straining cylinder C, partly shewn in the Drawing, in which K' is
the first screw.
Figure 7, Sheet 2, shews another combination arranged according to
my improvements, in which E and E¹ are the driving shafts of the
mill and the strainer respectively, which may be connected and worked
together by gearing. The grids are conically formed, of which K is
the fixed grid, and L the revolving grid outside the fixed grid. The
milled peat is discharged upon and carried forward by the screw M
into the straining cylinder C, which is partly shewn with the straining
screw F.
Figure 8, Sheet 2, shews a combination of a vertical mill combined
with a horizontal strainer. B is the cylinder of the mill, partly shewn
with its grid screw; K, L, are the grids, which are conical, and of
which the revolving grid L is inside the fixed grid; E is the vertical
shaft, and E¹ is the horizontal shaft of the strainer. The milled part is
discharged upon the feeding screw M, by which it is carried into the
straining cylinder O, partly shewn with the straining screw F.

page_text: It is obvious that in combining the peat mill and the peat strainer
the strainer may easily be arranged to act first on the peat and then to
deliver it to the mill or masticator.
Figure 1, Sheet 3, is a longitudinal section of a chamber for drying
peat arranged in accordance with my improvements. Figure 2 is a plan
shewing three chambers side by side. Figure 3 is a half transverse
section of the chambers.
a, b, c, d, are the outer and party walls of the
chambers; e is the roof; f,f,f, are the entrances to the chambers from
below at one end; g, g, g, the exits at the other end; h is the flue or
conduit for the drying air current, from which openings are made into
the entrances f,f,f, regulated by dampers or valves k, k, k. The exit
flue i receives the spent air of the chambers from the exits 9, 9, 9, and
the openings of communication are regulated by valves. Each chamber
is fitted with close fitting doors 1, 1, 1, at each end. m, m, are the flues
conducting the products of combustion from the charring ovens fitted with
dampers p, p, and united to the air conduit h; n is a forcing fan, from
the orifice of which o a blast of air is driven into the conduit h. The
current of air acts by induction to exhaust the products of combustion
from the flues m, m, and draw them into the conduit h, where the air
and the gases are thoroughly mixed and reduced to a uniform tem-
perature. The flues m, m, have adjustable dampers p, p.
Figure 4 is a vertical section of the flues shewing the fan blast. The
neck h¹ of the conduit / is contracted so as to improve the inductive
action of the blast.
Figure 5 shews a modification arranged in accordance with my
improvements of the fan divided into several nozzles r, r, r, from which
several currents of air are thrown into the conduit h. By this means
the inductive action on the hot gases from the flues m, m, is further
improved. q is an exhausting fan to draw the spent air from the exit
flue i.
Another application of the blast to induce the current of hot gases in
the conduit is shewn in Figure 4, Sheet 4, where a blast from the fan p
is delivered into the conduit m, o. In place of using the exhausting
fan the spent air may if desired be discharged into a chimney.
A line of rails r, r, is laid down in each of the drying chambers to
convey the drying trucks through the chamber, which are moved by

page_text: means of an endless chain or rope 8, 8, traversing the chamber and
turning on the pulleys t, f; the chain is supported on rollers u, u, and
is moved by means of gearing, as indicated at t, the pulley t being so
formed as to sieze the chain and move it round with it; V, V, are the
trucks for carrying the peat to be dried, enclosed in the chambers, of
which the middle chamber is shewn filled with loaded trucks. The
loaded trucks are introduced one by one at the air exhaust end 9, and
withdrawn one by one when the peat is dried at the air forcing end f.
Each truck as it enters is attached in succession to the endless chain, and
detached when it leaves the chamber. The trucks with their loads arc
only shewn in outline, though it is understood that the pieces of pcat
are arranged in layers on trays or shelves on the trucks, one above
another, occupying nearly the whole width and height of the chamber,
with spaces between the pieces of peat to admit of the free circulation of
air amongst them. The screens or deflectors w, w, which may be made
of wood, iron, cloth, or other material, are fitted to one or both ends of
each truck, or intermediately between the ends, and are carried with the
trucks; they act as bafflers or deflectors to direct and distribute the
drying currents, and they are adjustable to any level, and may be set.
either vertically or obliquely. There may be applied a special fan or
fans to each drying chamber. Raw peat in its natural condition, as well
as manufactured peat, may be dried in the drying chambers. Blowing
engines may be employed instead of fans.
Figure 1, Sheet 4, is a transverse vertical section of a charring oven,
arranged and constructed in accordance with my improvements, for
carbonising peat or converting it into charcoal, containing two rows of
vertical retorts; Figure 2 is a longitudinal section through the fire-place
and flue between the lines of retorts; Figure 3 is a longitudinal section
through a line of retorts; and Figure 4 is a transverse section in plan.
a, a, a, are the retorts, rectangular in section and placed vertically,
enclosed within the four walls b, b, built hollow and filled up with
rubbish; the retorts are closed at the top when in action by blocks
c, c, which are sustained by chains passed over pulleys d, d, d, and
counterweighted; loading chambers or boxes e, e, having moveable
covers, are fitted one over each retort; the retorts are closed at the
bottoms with doors f, f, one of which is shewn opened in Figure 3. The
doors are opened by means of suitable connections from outside the oven,
The retorts are connected by midfeathers or partition walls g, g, which
B

page_text: are extended to the outer walls of the oven and rise from the base of the
retorts up to within a short distance from the top; between the two
lines of retorts the fire-place and the middle flue or combustion
chamber i are constructed; through the sides of which openings k, k, k,
are made into the spaces between the retorts on each side; on the outer
side of each line of retorts exit flues 7, 1, are constructed leading to the
outer flue m, which leads to a chimney % and also towards the drying
chambers by the continuation o, over which a fan p is placed from
which air is blown into the flue o and draws with it by induction the
gaseous products of combustion from the charring oven arriving by the
flue m; dampers q, q, are placed on the flues; air for supporting com-
bustion in the oven is supplied through the piper by the blast of a fan
or other propeller, and is delivered into the furnace by the nozzle 8,
Figure 2, under the grate t.
The front of the furnace is closed with well fitted doors and dampers u, u;
a passage through the back wall of the oven to the chamber i is closed
by a door v. The retorts are supported by iron beams wo, w, w, and
the oven is closed in round the retorts at the top. The gaseous products
of distillation within the retorts are led off by the pipes x, x, into the
mains y, y, which are connected to the vertical pipe z, terminating in a
nozzle a', through which the whole of the gases may be discharged into
the furnace. The nozzle a¹ is placed within the larger pipe 6' through
which air regulated by a valve is admitted, and is mixed with the gases
in order to burn them. A jet of steam is discharged into the nozzle a¹
from a pipe c¹, and drives the gases and the air into the furnace h and
chamber i, at the same time thoroughly mixing them, so as to effect the
rapid and complete combustion of the gases. This combination is
shewn on a larger scale in Figure 5. The supply of air may if desired be
delivered from the blast of a fan connected to the pipe 6¹, and the jet
of steam may be omitted.
Another combination arranged in accordance with my improvements
is shewn in Figure 6, Sheet 4, in which the air nozzle 6¹ is placed within
the gas nozzle a¹, and the current of air is supplied from the blast of a
fan or other propeller. The supply of air may, if desired, be taken from
the main piper and regulated by a valve. The stream of combustible
gases may if desired be directed downwards upon the fuel in the grate.
The currents of gaseous matter and air may, if desired, be distributed
by means of two or more nozzles into the furnace.

page_text: The supplies of air for combustion in the oven and for the drying
current may if desired be obtained from a single forcing fan or other
propeller, which may deliver the whole of the air to the pipe ", from
which the air may pass direct into the flue o, excepting such as may be
required to be delivered by branches from the pipe into the oven.
The gaseous products of distillation are maintained in this form by
keeping up their temperature until they are delivered into the furnace.
But it may be desired to intercept and condense a portion of them,
when the remainder only will be discharged into the furnace and the heat
required for charring will be made up by the combustion of fuel on the
grate. Or the whole of the products of distillation may be appro-
priated to other purposes than for combustion in the oven.
When the carbonisation of the peat in a retort is completed, the door
at the bottom is opened, and the charcoal drops into an iron waggon d¹
in a chamber e¹ formed below the retorts. It is preferred that the
waggon should run on rails. The waggon is then tightly closed up and
luted, in order to smother the charcoal, and it so remains until the
charcoal has cooled sufficiently to be taken out.
Another arrangement for receiving and smothering the charcoal is
O shewn in Figure 7, where d¹ is a waggon having a capacity sufficient to
hold the contents of one row of retorts. When the waggon has been
properly placed the entrance to the chamber or receptacle e¹ is closed
air-tight by a door fr. The retorts are then emptied in succession into
the waggon, which remains enclosed so long as is necessary for the
5 smothering of the charcoal. The waggon is then removed and unloaded.
Or, the waggon may be dispensed with, and the charcoal dropped
from the retorts on the floor of the closed chamber e¹.
As each retort is emptied the lower door is closed and covered with a
thick layer of ash or other rubbish introduced from above. The throat
of the retort is also closed by the block c. The chamber e is filled with
the peat to be charred, then closed at the top, and the block c is lowered
sufficiently to allow the charge of peat to fall into the rotort. This
operation of filling and emptying the chamber e is repeated until the
retort is filled.
The charring process is applicable to peat, whether manufactured or

page_text: Having thus fully described the nature of my Invention, and the
manner of carrying the same into practice, I would remark that I am
aware that some portions of the machinery and apparatus herein-before
described and illustrated in the accompanying Drawings are not
new; but what I believe to be novel and claim as my Invention is as
follows,-
First. The improved method of shearing, bruising, pulping,
mixing, and preparing raw peat for the manufacture of peat fuel and
peat charcoal by means of two parallel or concentric series of bars or
arms, forming grids in contact with or close to each other, of which one
series of bars or arms revolve upon or traverses the other series of bars
or arms, so that the bars or arms of one grid act in conjunction with
those of the other grid as shears or bruisers upon the peat that is forced
through the grids, substantially in the manner herein-before described
and shewn in Sheets 1 and 2 in the Drawings hereunto annexed.
Secondly. I claim the general arrangement and combination of
machinery constituting the horizontal mill, Figure 1, Sheet 1, for
operating upon and preparing raw peat for the manufacture of peat fuel
and peat charcoal, substantially as herein-before described in reference
to Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4, Sheet 1, of the Drawings hereunto annexed.
I also claim the arrangement and construction of machinery for
operating upon and preparing raw peat for the manufacture of peat fuel
and peat charcoal, substantially as described and shown in reference to
Figures 6, 7, and 8, Sheet 1, and upper parts of Figures 7 and 8, Sheet 2,
of the Drawings hereunto annexed.
Thirdly. I claim the improved method of expressing or straining
water from raw peat for the manufacture of peat fuel and peat charcoal
by forcing it through a perforated cylinder or cone by means of screws
of successively diminishing pitch, diameter, or capacity, so as to subject
the peat as it advances to differential compressive pressure, substantially
in the manner herein-before described and shewn in Sheet 2 of the
Drawings hereunto annexed.
Fourthly. I claim the general arrangement and construction of
apparatus for straining or expressing the water from raw peat, sub-
stantially as herein before desarihed and shown in unfauna de Tali

page_text: I also claim the improved form and construction of the threads of the
screws employed in operating upon raw peat, as previously described
and shewn in Figures 4 and 5, Sheet 2, of the Drawings hereunto
annexed.
Fifthly. I claim the improved arrangement and combination of
machinery for cutting up, bruising, preparing, and straining water from
peat, substantially as herein-before described and shown with reference
to Figures 6, 7, and 8, Sheet 2, of the Drawings hereunto annexed.
Sixthly. I claim the improved method of preparing and supplying
currents of heated air or gas for drying peat, by mixing air and hot gases
by the inductive action of a blast from a fan or other air propeller,
substantially in the manner herein-before described and shewn with
reference to Figures 2, 4, and 5, Sheet 3, and Figure 4, Sheet 4, of the
Drawings hereunto annexed.
Seventhly. I claim the improved method of moving or conveying
trucks loaded with peat to be dried through drying chambers by means
of an endless chain or rope actuated by gearing, substantially as herein-
before described and shewn with reference to Figures 1, 2, and 3,
Sheet 3, of the Drawings hereunto annexed.
Eighthly. I claim the arrangement and application of moveable
adjustable ends or diaphragms to the trucks containing the peat to be
dried in order to mix and direct the currents of air in the drying
chambers, to regulate and obtain a uniform temperature therein, sub-
stantially in the manner herein-before described and shown in Figures
1, 2, and 3, Sheet 3, of the Drawings hereunto annexed.
Ninthly. I claim the general arrangement of the drying chambers and
apparatus combined therewith for drying peat fuel, substantially as
herein-before described and shewn in reference to Figures 1, 2, 3,
Sheet 3, of the Drawings hereunto annexed.
Tenthly. I claim the combined arrangement and application of forcing
fans and exhausting fans, or other air propelling apparatus, to the furnaces
of ovens and retorts for charring peat, substantially in the manner
herein-before described and shewn in reference to Sheet 4 of the
Drawings hereunto annexed.
Eleventhly. I claim the improved method of forcing the gaseous
products resulting from the charring of peat into the furnaces of charring

page_text: ovens, and the rapid mixing of these products with air for combustion
in such furnaces by the inductive action of a jet or jets of steam or of a
blast of air, substantially in the manner herein-before described and
shewn with reference to Sheet 4 of the Drawings hereunto annexed.
Lastly. I claim the improved arrangement and construction of furnace,
combustion chamber, vertical partition walls, and low level exit flues, in
combination with vertical retorts in ovens employed for the manu-
facture of peat charcoal, substantially in the manner and for the
purposes herein-before described and shewn in reference to Sheet 4 of
the Drawings hereunto annexed.
In witness whereof, I, the said Daniel Kinnear Clark, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this First day of October, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three.
Witness,
J. G. TONGUE,
Patent Agent,
34, Southampton Buildings,
Chancery Lane,
W.C.
D. K. CLARK. (L.S.)