IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR THE DISTILLATION OF COAL AND PEAT, AND SUCH OTHER SUB- STANCES AS ARE OR MAY BE USED FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF SOLID AND LIQUID VOLATILE HYDROCARBONS
Year: 1862

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Mattieu Williams, of Handsworth, in the
County of Stafford, Teacher, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
APPARATUS FOR THE DISTILLATION OF COAL AND PEAT, AND SUCH OTHER SUB-
STANCES AS ARE OR MAY BE USED FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF SOLID AND LIQUID
VOLATILE HYDROCARBONS."
Sealed the 18th November 1862, and dated the 3rd July 1862.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Mattieu Williams
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 3rd July 1862.
I, WILLIAM MATTIEU WILLIAMS, of Handsworth, in the County of Stafford,
5 Teacher, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN APPARATUS FOR THE DISTILLATION OF COAL AND PEAT, AND SUCH OTHER
SUBSTANCES AS ARE OR MAY BE USED FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF SOLID AND LIQUID
VOLATILE HYDROCARBONS," to be as follows:-
When coal or peat or other substances which yield solid and liquid volatile
bydrocarbons by distillation are subjected to the distillatory process, hydro-
carbons of different degrees of volatility are given off at different stages of

page_text: the process, those first given off being more volatile than those which are given
off as the substance under treatment acquires a higher temperature. If the
vapours of the hydrocarbons are heated to a temperature much higher than
that at which they are given off, they are more or less decomposed into per-
manent gases. The temperature to which the coal or other substance' under
treatment must be raised in order to give off the least volatile hydrocarbons is
sufficiently high to decompose the vapours of the most volatile products. It
is hence desirable, when distilling coal or other substances for the production
of the more volatile liquid hydrocarbons, to heat the coal or substance under
treatment in a gradual manner, so that the maximum products produced at
the lower temperatures may be obtained. It is further desirable to subject
the substance under treatment to a bright red heat before withdrawing it from
the distillatory apparatus, as at that temperature the last portions of the vola-
tile hydrocarbons are driven off, and coke or charcoal is obtained as a residual
product of greater commercial value than coke or charcoal which having been
made at a lower temperature retains some of the hydrocarbons.
The object of my Invention is to produce the maximum of liquid hydro-
carbons, and also a good coke or charcoal, by conducting the distillatory process
in a progressive manner; and my said Invention consists in the improvements
herein-after described in the distillatory apparatus, by which improvements
the gradual heating of the substance under treatment is effected, the products
of the distillation at different temperatures separated, and a good coke or
charcoal obtained.
The general arrangement of the distillatory apparatus which I employ is
that described and represented in the Specification of Letters Patent granted
to me, bearing date the Twenty-first day of December, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, No. 3208, that is to say, the coal
or substance to be operated upon is placed in trays or cages, which are heated
from above by radiation from a plate forming the bed of 'the arch of a rever-
beratory furnace, and the top of the distillatory vessel; but instead of making
the charged trays or cases stationary during the whole of the distillation, I
introduce each charged tray or cage at an opening below that end of the arch
most distant from the fire. After the charged cage has remained there until:
the full effect of the heat to which it is there exposed has been produced, it is
pushed forward towards the fire, and another charged cage is put in the place
from which the first-named cage has been removed, a third charged cage
replaces the second one, and so on, until the first cage reaches the end of the
arch nearest the fire, whence it is withdrawn through a lateral opening. By

page_text: thus gradually heating the coal or substance under treatment, the maximum
of valuable products is obtained, together with a valuable coke or charcoal as
a residual product. I prefer to collect the vapours by causing them to descend
away from the heated parts of the apparatus, as described in the Specification
of the Patent herein-before referred to, and I make the bottom or condensing
part of the distillatory vessel incline upwards from the cooler end to the
hotter end, so that the hotter end is shallower than the cooler end; there is
thereby less loss of heat by radiation.
In order to separate the products of the different stages of the distillation,
I introduce sliding partitions at different parts of the distillatory vessel, so as
to preserve the products condensed at different parts separate. The said par-.
titions are withdrawn during the moving of the trays. Besides producing the
maximum of valuable products and effecting the perfect charring of the
residual coke or charcoal without decomposing a large quantity of the hydro-
carbons, my Invention has the further advantage of economizing the fuel
employed, as, owing to the length of arch I employ, much of the heat which
would otherwise be lost is made available.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Mattieu Williams in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 27th December 1862.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
MATTIEU WILLIAMS, of Handsworth, in the County of Stafford, Teacher, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Third day of July, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, in the twenty-sixth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
William Mattieu Williams, Her special licence that I, the said William
Mattieu Williams, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said William Mattieu Williams, my executors, administra-
tors, 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 King-
dom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR THE DISTILLATION OF COAL AND

page_text: PEAT, AND SUCH OTHER SUBSTANCES AS ARE OR MAY BE USED FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF
SOLID AND LIQUID VOLATILE HYDROCARBONS," upon the condition (amongst others),
that I, the said William Mattieu Williams, 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.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Mattieu Williams, do hereby
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:-
When coal or peat or other substances which yield solid and liquid volatile
hydrocarbons by distillation are subjected to the distillatory process, hydro-
carbons of different degrees of volatility are given off at different stages of
the process, those first given off being more volatile than those which are
given off as the substance under treatment acquires a higher temperature.
If the vapours of the hydrocarbons are heated to a temperature much higher
than that at which they are given off they are more or less decomposed into
permanent gases. The temperature to which the coal or other substance
under treatment must be raised in order to give off the least volatile hydro-
carbons is sufficiently high to decompose the vapours of the most volatile
products. It is hence desirable, when distilling coal or other substances for
the production of the more volatile liquid hydrocarbons, to heat the coal or
substance under treatment in a gradual manner, so that the maximum pro-
ducts produced at the lower temperatures may be obtained. It is further
desirable to subject the substance under treatment to a bright red heat before
withdrawing it from the distillatory apparatus, as at that temperature the last
portions of the volatile hydrocarbons are driven off, and coke or charcoal is
obtained as a residual product of greater commercial value than coke or
charcoal, which, having been made at a lower temperature, retains some of
the hydrocarbons.
The object of my Invention is to produce the maximum of liquid hydro-
carbons, and also a good coke or charcoal, by conducting the distillatory
process in a progressive manner, and my said Invention consists in the improve-
ments herein-after described and illustrated in the accompanying Drawing
in the distillatory apparatus, by which improvements the gradual heating of
the substance under treatment is effected, the products of the distillation at

page_text: different temperatures may be separated when required, and a good coke or
charcoal obtained.
The general arrangement of the distillatory apparatus, which I employ is
that described and represented in the Specification of Letters Patent granted
to me bearing date the Twenty-first day of December, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, No. 3208, that is to say, the coal
or substance to be operated upon is placed in trays or cages, which are heated
from above by radiation from a plate forming the bed of the arch of a rever-
beratory furnace, and the top of the distillatory vessel; but instead of making
the charged trays or cages stationary during the whole of the distillation, I
introduce each charged tray or cage at an opening at that end of the arch
most distant from the fire. After the charged tray or cage has remained there
until the full effect of the heat to which it is there exposed has been. pro-
duced, it is pushed towards the fire, and another charged tray or cage is put
in the place from which the first-named tray or cage has been removed. A
third charged tray or cage replaces the second one, and so on until the first
tray or cage reaches the end of the arch nearest the fire, whence it is drawn
through a lateral opening. By thus gradually heating the coal or substance
under treatment the maximum of valuable products is obtained, together with
valuable coke or charcoal, as a residual product where coal or peat is used.
I prefer to collect the vapours by causing them to descend away from the
heated parts of the apparatus as described in the Specification of the Patent
herein-before referred to, and I make the bottom or condensing part of the
distillatory vessel incline upwards from the cooler end to the hotter end, so
that the hotter end is shallower than the cooler end. There is thereby. less loss
of heat by radiation.
a
When it is desirable to separate the products of the different stages of the
distillation, I introduce sliding partitions at different parts of the distillatory
vessel so as to preserve the products condensed at different parts separate.
The said partitions are withdrawn during the moving of the trays. Besides
producing the maximum of valuable products, and effecting the perfect charring
of the residual coke or charcoal without decomposing a large quantity of the
hydrocarbons, my Invention has the further advantage of economizing the
fuel employed, as; owing to the length of arch I employ, much of the heat
which would otherwise be lost is made available.
Having described the nature of my Invention I will proceed to describe
with reference to the accompanying Drawing the manner in which the same
is to be performed.<
;

page_text: Figure 1 represents in longitudinal vertical section a distillatory apparatus
for distilling coal and peat, and such other substances as are or may be used
for the manufacture of solid and liquid volatile hydrocarbons, the said
apparatus being constructed according to my Invention. Figure 2 represents
the same in plan, and Figure 3 represents a transverse vertical section of the
same taken through the line a, Figure 2; 6 is the furnace or fire-place; c,
the reverberating arch of the apparatus; d, the distillatory vessel or chamber,
the top d' of which is made of iron plate, and constitutes the bottom of the
reverberating arch c. The bottom ds of the distillatory vessel or chamber is
inclined as represented, the lowest end being that most distant from the
fire. That part of the bottom of the distillatory vessel or chamber included
between e and f is made of thin sheet zinc, and is unsupported by brick-
work.
The object of this arrangement is herein-after explained. The distillatory
vessel or chamber expands downwards at g, and forms at that part a con-
densing chamber, which may be cooled by water. The distillatory vessel
This pro-
or chamber d is prolonged beyond the condensing chamber g.
longed part is marked h, and is terminated by a door i, and may be temporarily
eut off from the distillatory vessel or chamber by a valve or damper k. I
call. the part h the charging chamber. At the furnace end of the distillatory
vessel or chamber is a lateral chamber l, which opens at one end into the dis-
tillatory vessel or chamber, and at the other into the air. The said lateral
chamber may be closed by a door m, and may be cut off from the distillatory
vessel or chamber by a valve or damper n. I call the chamber the discharging
chamber. At the horizontal level indicated by the dotted line o, Figure 1,
a pair of rails is situated, on which rails the trays containing the coal or other
matter to be treated are supported, and along which they are moved. Or
instead of rails a series of rollers may be employed. The position of a few
of these rollers is indicated at p in Figure 1. The coal or other substance
to be operated upon is placed in shallow trays 2, which may be from six to
twelve inches deep, and square or oblong in shape. The said trays should
be of a depth somewhat less than the distance between the iron plate d³,
forming the top of the distillatory vessel or chamber, and the rails at o, so
that the tops of the said trays when supported on the said rails nearly touch
the said plate d³.
In using my Invention a fire is lighted, and maintained in the furnace b,
and the iron plate d², kept at a bright red heat at that part nearest the fire.
Trays of the kind described are filled with the coal, peat, or other material

page_text: to be operated upon, and one of the filled trays is introduced into the charging
chamber h. The door i of the said chamber having been closed, the damper
or valve k is raised, and by means of a rod passed through a hole in the door
i the tray is pushed into the distillatory vessel or chamber d, and on to the
rails or rollers. The tray thus introduced is left for a short time at that part
of the distillatory vessel or chamber most distant from the furnace, when a
second charged tray is introduced in a manner similar to that by which the
first was introduced, the second tray pushing the first before it. Other charged
trays are introduced until the distillatory vessel or chamber is filled with them,
the one first introduced, having arrived at the end of the distillatory vessel or
chamber nearest the furnace. The contents of the trays having been sufficiently
heated after they have been respectively brought to the furnace end of the dis-
tillatory vessel or chamber, and allowed to remain there being the interval
elapsing between the introduction of one tray, and the introduction of that suc-
ceeding it, the trays are withdrawn from the furnace end at the same rate as
others freshly charged are introduced at the charging chamber h. The with-
drawal of the trays is effected at the discharging chamber l. In withdrawing a
tray the door m is closed, and the valve or damper n raised; a hooked rod is
passed through a hole in the door m, and hooked to the edge of the tray or to
an eye or staple on the end of the tray, and the tray is pulled by the said rod
into the discharge chamber 1, the valve or damper n is depressed, the door m
opened, and the tray with its charge of coke withdrawn. The interval of
time allowed between the introduction of the trays is such that the dis-
tillation of the material in the first tray shall be nearly completed by the
time when it reaches the end of the distillatory vessel or chamber nearest
the fire. The length of this interval will vary with the length of the
distillatory vessel or chamber, and the consequent number of trays required
to fill it, as well as with the intensity of the heat of the reverberating
arch c. Thus, supposing the distillation to be carried on at such a rate
as to occupy eight hours in a furnace containing sixteen trays, then a
freshly charged tray must be introduced every half hour at the charging
chamber, and one removed immediately before at the discharging chamber.
The withdrawing of the trays at the discharging chamber should be effected
as quickly as possible, in order to prevent the escape of condensible vapour, as
well as to prevent the entry of air into the distillatory vessel, and the forma-
tion of an explosive gaseous mixture. As the distillation proceeds the vapours
pass downwards to the space between the rails or rollers and the inclined bed
of the distillatory vessel or chamber, and the less volatile vapours are there

page_text: condensed, and flow downwards to the condensing chamber g, where the more
volatile vapours are condensed. A large pipe conveys the liquid hydro-
carbons from this chamber, together with such more volatile vapours and
permanent gases as may still remain uncondensed. The liquid products of the
distillation are collected in vessels or tanks, and the uncondensible portions
allowed to escape; or the latter may be collected and burned for illuminating
or heating purposes.
When it is desired to separate the products of the different stages of the
distillation I introduce sliding partitions at different parts of the distillatory
vessel or chamber, so as to preserve the products condensed at different parts
separate. The said partitions are withdrawn during the moving of the trays.
One of these moveable partitions is represented at s in Figures 1 and 2.
When the distillating vessel or chamber is divided each compartment requires
a separate receiving or condensing chamber. One of these additional receiving
or condensing chambers is indicated in dotted lines in Figure 1.
The zinc plate between e, f, Figure 1, forming the lower end of the inclined
bed of the distillatory vessel or chamber, is introduced as a safety valve in case
of explosion. It is made as thin as possible, and communicates with an open
space below. The rest of the furnace being strongly built, the said zinc plate
on account of the small relative tenacity of zinc gives way in case of explosion,
and the gases escape downwards through the opening without injuring the
workmen or destroying the furnace. Instead of employing flat trays for
holding the coal or peat, or other substance to be operated upon, as already
described, perforated cylinders or cages constructed so as to roll upon the rails
of the distillatory vessel or chamber may be used, such cylinders being intro-
duced sideways, and withdrawn lengthwise. The use of the rolling or
rotating cylinders or cages is to alternately expose different surfaces of the
coal or other substance to the heated plate d². In using oblong open trays I
prefer to introduce them sideways, and withdraw them lengthwise, as repre-
sented; the whole contents of each tray are thereby more equally heated at
cach successive stage, and also because it is more convenient to have the
larger door at the cooler end of the apparatus.
Having now described the nature of my Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that I do not limit
myself to the precise details herein described and illustrated, as the same may
be varied without departing from the nature of my Invention; but I claim as
my Invention the general construction and arrangement of apparatus for the
distillation of coal and peat, and such other substances as are or may be used

page_text: for the manufacture of solid and liquid volatile hydrocarbons, herein-before
described and illustrated in the accompanying Drawing, by which con-
struction and arrangement the progressive or gradual heating of the material
operated upon is effected, and a maximum of condensible products obtained
therefrom, and the products obtained at different temperatures separated when
required.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Mattieu Williams, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-fourth day of December, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two.
0
Witness,
GEORGE SHAW.
WILLIAM MATTIEU WILLIAMS. (L.S.)