IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF GAS FROM OIL AND OLEAGINOUS SUBSTANCES
Year: 1860

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Ingham Taylor, the Cottage, Botanic Gardens,
Sloane Street, in the County of Middlesex, Engineer, for the Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF GAS FROM OIL
AND OLEAGINOUS SUBSTANCES."
Sealed the 16th September 1860, and dated the 21st March 1860.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Ingham Taylor at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
21st March 1860.
I, JOHN INGHAM TAYLOR, the Cottage, Botanic Gardens, Sloane Street, in
the County of Middlesex, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF GAS
FROM OIL AND OLEAGINOUS SUBSTANCES," to be as follows:-
My Invention consists in improvements in apparatus for the manufacture
of gas from oils and oleagenous substances, by which the construction is
simplified, and the efficiency and durability are increased. I dispense with
the usual fire-bars, and apply a close hearth of brick or other material to
confine the heat, and simplify the construction and management of the
furnace. The hearth may be level, or so inclined as to reflect the heat upon
the retort in the best manner. I dispense with the ordinary doors to the
furnace, and substitute an opening fitted with louvres on swivel centres for
regulating the draft and clearing out the furnace, and an opening from the top
017

page_text: through which the fuel is supplied to the furnace, closed with a cover. The
rétorts may be of any form, with one, two, or more flat surfaces, so as to receive
two or more streams of oil for the manufacture of gas,and they maybe so formed
as to be reversible in the furnace when one surface is worn out. The bottom
is inclined, so that the oil on being dripped at or near the upper part of the
incline may flow freely downwards, and extend the surface exposed to the
heat. The sediment or deposit is collected at the lower side of the retort,
and is extracted from one end, which is open to the outside, and is provided
with a cover, removeable at pleasure. The retort is built with the lower and
upper side imbedded in the seating to be protected from the direct action of
the fire, so as to increase its durability. The retorts may be made of clay,
cast iron, steel, or a combination of clay and iron or steel. The furnace may
be made with a down-draught flue, to economise the heat. The gasholder
is made with wrought-iron tubes as standards to carry the pulleys for the
counterbalance weights, and extra weights are suspended by a chain over
pulleys within reach of the attendant for the purpose of being lowered on
the top of the gasholder when it is desired to increase the pressure on the
main.
When fire-bars are used I place them on a swivel in order to discharge
the fuel or refuse into the ash-pit, for the better clearing of the furnace, and
preserving the retorts from the action of the fire. The cover of the condenser
or cooler is jointed with india-rubber or a similar elastic substance let into
a groove which receives the edge of the cover. The cover is thus conveniently
removed and replaced, and the joint is always good.
My improved apparatus is applicable in all situations, and especially in
ships and other places where space is limited. When applied to ships, the
tank of the gasholder is made with an inner chamber to reduce the quantity
and dead weight of water.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditious of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Ingham Taylor, in the Great Seal Patent Office on 3
the 21st September 1860.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
INGHAM TAYLOR, the Cottage, Botanic Gardens, Sloane Street, in the County
of Middlesex, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters 3
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-first day of March, in the year of our

page_text: Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty, in the twenty-third year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said John Ingham Taylor, Her special licence that I, the said John
Ingham Taylor, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
I, the said John Ingham Taylor, 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, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR
OIL AND
THE MANUFACTURE OF GAS FROM
OLEAGINOUS SUBSTANCES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the
said John Ingham Taylor, my executors or administrators, by an instru-
ment 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 imme-
diately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Ingham Taylor, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement and accompanying Drawings (that is to say):-
In carrying out my improvements in apparatus for the manufacture of oil
gas I construct an enclosed hearth of brick or other suitable material, which
may be level, or conveniently inclined, to carry the fuel, and to reflect the
heat upon the retort for making the gas. Air for combustion is admitted
through an opening in the front or side of the furnace fitted with louvres for
regulating the draft, and giving access for cleaning the furnace. The louvres
are protected by a fire-brick screen from the action of the fire. Fuel is
supplied through an opening from the top of the furnace, which is closed
with a cover. The retort is made with one, two, or more flat sides or sur-
faces, so formed that when one surface is worn out another surface may be
turned towards the fire for the generation of gas, the surfaces not in use
being built in, and protected from the action of the fire. The oil or
oleaginous substance from which the gas is to be generated is dropped from
syphon tubes upon the bottom of the retort, which is sufficiently inclined to
cause the oil to spread and flow downwards over a considerable area of heated
surface. Oil may be dropped from two or more syphon tubes side by side,
and thus any required extent of surface may be employed for the generation
of gas. Carbonaceous deposit, when it is formed, is.collected at the foot of

page_text: the incline or bottom of the retort, and may be raked from either end, when
the retort is not in action, through an aperture provided with a gland cover,
hermetically sealed by clay or other luting when the retort is at work. The
retort may be made of clay, cast iron, or steel, or a combination of clay and
iron or steel. The furnace may be made with a down-draught flue to
economise the heat. Though I prefer the arrangement above described, the
retort may be made of any other form; or it may be made in two parts
jointed together, so that the part subject to wear by the action of the fire
may be readily renewed from time to time.
In another arrangement I use fire-bars in my furnace, hinged or swivelled,
to facilitate the discharge of fuel and refuse into the ash-pit for cleaning the
furnaces and for preserving the retorts from the action of the fire after the
process is ended.
The gasholder and tank are on the usual plan; in place
of the ordinary cast-iron standards, I prefer to make the standards of iron
tube or angle irou to carry the pulleys for counterweights. An extra weight
or weights are suspended over the gas-holder by a chain over pulleys worked
by a winch to raise or to lower the weight on the top of the gasholder when
it is desired to increase the pressure on the main. When a purifier is used, I
make it in one piece with the condenser; the cover is jointed with india-
rubber or other elastic substance let into a groove which receives the edge of
the cover, and it may thus be easily removed or replaced, and the joint is
always good.
My improved apparatus is applicable in all situations, and especially in ships
and other places where space is limited. When applied to ships, the tank of
the gasholder is made with an inner chamber to reduce the quantity and dead
weight of water contained, and the counterweights are enclosed in cases to
steady them.
Another part of my improvements consists in passing steam pipes or heat
flues when convenient under, around, or within the gasholder to keep the
oil gas in good condition by checking the tendency to condense at low tem-
peratures. Further, I apply when needful, particularly when there is no
purifier between the retort and the gasholder, a purifying chamber on the
outlet pipe from the gasholder charged with lime, pumice stone, animal char-
coal, or other suitable material. I fix the oil reservoir against the chimney or
other heated surface to keep the oil warm and fluid to flow the more readily
into the syphons. The chimney may be compactly made of sheet iron lined
with fire-clay, piping, or bricks.
The annexed illustrations exhibit various forms of my improved apparatus.
Fig. 1 represents, in elevation and partial section, my apparatus as arranged

page_text: for use on board ships; Fig. 2 is a cross section of the furnace and retort;
Figs. 3, 4, and 5 shew the retort with its attachments. A is the retort and
furnace; B is the purifier; C is the gasholder, and D is the tank; E is the
oil reservoir; F is the chimney of the furnace. In the furnace which is built
of brick with an iron casing, a is the retort; b is the hearth: c is the louvre
frame; d is the stoking passage; e is the screen of iron or fire-clay for the
louvres; fis the cover to the stoke passage; g, g, are the oil syphons into
which the oil is dropped from the reservoir E; h is the brick lining of the
chimney; i is the flue to the chimney; %, k, are the entrances for oil to the
retort; ¹, k, are alternative entrances for oil, plugged up, to be used when
the retort is reversed; is the exit passage and pipe for the gas from the
retort to the condenser; is the alternative passage when the retort is
reversed; m, m¹, are cleaning apertures with glands; n is the inlet pipe from
the condenser to the gasholder; and o is the outlet pipe from the gasholder;
n, o, are syphons on the pipes n, o, to pass off condensed matter; p is the
internal hollow chamber in the water tank; q, q, are the cases to steady the
balance weights; is the supplemental weight worked by the winch s.
The other portions of the gasholder and tank are well known, and do not
require further description.
Figs. 6, 7, and 8 are an elevation, section, and plan of a different arrange-
ment of furnace and retort, in which the retort detailed in Figs. 9 and 10 is
made in two halves bolted together so that the lower part may be renewed
when worn out, and the retort may be opened from the top without breaking
the connections with the condenser. a is the retort; b, the cover held down
by a cross bar; c is the outlet pipe from the retort; e is the fire-grate hinged
so as to drop, and sustained by the pin f; g is the ash-pit with a damper; his
a sight-hole; i is the stoke hole; % is the flue to l; the chimney m is the
condenser detailed in Fig. 11, in which the lower part contains oil or water
to cool the gas, and the upper part contains the usual purifying materials
on trays or shelves, combining in one piece the condenser and the purifier.
Figs. 12 and 13 shew a similar form of retort, in which the upper part a is
one piece, the separate jointed cover being dispensed with; the lower part b
is made with a cleaning passage c closed with a gland, by which the retort
may be cleansed through the back or side of the furnace.
I do not intend to contine myself to the precise arrangements or details
herein-before described and illustrated, as variations may obviously be
made therefrom without departing from the nature and objects of the
Invention. What I claim, according to the descriptions and Drawings
annexed, is as follows:-

page_text: from
First, the application and use of retorts for the manufacture of gas
oil and oleaginous substances, having an inclined surface for the generation
of gas from one, two, or more streams of oil.
Second, retorts having two or more reversible generating surfaces with
suitable reversing connections.
Third, the construction of the body of retorts in two parts jointed
together, so that the wearing surface may be readily renewed.
Fourth, the use of a fire-brick hearth with louvre openings for air.
Fifth, the construction of the condenser and purifier in one piece.
Sixth, the application and use of an auxiliary balance weight to the
holder to regulate the pressure.
gas-
Seventh, the application of heat about or around the gasholder and tank
derived from flues, steam pipes, or otherwise to preserve the oil gas in good
condition at a suitable temperature.
Eighth, the general forms, arrangements, and combination of parts, or any
mere modification thereof, whereby the objects above mentioned are to be
effected, as herein-before described, and according to the Drawings annexed.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Ingham Taylor, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twentieth day of September, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty.
JOHN INGHAM TAYLOR. (L.S.)