CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PREPARATION OF PEAT, AND IN THE MANUFACTURE OF THE SAME INTO FUEL AND CHARCOAL
Year: 1850

page_text: THEDE
WHEELER ROGERS, of Dublin, Civil Engineer, send greeting.
JASTERL
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent, under the Great Seal of Great Britain bearing date
at Westminster, the Nineteenth day of September, in the fourteenth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said Jasper Wheeler Rogers, Her especial license, full power, sole
privilege and authority, that I, the said Jasper Wheeler Rogers, my exors,
adiñors, and assigns, and such others as I, the said Jasper Wheeler Rogers,
my exors, 'adiñors, or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others,
from time to time and at all times during the term of years therein mentioned,
should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England,
Wales, the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and in all Her Majesty's
Colonies and Plantations abroad, and in the Islands of Jersey, Guernsey,
Alderney, Sark, and Man, my Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
PREPARATION OF PEAT, AND IN THE MANUFACTURE OF THE SAME INTO FUEL AND
CHARCOAL;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso, obliging me,
the said Jasper Wheeler Rogers, by an instrument in writing- under my hand
and seal; particularly to describe and ascertain the nature of my said Inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, and to cause the same
to be inrolled in Her Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar
months next and immediately after the date of the said in part recited, Letters
Patent, as in and by the same; reference being thereunto had, will more fully,
and at large appear.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Jasper Wheeler Rogers, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Inven-
tion, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, is particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following description thereof, reference
being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures
marked thereon (that is to say) :-
It is well known that in the manufacture of peat considerable loss arises
from the upper surface or more porous part of the bog being obliged to be
removed and thrown aside, so as to get at the more dense stata underneath.
It is also well known that in bringing the peat to a nominally dry state con-
siderable loss is sustained from the friability of the sods or pieces, as large
quantities of peat mould, or technically speaking "mull," accumulate, which
are useless or of little value.
Now the object of the present Invention is, first, to obviate these evils, and
convert this accumulating refuse into a valuable product; and, secondly, to
render more perfect and effectual the system of charring or carbonizing peat,
as described in the Specification of a Patent granted to me by Her present
most Excellent Majesty, and bearing date the First day of June, One thousand
'eight hundred and forty-eight.
The means whereby I am enabled to utilize the " 'upper surface" of the
'bog and the peat mould or "mull," and produce fuel or charcoal therefrom,
'will be understood from the following description thereof, reference being had
to the Drawing forming part of this my Specification..
When the upper surface is being removed I place it in pyramidal or other
shaped heaps in any convenient place where the rain will not lodge, and
where the moisture may run away. After giving it as much time as I con-
veniently can to dry, I remove it to the drying house or building particularly
described in my former Patent, where it is intermixed with the dry mull'or
mould which accumulates from the friability of the peat. This intermixture is
effected by hand labor, or by machinery constructed upon the same principle
as the "pug mill," the material having been previously screened to keep back
all pieces exceeding a cubic half inch in bulk. When this mixture has been
properly effected I subject the material to the operation of beat in the appá-
ratus shewn in the Drawing, which apparatus is set up in a shed similar to
those described under my former Patent.
Fig. 1 is a longitudinal section of the apparatus, and Fig. 2 is a cross
section of the same. The material to be operated upon is placed in a hopper
or chamber A, situate at one end of a chamber or trough B, B, B, which
extends from one end to the other of the shed, and is supplied with the mixed

page_text: material from the hopper A. In this trough a screw C, C, C, revolves, for
the purpose of propelling the material forward as it falls from the hopper.
The trough B, B, B, which I term the charring and carbonizing chamber, is
suspended to or secured within the air chamber, shewn in the Drawing, and
described in my former Patent, and over the furnaces in which the charring of
the peat takes place; the caloric or heat collected within this air chamber is
very considerable. D, D, is a double furnace, opening at each side of the air
chamber, and extending through it at the end farthest from the hopper, and
E, E, is a flue running from thence, and terminating in the funnel F, which
communicates with the main funnel G. In the furnace D, D, is placed the
peat, which is now required to be brought to a red heat, in order to ignite the
peat contained in the pyramidal furnaces II, II, II. At present all the gases
given off from the peat thus used are lost, as the ignition takes place in heaps
prepared solely for that purpose. By my new method all the caloric yielded
up, until the fuel is brought to the required state is applied to heat the trough
B, B, B, and thereby effect the charring or carbonization of the material con-
tained therein. This operation is further assisted by the heat given out from
the furnaces II, H, H. The peat is left in the furnace D until all its flame
is given off, and it is then discharged from either side of the furnace alter-
nately when wanted to ignite the peat in the furnaces H, H, by letting down
the fire bars, as shewn by dots in the Drawing, and allowing the red hot peat
to drop into a barrow, which is covered and wheeled away. By this discharge
of the ignited peat from either side of the furnace alternately, a continuous
heat is kept up, which will greatly assist in effecting the charring, or car-
bonizing of the peat in the trough or chamber B. One end of the shaft of
the screw C carries a cog wheel I, which is driven by any convenient motive
power, and thereby causes the screw to rotate, and propel forward the inter-
mixed "mull" and "upper surface," which falls from the hopper A into the
trough B, B, B. By this means every particle is being constantly turned and
acted upon by the heat, and the result is, that the material, after passing along
about two-thirds or three-fourths of the length of the trough, loses all its
moisture, and in completing its passage to the end of the trough becomes
thoroughly charred or carbonized. It is to be observed that from two-
thirds to three-fourths of the trough where the drying takes place is open at
top, .but the remainder, where carbonization is effected, is closed.
Hitherto it has been found a matter of some difficulty after the completion.
of the charring or carbonizing operation to cool the incandescent mass, and
prevent the rapid oxidation and consequent waste of the charcoal, when'
exposed to the air in a red hot state. The manner in which I propose to effect

page_text: this object is as follows:-Near the carbonizing end of the chamber or trough
B, B, B, a cylinder K is provided. This cylinder is mounted on hollow
gudgeons, and is caused to rotate by means of the shaft and pinion L & M,
in connection with any first mover. The lower side of the cylinder K rests
in a trough of water, supplied from the perforated pipe N, which gives a
constant sprinkling of water over the whole cylinder. Inside the cylinder and
attached to the periphery thereof, is a screw thread of the same pitch as the
screw in the carbonizing chamber; the same speed of rotation is given to both
these screws.
The charred or carbonized peat having passed up an ineline
formed by a hollow cone attached to the end of the chamber B, B, B, and
projecting into the hollow gudgeon of the cylinder K, delivers itself into the
cooling cylinder, where it is turned over and propelled forward by the rotating
thread on the inner periphery thereof, and thus every particle is in its turn
brought into contact with the cooling surface of the cylinder, and the caloric
which it contained, is quickly abstracted. The charcoal thus reduced to the
ordinary temperature is now by the continued rotation of the cylinder delivered
at the opposite end thereof, to which it entered, and after ascending an incline
and passing through the hollow gudgeon, it falls into a receptacle placed to
receive it. The object of making the ends of this cylinder conical, is to allow
its immersion in water, without the water being able to enter the interior
through the ends.
Fig. 3 shews a modification of the above described arrangement for
charring or carbonizing, and afterwards cooling, the peat refuse. 'O, O, is a
conical chamber (the axis of which is horizontal) communicating with a
hopper P, and forming a channel with a downward and upward incline, by the
base or larger diameter of the cone being the discharging end. The peat
refuse to be dried passes downwards freely along the channel, and on its passage
is acted upon by the heated surface thereof, whilst the moisture that is driven
off traverses upwards without check along the upper incline, and passes out at
the funnel Q. At R the discharge of the peat in a dry state takes place, and
when made up into blocks it may be used as ordinary fuel for generalheating
purposes; but when the peat is desired to be converted into charcoal, it is
conducted from the drying chamber into the charring or carbonizing chamber
which is provided with a rotating screw, as before explained, for turning over
the peat, and submitting every part to the action of the heating surface.
When the carbonization is effected, the incandescent charcoal is delivered
from thence into the cooling chamber, as before described.
I would here observe, that the length and diameter of the screws and
cylinders will vary according to the quantity of charcoal required to be

page_text: produced, and the nature of the "niould mull or upper surface," to be acted
upon. In the Specification of my Patent, before-mentioned, I have described
a mode of charring peat by piling it up in pyramidal furnaces from which the
air is to be excluded at a certain period of the process, but as a more perfect
exclusion of atmospheric air than has yet been attained is essential to the
economical and abundant production of charcoal from peat, I have invented
the following means for effecting this object.
It will be seen by the Drawings that the pyramidal furnaces are placed
under an air chamber, according to my Patent of One thousand eight hundred
and forty-eight, but instead of an ash-pit being made from end to end of the
shed, with doors to close and exclude the air from the burning mass of peat in
the furnaces, (which plan in practice I have found required greater nicety of
workmanship than was desirable,) I form a shallow tank which extends from
end to end of the shed to receive the pyramidal furnaces containing the peat
to be operated upon, and I run these furnaces, which are mounted on wheels,
into and out of the tank over inclined planes at either end thereof, as shewn
in the sectional elevation, Fig. 1. The furnaces being placed in this tank the
process of burning takes place, and as soon as the masses of peat within the
furnaces are brought to a red heat throughout, water is admitted by a pipe
prepared for the purpose into the tank, and rising to the height shewn by the
red line, or about an inch or two above the bottom edge of the furnace sides,
the passage of the air between the fire bars will be immediately cut off, the
furnaces are then closed at top, according to the mode stated in my Patent of
One thousand eight hundred and forty-eight, and the charring operation is
completed in the space of four, five, or six hours.
Having now described my Invention, and the manner of carrying the same
into effect, I wish it to be understood, that under the above in part recited
Letters Patent, I claim as my Invention of improvements in the preparation
of peat, and in the manufacture of the same into fuel and charcoal, first, the
means herein-before described for treating the general refuse of bogs, and
the "dust and mould," or "mull" of peat, so as to convert it into fuel or char-
coal; and, secondly, I claim the mode of excluding the atmospheric air from
the charring or carbonizing furnaces, as above described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Jasper Wheeler Rogers, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Seventeenth day of March, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-one.
JASPER W. ROGERS. (L.S.)

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Seventeenth day of March, in
the year of our Lord 1851, the aforesaid Jasper Wheeler Rogers came before
our said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Speci-
fication aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained and specified, in
form above written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped
according to the tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.
Enrolled the Nineteenth day of March, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-one.