of Manure.
Year: 1886

page_text: of Manure.
I, JAMES HAROLD BARRY, of No 28 Mayola Road, Clapton, in the County of
Middlesex, Engineer, 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 the treatment of excreta and sewage sludge in such a
manner as to obtain, at a moderate cost, a manure which is very valuable as
containing nitrogenous and phosphatic ingredients, and is at the same time
comparatively inoffensive..
For this purpose, instead of dealing with the excreta or sludge as a whole, I first
separate it into two parts, the one liquid, and the other approximately solid. This
may be done by charging the material into a high tank or receptacle having near
the bottom perforations and porous material so arranged that the liquid oozes out
under the pressure of the superincumbent mass. When, however, time is an object,
the separation of the liquid can be rapidly effected by the use of a centrifugal
machine having a perforated porous circumference.
I run the drained off liquid into a boiler the upper part of which communicates
with cooled condensing vessels or coils, and I thus distil off the ammoniacal and
other volatile ingredients which collect along with a proportion of water in the
condensers. The liquid thus condensed preferably distilled again, once or even
twice, in order to obtain a comparatively small volume of rich liquor. For heating
the distilling boilers, the larger cinders and combustible refuse that are usually
collected along with excreta may to a large extent be used as fuel, the finer cinders
and ash inay generally be used in admixture with the lower classes of the manure
products. The residuary liquid left in the boiler after distillation from it, is run
into a settling tank where most of its solid ingredients are precipitated by the
aid of lime or other precipitating agents, lime being preferred on account of its
cheapness. The effluent from this tank is passed through filter beds of animal
charcoal or is filtered through earth, or dealt with by both these filtering agents_in
succession, being finally allowed to run off in a comparatively pure condition. For
producing the animal charcoal, the leather refuse such as old boots and shoes, bones
and other animal refuse, that is usually collected, may be largely utilised..

page_text: The liquid distillate and the deposit of the settling tank, which contains
phosphatic substances, are mixed thoroughly with the solid matter from which
the liquid was in the first place drained, and with a little sulphuric acid to fix free
ammonia, and the whole is dried, preferably by exposure with extended surface to
the waste hot gases from the flues of the distilling boilers. The product is a coarse
powder having little offensive odour, which, on account of the large proportion of
its nitrogenous and phosphatic ingredients, is very valuable as a manure. By the
preliminary separation as above described of the liquid from the solid matters, and
the distillation of the liquid reducing it to a comparatively small volume of rich
liquor, which is afterwards mixed with the drained solids and the precipitate,
whilst a large portion of the original liquid is filtered off, the cost of drying is
greatly reduced, because only a moderate quantity of moisture has to be driven off,
and the most nutritive portions of the manure are retained, which is not the case
when drying is applied to the whole bulk of excreta or sludge.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is:-
The herein described process of treating excreta and sewage sludge for the
production of manure, by draining off the liquid, concentrating part of it by
distillation, disposing of the residue by precipitation and filtration, mixing the
drained solid, the precipitate and the concentrated liquor, and drying the mixture.
Dated this 18th day of September 1886
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant,