Manufacturing, Measuring, and Transmitting Gas, and Obtaining Ammoniacal and other Products from the Refuse Matters of such Manufacture.
Year: 1845

page_text: Manufacturing, Measuring, and Transmitting Gas, and
Obtaining Ammoniacal and other Products from the
Refuse Matters of such Manufacture.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALEX-
ANDER ANGUS CROLL, of Bow Common, in the County of Middlesex, Chemist;
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Twenty-sixth day of June, in the ninth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs, and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Alexander Angus Croll, my exors, adiñors, and assigns, Her especial licence,
full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said Alexander Angus Croll,
my exors, admiors, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Alexander Angus
Croll, my exors, admors, or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no
others, from time to time and at all times during the term of years therein ex-
pressed, should and lawfully might make, usc, exercise, and vend, within
England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MANUFACTURING, MEASURING, AND TRANSMITTING GAS, AND IN
OBTAINING AMMONIACAL AND OTHER PRODUCTS FROM THE REFUSE MATTERS OF SUCH
MANUFACTURE;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso that I, the
said Alexander Angus Coll, shall cause a particular description of the nature
of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be
inrolled in Her said Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar
months next and immediately after the date of the said in part recited Letters
Patent, as in and by the same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully
and at large appear.

page_text: ander Angus Croll, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention, and
the manner in which the same is to be performed, are fully described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement thereof, reference being had to the
Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the figures and letters marked thereon,
that is to say.
My Invention consists,―
First, of obtaining much of the gas for use for the purposes of light which
is evolved in manufacturing coke in coke ovens, by causing the gas to be with-
drawn at a part of the process of coke making in coke ovens.
Secondly, my Invention consists in applying clay retorts in connection with
an hydraulic main to coke ovens, so that the otherwise waste heat of such
ovens may be the means of distilling coal in the clay retorts, and the gas there-
from conducted from the hydraulic main to be purified for the purpose of light.
Thirdly, my Invention consists of applying springs to press the sliding
valves of dry gas meters to their seats.
Fourthly, my Invention consists of so arranging apparatus when withdraw-
ing or transmitting gas from retorts, that such apparatus may be self acting;
and so as to adjust itself to the varying quantities of gas evolved at different
periods, and not to create a greater vacuity than is required for the varying
quantities of
gas evolved.
Fifthly, my Invention consists of a mode of treating ammoniacal products
as hereafter described. And,
Sixthly, my Invention consists in obtaining a product suitable for manure
by combining quick lime with tar of gas works. And in order that my
Invention may be most fully understood, and readily carried into effect, I
will proceed to describe the means pursued by me.
In constructing apparatus according to the first part of my Invention, in
order to obtain much of the gas evolved during the production of coke in coke
ovens, I simply apply a mouthpiece such as is commonly employed at the
front of retorts for obtaining gas in gas works, with a door capable of being
luted; this mouthpiece having a pipe connected to it, as is well understood, in
order to convey away the gas from the coke oven to the purifying process; there
being a valve in the pipe capable of being closed at certain times, as will be
presently described, as also a damper in the chimney. And in working the
same, I first charge the oven with a quantity of coal, and then close the aper-
ture or door into the oven by luting, as is well understood in luting the
openings into gas retorts in gas works. I then close the chimney from the
oven, and open the valve in the pipe communicating with the purifying appara-

page_text: tus, so as to cause all the gas evolved during the production of the coke to
pass in that direction, and in this way I continue to work the oven for
about two hours after charging the oven, supposing the oven is charged every
six hours with coals; three hours, supposing the oven to be charged every nine
hours with coals; four hours, supposing the oven to be charged every twelve
hours with coals, and so on in proportion to the size of the oven. And in
order to secure the whole of the gas evolved, and to remove the pressure from
the ovens required to force the gas through the purifying process and into the
gasholder, the main between the coke oven and purifiers must be connected
with an exhauster, which I prefer to be worked at not less than zero, nor at a
greater vacuum than four tenths of water pressure, which will be indicated by
a water guage, which is well understood. After the oven has been at work for
the time stated, the damper in connection with the chimney is to be removed,
the valve or the mouthpiece shut, the entrance door to the oven removed, and
the further process of coking continued until completed in the ordinary way.
I will now proceed to describe the second part of my Invention. Figure 1
shows a longitudinal section of an apparatus suitable for carrying out this
part of my Invention; Figure 2 is a sectional plan of the same, taken through
the line (1) 1), Figure 1; and Figure 3 is a cross section. It will be seen
that there are three settings shown, each capable of being heated by a coke
oven placed under it, and this is the arrangement which I prefer to adopt.
A, A, A, are the coke ovens which are shown arranged according to the first
part of my Invention, each with a mouthpiece a, closed by a door b, which is
retained in its place by a screw c, as is well understood; and the mouthpieces
a, have cach a pipe a', communicating with the purifying apparatus; a³ is a
valve in the pipe a', by which to close the passage of the pipe a¹, when
desired. And I would remark that I prefer this arrangement of closing
the pipe a, by a valve a³, when the gas is not required to pass
through the pipe a', instead of causing the pipe a' to dip into an hydraulic
main as is usually the case with such pipes applied to gas retorts, as
by this means I am enabled more readily to obtain zero, or a partial
vacuum, in the ovens as described under the first part of my Invention. d, d,
are openings from the ovens which, in carrying out this part of my Invention,
open into each of the chambers, B, B, B, containing the clay retorts to be heated
for the production of gas for illumination, and each of these openings is capable
of being closed by means of a damper d', d¹, such dampers only being intro-
duced while gas is being obtained from the ovens A. And in obtaining gas from
coke ovens, which are also employed to heat gas retorts, I so regulate the times
of feeding the ovens that there shall be but one oven at a time from which the

page_text: gas is being withdrawn, and the chamber B, which for the time being is shut
off from communication with its oven A, is to be heated by the heated products
from the other two ovens after those heated products have passed into the
other chambers B, B, there being for this purpose passages e, c, capable of
being closed by dampers e¹, e¹; and when the heated products are desired to
pass from the chambers B, B, into the chamber B, from the coke oven under
which gas is being obtained, I close the damper in the flues f,f, of such
chamber, thereby controlling the heated products to pass into that chamber B,
and escape through its flue f, which must be open to the main chimney or
stack. I would, however, remark that I although have shown the coke ovens
arranged according to the first part of my Invention, I do not confine myself
thereto, this part of my Invention simply relating to the application of coke ovens
to the heating of clay retorts. It will be seen that the retorts are supported at
front by the walls g of the chamber B, and that the lower retorts B' are further
supported by the brickwork h, h, while there are fire-tiles i, set on edge, upon
which are placed other tiles j, to support the back parts of the upper retorts B².
Although I do not confine myself to any particular size ovens in carrying
out the second part of my Invention, I prefer to use ovens capable of coking
fifteen hundredweight of coal every six hours.
I will now describe the third part of my Invention. It is well known
that the valves which are used in what are now called dry gas meters, and
which move in contact with their seats, are liable to be moved off their seats
by the gas meters being placed in varied positions. In order to prevent
this taking place, I apply light springs to such valves in such manner that
the valves will be kept to their seats in whatever position the gas meters
may be placed. The mode of applying springs for such purpose may be varied,
but I prefer the arrangement shewn at Figures 4 and 5 of the Drawings; and
this part of my Invention simply relating to means of retaining the valve to
its seat under varied circumstances of the meter, and the description of valve
shewn being now well understood by persons employed in the construction of
gas meters, and as the same may be varied, I have not thought it necessary to
enter into the details of the meter itself. a, a, represents part of the plates to
which the valve seat is affixed; 6, the valve seat; c, the valve which has rods
c³, which are intended to pass through suitable guides, as is well understood,
and e is a slight spring applied according to this part of my Invention; and it
will be seen that there is a wheel e', which is supported by the sprig e, and
serves to lessen the friction on the valve. The strength and form of the sprig
may be varied, but I prefer that the strength should be such as rather more
than to counteract the weight of the valve.

page_text: I will now describe the fourth part of my Invention. It is well known
by persons engaged in gas work that immediately after charging the retorts
a considerably larger quantity of gas is generated than is obtained in
the same time after the charge has been some time in the retorts, and so
on; the quantity of gas given off from the retorts becomes less and less
till the retorts are again recharged, and consequently when the gas is with-
drawn from the retorts by any of the well known means of exhaustion, it
becomes necessary that there should be some means adopted by which the
pressure in the pipe leading to the exhauster may be kept at zero, or but little
below that point; and in carrying out this part of my Invention I employ
exhausting apparatus sufficiently powerful to withdraw the greatest quantity of
gas generated during any time of working the retorts in connection with
apparatus shewn at Figure 6 of the Drawing, where A is a pipe leading from
the hydraulic main, or from the retorts, or other apparatus in which the gas
is generated; this pipe A, communicating at A', with the exhausting apparatus
B is a pipe leading from the exhausting apparatus to the purifying apparatus,
and it will be seen that between the pipe A and the pipe B there is a pipe
C, C', and that this pipe C, C', is divided by a partition C, in which there
is an opening closed by a valve C³; and when the gas given off by the retorts
becomes insufficient to supply the exhausting apparatus, a partial vacuum
being created, water, which I place in the inverted syphon D, rises in the
limb (1), being depressed in the limb (2) by the pressure of the atmosphere, at
the same time causing the float E to fall; and as the float E is connected by
a rod E¹ to one end of the lever F, the other end of which supports a rod,
C4, which passes through a stuffing box to the valve C³, thereby opening a
communication through the pipe C, C', so that when the gas given off from
the retort is insufficient to supply the exhausting apparatus without the liability
to draw in common air from any of the dips being open, as is now often the
case, the exhausting apparatus used would to a certain extent be pumping the
same gas over and over again. G is a pipe filled with water, which, should
the exhausting apparatus from any cause cease to be in operation, may be used
to convey
the gas from the pipe A to the pipe B, the pressure of the gas from
the retorts in that case blowing out the water.
I will now describe the fifth part of my Invention, which relates to a mode
of treating ammoniacal liquor of gas works to obtain products therefrom. A is
a still, is to be charged with two hundred gallons of ammoniacal liquor. The
Drawing Figure 7 represents a plan of a refrigerator or condenser to be
used in condensing the steam or vapour arising from such distillation. The pipe of
the refrigerator is connected with the still at the point A, and the arrows B¹

page_text: indicate the course or flow of the steam.
The pipe or refrigerator is laid in
troughs, water being admitted at the point B, flows along the outside of the re-
frigerator, and escapes at the point A, as indicated by the arrows, the object of
this arrangement being to obtain the impure ammoniacal gas as free from
moisture as possible. It is necessary that the refrigerator should have a gradual
rise of one inch in thirty-six inches, or thereabouts, from the point A to the
point B; the trough having a similar rise gives a flow of water from the point
B to the point A. I have found refrigerating pipes of four inches diameter
and forty feet in length, with a stream of water flowing into the trough at the
point B at the rate of ten gallons per minute, sufficient to condense the steam
evolved from a still of the capacity given, by which the impure ammoniacal
gas is obtained in a state comparatively free from moisture. Now, tho object
of this part of my Invention is to purify such impuro ammoniacal gas, which
is accomplished by connecting the refrigerating pipes at B with a dry lime
purifier, such as is used at the gas works and well understood, containing bydrate
of lime, but with as small a portion of moisture as possible, not more than
sufficient to slacken or powder the lime. The purified gaseous caustic ammonia
thus obtained is to be condensed in distilled water to obtain the liquor am-
monia of commerce, and which is well understood; carbonate of ammonia may
be obtained by causing such caustic ammoniacal gas to be brought in contact
with carbonic acid gas by any of the well known processes. I have found a
purifyer sufficiently large to be charged with forty bushels of lime, a convenient
size for working in connection with a still and refrigerator of the dimensions
given. The purity of the ammoniacal gas may be ascertained by an acetate
of lead test, similar to that used at the gas works, and which is well understood.
When the test paper becomes discolored by the flow of the ammoniacal gas,
the lime contained in the purifyer must be exchanged for fresh.
I will now describe the sixth part of my Invention, which consists of mixing
quick lime with tar, so as to produce a combined product useful for manure.
This mixture is to be formed in the proportion of one yard of fresh burnt chalk
lime to three hundred and fifty gallons of tar, the tar being placed in a suitable
vessel, the lime then added to it. The lime becomes gradually slacked by the
moisture in the tar, the heat evolved being sufficient to dry and render it in a
state convenient to be applied to land. To prevent the ignition of the tar and
the consequent loss of the ammonia contained in it, it is necessary to cover it
up with any refuse matter (as common mould), when the mass acquires a
temperature of four hundred degrees. This mixture is especially applicable to
heavy clay land, to which I prefer to apply it previously to ploughing, in the
proportion of from twenty to thirty hundredweight per acre, or as a top