Improvements in or relating to the Manufacture or Production of Blook Fuel, Gas, and other Useful Products from Refuse Materials.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 1st Feb., 1893
Complete Specification Left, 1st Dec., 1893-Accepted, 27th Jan., 1894
a
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or relating to the Manufacture or Production
of Blook Fuel, Gas, and other Useful Products from Refuse
Materials.
I. JOHN CHARLES WILLIAM STANLEY of 5 Dewhurst Road, in the County of
Middlesex, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:
The object of this invention is the manufacture or production of block fuel, gas
and other useful products from house dust (or what is known as "dust-bin" refuse)
or other similar refuse which contains a large quantity of unburnt pieces of coal,
cindor vegetable matter and sand. This house dust is to be sub-divided into ite
component parts for which purpose the machinery described in Letters Patent
No. 1540 dated October 26th 1889 is suitable, which eliminates all the waste
paper etc. from the carbon matter and the vegetable matter can be collected
separately, also the vegetable charcoal obtained by burning boxes, mats, and
the like.
After subdivision by this sifting process I take that portion that will pass through
a mesh of conveniently inch, and place it in a washer, which operation can be
carried out in any of the apparatus in use for separating the different gravities of
ores, coul etc. by water gravitation, such as "Buddles." A suitable washer would
consist of a box or casing with a mid-feather or diaphragm and conveniently two
worm or other conveyors working upon each side of the diaphragm and circulating
the water and materials. This washing prouess will separate the sand from the coal
and cinder, a portion of the lighter particles of cinder will float and is collected in
suitable strainers. The matter held in suspension in the dirty water passing from
the washor contains particles of hair, wool dust (from house sweepings) saw-dust,
wood and charcoal, this water I pass through a filter press; the solid coke when dry
can be retorted and the gas collected the remaining ash which will contain potash
can be used for manure or treated for the recovery of the potash salts.
The tailings from the inch mesh screen, I pass over a magnetizing machine.to
remove nails and other metal substances, the coal cinder etc. is then washed in
a manner as before described the light cinder will float, the water is passed through
filter presses, the heavy material which will sink in the washer is coal, partially
unburnt cinder, pieces of broken glass, stones etc. the non-carbonaceous materials
being separated by gravitating down shoots when the pieces of heavy coal will
separate from the lighter cinder. By an arrangement of bays the various separated
materials can be kept apart; this gravitation can be carried out by water if
preferred, or an air blast. It will be found that in the bays with the glass stones etc.
a certain percentage of carbon will be mixed being of the same gravity, this is ground
and sifted through a preferably mesh and mixed. with the material of this size and
washed as before.
..
Thus the carbon contained in the¸“house duat” is completely separated from the
non-combustible portion such as sand etc. and the products will be the following .'.
Perfectly burnt coal (as floated cinder).
Clean washed sand.
Unburnt coal.
Mixed coal and cinder.
Filter pressed cakes.
Mud containing potash and nitrogen.
Some of the uses for which these products are suitable will be
The unburnt coal for sale or the manufacture of os.
.:

page_text: The mixed coal and oinder is sifted through inch mesh the tailings being of a
suitable size for making water gas, and that portion which has passed through the
mesh for the manufacture of block coal.
As all the above are carbon either as unburnt cont or cinder if desired they can
be used for gas making and block fuel, which is prepared by reducing the material
o a uniform size by grinding and adding pitch or Lay suitable binding agent; these
blocks can be sold for domestic fires.
As there is a quantity of gas in the material composing these blocks it may be
sund desirable to recover this gas by retorting the block fuel, and so produce coke
and coal gas. The coke can be sold or used as carbon for the manufacture of water
gas, which gas can be used in gas engines or illuminating when treated by tho
systems in operation for this purpose. The water gas apparatus may be worked iu
connection with the other plant the materials being delivered to the gas making
apparatus.
The mud cakes from the filter presses are dried and calcined to eliminate the gas,
and other volatile products, the ash containing the potash salts is treated in tho
usual manner for recovering the same by levigation.
The sand resulting from this process can be usefully employed for building
purposes, such as mortar making, concrete and the like.
Dated this 1st day of February 1893.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or relating to the Manufacture or Production
of Block Fuel, Gas, and other Useful Products from Refuse
1. Materials.
1, JOHN CHARLES WILLIAM STANLEY, of 5 Dewhurst Road, in the County of
Middlesex, Gentleman, 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 :-
The object of this invention is the manufacture or production of block fuel,
gas, and other useful products from house-dust (or what is known as “dust-bîn ”
refuse) or other similar refuse which contains a large quantity of unburnt piecos
of coal, dinder, vegetable matter and sand, the separation of the non-combustible
material,.bud for the recovery of the carbon for use under steam boilers. This
house-dust is to be sub-divided into its component parts, for which purpose the
machinery, described in Letters Patent No. 1540 dated October 26th 1880 is
Buitable, which eliminates all the waste paper etc., from the carbon matter and
the vegetable matter can be collected separately, also tho. vegetable charcoal
obtained by burning boxes, mats, and the like.
After subdivision by this sifting process. I take that portion of the materials
resulting from the process which will pass through a mesh of suitable size, say
conveniently 1 inches and deal with it in the following manner which will be
best understood by reference to the accompanying drawings which represent
diagrammatically apparatus. suitable for carrying this invention into effect,
although modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the
invention.
Figure 1 represents diagrammatically an alevation of the apparatus,
Figure 2 being a plan of the same, and
Figures 3 and 4 respectively a side elevation and a oroas section of the washers
whose operation will he rently explained

page_text: The materials forming part of the products from the process described in the
previous Specification No. 1540 of 1889 are delivered into a revolving circular
Biove having a suitable mesh say ths of an inch and those portious of
the materials which pass through the the mesh fall into a second concentric
sicre B of finor mesh say th of an inch. The screen A may be fitted with a
water pipe A' extending throughout its length aud perforated on the underside
BO as to deliver a large volume of water to assist in separating and washing the
material as it enters and passes along the screens A and B, the water falling
through them into tho chamber C. The materials delivered into the first sieve
consist of coal, coke, cinder, sand, glass, bits of cabbage leaves, and other
similar materials; of these only such as will pass through the ths mesh reach
the outer sieve B through the fine mesh of which the finest particles of all, say
saud, powdered glass, and powdered coal, coke, etc. fall into the chamber or
receptacle C. This chamber has a slanting bottom as shown and a worm
Conveyor D which raises the materials to the higher end of the chamber whence
they pass by the downwardly sloping shoot or passage C, Fig. 2, to a second
shoot E similar in all respects to C, but as indicated by the dot and dash lines
in Figure 1, sloping in the opposite direction so that the lowest point of
chamber E is nearly level with the highest point of the chamber C the difference
being due to the inclination of the passage C. There are as many of these
chambers as are found necessary, in Figure 2 four aro shown, each of them
being if necessary provided with the worm-conveyor and a water supply C' and
overflow C. The fine materials passing through the sievo B are immediately
upon their arrival in the chamber C separated, the heavy material falling into
the worm conveyor D and being drawn along is met. by the stream of water
which carries along with it, in an opposite direction, all mud and vegetable
matter, these latter passing out at the overflow C to ho dealt with as hereafter
described. As will be seen from Figure 1 the bottom of the first chamber C
is considerably below the ground lovel Z while the bottom of the last chamber
is considerably above that level; this also allows of the last chamber C delivering
its charge of sand or sharp grit at such a height that it may conveniently fall
into a cart, trolley or the like, to be conveyed away for building purposes such
as making mortar, concrete and the like. It is desirable to have several of the
chambers C and worm-conveyors D partly to effect the necessary raising of the
materials from the lower to the higher level but mainly to thoroughly cleanse
from mud and light material.
The tailings from the sieve B fall into a shoot or hopper F leading to the
washer G preferably formed double with a valve or sluice G at its upper end
so that either of the two channels of the washer may be used, this allowing of
the emptying of one while the other is in use. The washer G may he constructed
as indicated in Figures 3 and 4 from which it will be seen that an outer trough
or casing G contains an inuer framo H which by chains or equivalent H¹
passing over pulleys 11 secured upon the shaft I which may be revolved by the
band-wheel I or other suitable means, can be raised out of the trough G³. The
frame carries a number of partition boards or plates H which normally lie
at the bottom of the trough G but when the frame H is raised by turning the
shaft I, they are lifted up out of the trough and its contents as indicated at
the right-hand side of Figure 4, the left-hand side representing the frame down
and in position for operation. In Figure 3 the plates H are shown at an angle
to the bottom of the trough but preferably parallel with the direction in which
they will be raised so as to facilitate their being drawn out of the materials in
the trough. These materials having already passed through a th inch mesh (the
stones, glass, crockery, nails and other non-combustible materials) collect against
the partition plates in the bottom of the trough G water being admittod
in sufficient quantity to the shoot For the upper portion of the washer G which
in conjunction with the angle at which the washer lies carries forward the
lighter materials which consist of coal, cinder wood &c. The materials carried

page_text: •
along by the stream of water escape from the end of the trough G into the
tank J where further separation takes place, those pieces which are capable of
Hoating, such as coke and cinder, rising to the surface while the heavier
vinterials sink to the bottom. The water and floating matters escape over the
edge or channel J of the tank J into the second tank K in which they are
collected the water escaping through wire-gauze or similar fine openings so as to
leave the coke etc. behind it in the tank. -
When the spaces between the plates H' of the trough G are full the sluice G' is
turned so as to direct the water into the other channel of the washer G and tho
shaft I is revolved raising the frame and plates H' out of the trough G¹ and
at the same time by another pulley and chain raising the sluice or valve G³ so as to
close the end of the trough G and prevent the contents from escaping into the
tank J and at the same time unclosing an opening in the bottom of the trough so
that the contents may be directed into the shoot G' and so into the tank L. The
contents of the respective tanks J, K and L, may be removed in any convenient
manner conveniently by means of a false bottom, which can be raised up with tho
contents of the tank by a movable wall or other suitable means, it not being
considere I necessary in this Specification to elaborately describe apparatus which
can be constructed on well-known inodels, the present invention dealing with the
separation of the materials rather than with their treatment after separation.
The tailings from the sievo A pass over a magnetizing machine M, Figure 1, to
the bottom of the bucket elevator N from the top of which they are delivered to
the soparating shoot O in which is a break 0 (the proportions of which can bo
adjusted) through which the garbage and sticky materials will fall, while the
heavy materials such as coal, coke crockery stones and the like sliding down the
steeply inclined shoot will jump the break O' and escaping by the end of the shoot
will enter the head of a second washer P whose construction and operation are
substantially the same as already described in relation to the washer G.
The water from the various tanks I prefer to pass through filter presses
precipitating tanks or through fine gauze or sifting devices for the purpose of
removing from the water the particles of hair, wool-dust (from house-sweeping)
saw-dust, wood and charcoal and the like which it may contain; these matters may
be pressed into solid cakes which when dry may be retorted and the gas collected
the remaining ash which will contain potash being used for manure or treated for
the recovery of the potash salts.
;
It will thus be seen that the carbon contained in the house-dust is completely
separated from the non-combustible portion such as sand and the like, the products
being as follows;-Unburnt coal, burnt coal (floated cinder), mixed coal and cinder,
clean-washed sand, filter-pressed cakes, mud containing potash and nitrogen. Some
of the uses for which these products are suitable will be the unburnt fuel for sale or
the manufacture of gas, the floated cinder for the manufacture of water gas, the
mixed coal and cinder may be sifted the tailings being of a suitable size for making
water-gas and the other portion for the manufacture of block fuel. As all the
above are carbon either as unburnt coal or cinder they can if desired be used for
gas and block-fuel making, which latter is prepared by reducing the material to a
uniform size by grinding and adding pitch or other suitable binding agent ; these
blocks can be used for domestic fires.
As there is a quantity of gas in the material composing these blocks it may be
found desirable to recover this gas by retorting the block fuel, and so produce coko
and coal gas. The coke can be sold or used as carbon for tho manufacture of
water gas, which gas can be used in gas engines or illuminating when treated by the
systems now in operation for this purpose. The water gas apparatus may be
worked in connection with the other plant the materials being delivered to the gas
making apparatus.
I have described the sieves A and B as rotating and I prefer this form of sieve;
however, it will be seen that the same or a very similar effect could be obtained with
flat sieves which I can use if I choose.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I wish it to be understood
that I am aware of my previous Specification No. 1540 of 1889 and make no claim..
to anything described and claimed therein, but what I claim is ;-
-
1. The method or process of dealing with the finer materials of house refuse
aftor the larger and coarser have been eliminated by sieving and washing
substantially as set forth to separate the portious of carbon consisting of unburnt
pieces of coal and cinder from the non-combustible material.
2. In the treatment of the finer portions of house refuse the combination with
two sieves the second of which has a smaller mesh than the first of a series of
reversory inclined chambers such as C and worm conveyors D substantially as
and for the purposo described.
3. In the treatment of the finer portions of house refuse the combination with
two sioves the second of which has a smaller mesh than the first of a washer such.
as G and tanks J K L substantially as described and illustrated in the accompanying
drawings.
4. In the treatment of the finer portions of house refuse the combination with
two sieves the second of which has a smaller mesh than the first of a magnetizing
machine au elevator N separation shoot O O' and washer P substantially as and.
for the purpose described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
Dated this 30th day of November 1893.
JOHN CHARLES WILLIAM STANLEY.
W. P. Thompson & Boult,
Agents for the Applicant..