AN IMPROVED METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DISTILLING COAL, SHALE, AND OTHER CARBONACEOUS SUBSTANCES
Year: 1865

page_text: for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DISTILLING
COAL, SHALE, AND OTHER CARBONACEOUS SUBSTANCES." -A communication
from abroad by John Howarth, residing at Salem, in the United States
of America.
Sealed the 10th November 1865, and dated the 7th June 1865.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Howarth at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 7th
June 1865.
I, JAMES HOWARTH, M.D., of Andover, in the County of Essex, and State
of Massachusetts, in the United States of America, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVED METHOD AND APPARATUS. FOR
DISTILLING COAL, SHALE, AND OTHER CARBONACEOUS SUBSTANCES," communicated
to me from abroad by John Howarth, residing at Salem, in the United States
of America, to be as follows:-
My Invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in the process
and apparatus for manufacturing gas and oils from coals, shales; and other
carbonaceous substances, and that in the following description I have set forth
the nature and principle of my said improvements, whereby my Invention may
be distinguished from all others of a similar class.
When coals, shales, wood, and other carbonaceous substances are placed
within retorts that are heated only externally to a temperature necessary to

page_text: expel the volatile products from those substances, dry destructive distillation
takes place, and the said volatile products are changed and their quality
impaired. This process is, in fact, a baking, drying, wasting, and deteriorating
process.
The present Invention relates to a process of distilling coals, shales, and
other carbonaceous substances, in which both internal and external heat are
applied to the retorts, the internal heat being furnished by passing superheated
steam through the material to be acted upon, and the external heat by a
suitable arrangements of flues, combustion chambers, and retorts. I have prae-
tically demonstrated, after many experiments, that the best results are obtained
by causing the superheated steam to perform the actual work of extracting
the volatile products from coal, shale, wood, and other carbonaceous substances,
keeping the temperature of the external beat only sufficiently high to prevent
radiation, producing products in larger quanties of much greater commercial
value than by any process heretofore used, by this means avoiding the evils
of destructive 'distillation.
;. The object of the present Invention is to so construct an apparatus for the
production of oils and gases from coal, shale, and other carbonaceous substances
as to cause the internal heat afforded by the superheated steam always to
exceed in temperature that of the external heat, and in such a manner that
the process in this respect shall be a self-regulating one, so that destructive
distillation cannot take place.
My improved apparatus consists in constructing a brick-built furnace, fire-
pot, and grate. Two superheaters (the peculiarity of which in 'construction
and arrangement will be berein-after explainned) resting on the tile floors,
covering the flues leading from the fire chamber, through which the heat,
products of combustion, and smoke pass on their way to the outlet flue of
the furnace. The arrangement of the above-named flues, and the direction in
which the products of combustion and smoke pass, is as follows:-The heat
and products of combustion pass from the fire chamber through the flues under
the tile floors and into a space or oven in which the two vertical retorts are
placed, the latter resting upon the superheaters, thence they pass around the
front of the retorts and through a horizontal flue and downwards through
passages leading to the exit flue. Steam is admitted to the superheaters, and
passing through their various compartments is conducted, when superheated,
through tubes to the bottom of the retorts, through which, and the contents
thereof, it passes vertically extracting the volatile products from the latter;
the products thence pass through pipes leading from the top of the retorts to
the tar main, from the end or ends of which they are delivered and treated in

page_text: the usual manner. The construction of the superheaters used in my apparatus
as described consists in deviding them into several chambers communicating
with each other by means of partition plates, the purpose of which is to retard
the passage of steam through the same in order that it may be heated to
a greater or sufficient degree of heat before reaching the retorts. These
superheaters are cast in one piece, which is a great advantage. It will be
apparent that by interposing the fire-tile floor, or any other suitable material
which is a slow conductor of heat, between the fire chamber and flues and the
superheaters, they are thereby prevented from being cracked, injured, or other-
wise deteriorated, which would otherwise occur were the heaters in direct
contact with the flames. It will be observed by the foregoing description that
from the relative position of the superheaters, flues, and retorts, the most
intense heat from the furnace is necessarily absorbed, while the lesser and
remaining heat passes around the retorts, thus ensuring that the internal
temperature of the retorts shall always exceed that of the external heat,
so that the work of expelling the volatile products will be effected wholly
by the superheated steam, the external heat being only sufficient to prevent
radiation.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said James Howarth, in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 6th
December 1865.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
HOWARTH, M.D., of Andover, in the County of Essex, and State of Massa-
chusetts, in the United States of America, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Seventh day of June, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, in the twenty-eighth year of Her reign,
did for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said James
Howarth, Her special licence that I, the said James Howarth, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said James Howarth, 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 "AN IMPROVED METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DIS-
TILLING COAL, CHALE, AND OTHER CARBONACEOUS SUBSTANCES," communicated to me
from abroad by John Howarth, residing at Salem, in the United States of

page_text: America, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said James Howarth,
my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing, under my, or
their, or one of their bands and seals, should particularly describe and ascer-
tain 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 James Howarth, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following'
statement, to be as follows:-
My Invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in the
process and apparatus for manufacturing of gas and oils from coals, chales,
and other carbonaceous substances, and that the following description, taken
in connection with the accompanying Drawings, herein-after referred to, forms
a full and exact Specification of the same. Wherein I have set forth the
nature and principles of my said improvements, whereby my Invention may
be distinguished from all others of a similar class, together with such parts as
1 claim and desire to have secured to me by Letters Patent.
When coals, chales, wood, and other carbonaceous substances are placed
within retorts that are heated only externally to a temperature necessary to
expel the volatile products from these substances, dry destructive distillation
takes place and the said volatile products are changed and their quality
impaired. This is, in fact, a baking, drying, wasting, and deteriorating
process.
The present Invention relates to a process of distilling coals, chales, and
other carbonaceous substances, in which both internal and external heat are
applied to the retorts, the internal heat being furnished by passing superheated
steam through the material to be acted upon, and the external heat by a
suitable arrangement of flues, combustion chambers, and retorts. I have prac-
tically demonstrated, after many experiments, that the best results are obtained
by causing the superheated steam to perform the actual work of extracting
the volatile products from coal, chale, wood, and other carbonaceous substances,
and keeping the temperature of the external heat only sufficiently high to
prevent radiation, producing products in larger quantities of much greater
commercial value than by any process heretofore used, and by this means
avoiding the evils of destructive distillation.
The object of the present Invention is to so construct an apparatus for the
production of oils, gases, and other volatile products from, coal, chale, and

page_text: other carbonaceous substances as to cause the internal heat afforded by the
superheated steam always to exceed in temperature that of the external heat,
and in such a manner that the process in this respect shall be a self-regulating
one, so that destructive distillation cannot possibly take place.
My improved apparatus is represented in the accompanying plates' of
Drawings, of which Fig. 1 is a top view; Fig. 2, a front view; Fig. 3, a trans-
verse vertical section taken in the plane of the line A, B, and: Fig. 4 is a
longitudinal vertical section taken in the plane of the line C, D.
:
a, a, in the accompanying Drawings represents a brick furnace; b, b, fire
pot; c, c,. the grate; d, d, two superheaters (the peculiarity of which in con-
struction and arrangement will be herein-after explained) resting on the tile
floors e, e, covering the flues leading from the fire chamber, through which
the heat products of combustion and smoke pass on their way to the outlet
flue of the furnace. The arrangement of the above-named flues and the
direction in which the smoke passes is as followes :-The heat and products of
combustion pass from the fire chamber through the flues under the tile floors
e, e, and into the space or oven f.f, in which the two vertical retorts g, g, are
placed, the latter resting upon the superheaters d, d; thence they pass around
the front of the retort and through a horizontal flue h, and downwards
through passages leading to the exit flue. Steam is admitted to the super-
heaters d, d, at i, i, and passing through their various compartments k, k, k, is
conducted when superheated, through tubes 1, 1, to the bottom of the retorts,
through which, and the contents thereof; it passes vertically extracting the
volatile products from the latter; the products, thence pass through pipes
m, m, leading from the top of the retorts to the, tar main n; n, from
the end or ends of which they are delivered and-treated in the usual
manner. The construction of the superheaters used in my apparatus as
described, consists in deviding them into several chambers communicating
with each other by means of partition plates, the purpose of which is to retard
the passage of steam through the same in order that it may be heated to a
greater or sufficient degree of heat before reaching the retorts; these super-
heaters are cast in one piece, which is a great advantage. It will be apparent
that by interposing the fire-tile floor, or any other suitable material which is
a slow conductor of heat, between the fire chamber and flues and the super-
heaters, they are thereby prevented from being cracked, injured, or otherwise
rapidly deteriorated, which would otherwise occur were the heaters in direct
contact with the flames.
e
It will be observed by the foregoing description that from the relative
position of the superheaters, flues, and retorts, that the most intense heat

page_text: from the furnace is necessarily, absorbed by the superheaters, while the lesser
and remaining heat passes around the retorts, thus ensuring that the internal
temperature of the retorts shall always exceed that of the external heat, so
that the work of expelling the volatile products will be effected wholly by the
superheated steam, the external heat being only sufficient to prevent
radiation...
. Having thus described my improvements I shall state my claims as
follows:-
What I claim as my Invention, and desire to have secured to me by Letters
Patent is, distilling coal, chale, or other carbonaceous substances for the pro-
duction of oils, gases, vapours, and other volatile products by passing through.
the material to be acted upon a current of superheated steam in one body in
a vertical plane, or nearly so, through an upright retort, that is, so that a
body of superheated steam shall come in contact with every portion of the
said material, as set forth..
Also, so combining devices for superheating steam flues for the passage of
combustion, and a suitable retort or retorts containing carbonaceous materials,
as to cause the internal heat, or that caused by the superheated steam, to
always predominate over the external heat, and perform the work of extract-
ing the liquid and volatile products from the contents of the retort or retorts
without producing destructive distillation, substantially as described.
I also claim the double chambered upright retort, arranged and operating
substantially as described and for the purpose specified.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Howarth, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Sixth day of December, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five.
JAMES HOWARTH, M.D. (L.S.)
Signed, sealed, and delivered by the
above-named James Howarth, in
the presence of
W. H. JBBETT,
19, St. Martin's-le-Grand, E.C.