A NEW METHOD OF TREATMENT OF SLOPS, BLOODY WATERS, AND OTHER FORMS OF LIQUID REFUSE; AND FOR APPARATUS TO BE USED THEREIN
Year: 1874

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Francis Thomas Bond at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
29th September 1874.
I, FRANCIS THOMAS BOND, M.D., of Gloucester, in the County of
Gloucester, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "A
NEW METHOD OF TREATMENT OF SLOPS, BLOODY WATERS, AND OTHER FORMS OF
LIQUID REFUSE; AND FOR APPARATUS TO BE USED THEREIN," to be as follows:-
I take a tub, barrel, or other suitable receptacle, into the lower portion
of which I insert a tap, to the inner end of this tap I attach one end
of a piece of india-rubber tubing, the other end of which is connected
with an aperture in the lower part of a hollow metallic vessel shaped
The upper conc
like a cylinder and terminating at each end in a conc.
and also the cylinder are impervious and serve to contain a certain
amount of air which enables the vessel to float. The lower conc is
perforated all over and acts as a strainer, any liquid that finds its way
into the interior of the vessel through the holes in the strainer passing
down through the aperture at the bottom of the lower cone into the tube
connected with it and so on to the tap. On the upper part of the
external vessel I place a strainer of perforated metal, so as to prevent

page_text: '
matters of undue size finding their way into it. At the bottom of the
vessel is a large aperture closed by a plug, cock, tap, or other convenient
appliance.
In order to bring this vessel into operation in the case of soapy waters,
I prepare special materials consisting of sawdust saturated with about
half its weight of dilute sulphuric acid, then dried and mixed with
sulphate of alumina in powder to serve as an acid precipitant, or in the
case of bloody waters of sawdust treated with bichromate of potash and
sulphate of copper.
In dealing with soap or other alkaline liquids I proceed as follows :-
The liquid being poured into the precipitating vessel, enough of the
precipitant is added to coagulate the fatty matters of the soap, which
then rise to the surface carrying with them a good deal of the dirt which
the water may have contained. The liquid beneath if allowed to stand
will gradually clear with a rapidity proportioned to the time during
which it is permitted to rest; when it is considered to be clear enough it
may be run off by turning the tap. Even after a very short time
although this liquid may not be altogether clear, it may be allowed to
run away into a ditch or dry well without any fear of its decomposing or
producing a nuisance, unless such ditch or dry well is near a well of
drinking water.
Before running off the subjacent water, the curded soap may be
skimmed from the surface by a bowl and thrown away or utilized for
feeding pigs or other purposes. The sediment which forms at the
bottom of the vessel may be run off by the special vent provided for the
purpose.
When it is required to obtain the water which results from this
process in a perfectly clear form, it is necessary to pass it from the first
vessel into another provided with a tap and india-rubber tube as in the
case of the precipitating vessel, but instead of a floating strainer being
attached to the other end of the tube I attach a filter specially designed
for the purpose, and consisting of two slightly curved rectangular pieces
of perforated metal brought into close apposition to one another at their
edges, and kept in position by a covered of linen, calico, muslin, or other
similar fabric which is sewn. tightly over them. When this filter is
immersed in the liquid contained in the filtering vessel, all the suspended
impurities are retained on the outer surface of the woven fabric, and the

page_text: clarified water passes through its meshes and those of the perforated
plate beneath it into the space between the two plates, and thence into
the india-rubber tube which is connected with it.
In order to use the precipitating vessel for the treatment of bloody
waters, instead of using the acid precipitant above described, I employ
sulphate of copper either alone or combined with bichromate of potash,
the former of which coagulates the albumen of the blood, and the latter
keeps it from decomposing; when coagulation has been thus effected, the
coagulated albumen gradually falls to the bottom of the tub as a fine
sediment, and the supernatant liquid may be run off and kept for a long
time without becoming offensive.
It will be seen that the nature of the process employed in both of
these applications of my method which I have thus described, involves a
combination of chemical precipitation with subsequent straining or
filtration, either by means of a floating strainer or a submerged one.