A Method of and Apparatus for the Treatment and Disposal of Sewage.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 10th Mar., 1891
Complete Specification Left, 28th July, 1891-Accepted, 29th Aug., 1891
A Method of and Apparatus for the Treatment and Disposal
of Sewage.
I, CHARLES WILLIAMS CHANCELLOR of 103 West First Street, Baltimore City,
State of Maryland, United States of America, Physician, do hereby declare the
nature of this invention to be as follows:-
My invention relates to a new and useful method of, and apparatus for, the
treatment and disposal of sewage, especially excretal or household sewage.
My invention relates to a process by which the solid matters are continuously
separated from the liquids, by means of (1) a well devised screen (2) discharging
the solid matters thus separated under a column or bed of water in a closed
receptacle (3) precipitating the finer suspended matters and (4) filtering the
supernatant liquids when necessary. This process affords absolute protection
against sewer gas and secures in the smallest area practicable a safe, cheap, and
effectual means of preserving the solid parts of household sewage for agricultural
purposes, without loss of their fertilizing properties by fermentative decomposition.
The apparatus comprises a receiving vessel or receiver, a settling or precipitating
tank a strainer to which the soil pipe is connected, consisting of an inner perforated
cylinder and an outer cylindrical casing, and a box or holder for the precipitating
re-agent. The receiver is furnished with a movable cover resting on the smooth
rim of the vessel with an intervening rubber washer, in order to form a tight
joint, and to keep the cover firmly in place it is fastened to the receiver by bolts or
otherwise. The lower end of the soil pipe is attached to the top of the receiver by
a collar and a screw or other coupling designed to readily disconnect the two when
the receiver has become filled with solid matter. The outer cylinder of the first
strainer is connected with the soil pipe above and below, forming, as it were, an
enlarged section of said pipe. The inner cylinder is made of perforated metal or
wire cloth of the same diameter as the soil pipe and continuous with it. Through
the meshes of this cylinder the liquid sewage passes on its way to the precipitating
tank, while the coarser solid matters are held back and sink into the receiver. The
bottom of the space between the two cylinders is a solid floor which leads the
strained liquid into the discharge pipe which empties into the precipitating tank on
a level six or eight inches lower than the bottom of its outlet pipe. Beneath the
pipe and connected with it is the box provided with an inlet to admit the water of
solution and an outlet aperture of small calibre for the outflow of the solution which
is formed in said box with each flush of the discharge pipe which latter is
removably connected with the tank through its head. This box is filled with some
solid disinfecting and precipitating agent, and the quantity of solution passing off
therefrom is regulated by a valve. A similar arrangement may be attached to
discharge into the bowl of the closet with each flush. The precipitating tank is,
with the exception of the arrangement of its cover, a duplicate of the receiver and
by changing the tops one may be substituted for the other. In the bottom of the
settling tank a certain amount of fine solid matter is deposited by subsidence and
chemical precipitation by the reagents used. The liquid contents of the tank are
led into the bottom of the filter through the connecting pipe which also acts as a
drain and keeps the liquid contents of the tank at a level with the effluent pipe.
The filter consists of a wrought or cast iron vessel, fitted near the bottom with a
circular grating covered with wire cloth or supporting a perforated plate upon
which rests the first or bottom layer of filtering material. Several inches above the
top layer of the filtering media is a perforated plate which serves to prevent the
escape of the filtrant through the outlet pipe which latter leads out the filtered

page_text: effluent that passes into the bottom of the filter and thence upward through the
filtering media. The space between the bottom of the filter and the lower grating
receives also a wash-out pipe from the general water supply for cleansing the
strata of the filter-bed by an upward flush. In washing the filter, the accumulated
impurities are driven through the upper grating and are led off by the overflow
pipe.
To recapitulate: The operation of the apparatus is as follows-All such matters
as are generally discharged into the soil-pipes of houses are conveyed into the
receiver. The coarser undissolved matters which the trap of the soil-pipe has
allowed to pass, sink rapidly, by gravitation, to the bottom of the receiver while the
matters that are more or less dissolved in water find their way along with the
supernatant liquid of the sewage through the meshes of the strainer and thence by a
connecting pipe into the precipitating tank. The pressure of each flush from the
water-closet serves to scour or clean the inner side of the strainer automatically
and the discharge, falling upon the surface of the floating matters which usually
rest on a level with the lower end of the perforated section of the soil-pipe, drives
them with force into the receptacle. The precipitating tank receives the overflow
from the receptacle which has passed through the strainer. This tank is provided
with an automatic device for discharging a certain quantity of chemical precipitants
into its contents either at the closet bowl or as described.
The supernatant liquid in the precipitating tank, already quite pure, is run off
from the top of the tank to the bottom of the filter and upwards through the
filtering material should filtration be required.
Dated this 10th day of March 1891
C. W. CHANCELLOR.
By A. M. & Wm. Clark,
53, Chancery Lane, London, Patent Agents.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
A Method of and Apparatus for the Treatment and Disposal
of Sewage.
I CHARLES WILLIAMS CHANCELLOR, of 103 West 1st Street, Baltimore City,
State of Maryland, United States of America, Physician, 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 :-
My invention relates to a new and useful method of, and apparatus for, the
treatment and disposal of sewage, especially excretal or household sewage.
My invention relates to a process by which the solid matters are continuously
separated from the liquids by means of :-
(1) a well devised screen;
(2) discharging the solid matters thus separated under a column or bed of water
in a closed receptacle ;
(3) precipitating the finer suspended matters; and
(4) filtering the supernatant liquids when necessary.
This process affords absolute protection against sewer gas and secures in the smallest
area practicable a safe cheap and effectual means of preserving the solid parts of
household sewage for agricultural purposes without loss of their fertilizing properties
by fermentative decomposition.
The accompanying drawings illustrate the invention, of which the figure is a
vertical section.
A represents the receiving vessel or receiver, B the settling or precipitating tank,
C the filter, D the outer cylinder of the strainer, E the inner perforated cylinder of
the strainer, F F the soil pipe connected with the strainer above and below, G the
collar which connects the soil pipe with the receiver, H the box or holder for the
precipitating re-agent, I pipe connecting the receiver and precipitating tanks for

page_text: the purpose of drawing down the water to prevent slopping when the vessels are
removed. The several parts of the apparatus may be constructed of any suitable
material and of any convenient form. In the drawing, the receiver and precipitating
tank are shewn flared at the top, which is believed to be the most convenient shape
for discharging their contents, while the walls of the filter are straight and parallel.
The receiver A. is furnished with a movable cover a resting on the smooth rim of
the vessel with an intervening rubber washer in order to form a tight joint. To
keep the cover firmly in place it is fastened to the receiver by bolts or screws or
other suitable device. G is a collar of metal by which the lower end of the soil
pipe F is attached to the top of the receiver by a screw or other coupling designed
to readily disconnect the two when the receiver has become filled with solid matter.
The outer cylinder D of the first strainer, made of galvanized iron or other suitable
material, is connected with the soil pipe F F above and below, forming as it were
an enlarged section of said pipe. The interior of the cylinder D is provided with
a cylinder E of perforated metal or wire cloth of the same diameter as the soil pipe
and continuous with it. Through the meshes of this cylinder which may be from
one-tenth to one-twentieth of an inch in diameter and one-fifth to one-tenth of an
inch from each other, the liquid sewage passes on its way to the precipitating tank
while the coarser solid matters are held back and sink into the receiver. The
bottom of the space between the two cylinders is a solid floor c which leads the
strained liquid into the discharge pipe d which empties into the precipitating tank
on a level, six or eight inches lower than the bottom of the outlet pipe h. Beneath
the pipe and connected with it is the box or casing H, provided with an inlet e to
admit the water of solution and an outlet aperture 6 of small calibre for the outflow
of the solution which is formed in box II with each flush of the discharge pipe d
which latter is removably connected with the tank B through its head g. This
box H is designed to be filled with some solid disinfecting and precipitating agent,
such as quick-lime, sulphate of iron, or alum, and the quantity of solution passing
off therefrom is regulated by a valve at n. A similar arrangement may be attached
to discharge into the bowl of the closet with each flush. The precipitating tank B
is, with the exception of the arrangement of its cover g, a duplicate of the receiver A
and by changing the tops one may be substituted for the other. When the vessels A.
•
or Báre removed for transportation, the tops a and g are replaced by solid tops.
In the bottom of tank B a certain amount of fine solid matter is deposited by
subsidence and chemical precipitation by the re-agents used in box H. The liquid
contents of the tank B are led into the bottom of the filter C through the connecting
pipe h which also acts as a drain and keeps the liquid contents of the tank B at a
level with the effluent pipe 1. The filter C consists of a wrought or cast iron vessel
fitted near the bottom with a circular grating r covered with wire cloth or
supporting a perforated plate upon which rests the first or bottom layer of filtering
material. Several inches above the top layer of the filtering media is a perforated
plate p which serves to prevent the escape of the filtrant through the outlet pipe
which latter leads out the filtered effluent that passes into the bottom of the filter
through the pipe h and thence upward through the filtering media. The space m
between the bottom of the filter and the lower grating receives also a wash-out
pipe o from the general water supply for cleansing the strata of the filter-bed by an
upward flush. In washing the filter the accumulated impurities are driven through
the grating and are led off by the overflow-pipe l.
P
The strainer E it should have been remarked is scoured as it were and cleansed
by each flush from the closet through the soil pipe F and the more paper used the
more thorough will be the cleansing.
To recapitulate: The operation of the apparatus is as follows-All such matters
as are generally discharged into the soil-pipes of houses are conveyed into the
receptacle A which is removably connected with the soil or drain pipe. The coarser
undissolved matters, such as foreign bodies, ordure, and paper not yet dissolved,
which the trap of the soil pipe has allowed to pass, sink rapidly by gravitation to
the bottom of the receptacle while the matters that are more or less dissolved in

page_text: water find their way, along with the supernatant liquid of the sewage, through the
meshes of the strainer and thence by a connecting pipe into the precipitating tank.
The strainer is placed on the outside and surmounts the receptacle.
It consists as
it were of a perforated section of the lower end of the soil pipe enclosed within a
hollow cylinder into which the connecting pipe of the precipitating tank opens.
The pressure of each flush from the water closet serves to scour or clean the inner
side of the strainer automatically and the discharge falling upon the surface of the
floating matters which usually rest on a level with the lower end of the perforated
section of the soil-pipe drives them with force into the receptacle. The
precipitating tank receives the overflow from the receptacle which has passed
through the strainer. This tank is provided with an automatic device for
discharging a certain quantity of chemical precipitants into its contents, either at
the closet bowl or as described by the device H. The supernatant liquid in the
precipitating tank already quite pure, is run off from the top of the tank through
the pipe to the bottom of the filter and upwards through the filtering material
should filtration be required. The length of time during which a filter bed
continues to filter without cleansing depends upon the amount and nature of the
solid impurities held in the liquid. It has been shown that in this instance, the
liquid to be filtered has been deprived by straining and precipitation of the great
bulk of its solid matter and therefore satisfactory and continuous results are
obtained without any clogging of the filter bed which nevertheless requires to be
cleansed by washing every few days. The filter however is quite superfluous as the
supernatant liquid passing from the precipitating tank through the discharge pipe h
is already so purified that it may be sent into drains, sewers, wells, streams, or rivers,
without tilting up the bed or causing nuisance.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is
1. The above described process of straining precipitating and filtering sewage, which
consists in separating the solid from the liquid matters of crude sewage, so as to let
the solid matters sink by gravitation into a receiver or vessel filled with water
thereby displacing an equal volume of water which passes through a superincumbent
screen into a second tank or vessel where the finer suspended matters are
precipitated by subsidence and chemical reagents, then passing the supernatant
liquid through a suitable filter, then removing the vessel containing the solid
matters, as set forth.
2. In an apparatus for treating sewage, the combination of a receptacle or closed
vessel for crude sewage connected with the discharge pipe from the closet and a
reticulated screen or strainer arranged in the path of the discharge from the said
discharge pipe into the receptacle to serve the purpose, first, of straining the sewage
and, secondly, of being scoured and its interstices kept open and operative by the
dynamic force of the discharge, substantially as shewn and described.
3. The combination, with a subjacent collecting receptacle for the solid or more
weighty matters, of a tight soil pipe connection a strainer composed of a perforated
or reticulated pipe section interposed in the length of or aligned with the soil pipe
so as to form a continuation of the conduit and a surrounding casing disposed about
the strainer to carry off the supernatant liquid, substantially as shewn and
described.
4. In an apparatus for treating sewage, the combination, with the sewage pipe or
conduit d having openings e and 6 and the precipitating tank B into which said
pipe discharges, of the box H containing the precipitating re-agent, the same
being arranged alongside the pipe and having an inlet and outlet in one
side which coincide and communicate with the aforesaid openings as shewn and
described whereby a portion of the liquid sewage passing along the pipe I is deflected
into and traverses the box H and then re-enters the pipe, thus supplying the re-agent
required for precipitation of sewage in the tank B, as set forth.

page_text: 5. In an apparatus for treating sewage, the combination of two or three
hermetically-closed tanks as may be desired arranged in connection with each other,
the first being constructed substantially as described, to receive the solid matters by
subsidence, the second being provided with an automatic feeder for supplying
5 chemical re-agents for precipitation and disinfection and the third being arranged
as a filter, substantially as shewn and described.
L... 1001
C. W. CHANCELLOR.
By A. M. & Wm. Clark.