CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF RETORTS FOR GENERATING GAS FOR THE PURPOSE OF ILLUMINATION
Year: 1835

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
BRUNTON, of West Bromwich, in the County of Stafford, Engineer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS His most Excellent Majesty King William the Fourth, by
His Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Twenty-fifth day of Marchi, in the fifth year of His reign,
did, for Himself, His heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, John
Brunton, His special license, full power, sole privilege and authority, that
I, the said John Brunton, my exors, admors, and assigns, or such others as
I, the said John Brunton, my exors, admors, or assigns, should at any time
agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times during the term
of years therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise,
and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed,
my Invention of CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF RETORTS FOR
GENERATING GAS FOR THE PURPOSE OF ILLUMINATION;" in which said Letters
Patent there is contained a proviso obliging me, the said John Brunton, by
an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, particularly to describe
and ascertain the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, and to cause the same to be inrolled in His
Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and
immediately after the date of the said recited' Letters Patent, as in and by
the same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, .I, the said
John Brunton, do hereby declare that my said Invention consists in the

page_text: methods by which the coal is introduced into and propelled through the retort,
and in the method by which the coke is expelled or discharged from the retort
without interruption to the process of carbonization, and by the application of
which methods, as herein-after more particularly described, the retort is
maintained in an uniform state of fulness, or nearly so, and the coal introduced
and the coke discharged, without exposing the interior surface of the retort to
atmospheric air, or in any material degree suspending the process of generating
gas.
Having thus briefly stated the nature of my improvements, I proceed to
describe, by means of the accompanying Drawings, their construction and
arrangements, first premising that the letters in the several Figures corre-
spond with each other, and are intended to indicate corresponding parts of the
apparatus.
Figure 1 of the Drawings hereunto annexed is a section of a retort with the
various parts attached, and constructed according to my improved plan.
Figure 2 is a front view of the feeder mouth-piece without the front cover,
and shews the interior of the hollow piston and the case in which it is worked.
Figure 3 is a front view of the feeder mouth-piece in which the piston is
worked by a rack and pinion instead of a saw, as in Figure 2. Figure 4 is a
section of Figure 3, shewing the mode in which the rack and pinion are
applied. Figure 5 is a front view of a bench of retorts in which there appear
three fixed over one furnace. The middle retort is represented as having the
top cover or lid raised, and shews the plan of the hinges as well as the lip
round the outer edge of the lid which falls into the narrow trough of loam,
lime, sand, or other material, by which the joint is made tight. Figure 6 is an
end view of the same bench of three retorts, exhibiting the exit pipe, through
which the gas passes to the hydraulic main, the discharge cylinder, or shoot,
through which the coke falls into the cistern or reservoir of water, and the
mode of fixing them to the end piece of the retort. A, Figure 1, is a section
of a feeder through which the coal or other material is introduced into the
retort in manner herein-after described. is a cover or lid having a lip to
fall into a cavity or narrow trough b, b, surrounding the top of the feeder A,
which trough is intended to contain fine loam or sand, or any other suitable
material by which the joint may be made tight. The lid is fitted with strong
hinges, as seen at in this Figure, and also at 7, 9, in the top part of the
middle retort feeder in Figure 5. n is a diaphragm of sheet iron or other
suitable material fitted to the interior of the feeder A, and attached to a
spindle v. This spindle passes through the side of the feeder A, being fitted
and ground so as to prevent the escape of gas. To the outer end of the spindle

page_text: retort.
is affixed a handle h, as seen in Figures 2 and 3, whereby the diaphragm n is
made to close and divide the feeder when required. is a spring catch for
keeping the feeder divided when a fresh supply of coals is required; the space
above the diaphragm may at the same time form a measure of the quantity of
coals newly introduced. B shews the forcing apparatus, by means of which
the coals or other materials are propelled through, and the coke is expelled
from the interior of the retort. a, a, is a longitudinal section of a piston, of
which the transverse section is shewn at a, a, Figure 2, having a cross bar
secured to it by screws, and a hole in the middle in which is a nut or female
screw to receive the screwed spindle, and by which the piston a, a, is forced
forward when required in propelling the coals and the coke through the
The screwed spindled has a collar fitted to the bottom of the stuffing
box in the cover of the piston case at , and the said spindle is retained in its
place by a loose collar of brass fixed by screws, as seen at e, c. The outer end of
the spindle is fitted with a gland m, and held down by screws, and is packed
with hemp and tallow, or other suitable material usually employed for the
purpose of preventing the escape of gas in other machinery of a like nature.
To the end of the spindle is fixed a handle for turning the same.
The lid or
cover c is secured to the end of the piston case by screws, as shewn at c,
Figure 5, and jointed with pasteboard, or other suitable material, in the usual
way. C is a section of a retort, which is made taper for the purpose of
facilitating the passage of the materials with which it is charged; to the wider
end it is fixed to the mouth-piece or feeder at r, r, in the customary
manner with bolts and screws, cement, &c. The length and diameter of the
retort may be varied, or its shape altered, according to circumstances. D is a
section of the end piece of the retort, with the discharging cylinder or shoot F,
through which the coke falls or is discharged into a cistern of water E, and
which end piece is secured to the retort by screws, and jointed with cement
at s, s; an end view of the same is shown in Figure 6. The discharging
cylinder or shoot F dips into the water so deep as effectually to prevent the
escape of gas. The exit pipe G, through which the gas is conveyed to the
hydraulic main, is made of the usual form. The cylinder or shoot F, through
which the coke is discharged into the cistern E, should be made the full width
of the inside of the retort, so that no obstruction may arise to the clear dis-
charge of the coke or other material. The end piece of the retort is also
supplied with a small lid or cover, which is secured by a small cross bar and
screw, as described at H, and which may be taken off at any convenient time
for the purpose of examining the interior of the retort.
Having given a description of the several parts of my improved retort, I

page_text: The
now proceed to describe the mode of charging and working the same.
charges, both as to time and quantity, must be regulated by the capacity of
the retort, and the quality of the coal or other material used. Having myself
being in the habit of using Staffordshire coal, I have found it most convenient
to charge a retort of about four and a half feet long, and about twelve inches
diameter at the small end, and eighteen inches diameter at the other, every hour,
with about eighteen or twenty pounds of coals, after the following manner :-
The diaphragm being shut and kept close by the spring catch i, the lid or
cover of the feeder A is raised, and the requisite quantity of coals introduced
upon the diaphragm, when the lid is again shut or closed. The coal
remains in this position until the previous charge has been forced into the
retort by the piston, as already described, and when the piston has been again
drawn back the diaphragm is let down, and the fresh charge occupies the
space between the retort and piston, thereby keeping the heat from extending
to the apparatus, as well as being ready to be forced forward into the retort.
when another charge shall be required. It may be here observed that it is not
necessary that manual labour should be employed in forcing the charges into
the retort, for where there is steam or other power, by the application of a
ratchet wheel fixed on the end of the screwed spindle d, worked by a small
catch and lever acted upon by an eccentric wheel upon the revolving shaft
from the steam or other power engine, it may be so timed as to complete the
process in any given period with the greatest precision, and a material reduc:
tion of labour. It will be obvious that whenever a certain quantity of coal is
introduced into the retort by means of the piston a, a, an equal bulk of coke
will be discharged into the water cistern E through the cylinder or shoot F,
and may be removed from thence by means of a basket or other receiver
placed within the cistern under the discharging shoot F, or by being raked
into a barrow placed at the end of the cistern or still; keeping in view the
economy of manual labor, the coke may readily be removed by an endless
chain by a steam engine or other power emptying it into a barrow at the end
of a range of retorts.
I have thus described my improvements in the construction of retorts
for generating gas for the purpose of illumination. I have represented by
Figure 1 in the Drawings annexed a retort set in the ordinary position,
though not exactly in the ordinary shape; it is described as open at
both ends, the coal being introduced at one end and the coke discharged at the
other. To this I lay no claim, nor do I confine myself to the precise modification
of the various parts of the retort, as described in the Figures hereunto annexed,
nor to the materials of which they may be formed, but I have shewn that which

page_text: 1 consider to be the best arrangement for a coal gas retort, and which I have
found practically to answer. What I claim as my Invention is, the arrange
ment and combination of the various parts of the retort by which the coal is
first introduced into and afterwards propelled through the retort, and the coke
discharged from it, by which means the retort is kept at an uniformn fulness,
introducing and discharging simultaneously bulk for bulk of coal into the
retort, and coke out of it into a cistern of water, without exposing the interior
of the retort to the cooling effect of atmospheric air, and in a great measure
avoiding the loss of time, the waste of gas, and the laborious operations
necessarily attendant on the usual methods of charging and discharging retorts.
The retort which I have described is adapted for generating gas from coal,
which is the material generally used for that purpose; but should any other
material be used requiring a different adaptation of the several parts above
described, such adaptation may easily be effected by persons conversant with
the subject.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Brunton, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, the Twenty-third day of September, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and thirty-five.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Twenty-third day of September,
in the year of our Lord 1835, the aforesaid John Brunton came before our
said Lord the King in His Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification
aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained and specified, in form
above written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according
to the tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.
Inrolled the Twenty-fourth day of September, in the year of our Lord One