CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN MANUFACTURING AND PURIFYING GAS MADE FROM COAL OR OTHER BITUMINOUS SUBSTANCES FOR ILLUMINATION
Year: 1857

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Richard Smith, Engineer and Machinist,
of Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, for the Invention of "CERTAIN
IMPROVEMENTS IN MANUFACTURING AND PURIFYING GAS MADE FROM COAL OR
OTHER BITUMINOUS SUBSTANCES FOR ILLUMINATION."
Sealed the 8th September 1857, and dated the 9th March 1857.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Richard Smith
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 9th March. 1857.
I, HENRY RICHARD SMITH, Engineer and Machinist, of Wellingborough,
Northamptonshire, do hereby declare the nature of my said Invention for
"CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN MANUFACTURING AND PURIFYING GAS MADE FROM
COAL OR OTHER BITUMINOUS SUBSTANCES POR ILLUMINATION," to be as follows
(that is to say):-
My improvements in the manufacture of gas made from coal, &c. for illumi-
nation consist in using an upright conical retort with suitable flues, by which
means I am enabled to extract a greater quantity of gas in proportion to the
amount of coal consumed than is obtained from the present construction' of
retorts; and by the manner in which I surround' the retort with flues, I am
enabled to present a larger amount of the surface of the retort to the action
of the fire than can be done with horizontal retorts, and which enables me to:
economize the consumption of coals, &c. in heating such retorts: In söme
situations, where the gas may be required for private use, the spare heat
thrown off from the retort may be used for' culinary and other purposes.
And my improvements in the purifying of gas consist, first, in regulating by

page_text: means of stop-cocks the water through which I cause the gas to pass before
entering the purifyer; and, secondly, by so constructing my purifyer that I
can apply the cover in a very simple and perfectly air-tight way, which is a
convenience, as it offers facility for cleansing and renewing or supplying water
and lime, by the agency of which the gas is purified, the gas being made to
"take a long and tortuous course through the water, and over and under a
sufficient number of plates or beds of lime before passing to the gasometer.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Henry Richard Smith in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 9th September 1857.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HENRY
RICHARD SMITH, of Wellingborough, in the County of Northampton, Engineer
and Machinist, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Ninth day of March, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven, in the twentieth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Henry Richard Smith, Her special license that I, the said Henry
Richard Smith, my executors, administrators, or assigns, or such others as
I, the said Henry Richard Smith, 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
"CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN MANUFACTURING AND PURIFYING GAS MADE FROM COAL
OR OTHER BITUMINOUS SUBSTANCES FOR ILLUMINATION," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said Henry. Richard Smith, by an instrument in writing
under my hand and seal, 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 Henry Richard Smith, 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 (that is to say) :—

page_text: My improvements in the manufacture of gas consist principally in the use
of a conical-shaped vertical retort, and. which shape and position greatly con-
duces to a more uniform distribution of the heat from the furnace, and thereby
effect a thorough.conversion of all-the gaseous matter with which the retort
may be charged, extracting a much larger quantity of gas than can be obtained
from the same amount of coal or other matter than is.generated in the retorts
as at present constructel.
And my improvements in the apparatus for purifying gas is in the com-
bination of the hydraulic condenser with the lime purifier, for, inasmuch as (by
the use of my form of retort) a larger proportion of the coal or charge is con-
verted into gas, so in proportion is there a smaller quantity of refuse in the
shape of liquid tar, and therefore the condenser is not required so large in
proportion to the refiner as in the case where horizontal retorts are used.
But in order that I may be well understood as to the nature and character
of my improvements, I will proceed to describe the Drawing hereunto
annexed, observing that the same parts as they occur in the sectional plan
and elevation are marked with. the same letters of reference as they occur in
Fig. I represents a side view of a small retort suitable for what may bo
called portable gas apparatus, such as may be necessary for supplying a house
or building; it is charged with coal at the top at A, and which charge, when
burnt, is drawn from the opening at B. The projections at C and E are for
resting on the brickwork of the furnace, to be hereafter described. And such
a retort, with its furnace, chimney, &c. is represented within the iron or other
casing at D; Fig. 2 showing the lower opening of the retort at B, closed
with a metal cap and screw clamp. a is the furnace door, and 6 the ash-hole.
Tho retort is fitted with a cover, which can be easily removed for the purpose
of charging, and again secured by a.screw clamp, as at e. f is a throttle valve,
fixed in the flue or chimney, for cutting off the draught when required. The
manner in which the retort is set will be described hereafter. An inclination
is given to the top and bottom arm of the retort, in order that the tar which
is generated with the gas shall run down and find its way to the bottom of the
retort, while the gas, as generated, passes away through the pipes g,g, and g,
and which pipes may be arranged in any other suitable way or with any shaped
angle or angles, and descends into the condeuser F, which is filled with water
up to the dotted line marked k, and is conducted from thence by the pipe i to
the refiner marked C, the cover of which (marked j) rests in a sunken rim

page_text: filled with water, from whence it is conducted by the pipe k into the gasometer
marked ; and in the action of the gas, passing, into the condenser, a rapid
deposit of ammonia, water, and tar takes plate; the latter is drawn off by the
tap 1, and the former by the tap m. The action of the gas through the
refiner will be best understood by referring to Figure 3, which is a vertical sec-
tion of the refiner, as taken through. the dotted line n, n, of Figure 2, shewing
the ingress pipe i and the egress pipe k. The body of the refiner is divided
with galvanized plates of iron or other suitable metal, marked o, o, &c. These
plates are put slantingly, and across their upper ends a row of small holes are
piered for the gas to pass through; and on those sloping plates of iron water
is poured, flowing through the holes at the upper ends of the plates o, and
falling from. one to the other, the proper quantity being regulated by the
tap marked p. 9,9, &c., are horizontal plates, of iron or other metal, per-
forated with small holes, in the usual way, for the gas to pass through, and
are divided by an air-tight vertical plate, marked r. The plates is serrated or
vandyked on its outer edge, and is merely used as a means for better dis-
tributing the gas, which, passing through the holes of the lower plates, in the
direction of the arrows, arriving here before passing upward through the per-
forations of the plates q, q, and beds of lime (resting on them), to descind on
the other side of the vertical plate 7, in the direction of the arrows, to pass
away in a pure state through the egress pipe k. Fig. 4 is a sectional plan of
Figure 2, taken through the dottoil lines t, t, representing the cover of the
refiner G removed, for the purpose of showing the rim around it for holding
the water, by which means it is made air-tight. The manner in which I
support the retort and construct the flue within the case D will be understood
by the following description:-Within the part I a square furnace. is con-
structed with fire bricks, and upon the top of which I set a fire brick, moulded
in the shape shown in plan at Fig. 5, and in a sectional view at J, Fig. 6, which
also represents a vertical sectional view of the retort, and its relative position
over-the fire brick J, where it rests by the three projections, marked C, E, &c.
(at Figure 1.) The use of this fire brick J is for the purpose of protecting
the bottom of the retort, the fire and heat passing up through the openings at
, u, &c., and play all around the whole surface of the retort, as the flue at
this part completely surrounds it, leaving a space of about two and a half or
three inches between the fire bricks of the flue and the retort, escaping
through the openings marked v, v, &c., as seen in the sectional view of this
part at Figure 4, the four draught-ways meeting in a circle, and is conducted
hack from there to the chimney. K, K, is a lining of sand, packed in tight
between the iron case marked D, Figure 2, and the fire bricks of which

page_text: the flue is composed; and it will be observed from the position of the fire
brick J and the four escape flues v, t, &c., Figure 4, that the draught has
made one-eighth of a revolution in passing up the outer surface of the retort;
I recommend this because the flame and heat shall better distribute itself. On
the top of the sand marked K, K, I place a thick cast-iron plate, cast in two
halves, and surround the retort at this part, and covering the four fire bricks
marked X, X, X, X, as well as the circular flues, and forms a good support to
the retort, and confines the heat around it at this part. This plate is exhibited
at w, w, Figure 1, and in a top view at Fig. 7. The form and construction
of retort as here represented may be so set and arranged that the surplus beat
generated may be applied when desired for heating hothouses, water, or other
purposes, and may with equal advantage be used for large gas works, as the
etorts may be so set around a large circular or angular base that the flues
may be conducted into one common central stack or chimney. The gasometer
possesses little novelty; it is kept down and regulated in its pressure by
counterpoising weights placed in the centre, as at y, and its action is regulated
by four small friction pulleys, shewn in dotted lines at 3, 2.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and the manner in
which the same may be carried into effect, I wish it understood that I do not
confine myself to any proportion or size, either of the retort or the combined
refiner and condenser, provided the general character and object of my Inven-
tion is maintained; but what I do claim is, the uso of vertical retorts for the
manufacture of gas, and the combination of hydraulic condensers with the
refining apparatus, as herein exhibited.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry Richard Smith, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Fourth day of September, One thousand eight
hundred and fifty-seven.
HENRY RICHARD SMITH. (LS.)
Witness,
JAMES S. COCKINGS,
Patent Agent, Birmingham.