CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE APPARATUS FOR PURIFYING GAS
Year: 1843

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, CHARLES
BROOK, of Meltham Mills, in the County of York, Cotton Spinner, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Letters
Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at Westminster,
the Seventeenth day of February, in the sixth year of Her reign, did, for
Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said Charles
Brook, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority, that I,
the said Charles Brook, my exors, admors, and assigns, and such others as
I, the said Charles Brook, 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 expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and
vend, with England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my
Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE APPARATUS FOR PURIFYING GAS;"
in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso, that I, the said Charles
Brook, 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
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: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Charles Brook, do hereby declare that the nature of my Invention, of certain
improvements in the apparatus for purifying gas, to consist in a new arrange-
ment of that part of the purifying apparatus called the dry lime purifyer, in
which the gas is subjected to the action of lime or other pulverised material, by
which improvements such material is agitated and more effectually brought
into contact with the gas to be purified; and the manner in which the same
is to be performed and carried into effect will be seen by reference to the
annexed Drawings, and the following description thereof. The scale to which
the Drawings are made is marked thereon, and the same part is indicated by
the same letter of reference in the several Figures there represented.
Before I commence the description of the Drawing I shall briefly describe
the ordinary process of purifying gas for illuminating purposes, to which my
Invention is more particularly applicable. The gas evolved by the destructive
distillation of coal for illuminating purposes is usually purifyed by passing it
first through water to arrest the amonia, and subsequently through a solution of
caustic lime, in an apparatus called the wet purifyer, or through pulverised lime
placed in thin layers in an apparatus called the dry purifyer. The latter, or dry
purifyer, is found the more simple and convenient in practice, but is subject to
objection from the gas forcing itself through the thinest part of the layer of
lime, which is soon saturated with sulphur and other impurities, and then
passing through without a sufficient purifying action taking place in the
To obviate this objection, and bring the whole of the lime used in the purifying
apparatus in more complete contact with the gas, is one advantage of my
Invention, which I shall now proceed to describe.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
gas.
Fig. 1 represents a front view of an apparatus of my improved construction;
Fig. 2, an end view; Fig. 3 a longitudinal, and Fig. 4 a transverse section of
the same. Figs. 5 and 6 are modifications of the same apparatus, hereafter
referred to. In Figs. 1 and 2, A répresent a hollow cylindrical drum ór
cylinder, connected by a hollow shaft 6 to a similar drum or cylinder B. These
two cylinders A and B are supported on steps at the four bearings a, a, a, a,
and receive a regular rotary movement from the spur wheel 'G keyed on the
hollow shaft (as seen at Fig. 1 and 3). The spur wheel C' is driven by
any adequate power, and gears into the wheel C for the purpose of revolving
the clinders A and B. At one end of the apparatus, seen at Fig. 1, 2, & 3, is
placed the entrance pipe D, for 'the admission of gas to be pürifyed, which pro-
ceed in the direction of the arrow through the purifyers A and B, and thence

page_text: by the exit pipe E in the direction of the bent arrow to the gasholder.. Con-
nected with the pipes D and E are the two stationary chambers F, F, between
which and the cylinders A and B are placed the stuffing boxes d, d, which,
screwing on to the hollow shaft b', on which the cylinders: revolve, and fitting
accurately to the continuation of the pipes D.and E, allows of the free passage
of the gas: through the purifyers without interfering with their rototion.
Through the centre of the hollow shaft on which the: cylinders revolve is
placed the stationary rod e; e, (see Fig:: 3,) supported on pedestals f, f, in the
respective chambers: F, F. On this stationary rod e, e, are keyed the four
disks or circular plates g, g, g; g, two in: each cylinder A and B: These disks
gggg each support a hammer G, provided with a counterweight H; (as
best seen át. Fig. 3: and: 4;) which has a constant.. tendency to bring the
hammers into a perpendicular.position over the centre h, on which they are
respectively supported. The interior of the cylinders A and B are also pro-
vided with a series of shelves or projections, marked i, attached to their interior
circumference, the position of which are best seen at Figs. 3 and 4. Each of
these projections or shelves i extends one-half the length of the cylinder in
which they are: placed, the shelves for the remaining half of the cylinder being
placed a little in advance; so that one-half of the shelves intersect the spaces
between the shelves of the other half, (as seen' best' at Fig. 3 & 4): The
hammers G respectively impinge against these shelves when' in a perpen-
dicular position; but when the shelf against which the hammer G. rests has
assumed an angle of about forty-five degrees by the gradual rotation of the
cylinder in the direction of the arrow, seen at Fig. 4; the hammer is relieved,
as shewn by dotted lines, and the counterweight forces it forward to strike
against the succeeding shelf which has then come perpendicularly over the
centre of rotation: Thus a succession of blows are imparted from the
hammers: G to the shelves i, as they pass perpendicularly over the centre of
the revolving cylinder or drum in which they, are placed.
Referring to: Fig. 1; K represents doors or openings for the purpose of
introducing lime or other purifying material into the cylinders A and B.
These doors extend the' length of the shelves which are within, and each
cylinder is provided with two doors, one to each series of shelves. Supposing,
therefore, the two cylinders A and B to be charged with a proper quantity of
pulverised lime, say, to the depth of six or eight inches, which is usually used
in a slightly damped state, and the doors K-made fast, the cylinders are put in
motion. The damp pulverised lime is thus carried on the succeeding shelves i
to the highest elevation, whence it falls in a shower through the whole cylinders';
and should any part adhere or stick to the shelves i, the succeeding blows of

page_text: the hammers G shakes it off, and a continual shower of lime is constantly falling
through the gas to be purifyed.
In practice I find that the contact of the gas with the lime in my improved
apparatus is so perfect, that the lime in the first cylinder A is completely satu-
rated before the lime in the second or B cylinder is at all affected; but this
must greatly depend on the nature of the gas to be purifyed and the velocity at
which it is forced through the purifyers.. Fig. 5 and 6 represent longitudinal
and transverse sections (on a reduced scale) of another form of construction of
the revolving cylinders. In these Figures it will be seen that the space between
each of the shelves i, is filled by a semicircular piece of sheet iron, into which the
falling lime or other material is received, and from which it is dislodged more
readily by the revolution of the cylinder, or by the action of the hammers G,
than from the flat shelves described in the former Figures. The exact speed of
revolution of these cylinders is not very material, but for cylinders of the size
described I should prefer from eight to ten revolutions per minute. And
although I have only described one form of my improvements, which I have
found to answer well, it is obvious that the number of revolving cylinders may
be increased to any convenient amount as well as varied in form without
departing from the essential characterestic of my Invention, namely, the shaking
or showering down of the lime or other purifying material through the volume
of gas to be purifyed.
Having now described the nature of my Invention, and the manner in which
the same is to be performed and carried into effect, I do not claim any of the
separate or well-known parts of which my improvements are constructed, but
I do claim the combination and arrangement of such parts as herein-before
set forth and described; and I am well aware that such combination and
arrangement of parts may be varied and modified, all which variations and
modifications I also claim as my Invention, the characterestic of which is the
mechanical shaking or agitating of the pulverised lime or similar material
while in contact with the gas to be purifyed, so as to present a greater purify-
ing surface, as already described; all which being, to the best of my knowledge
and belief new, and never before practised in that part of Her Majesty's
Dominion called England, I deliver this as a true and faithful Specification of
the same.
In witness whereof, I, the said Charles Brook, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, the Eleventh day of August, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and forty-three
CHARLES (L.S.) BROOK.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Eleventh day of August, in
the year of our Lord 1843, the aforesaid Charles Brook came before our said
Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification afore-
said, and all and every thing therein contained and specified, in form above
written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according to the
tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.