Improvements in and relating to Material for use in the Treatment and Purification of Sewage and other Impure Waters.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 21st Dec., 1896
Complete Specification Left, 3rd Sept., 1897-Accepted, 30th Oct., 1897
Improvements in and relating to Material for use in the Treatment
and Purification of Sewage and other Impure Waters.
I, WILLIAM BEECROFT BOTTOMLEY, of King's College, Strand, in the County of
Middlesex, Professor of Botany, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to he
as follows:-
My invention relates to improvements in and relating to material designed to be
used in the treatment and purification of sewage and other impure waters, and has
for its object the preparation of a compound or admixture of certain substances
suitable for the treatinent of sewage and other impure waters, in order to effect
the separation by precipitation of the impurities therein, and to effect the purification
thereof.
For the purpose of my invention I take any mineral phosphate of calcium which
contains the oxides of aluminium and iron in such quantities as to render it of little
or no use or value for the manfacture of mineral superphosphate of lime, and reduce
it to a fine powder. I then treat the same with a certain quantity of sulphuric
acid or hydrochloric acid, or a mixture of the two, the whole being mixed together,
and either heated or not as may be advisable.
I thus obtain a compound or admixture of substances which I use for the purpose
of precipitation and purification of Sewage and other impure waters.
Dated this 21st day of December, 1896.
WILLIAM BEECROFT BOTTOMLEY,
Applicant.
Improvements in and relating to Material for use in the Treatment
and Purification of Sewage and other Impure Waters.
I, WILLIAM BEECROFT BOTTOMLEY, of King's College, Strand, London, Professor
of Botany, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement:-
My invention relates to improvements in and relating to material for use in the
treatment and purification of sewage and other impure waters, and has for its object
the preparation of material for use in the treatment and purification of sewage and
other impure waters.
For the purpose of my invention I take finely ground mineral phosphate of calciun,
which contains admixed therewith the oxides of Aluminium and Iron in such

page_text: quantities as to render it of little or no use or value for the manufacture of super-
phosphate of lime, and treat it with either sulphuric acid, or hydrochloric acid, or a
mixture of the two, the whole being well mixed together, and heated or not as
found desirable. The amount of acid or acids to be used depends upon the quantity
of oxides of aluminium and iron present in the mineral phosphate of calcium, and
must be sufficient to combine with these oxides, thus forming either sulphates or
chlorides of aluminium and iron, or mixtures of these, according to the acid or acids
I thus obtain a material containing sulphates or chlorides of aluminium
and iron, or mixtures of these, together with phosphate of calcium.
In the treatment of sewage and other impure waters with this material, I add
thereto a quantity of the material varying with the quality or nature of the sewage
or impure water to be treated, and thus produce precipitation of much of the
organic and other impure matters held in suspension or in solution in the liquid.
In treating ordinary domestic sewage I have found from eight to ten grains of the
material per gallon of sewage sufficient. The exact proportion, however, varies
according to the nature, and quality, and condition of the liquid to be treated,
and can only be determined by actual treatment of a sample of the particular liquid
to be treated.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said Inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is:
First. The preparation of the material, herein before referred to, by treating
mineral phosphate of calcium which contains admixed therewith the oxides of
aluminium and iron in sufficient quantities, with either sulphuric acid or hydro-
chloric acid, or a mixture of the two substantially as hereinbefore described:
Second. The use of the material obtained by treating the materials herein specified
in the manner herein before described, in the treatment and purification of sewage
and other impure waters.
Dated this Third day of September, 1897.
WILLIAM BEECROFT BOTTOMLEY,
Applicant.