IMPROVED PNEUMATIO DRAINAGE WORKS FOR REMOVING AND UTILIZING FECAL MATTER
Year: 1873

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Charles Thieme Liernur, of the Firm of Liernur
and De Bruyn Kops, Engineers, of Frankfort-on-the-Maine, Prussia,
for the Invention of "IMPROVED PNEUMATIO DRAINAGE WORKS FOR
REMOVING AND UTILIZING FECAL MATTER,"
Sealed the 2nd December 1873, and dated the 30th September 1873.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION · filed by the said Charles Thieme Liernur
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition and
Declaration, on the 30th September 1873, pursuant to the 9th
Section of the Patent Law Amendment Act, 1852.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, CHARLES
THIEME LIERNUR, of the Firm of Liernur and De Bruyn Kops, Engi-
neers, of Frankfort-on-the-Maine, Prussia, send greeting.
•
"
IMPROVED PNEUMATIC
WHEREAS I am in possession of an Invention for
DRAINAGE WORKS FOR REMOVING AND UTILIZING FECAL MATTER," and have
petitioned Her Majesty to grant unto me, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, Her Royal Letters Patent for the same, and have made

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Charles Thieme Liernur, do hereby
declare that the following Complete Specification, under my hand and
seal, fully describes and ascertains the nature of my said Invention, and
the manner in which the same is to be performed, reference being had to
the accompanying Sheets of Drawing and to the figures and letters of
reference placed thereon:-
GENERAL DESCRIPTION.
The Invention herein-after specified refers to the process for rendering
human excrements useful instead of noxious by means of pneumatic
drainage works, but in a far more perfect and economical manner than
hitherto known, the purpose being not only to remove the fecal matter
out of the houses by means of drain pipes with atmospheric pressure as
motive power, but doing this without employing locomobile air pump
engines, wagons, and horses in the street, without metal valves shutting
the branch pipes from the main pipes, and without excluding the use of
waterclosets as hitherto has been done; and finally to convert by means
of the same engine which effects said removal the fecal matter into a
dry substance (so called poudrette) for use as manure. In other words,
the system of pneumatic sewerage is now arranged for doing away with
metal valves on the branch pipes, for admitting the use of waterclosets,
and for operating with a stationary air pump engine, which effects at
the same time the conversion of the fluid excrements into a dry manure
in such a manner that the removal out of the houses and the drying
operation take place by one continuous process.
In the following description of arrangements devised by me-for the-
above purpose it is supposed-that-the pneumatic sewerage system for
which a Patent was granted to me in the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, 3rd May 1869, and sealed 17th August 1869, is:
known to the reader :-
1. Arrangement of Pneumatic Drain Pipes in the Street (see Sheet I.).
- In any convenient part of a town, illustrated by Fig. 1, is the building
A erected in which the air pump engine works. This engine maintains
a vacuum of about ¾ atmosphere in a reservoir, called central reservoir, 3
placed underground beneath the building, and with this reservoir are

page_text: connected certain pipes BBB, CCC, DDD, (marked on the Drawing
in thick black lines), running along the main streets, and arranged in
such a manner that the vacuum produced in the said central reservoir is
equally produced in these pipes. Both reservoirs and pipes are of cast-
iron, with carefully made joints, so that the whole is hermetically air-
tight. To distinguish these pipes from others they are called central
pipes on account of their connection with the central reservoir.
In order to present no obstacle to the equal extension of the vacuum
as it is produced by the air pump these pipes present in their profiles an
unbroken straight line, without any bends, in a vertical plane. On the
route of these central pipes, or as near to them as practical, the street
reservoirs are situated, which are mentioned in the Specification of the
Patent on which the present Invention is an improvement. They serve
here likewise at the same time as accumulators of motive powers to be
spent on emptying the privies of surrounding houses and as 'momentary
collectors of their fecal contents. The connection between the central
pipes or their branches and the street reservoirs is effected by means of
two short pipes, one communicating with the upper and the other with
the lower part of the street reservoir, each short pipe being provided,
with a cock so as to shut it off at will. When the first is opened a
vacuum is made in the reservoir, which is utilised in employing the
privies of the surrounding houses. When the second short .pipe is
opened the fecal matter which has been collected in the reservoir is
sucked up and conducted to the central pipe, through which it is, partly
by gravity and partly by air pressure, conducted to the central reservoir.
Fig. 2 shows the profile of the central pipe CCC, between the street
reservoirs No. I. and No. 11., whilst in Fig. 4 at C this central pipe is
also shown in section' with its connection at street reservoir No. II.
Fig. 3 shows on an enlarged scale the arrangement of the tubes.
draining the houses around the street reservoir No. II. It has in this case
4 main pipes aaa, bbb, ccc, and ddd, each following a different.
street, and each main pipe has the necessary number of branch pipes to
the right and to the left side of it in order to reach the privies of all
contiguous houses. By way of illustration main pipe b, b, b, is shown in
profile in Fig. 4, and also the profiles of the branch pipes 1 and 3, which
will be spoken of further on.

page_text: 2. Street Reservoirs (see Sheet II.).—The street reservoirs are now
horizontal cylinders, composed of various sections, the number depending
upon the space required, and joined together with flanges in the usual
way. The ends are spherical to withstand atmospheric pressure (see
Figures 5 and 6).
if on account of increasing adoption of waterclosets, through which
the bulk of the fecal matter to be removed increases likewise, it should
be necessary to enlarge a given reservoir, all that has to be done is to
remove one end, and fit in one or more cylindrical sections between.
The Drawing shows also the manner in which the various main
pipes a a, b b, c c, dd, are connected with the reservoir, and its connec-
tion with the central pipe c c'; whilst M and N are the branch pipes con-
necting it with the central pipe M, communicating with the top (Fig. 8),
and N with the bottom of the reservoir (Fig. 7). The reservoir
is further provided with a man hole o, covered with a dome reach-
ing up to the pavement of the street: Each main pipe has a cock for
shutting it off at will, of which the section is shown in Fig. 9. One of
the cocks belonging to the reservoir is, on the inside of the cock shaft,,
provided further with a small pipe P, communicating with the interior
of the reservoir, to which pipe a portable vacuum meter can be screwed
by the workman, whose duty it is to turn the cocks, for the purpose of
forwarding the contents of the privies of the surrounding houses to the
central reservoir. This same pipe P is closed with a small cock, which
on being opened admits atmospheric air into the reservoir.
3. Arrangement of Branch Pipes (see Sheet I.).—The purpose of this
arrangement is to avoid the use of valves or other self-acting mechanical
means for shutting off the branch pipes from the main pipes, as in-the-
before-mentioned Patent, and still to effect the same results for which
these means were formerly applied, namely, to remove the privy con-
tents out of a great number of houses simultaneously, by simply turning a
one main cock of one main pipe, notwithstanding that one or more
privies are empty. If no provision were made for this the air would
rush in through such empty privies and destroy the vacuum in the
reservoir without its effecting any result on the filled privies. Instead
now of the valves formerly applied the fecal matter itself is made use of.
For this purpose the branch pipes are so shaped as to retain under all
circumstances fecal matter enough to shut them off at certain places

page_text: from the main pipe, and to retain this matter long enough for allowing
a partial vacuum in the main pipe to be formed of equal density along
its whole length after the main cock is opened, in such a manner that
all branch pipes are regularly and simultaneously discharged, whether
one contains more fecal matter than another. This purpose is effected by
forming the bends or gradient renewals of all the branch pipes of one
and the same main pipe, in such a way that they all shall offer an equal
resistance or height to which the fecal matter must be lifted, and that
this resistance shall be maximal at the time when the quantity to be
removed is the least or reduced to its lowest ebb. In other words, I
construct the branch pipes now in such a manner that the total rise of
the vertical parts of the bends (that is to say, the sum of all the heights,"
to which in each branch pipe the matter must be lifted) is for all the
branch pipes the same.
Thus for instance, when in Fig. 4*, A represents
the section of a main pipe, to which two branch pipes are attached, one"
having one bend xy, and the other three bends ab, d, and'e f, and
by which the height x y, is equal to the sum of the heights a b, c d,
and ef, then the maximal resistance in both branch pipes will be
exactly alike, when any liquid is sucked up by means of a vacuum in
the pipe A, and occur on both at the moment when that liquid is at x
or f at the lowest ebb. This result is simply based upon a well-known
law by barometers with several disconnected columns of liquid. That
now on the presence of such maximal resistance in each branch pipe can.
at all times be counted on with certainty is due to the fact that when
the liquid has once reached the lowest level nothing more will be
discharged in the main pipe, and only air bubbles will rise up through'
the columns of liquid matter. It would only be possible to remove the
latter out of the vertical parts of the bends when the vacuum was.
suddenly applied, so that violent atmospheric shocks would result, which.
however is avoided when operating with this system of drainage. It
will now be clear that with such an arrangement of the branch pipes all,
are effectually shut off from the main pipe, so that while air is much
quicker and easier to be moved than fluids an equal degree of vacuum,
will be established over its entire length long before any of the branch,
pipes begin to discharge; when this occurs the one that contains the.
most fecal matter will begin to discharge first (notwithstanding that.
they all are simultaneously exposed to the same motive force due to. the.
presence of an equal degree of vacuum for every one), because the
resistance or the lift will be therein the least, on account of the higher
}

page_text: position of the level of the fluid. The application of this principle is
illustrated in the construction of the branch pipes No. 1 and No. 3 of main
pipe b b b, of reservoir No. II., shown in profile in Fig. 4, and in plan
in Fig: 3. Though there is a considerable difference in their lengths,
one drains 4 privies, whilst the other has but 2, and also the levels of
the privies are quite different, the sum of the vertical bends or the
extreme lift is made alike in both, and must of course be also made the
same in all the other branch pipes of the main pipe in question.
4. Stopping Valve for Branch Pipes (see Sheet II., Fig. 10).-This
valve serves for shutting off by hand the connection of any one branch.
pipe from a main pipe, should such be required to place the same
temporarily out of action on account of the house not being inhabited,
or to concentrate the entire working. power of the vacuum in the
reservoir on, one given branch pipe for the purpose of removing stoppages.
The merit of this arrangement consists in the simplicity of its form,
and the fact that the valve itself is kept entirely from contact with
fecal matter when not in use. The Drawing sufficiently explains the
construction.
5. Tension Valves (see Sheet II., Fig. 11).-These valves are applied
both to the branch pipes and to the main pipe for the purpose of $
allowing the air contained in them to escape in proportion as fecal
matter from the various privies has occasion to flow in. Were no
provision made for this the action of the barometric columns mentioned
in article 3 would be hemmed or lamed, for this escape of air is at the
highest part of the main pipe, a small tube inserted terminating in a
box, the top of which is perforated with small holes, these being covered
with a valve capable of opening outwardly, but not the reverse.. --This
valve is made of a thin sheet of india-rubber, so light that it lifts up
by the smallest increase of pressure from within, and allows the air to
escape. A's however this is apt to be more or less charged with offensive :
gases the box below the valve is filled with pieces of charcoal, which
purifies the air as it slowly finds its way out. The box with its tension
valve can be placed at any convenient spot on the wall of the house so
as to be out of the way, and still handy in case of repair. The Drawing
Fig. 11, sufficiently explains the construction; and on Sheet I., Fig. 4,
the position is at, illustrated, where for the branch pipes Nos. 1
and 3 the same may be located.

page_text: 6. Waterclosets Adapted to the Pneumatic Drainage System. (see
Sheet III.)-Waterclosets are provided for by this improved pneumatic
drainage system to meet the wishes of those who are sensitive on the
extreme clean look of the basin in which their excrements fall, and
who can afford to pay for this luxury, not however because waterclosets
are in any way required as a sanitary measure, or because fecal matter
could not be drained off regularly without the use of water. They are
however so constructed that the basin is kept clean independent of the
will of the user, that is, no matter whether he forgets to turn the water.
on or not, and at the same time so that no losses are incurred to
agriculture by making the dilution greater than actually required. This
purpose is effected by reducing the water used to the smallest possible
quantity, and making the utmost use possible of that quantity in the
following manner:-A basin turning on one side on a hinge and placed
immediately under the opening of the seat is so connected with the
floor of the privy apartment and the seat itself that the moment a person
enters floor and seat are pressed down by that person's weight; through
the motion of about one inch thus obtained the basin is raised to a
horizontal position, being kept so by the person's weight as long as the
same is present. The moment the basin is brought into this horizontal
position water is poured in from a small reservoir with a measure
attached to it, just holding the quantity required and no more, for
keeping the excrements afloat in the basin and preventing them from
touching its sides.
When the person leaves the privy floor and seat being relieved of the
weight rise up again to their former position, which motion causes the
basin to turn on its hinge to an inclined position, so as to pour
immediately and with ease water and excreta into the receptacle with
hydraulic trap below. This motion opens connection between the water
measure and reservoir above alluded to, so as to fill the former afresh
for the next use. It will be seen that with this arrangement it is
absolutely impossible that any person should at one sitting use more
than just that one measure of water, and that it is just as impossible
not to use it, so that cleanliness of the basin is so to say compulsory.
The entire absence of water in the basin when not used prevents also
freezing in winter, which is so great a nuisance with all water holding
basins.
The mechanical arrangement by which all these results are obtained

page_text: is as follows:-A B, is the privy floor turning on a hinge A and con-
necting by means of the rods E E, with the seat C D; floor and seat are
shown in their depressed position, that is, when the privy is being used.
Basin o turning on hinge H is held horizontally by arm G and weight P,
which latter is sufficiently heavy to lift the basin when filled with fecal 5
matter. When now (see Fig. 12) the floor B B, rises up, the stirrup N
presses against the nuts M of the rod K. which works on the arm G of
the basin, and thus brings the latter in the inclined position indicated by
the dotted lines. To produce the self-acting motion of the floor and seat
when the person leaves two counterweights S S, working with levers on 1
the seat are provided.
It should be observed that the sudden entering of a person into the
privy apartment cannot produce on the basin a sudden upward motion,
which might break or disturb the mechanism, for the effect of even the
most hasty motion is only that the stirrup N leaves the nuts M, thus
depriving rod K of its ordinary support upon which the weight P
becomes free to act with only the speed due to its own gravity and no
more. The water measure consists in a small box L of the right
capacity (say about one quart) fastened underneath the water reservoir
W. In the bottom of both are holes just opposite each other, and the
space between these holes is filled up with a cylindrical piece of caout-
chouc T well covering them, but a little shorter than the distance
between the two bottoms. When the prop T is pressed against the
bottom of the measure L by means of the rod R and the lever X (which
occurs through the rising of seat C D), the communication between the
water reservoir and measure is open and the latter is filled. When how-
ever floor and seat are pressed down the prop T is pressed up against the
bottom of the water reservoir stopping the communication, and allowing
the contents of the measure to discharge itself through pipe Z into the
basin.
7. Stationary Air Pump Engine with Poudrette Attachment (see
Sheet IV.). The leading idea of this arrangement is to spread the fecal
matter immediately after its arrival in the central reservoir, while still
in possession of its natural heat, in thin layers upon surfaces exposed to
the vacuum which the air pump engine creates, and which are heated on
the other side by the exhaust steam of that same engine; and further to
submit the fecal matters to this process not before certain ingredients
are mixed with it to bind the nitrogen in such a manner that it cannot

page_text: escape in the form of gases during the evaporation of the water. The
result to be obtained is a dry powder or substance like guano in which
all the valuable manurial substances of human excrements are retained,
giving through this at the same time absolute security not only thát the
entire process is inoffensive and scentless but also that the waste water
running off is perfectly pure.
To carry out the above purposes the air pump engine is furnished with
various fixtures and apparatus which are arranged in the engine house
in the following manner (see Sheet IV., Fig. 15):-P is an air pump
engine fed with steam from the boiler K, both being placed in an engine
room apart. In the front room or other suitable place stands a hollow
column L about 11 yards high, the top of which is connected with .the
air pump in such a manner that the latter can maintain a vacuum in the
column without danger that any fluid shall enter into it from the various
reservoirs it operates upon, because the column exceeds in height a
column of water equal to atmospheric pressure. From this column three
pipes shown, with single lines in the Drawing, run into the various
directions where a vacuum is required. In the first place one pipe runs
to the main or central reservoir R lying under the floor of the room with
which the central pipes B B, C C, and D D, are connected, already
described in article No. 1.
A second air pipe runs from the air column L to two retorts fon
holding fecal matter, and laid on a level high enough to distribute
it by gravity and with ease to those parts of the building where the
evaporation process goes on. These retorts H H, are long cylinders
with spherical ends made of boiler plate, and placed for convenience
in an adjoining room, see Fig. 16, which is a section partly over the
line A, A³, while Fig. 17 is a plan of that section. To convey into
unese high level retorts (after a vacuum is made in them) fecal matter
from the central reservoir R below the floor, it is only necessary to
open a cock on the connecting pipe between them; shown in Fig: 15
with double dotted lines, and to place the reservoir a moment in
contact with the atmosphere through opening a small cock provided
for that purpose.
"
A third air pipe runs from the air column L to the drying apparatus
V.W T T, consisting principally of two retorts TT, of cast iron
strong enough to bear atmospheric pressure, and closed air-tight with

page_text: elliptical covers. Each retort contains two horizontal cylinders or
drums of copper D D, revolving side by side upon hollow shafts
fastened to their ends; which shafts pass air tight through stuffing
boxes provided in the ends of the retorts. Into these drums the
exhaust steam of the engine is admitted at one end by means of the
pipe D' D'; at the other end a small pipe p¹ p', carries off the con-
densed water to an ordinary steam water trap.
The sides of the drying retorts are so formed as to provide pockets
on each side wherein the drums D are hung. In these pockets the
fecal matter is admitted by means of a small feed pump at such a rate
that enough fecal fluid is always present to allow the drums to dip into
it over their whole length, so that on revolving they become covered
with a thin fecal layer.
In order now to utilise to the utmost the heat given off by the
exhaust steam of the engine on the interior of the drums D D, while
they are revolving, the drying retorts are connected by means of the third
air pipe mentioned above to the air column L, so that the whole drying
or evaporating process goes on in vacuo.
The connection between the air column and the retorts is made in
the following manner:--The vapours from the surfaces of the drums:
D D, are conducted first to a condenser W (which may be of the
tubular kind, as shown in the Drawing, or of the ordinary spray
class), and the water resulting from them is allowed to run off in a
common barometer pipe of sufficient height to suit the degree of
vacuum employed: The gases remaining after this condensation are
drawn off by the pipe K", K", to the purifier V, also closed air-tight
and filled with a solution of soda or any other substance capable of
arresting whatever impurities they may still be charged with. From
there these gases are finally, by means of the pipe ll, conducted to
the air column L, from whence they are of course removed or sucked
away by the air pump engine which uses them for blowing the fire of
the steam boiler K.
The speed with which the drums D revolve is so regulated that the
layer of fecal matter adhering to their surfaces after leaving the pocket
in the retort becomes perfectly dry by the time it has reached the
opposite side, where wooden knives or scrapers are fastened to the edge
of the pocket for scraping the dried fecal matter off. The two drums

page_text: revolve towards each other in such a manner that the dry material
scraped off drops into one common trough M' placed centrally under-
neath them. This trough M' is held up against the drying retorts
with air-tight flanges by means of clasps brought on at the ends, and
can when full be led down on rails placed below it, so as to be rolled.
away from underneath on the little wheels with which it is provided.
for that purpose. The dried substance is taken out and filled in sacks
like guano, or mixed with other manuring substances, such as potash,
pulverized bones, or phosphates, as may be required to suit the agri-
cultural market.
•
In order to prevent any loss of nitrogen in the form of ammonia
during the evaporating process the fecal matter is thoroughly mixed
with sufficient sulphuric acid in the boxes S S, to which the matter
is drawn off by the pipes N' N', out of the bottom of the high level.
retorts H H.
To prevent foreign substances such as often find their way into
privies (rags, shoes, bones) from stopping up the pipes, the high-
level retorts are provided with grates placed at one end before the
main in-flow pipe capable of retaining all such foreign matter. A
man-hole on the retorts gives admittance to this part of the same
for removal from time to time when the accumulation requires it.
་
The boxes S S, are provided with stirrers of any sort so as to mix
the acid well with the fecal matter, and the latter when ready' is drawn
off by means of the pipe u to the rotary pump q, which forces it along
the pipe t¹ t¹, into the drying retort T T¹. This pump receives its
motion from any set of shafting along the ceiling of the engine room.
From this shafting are also driven the revolving drums D D, the
gearing for which is shown in Fig. 19. The motion therefor is received
by a conical pulley (y') capable of regulating the speed by merely.
shifting the belt right or left. On the shaft of the pulley is a worm
which brings the motion over by means of an intermediate pinion on.
the large toothed wheels 2¹ z¹.
The high level retorts are further provided with an arrangement for
drawing off the excreta in a fluid form into barrels, in case farmers.
should prefer it in this state for immediate ploughing in. A platform
is for that purpose crected underneath the retorts about the height of
the bottom of a wagon, so as to roll the barrels handily in. The filling

page_text: for that purpose.
The construction of these decanting cocks is shown in detail in Fig. 20.
Such a cock has two openings, a large one for letting the fecal fluid flow
into the barrel, and a small one for allowing the air thereby displaced to
escape. For each opening a hose of corresponding size is provided, the
large hose communicating with the bottom of the retort to let out the
fluid, the small hose, on the contrary, entering into the top of the retort
for the foul air. When such a decanting cock is driven into the bung
hole of a barrel, so as to be air-tight, the liquid fecal matter of course
flows into the barrel, and the air contained in the same is forced through
the small hose into the retort. In other words fluid and air merely
change places without any foul gases being able to escape at large, thus
thoroughly preventing any offensive smells. In the same manner the
whole poudrette manufacturing process cannot but be absolutely scent-
less from the fact that during the whole operation the fecal matter is
constantly kept in vessels, pipes, and retorts, which perforce must be
air-tight in order to be able to use a vacuum at all as one of the main
agencies by which the evaporation is effected.
Finally, special care is taken to prevent any stoppages or interruptions
in the daily operations by providing every apparatus in duplo for
alternate use at all stages where it is required, and each apparatus is
provided with all necessary guages and indicators for perfect control.
What I wish especially to call attention to as the striking novelty of
above described arrangement is, that by means of one and the same
engine the fecal matter is removed out of the houses and reduced to a
valuable and easily transportable manure, thus making practicable that
which was hitherto impossible, namely, to defray the expenses connected
**with evaporating the large amount of water contained in excreta,
expenses which were so great that they exceeded the value of the
product obtained. It is this circumstance which until now caused cities
and the state at large to submit to the fearful losses due to allowing
immense amounts of valuable manure to be wasted in sewers and rivers;
for so long as no method was known by which the saving of this
substance could be made profitable to whoever undertook it it was
simply not undertaken. This difficulty is now removed, for with the
herein specified method but little extra costs are incurred for the reḍuc-

page_text: tion to poudrette above what in every case is needed for the removal out
of the houses when this is done in accordance with what is absolutely
required for sanitary reasons, namely, that this takes place without
polluting the soil and water of the town through infiltration of brick
sewers, or the air through the escape of detrimental gases, and at the
same time without creating a nuisance in the houses or in the street.
The same motive power unavoidably required to effect all this is now
utilized for accomplishing a great deal more, namely, for producing a
substance so valuable that it amply repays all expenditures due to its
production, inclusive those of collecting the raw material for it in the
houses.
Having now described and ascertained the nature of my said Invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, I would have it under-
stood that what I claim as of my Invention is, the method of removing
human excrements out of houses and cities, and converting them into a
dry manure or poudrette with one and the same steam engine in one
continuous unbroken process, employing therefor a system of pneumatic
sewerage which admits waterclosets, and by which no locomobile engines,
wagons, or horses are required in the streets, nor any metal or other
valves whatsoever for shutting off the branch pipes from the main pipes,
the whole to be accomplished and effected by means of the arrangements
and apparatus, substantially as described in this Specification, and illus-
trated by the Drawings thereto attached.
In witness whereof, I, the said Charles Thieme Liernur, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-seventh day of
September, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred
and seventy-three.
CHARLES THIEME LIERNUR. (L.S.)