IMPROVEMENTS IN TREATING SEWAGE, AND IN ARRANGING APPARATUS IN SEWERS AND CULVERTS
Year: 1865

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Richard Smith, of Cumming Street North, Penton-
ville, in the County of Middlesex, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN TREATING SEWAGE, AND IN ARRANGING APPARATUS IN SEWERS AND CULVERTS
Sealed the 8th August 1865, and dated the 16th February 1865.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Richard Smith at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 16th
February 1865.
I, RICHARD SMITH, of Cumming Street North, Pentonville, in the County
of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "Im-
PROVEMENTS IN TREATING SEWAGE, AND IN ARRANGING APPARATUS IN SEWERS
AND CULVERTS TO FACILITATE THE VENTILATION OF SUCH STRUCTURES," to be as
follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in treating sewage, and in
arranging apparatus in sewers and culverts to facilitate the ventilation of such
structures. For these purposes sewers have, according to this Invention, at
suitable intervals apart, applied to them transverse floating valves which rise
and fall with the sewage which for the time is running through a sewer, so
that the spaces between the several valves are separated one from the other,
and thus is the travelling of the gases and vapours along a sewer prevented
and the ventilating of the sewers in sections facilitated either by chimney
shafts or otherwise. In order to disinfect sewage either in the sewers, or in

page_text: sumps, or chambers, or reservoirs into which sewage waters are received, peat,
sawdust, or other ligneous fibrous matters are employed saturated or impreg-
nated with sulphurous acid or superphosphate of lime. The peat or sawdust
or other ligneous fibrous matters are first dried as perfectly as possible to drive
off all moisture, and then the sulphurous acid or superphosphate of lime is
combined therewith, and the product is mixed with the sewage waters. I also
in some cases saturate such dried materials with diluted sulphuric acid, but
not of such strength as to char the fibrous matters. I also apply rock salt or
manufactured salt in a pulverized or granular state, and soot, and mix the
same with sewage waters for the same purpose.
In ventilating sewers and culverts whether by chimney shafts, or by fans, or
by other mechanical means, the exhaustion thereby obtained in the sewers or
culverts is taken advantage of, and the sewers or culverts are arranged to receive
the smoke from chimneys of contiguous houses, the chimneys and flues being
arranged. to act by a downward draft so that the smoke may pass into the
culverts or sewers, which it will readily do by reason of the exhaustion therein,
but I would state that such mode of connecting flues of houses with culverts or
sewers is not new, but in addition to such arrangements I further cause steam to
flow into and pervade the sewers or culverts, so that by the joint action of
the steam and the smoke the sewage waters in the culverts or sewers are
disinfected.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Richard Smith in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
16th August 1865.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, RICHARD
SMITH, of Cumming Street North, Pentonville, in the County of Middlesex,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Sixteenth day of February, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, in the twenty-eighth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors; give and grant unto
me, the said Richard Smith, Her special licence that I, the said Richard
Smith, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said Richard Smith, 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,

page_text: exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland,
the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
TREATING SEWAGE, AND IN ARRANGING APPARATUS IN SEWERS AND CULVERTS TO
FACILITATE THE VENTILATION OF SUCH STRUCTURES," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said Richard Smith, my executors or administrators, by an
instrument in writing under my, or their, or one or 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.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Richard Smith, do hereby declaré the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement thereof, that is to say:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in treating sewage, and in
arranging apparatus in sewers and culverts to facilitate the ventilation of such
structures. For these purposes sewers have, according to this Invention, at
suitable intervals apart, applied to them transverse floating valves which rise
and fall with the sewage which for the time is running through a sewer, so
that the spaces between the several valves are separated one from the other,
and thus is the travelling of the gases and vapours along a sewer prevented
and the ventilating of the sewers in sections facilitated either by chimney
shafts or otherwise. In order to disinfect sewage either in the sewers, or in
sumps, or chambers, or reservoirs into which sewage waters are received, peat,
sawdust, or other ligneous fibrous matters are employed saturated or impreg-
nated with sulphurous acid or superphosphate of lime. The peat or sawdust
or other ligneous fibrous matters are first dried as perfectly as possible to drive
off all moisture, and then the sulphurous acid or superphosphate of lime is
combined therewith, and the product is mixed with the sewage waters. I also
in some cases saturate such dried materials with diluted sulphuric acid, but
not of such strength as to char the fibrous matters. I also apply soot, and mix
the same with sewage waters for the same purpose.
In ventilating sewers and culverts whether by chimney shafts, or by fans or by
other mechanical means, the exhaustion thereby obtained in the sewers or
culverts is taken advantage of, and the sewers or culverts are arranged to receive
the smoke from chimneys of contiguous houses, the chimneys and flues being
arranged to act by a downward draft so that the smoke may pass into the
culverts or sewers, which it will readily do by reason of the exhaustion therein,
but I would state that such mode of connecting flues of houses with culverts or.

page_text: sewers is not new, but in addition to such arrangements I further cause
steam to flow into and pervade the sewers or culverts, so that by the joint
action of the steam and the smoke the sewage waters in the culverts or sewers
are disinfected.
Having thus stated the nature of my Invention I will proceed more fully to
describe the manner of performing the same.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 shows a transverse section of a sewer and of a rotatory fan connected
therewith by two pipes; Figure 2 shows a longitudinal section of a sewer and
rotating fan together with a section of a chimney or shaft; and Figure 3
shows a plan in section of the sewer and fan. a, a, is the sewer, which at b, b,
has a transverse valve with a float, by which the valve is caused to rise and
fall according as the sewage rises and falls within the sewer; c, c, is a rotatory
fan in a suitable case. The gases and vapours in one section of a sewer
cannot pass the valve so as to get into the next section of the sewer, and by
using valves at intervals along a line of sewer such sewer will be divided into
sections, and the gases and vapours in each section may be kept separate and
be subjected to the action of fire in the following manner:-The gases and
vapours in one section of a sewer may be removed from that section of the
sewer and forced into the next section of the sewer by a rotating fan or other
mechanism, and by having a furnace and shaft or chimney connected with
such section of the sewer, either near to or at a distance from the valve, the
gas and vapour products may be caused to pass out of the sewer into a closed
ash-pit of the fire. Or in place of employing pumping apparatus, each section
of a sewer may be provided with a shaft or chimney and furnace. By thus
using exhausting apparatus, and by dividing sewers with floating valves, and by.
admitting steam from steam boilers, and connecting the flues of contiguous
buildings with the sewers, smoke and soot will be conveniently introduced
into sewers, which mixing with the steam, the same will be more or less con-
densed and will be mixed with the sewage therein, and such soot and smoke.
will in combining with the sewage not only tend to deodorize the sewage but
render the same more advantageous for agricultural purposes. I would
remark that I am aware that it has before been proposed to connect flues of
contiguous buildings with sewers, I do not therefore claim the same excepting.
only when used in combination with my other improvements whereby sewers
are divided by floating valves into sections, and such sections are partially
exhausted by fans or pumping apparatus, or by chimneys or shafts, as above
explained.

page_text: The second part of my Invention consists in applying certain matters herein
described to sewage in order to deodorize and to improve the character of
sewage for the purposes of agriculture. For these purposes I employ sawdust
or other vegetable ligneous matters impregnated with diluted sulphurous or
with diluted sulphuric acid, or with superphosphate of lime. For these pur-
poses the sawdust, peat, or ligneous substance is to be in as dry a state as may
be, and it is then to be combined with the diluted acid or with superphosphate
of lime. The proportions of these matters applied to the sewage waters may
be greatly varied. I prefer to employ sulphuric acid of commerce diluted
with about two and a half measures of water to one measure of acid; the
object is not to burn or char the wood or ligneous matters by the acid. Or
sulphurous acid may be used diluted with water to any desired extent to
impregnate the sawdust, peat, or other dry ligneous matters. These matters
are to be stirred into and mixed with sewage matters in the sewers, or in tanks
or other vessels or receivers. By thus combining sewage with sawdust, peat,
or other dry ligneous matters with sulphurous or sulphuric acid, or with
superphosphate of lime, the sewage will not only be deodorized to the desired
extent, but the sewage will be rendered more valuable as a manure.
In witness whereof, I, the said Richard Smith, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Fifteenth day of August, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five.