Improvements in Apparatus for the Treatment of Towns' Refuse, and in the Utilization thereof for the Generation of Steam.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 7th July, 1894
Complete Specification Left, 2nd Apr., 1895-Accepted, 4th May, 1895
TRUY DIONAT DE MULTICATION
Improvements in Apparatus for the Treatment of Towns' Refuse,
and in the Utilization thereof for the Generation of Steam.
I, FREDERICK WILLIAM LACEY, of Alum Chine Lodge West Cliff Road
Bournemouth, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be
as follows:
The object of this invention is to make more substantial furnaces for burning
towns refuse and sewage sludge, and better provision for the economic utilization
of the products of combustion in steam boilers; also to reduce the labour in
feeding, and the labour in taking out clinker and ashes.
My invention consists in placing a firebrick furnace inside a jacketted cylinder,
which cylinder forms a specially constructed steam boiler.
By this mode of construction I support and protect the brickwork of the
furnace, making the furnace of substantial character and at the same time retain
heat in the brickwork to aid combustion.
The space between the furnace and outside shell of the cylinder contains
water, and also provides reserve heat, with strength in construction, and as the
products of combustion pass upon the sides and under the outside of the shell, the
heat is utilized to generate steam immediately after leaving the combustion
chamber.
The towns refuse is tipped into a hopper at the back of the furnace, and is fed
by means of a screw propeller, or conveyor placed inside the hopper.
When sewage sludge is to be burnt, it is tipped into the hopper, and mixed
with the towns refuse collected from ash bins; but when pressed sewage sludge is
to be burnt, as produced from filter presses, I prefer to granulate or disintegrate it,
and then feed it upon the burning refuse inside the furnace, through holes in the
crown, and if very dry, blow it in by air pressure near the front of furnace.
I thus provide a method of feeding with little labour, which may be regulated
to suit the quality of refuse burned.
The ash-pit is provided with a movable scoop receiver, so that the receiver,
with the ashes, may be quickly removed, and the dead plate is hinged so that the
clinker can also pass into the scoop receiver by tilting it into a slanting position.
The outside shell of the cylinder is surrounded by brickwork to form flues, and
the cylinder or steam boiler may be set level, or inclined; but in either case the
fire bars, and each of the furnaces may be inclined to assist the refuse forward, and
help clinkering.
The cylinder is furnished with the usual boiler fittings, such as steain and water
gauges, steam chest, blow off cock, and cleaning out holes.
It is obvious that a number of these furnaces may be placed together where
large quantities of towns refuse have to be treated, and when greater power is
required than can be obtained from refuse aloue, the refuse may be assisted. with
coal, or other fuel, or with oil mixed with the refuse, or with oil jets, using steam
or compressed air.
When the refuse is assisted in this way, a more regular and reliable power is
obtained for such purposes as electric light or pumping machinery.
Dated this 3rd day of July 1894.

page_text: '
CUMI DEMOL ECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus for the Treatment of Towns' Refuse,
and in the Utilization thereof for the Generation of Steam.
I, FREDERICK WILLIAM LACEY, of Alum Chine Lodge, West Cliff Road,
Bournemouth, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this 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 this invention is to make more substantial furnaces for burning
towns refuse and sewage sludge and better provision for the economic utilization
of the products of combustion in steam boilers also to reduce the labour in feeding
and the labour in taking out clinker and ashes.
My invention consists in placing a firebrick furnace inside a jacketted cylinder,
which cylinder forms a specially constructed steam boiler.
By this mode of construction I support and protect the brickwork of the furnace
making the furnace of substantial character and at the same time retain heat in
the brickwork to aid combustion.
The space between the furnace and outside shell of the cylinder contains water,
and also provides reserve heat with strength in construction and as the products of
combustion pass upon the sides and under the outside of the shell, the heat is
utilized to generate steam immediately after leaving the combustion chamber.
The towns refuse is tipped into a hopper at the back of the furnace, and is fed
by means of a screw propeller, or conveyor, placed inside the hopper.
When sewage sludge is to be burned it is to be tipped into the hopper, and mixed
with the towns refuse collected from ash bins; but when pressed sewage sludge is
to be burnt, as produced from filter presses, I prefer to granulate or disintegrate it,
and then feed it upon the burning refuse inside the furnace, through holes in the
crown, and if very dry, blow it in by air pressure near the front of furnace.
I thus provide a method of feeding by little labour, which may be regulated to
suit the quality of refuse burned.
The ash-pit is provided with a movable scoop receiver, so that the receiver with the
ashes may be quickly removed, and the dead plate is hinged so that the clinker
can also pass into the scoop receiver by tilting it into a slanting position.
The outside shell of the cylinder is surrounded by brickwork to form flue and
the cylinder or steam boiler may be set level, or inclined, but in either case the fire
bars, and each of the furnaces may be inclined to assist the refuse forward and
help clinkering.
The cylinder is furnished with the usual boiler fittings, such as steam and water
gauges, steam chest, blow off cock, and cleaning out holes.
It is obvious that a number of these furnaces may be placed together where
large quantities of towns refuse have to be treated, and when greater power is
required than can be obtained from refuse alone, the refuse may be assisted with
coal, or other fuel, or with oil mixed with the refuse, or with oil jets, using steam or
compressed air.
When the refuse is assisted in this way, a more regular and reliable power is
obtained for such purposes as electric light or pumping machinery.
In order that my invention may be understood I will now describe it with
reference to the two sheets of drawings accompanying this Specification, like
reference letters being used to denote the same or similar parts where repeated on
the various figures.
Figure 1. is a longitudinal section of the furnace boiler and feeding apparatus.
Figure 2. is a section through the furnace and boiler on line A. B. Figure 1, and
front elevation of the furnace and boiler.
The fire brick furnace is shown with arch over the fire grate and drying hearth

page_text: ata, the ash pit at b, the fire bars e resting upon dead plate e, which may be made
with hinge to allow clinker to fall inside the ash pit. In the centre they rest
upon the bearer f and at the extreme end upon edge of drying hearth g, the hearth
is supported upon angle irons h. The furnace door for attending fires at I, and
the ash-pit door k is made so that it may be opened when forced draught is not
used.
d represents side plates to support and protect fire brick work.
It will be seen that the whole of the furnace is enclosed inside the metal
cylinder, the outlets for products of combustion are shown at m. in the fire brick
arch, and at n. in the cylinder, the outer shell of cylinder marked o, supporting
a steam chest p on the top.
The flue to conduct gases from furnace to back fluer, which are regulated by
the dampers, there is also a flue t for taking the gases under the front part of
the boiler shell, after they have passed other furnaces, or oil jet intensifiers, or the
flue may be used without the fluer in small installations.
The feeding hopper is shown at u having slanting sides fitted at the bottom
with screw propeller w driven by gearing shown at c.
Forced draught is created by the fan, or blower y, with discharge direct under
the drying hearth.
At the front of the furnace a hopper for powdered sludge cake, having a
blowing nozzle with valve for blowing by steam or air at a'.
The method of working may be described as follows.
The refuse is tipped from collection carts over the tip beam f¹ upon the
screen having large mesh, so that buckets, large tins and other bulky articles are
kept back and conveyed away by the waggon upon lines d'. The refuse that
passes through the screen falls inside the hopper u and gradually reaches the
scrow propeller w and is then propelled inside the furnace upon the drying hearth
at g, and upon the fire grate c. The fire grate may be made to move by adoption
of those parts usually employed for that purpose.
When the mineral matter has fused into clinker, it may be withdrawn through
the door 1, or passed through the dead plate e into the ash-pit.
9
The products of combustion are acted upon by the fire brick arch a as they
pass through the openings m, they are then conducted over the surface of the
cylinder shell which forms part of a steam boiler, and through the gases outlet n
round the outer shell into the flue thus passing over a large heating surface
and generating steam. They may be afterwards conducted round the front of the
boiler at t and then on to the chimney, but if the refuse is foul or liable to emit
gases considered offensive they are passed into the fluer and conducted to the
inside of another furnace where the heat is intensified by means of oil jets, and
after passing this heat return under the front of the boiler shell.
When sewage sludge has to be burnt in the crude state it is tipped with the dry
refuse into the feeding hoppers, and if filter presses are used to take out the larger
part of the moisture contained in sewage sludge, the press cakes are powdered and
then fed into the furnace through opening shown at e' or blown into the fire by
steam or compressed air at in front of the furnace.
Air may be taken from the blower y for this purpose, or from an air compressor.
During the process of burning the water contained between the cylinders
and o generates steam which is passed off by the usual pipes and valves from the
steam chest p to engines.
I thus have a fire brick furnace inside a jacketted cylinder the latter forming a
boiler generating steam, and at the same time holding the brickwork together inside
the inuer shell and the outer shell also giving surface to utilize the heat produced
in burning refuse, or refuse with better fuel mixed.
The refuse is fed by mechanical means which provides for a regulated supply
and a saving in labour, also with provision for feeding sewage sludge.
A scoop may be placed inside the ash pit through the door k to receive the fine
ashes and clinker as they drop from the fire bars.

page_text: The boiler mountings are of the usual. kind and therefore do not require
describing.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. A refuse furnace constructed of firebrick inside a metal cylinder, which
cylinder forms part of a steam boiler, arranged substantially in the manner
described & illustrated.
2. A refuse furnace with screw propeller, and feeding hoppers, as shewn, and
described, and for the purposes set forth.
3. A refuse furnace with flues arrange substantially in the manner described
and illustrated.
Dated this 29th day of March 1895.
FREDERICK WILLIAM LACEY.