A NEW OR IMPROVED MODE OR METHOD OF ANd Apparatus FOR EFFECTING THE CARBONIZATION OF VEGETABLE MATERIALS CONTAINED IN WOOL, WOOLEN RAGS, OR OTHER ANIMAL SUB- STANCES.
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Edwin Powley Alexander, of 14, Southampton
Buildings, in the County of Middlesex, Oonsulting Engincer and
Patent Agent, for the Invention of "A NEW OR IMPROVED MODE OR
METHOD OF ANd Apparatus FOR EFFECTING THE CARBONIZATION OF VEGETABLE
MATERIALS CONTAINED IN WOOL, WOOLEN RAGS, OR OTHER ANIMAL SUB-
STANCES. -A communication from abroad by Daniel Michel, of
Paris, in the Republic of France, Woolen Waste Manufacturer.
"
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Edwin Powley
Alexander at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with
his Petition, on the 25th November 1875.
I, EDWIN POWLEY ALEXANDER, of 14, Southampton Buildings, in the
County of Middlesex, Consulting Engineer and Patent Agent, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "A NEW OR IMPROVED MODE
OR METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR EFFECTING THE CARBONIZATION OF VEGETABLE
MATERIALS CONTAINED IN WOOL, WOOLEN RAGS, OR OTHER ANIMAL SUBSTANCES,"

page_text: a communication to me from abroad by Daniel Michel, of Paris, in the
Republic of France, Woolen Waste Manufacturer, to be as follows:-
This Invention consists in destroying or carbonizing all vegetable
matter contained in wool or woolen rags by the action of hydrochloric
acid gas produced by the ebullition of muriatic acid contained in any
suitable vessel.
In a hermetically closed chamber or compartment of convenient size
there is placed a calorifere, the tubes of which rest upon the floor of the
chamber for the purpose of raising the temperature of the said chamber
to from about 86° to 122° degrees Fahrenheit. Upon the calorifere over
the fire there is placed a suitable vessel containing muriatic acid, which
by the heat of the stove disengages hydrochloric acid gas, which rises
to the highest parts of the chamber and there encounters the wool or
woolen rags or other materials to be treated, which are spread upon wire
cloth provided with raised edges. This wire cloth is placed upon an
iron carriage, having wheels which run along rails, the said carriage
being of the size of the interior of the chamber. If the latter however
be of very large dimensions several of such carriages may be employed
side by side, so as to utilise the whole of the elevated part of the
chamber.
The carriage containing the materials to be treated may remain from
2 to 3 hours in the gas in the chamber and be then withdrawn. For
this purpose an opening is made in one of the sides of the chamber,
through which the carriage is run out and in upon rails mounted on a
platform, and forming a continuation of those inside the chamber.
The carriage is provided with two boarded ends forming covers, so that
the chamber will always be closed, whether the carriage be inside or
outside the same, thus preventing loss of gas. The vegetable matter
contained in the wool or other substances operated upon, exposed on the
carriage to a moderate heat and to the action of the said gas for two or
three hours becomes friable, and loses all consistency; by merely rubbing
it between the fingers it falls in the form of dust, whilst the wool,
woolen rags, or other animal substances with which it may be mixed are
unaffected and preserve their original colors.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Edwin Powley Alexander in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 22nd May 1876.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, EDWIN
POWLEY ALEXANDER, of 14, Southampton Buildings, in the County of
Middlesex, Consulting Engineer and Patent Agent, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fifth day of November, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, in the
thirty-ninth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said Edwin Powley Alexander, Her
special license, that I, the said Edwin Powley Alexander, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Edwin
Powley Alexander, 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 "A NEW OR IMPROVED MODE OR METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR
EFFECTING THE CARBONIZATION OF VEGETABLE MATERIALS CONTAINED IN WOOL,
WOOLEN RAGS, OR OTHER ANIMAL SUBSTANCES," a communication to me from
abroad by Daniel Michel, of Paris, in the Republic of France, Woolen
Waste Manufacturer, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the
said Edwin Powley Alexander, my executors or administrators, by an
instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and
scals, 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 Edwin Powley Alexander, 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 :-
The said Invention consists in destroying or carbonizing all vegetable
matter contained in wool or woolen rags by the action of hydrochloric

page_text: acid gas produced by the ebullition of muriatic acid contained in any
suitable vessel.
In carrying out this Invention a hermetically closed chamber or com-
partment is employed of convenient size, and about 6 feet to 8 feet in
height, within which there is placed a calorifere or heater, the tubes of
which rest horizontally upon the floor of the chamber for the purpose of
producing and elevation of temperature in the interior of the said
chamber, ranging from about 86° to 122° degrees Fahrenheit. Upon
the calorifere over the fire there is placed a suitable vessel containing
muriatic acid, which by the heat of the calorifere disengages hydro-
chloric acid gas which rises to the highest parts of the chamber, and
there encounters one or more wrought-iron carriages, having wheels
which run along rails inside the chamber, the said carriage or carriages
being of the same size or thereabout as the interior of the horizontal
sectional area of the chamber. If the latter however be of very large
dimensions several of such carriages may be employed and placed side
by side so as to utilize the whole of the elevated part of the chamber.
The upper surface of each carriage is provided with wire cloth, and all
round on the exterior edge of each carriage there is provided a wrought-
iron raised rim or border of about 4 inches in height. It is upon this
wire cloth tray furnished with the said raised rim or border that the
wool, woolen rags, or other substances to be treated is or are spread.
The carriage containing the wool or other substances to be treated
may remain from 2 to 3 hours in the said gas in the chamber, after
which time it should be withdrawn from the chamber. For this purpose
an opening is made in one of the sides or ends of the chamber, through
which the carriage is run out upon rails mounted on a platform and
forming a continuation of the rails inside the chamber. The carriage
is provided with two boarded ends forming doors or covers, so that the
chamber will always be closed, whether the carriage be withdrawn or
not, thus preventing loss of gas. The vegetable matter contained in the
wool or other substances under treatment having been exposed on the
carriage to a moderate beat and to the action of the said gas for a period
varying from about two to three hours duration becomes friable and
loses all consistency, and by merely rubbing it between the fingers it
falls in the form of dust, whilst the wool, woolen rags, or other animal
substances with which the said vegetable matter may be mixed remain
unaffected and preserve their original colors.

page_text: Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of the
said Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or
carried into effect, I would observe in conclusion that what I consider
to be novel and original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured
to me by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is,―
First. The system or mode of treating wool, woolen rags, and other
like substances containing vegetable matter to the action of hydro-
chloric acid gas inside a closed chamber maintained at a moderately
elevated temperature, substantially as and for the purpose herein-before
described.
Second. The combination of closed chamber, internal heater, and
trays or carriages, as and for the purpose herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Edwin Powley Alexander, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-second day of May,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
six.
EDWIN P. ALEXANDER. (L.S.)