Improvements in the Filtration of Sewage and in Apparatus therefor.
Year: 1885

page_text: Improvements in the Filtration of Sewage and in Apparatus
therefor.
We, CHARLES PRICE of Clarendon Park, Leicester in the town of Leicester,
Builder & HORATIO CLEAVE of Aylestone Road, Aylestone Park, Leicester in the
County of Leicester Commercial Traveller do hereby declare the nature of our said
invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE FILTRATION OF SEWAGE AND IN APPARATUS
THEREFOR to be as follows:-
The object of our Invention is to extract liquid from the solid matter in sewage
to render the liquid perfectly pure and the solid matter more useful and adaptable
for manure and other like purposes.
To carry out our Invention we first construct, a suitable chamber or structure,
square or any convenient shape, so as to receive a tank of the size and shape to fit
the interior of the said chamber, the rising & lowering of which will be similar to
that of an ordinary gasometer. To produce the necessary action an air pump is
attached to the tank for the supply and a suitable valve also at the top will allow
the escape when necessary. An ordinary piston may be used to regulate the rise
and fall. It is obvious that when the tank is filled with air by the force pump it
will at once rise and by releasing the valves the air will escape and the tank will
descend. By this method it will be possible to act satisfactorily in a comparatively
short space of time on an indefinitely large quantity of sewage &c.
The walls upon which the tank rests may be constructed of perforated bricks or
any such suitable material so as to allow the compressed liquid matter to percolate
or pass through to the adjoining tanks or beds which are suitably constructed of
brick or other material. In this tank or bed are placed rough coke lumps through
which the liquid rises until it reaches the top when it passes through an iron or
other grating which keeps the coke in its position and prevents its rising over the
level and also affords convenient footway over the "system." The liquid as
described overflows into another similarly constructed tank or bed which is filled
with finer coke lumps through which the liquid percolates till it reaches the bottom
where are suitable escape holes to enable it to pass into an adjoining chamber

page_text: containing sand through which the liquid again rises clean and pure to the surface
when it falls into a suitable tank to be carried away and dealt with as it may be
deemed necessary.
At the sides or ends of the principal chamber are suitable escape holes through
which the solid matter may be removed to relieve the chamber occasionally when
necessary. To these escape holes are applied sluice valves which are closed when
the sewage is being acted upon by pressure.
By a suitable automatic appliance the valves may be made to rise and fall
simultaneously with the tank as required.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Filtration of Sewage and in Apparatus
therefor.
We CHARLES PRICE of Clarendon Park Leicester, in the Town of Leicester,
Builder, and HORATIO CLEAVE of Aylestone Road, Aylestone Park, Leicester, in the
County of Leicester Commercial Traveller, do hereby declare the nature of our
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
The object of our invention is to extract liquid from the solid matter in sewage
to render the liquid pure and the solid matter more useful and adaptable for
manure and other like purposes.
In the accompanying drawings Fig. 1 is a vertical section through the complete
apparatus: Fig. 2 a plan of the same on a reduced scale: Fig. 3 an elevation of a
single form in which the sewage is forced through the coil or continuous filtering
chamber by a steam pump; Fig. 4 shows the same arrangements with a hand
pump.
To carry out our invention we first construct a suitable chamber or structure B
square or any convenient shape so as to receive a tank A of the size and shape to
fit the interior of the said chamber, the rising and lowering of which will be similar
to that of an ordinary gasometer. To produce the necessary action an air pump is
connected to the tank A by pipe C for the supply and a suitable valve D also at
the top will allow the escape when necessary. It is obvious that when the tank A
is filled with air by the force pump it will at once rise, and by releasing the
valves D the air will escape and the tank will descend. By this method it will be
possible to act satisfactorily in a comparatively short space of time on an indefinitely
large quantity of sewage &c.
The walls of the chamber B may be constructed of perforated bricks O or any
such suitable material so as to allow the compressed liquid matter to percolate or
pass through to the adjoining tanks or beds E, F and G which are suitably
constructed of brick or other material. In this tank or bed E are placed rough
coke lumps through which the liquid rises until it reaches the top when it passes
through an iron or other grating I which keeps the coke in its position and
prevents its rising over the level and also affords convenient footway over the
"system." The liquid as described overflows into another similarly constructed
tank or bed F which is filled with finer coke lumps through which the liquid
percolates till it reaches the bottom where are suitable escape holes J to enable it
to pass into an adjoining chamber G containing sand through which the liquid again
rises clean and pure to the surface when it falls into a suitable tank H to be carried
away and dealt with as it may be deemed necessary.
The coke lumps in E are by preference carried in removable trays so that any
separate tray or section can be changed at will.
At the sides or ends of the principal chamber B are suitable escape holes K
through which the solid matter may be removed to relieve the chamber occasionally
when necessary.

page_text: To these escape holes are applied sluice valves M which are closed when the
sewage is being acted upon by pressure.
By a suitable automatic appliance the valves may be made to rise and fall
simultaneously with the tank as required.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is
"Filtration by pressure or force in the manner described, that is by any suitable
power through coke or the like as specified."