IMPROVEMENTS IN T Civ V ANDARAMIS EMPLOYED THEREIN wwwTURE OF CAG AND ADDADA
Year: 1855

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Cartwright Holmes, of Huddersfield, in the
County of York, Gas Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
T
Civ V ANDARAMIS EMPLOYED THEREIN
www
FACTURE OF CAG AND ADDADAMS EMPLOYED THEREIN
Sealed the 18th December 1855, and dated the 20th June 1855.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Cartwright Holmes
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
20th June 1855.
I, WILLIAM CARTWRIGHT HOLMES, of Huddersfield, in the County of York,
5 Gas Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "In-
PROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF GAS AND IN APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN
to be as follows:--
My Invention consists, firstly, of making the retorts (whether of clay or
metal) of a cylindrical, semi-cylindrical, conical, semi-conical, elliptical, semi-
elliptical forms, with internal flues of similar forms, or of any segment of a
circle, cone, or ellipse; and also of fitting up the interior of any kind of retorts
with moveable shelves, which improvements I propose to adopt either alone
or in combination with the retorts at present in use.
Secondly, of uniting the condenser, wash vessel, scrubber, and purifier in
i-one vessel or caso

page_text: Thirdly, of taking off the pressure from the retorts by means of valves, pipes,
or similar contrivances.
Fourthly, of generating gas from water in combination with other gas-
producing substances.
Fifthly, of distilling or carbonizing coal or other gas-producing substance by
the introduction into the retorts of steam of a high temperature, and of heating
the retorts externally, by means of steam.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Cartwright Holmes in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 19th December 1855.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
CARTWRIGHT HOLMES, of Huddersfield, in the County of York, Gas Engineer,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Royal
Letters Patent; bearing date the. Twentieth day of June, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight, hundred and fifty-five, in the nineteenth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said William Cartwright Holmes, Her special licence that I, the
said William Cartwright Holmes, my executors; administrators, and assigns,
or such others as I, the said William Cartwright Holmes, 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF GAS
AND IN APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN," upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said William Cartwright Holmes, 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 Royal
Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Cartwright Holmes, 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 (that is to say):

page_text: My Invention relates, firstly, to a mode or method of making or generating
crude gas, by which I combine economy of time and fuel in the process, and
obtain a larger quantity of gas by the charge being, worked off more quickly.
I fit the retort or vessel in which the coal is distilled with an internal flue or
draft tube, in order to extend the heating or distilling surface, reduce the
thickness of the layer of coal, and remove the necessity of concentrating_an_
injurious amount of heat on the exterior of the retort in order to penetrate into
the centre of the mass. The additional amount of heating surface preferred is
about three-fourths of the inner surface of the retort in contact with the coal
By this means it will throw off a charge in about one-half or three-fourths of
the time ordinarily required, and with less injury to the vessel itself. I.make
the exterior vessel cylindrical, that form being the strongest; but it may be
made any other shape or form, according to circumstances. In cases wherê
the return draft flues are inadmissable, I make use of cast-iron shelves or
diaphragms, either horizontal or vertical, cast separate from and fitted loose
into the interior of the retort, so that a large additional amount of heating
surface is obtained without injuriously interfering with the exterior form of 'the
retort.
Secondly, to a mode or method in which the air 'condenser, wash vessel; coke
or breeze scrubber, and purifier are. combined, in one arrangement, thereby
ensuring a degree of compactness and simplicity unattainable in disconnected
apparatus, as well as avoiding the multiplicity of connecting pipes. In the
arrangement of the purifier of my combined apparatus I adopt a method of.
changing, by which I can remove the lime or other purifying agent from one
part of the purifier without stopping the action of the other part, but 'this
method is only necessary in the larger sizes.
:
Thirdly, to a method of taking off the pressure on retorts by an arrangement
of self-acting hydraulic valve, which removes the necessity for the dip of the
present hydraulic main.
:
Fourthly, to a method of generating gas for illumination by the distillation
of bituminous coal, peat, oil, resin, and other gas-producing substances by
means of superheated steam, and afterwards subjecting the products to the
action of heat, thereby decomposing the steam, and converting it . and the
hydrocarbons with which it is loaded into a permanent inflammable gas. By
the use of superheated steam there is no waste of the material distilled, as in
the common method, and from a more intimate union of the hydrogen with the:
olefiant gas there is a larger quantity and better quality produced. To produce
this result, I have a boiler capable of producing steam of 70-or-80 lbs pressure;
and of a size proportionate to the quantity of steam required by the material to

page_text: be distilled. To this boiler I attach a coil of pipe, having its area and surface
arranged or proportioned to the temperature required for distillation. This coil
is placed in the furnace or furnace flues, or heated in a separate furnace, as
may be found most convenient. A pipe from the said coil is attached to the
retort or vessel containing the substance to be distilled, which retort is made of
boiler plate or other suitable material, and is surrounded with brick-work or
other non-conducting substance, so as to retain the heat as much as possible.
A pipe from the retort connects it with a second one, so arranged as to be
heated by the boiler draft, and having a large amount of internal heating sur-
face. The steam on being generated in the boiler is made to pass through the
coil of pipes, which are previously heated to a bright red heat, and from which
it receives an increase of temperature corresponding to the area of the coil;
from thence it passes into the retort containing the substance to be distilled,
which it gradually increases in temperature until all its resolvable parts
vaporize and pass off with the steam into and through the second retort or
vessel, the hot surface of which completely converts the remaining particles of
hydrocarbons into inflammable gas. The steam also being here decomposed
adds its hydrogen, and increases the production of gas. The resultant gas (and
steam if any) is afterwards led off into suitable condensing and purifying
apparatus. By dispensing with the second retort, and having the coil of pipes
adjusted to the required temperature, a large quantity of oils and other products
may be obtained from coal and other bituminous substances, peat, &c., which
may be collected in suitable vessels or refrigerators for future distillation,
thereby saving a vast amount of expense and inconvenience in transporting
coal and other raw gas-producing material from place to place.
The arrangement and construction of the mechanical part of my said Inven-
tion will be more clearly understood by reference to the accompanying Sheet
of Drawings, and the letters of reference thereon; in which, Fig. 1 is a longi-
tudinal section of my improved retort with an internal flue; Fig. 2, an end
elevation thereof, shewing the back flange; Fig. 3, a front elevation without
mouth-piece; and Fig. 4, a cross section of the same.
a represents the retort or outer case; b, the internal flue, which is divided
by the vertical diaphragm c, projecting from the end of the retort to divide the
draft. The draft or heat passes up one side of the flue and returns by the
other, the partition or diaphragm being so arranged, as shewn at d. € repre-
sents the back flange of the flue, fitting to the projecting pieces cast on the end
of the retort, as seen at f, ff, and is also secured to the retort by set screws.
The interstices between the retort and flue I fill with iron cement, or a mixture
of iron and fire clay cement, well rammed in, an iron ring being previously

page_text: inserted to ram against. 9 is a projecting piece cast on the mouth-piece, which
fits on to a corresponding projection cast on the end of the flue h, thereby
retaining the flue in its position, and preventing any lift which might tend to
rupture the back joint. Fig. 5 is an elevation of combined apparatus for
upwards to 100 lights; Fig. 7 is a ground plan thereof; and Fig. 6 is an
elevational section of the same; in which i represents the inlet pipe from-the-
retort, &c. is the bottom box for the condenser pipes, provided with a proper
syphon to carry off the surplus tar, ammoniacal liquor, &c. This box is pro-
vided with suitable partitions for separating and continuing the gas current.
k, k, are the condensing pipes, placed around the coke scrubber, and fitted into
the top of the condenser box j and the under part of the top box n, n, which
is likewise fitted with partitions corresponding and arranged to the partitions
in the bottom box, so as to allow the gas to pass through the whole of the
vertical pipes, and thence through the pipe into the wash vessel m, from
whence it passes through the coke vessel o into the purifier p, where, being
thoroughly purified, it passes by the pipe into the gas holder. Fig. 8 shews
an arrangement of this apparatus on the smallest scale, and will be understood
without further description, being similar to the one already described, with the
exception of the condenser, which consists of a series of flat plates between the
outer case and the wash vessel, and placed all round them. Fig. 9 is a ground
plan of my square combined apparatus; Fig. 10, an elevation thereof; and
Fig. 11, an elevational section. 7 represents the inlet pipe from the retorts;
s, the condenser box bottom; t, t, the condenser pipes arranged around the
exterior of the purifier, &c.; u is the top condenser box, provided with suitable
partitions, same as the bottom box; v, the wash vessel; v', v', is the scrubber,
from whence the gas passes into the tar and trap box c", where, by the
arrangement of the pipes a, a, a, a, and trap lid w, worked by the rod d',
the gas is made to pass either through one or two purifiers,, as required;
y, y, are the pipes from the tap to the purifiers; d" is the outlet pipe to the
gas holder. Fig. 12 is another arrangement of the square combined apparatus,
but without the changing gear. The description already given will apply also
to this one.
Fig. 13 is an elevational section of a self-acting hydraulic valve, for the
purpose of dispensing with the use of an hydraulic main where two or more
retorts are used, thereby removing the injurious pressure from the retorts, and
at the same time preventing the return of gas. el represents the inlet pipe
from the retort; 9", the cup, which is suspended by the spring working in the
box h", out of contact with the water; " is the outlet pipe for-the-gas. The
top of the valve will screw off when it is required to clean it, and a small pipe

page_text: 1
is inserted through the top and down the centre of the spring, and provided
with a small tap outside for keeping the top box full of water.
Having fully described the nature and particulars of my said Invention, I
desire it to be distinctly understood that I do not confine myself to the exact
details herein set forth, as such, may be varied or modified without departing
from the principle thereof; but I claim,-
Firstly, the introduction into a retort or carbonising vessel of à flue or draft
tube, made or cast.separately from the retort, and also the insertion of shelves
or diaphragms, either horizontal or vertical, made or cast separate from the
retort, and made to fit loose in the interior.
Secondly, the mode or method of combining the air condenser, wash vessel,
coke vessel, or scrubber and purifier in one vessel or case, and for the method
of changing the lime or other purifying agent of one part of the purifier of
combined apparatus whilst the other is working.
Thirdly, the arrangement of self-acting valves for dispensing with the present
hydraulic main.
And, fourthly, the distilling of coal, peat, oil, resin, and other gas-producing
substances, by means of superheated steam, for the purposes of illumination,
as all such improvements are herein described, and illustrated in the accom-
panying Sheet of Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Cartwright Holmes, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Seventeenth day of December, One thousand
eight hundred and fifty-five.
WILLIAM CARTWRIGHT HOLMES. (L.S.)
Signed, sealed, and delivered by the within-named
William Cartwright Holmes, in the presence of
E. J. HUGHES,
Patent Agent,
Manchester.