IMPROVEMENTS IN FURNACES FOR TREATING TOWN AND OTHER REFUSE."
Year: 1882

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Brierley Denhamn Healey of Brighouse in the County of
York Civil Engineer for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN FURNACES FOR
TREATING TOWN AND OTHER REFUSE."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Brierley Denham Healey at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 1st November 1882.
BRIERLEY DENHAM HEALEY of Brighouse in the County of York, Civil
Engineer. IMPROVEMENTS IN FURNACES FOR TREATING TOWN AND OTHER
REFUSE
This Invention has reference to an improved form of the furnace shewn and
described in the Specification of the Patent granted unto me A.D. 1880 No. 2369.
and the furnace hereinafter described is applicable for converting town and other
refuse into clinkers the heat passing from the furnace being available for generating
steam or other purposes.
According to my present Invention the fumes which are evolved from the refuse
under treatment are caused to pass over a reverberatory arch which being highly
heated renders the fumes inodorous. The reverberatory arch is built at a proper
height from the firebars to allow the refuse to be burnt and at such a distance
from the main arch as to ensure the requisite fluo area whilst the length of the
reverberatory arch is about two-thirds the length of the inclined part of the
furnace.
The incline of the furnace as used for converting ordinary street and ash pit
refuse is built at an angle of 20° to 25°, and the reverberatory arch is built at an
angle of 25° to 30°. Every furnace is provided with hopper formed charging holes at
the upper end of the incline through which the refuse is charged direct from the
carts which arrangement allows the work to be carried on with less labour than
hitherto.
As the lower layer of refuse is converted into clinkers more refuse is drawn
down the incline and when the grate is entirely covered with clinkers the latter

page_text: are withdrawn through doors at the bottom of the incline, after which the upper
layer of refuse is drawn down upon the grate. The heated gases and flame from
the refuse under fire pass over the upper layer of refuse and assist in drying it
ready for combustion after which the gases pass through outlets in the front of the
furnace into the chimney flue.
Some of the furnaces have extra charging holes in the main arch for the purpose
of inserting bulky articles which have to be burnt such as beddings diseased
meat and bad provisions. I provide suitable openings in the flues for cleaning out
the dust whilst the furnaces are working and in some cases I erect elevators for
lifting the clinkers from the clinkering floor to the general ground level.
I prefer to build the furnaces in single rows with the chimney flue over the
drawing out doors but the chimney flue inay be made at the back of the ashpit
when desired and the furnaces connected thereto by side branches either forming
part of the side walls of furnaces or separated from the side walls.
Where the furnaces can be built in a recessed part of sloping ground they are all
open in front, the upper level of furnaces having an inclined road leading upward,
whilst another road leads down to the clinkering floor, in which case the elevators
are not used.
When other forms of furnaces are built in preference to my present Invention
they may be built below the general ground level and have means of getting up
the clinkers as herein described so as to dispense with the usual elevated platform.
My preference being for the furnaces-to-be-built below..the general ground level in
all-cases,

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Brierley Denham Healey in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
28th April 1883.
BRIERLEY DENHAM HEALEY, of Brighouse, in the County of York, Civil
Engineer, IMPROVEMENTS IN FURNACES FOR TREATING TOWN AND OTHER
REFUSE
This Invention has reference to an improved form of the furnace shown and
described in the specification of the patent granted unto me, A.D. 1880. No. 2369.
and the furnace hereinafter described is applicable for converting Town and other
refuse into clinkers, the heat passing from the furnace being available for generating
steam or other purposes. According to my present Invention the fumes which are
evolved from the refuse under treatment, are caused to pass over a reverberatory.
arch, which being highly heated reduces the obnoxious fumes to a minimum. The
reverberatory arch is built at a proper height from the firebars to allow the refuse
to be burnt, and at such a distance from the main arch as will leave the requisite
flue area, the length of the reverberatory arch being about two thirds the length
of the inclined part of the furnace.
The incline of the furnace as used for converting ordinary street and ashpit
refuse, is built at an angle of 20 to 25 Degrees, and the reverberatory arch is built
at an angle of 25 to 30 Degrees. Every furnace is provided with a hopper-formed
charging hole at the upper end of the incline, through which the refuse is charged
direct from the carts, which arrangement allows the work to be carried on with
less labour than when built in blocks.
As the lower layer of refuse is converted into clinkers more refuse is drawn down
the incline, and when the grate is entirely covered with clinkers the latter are
withdrawn through doors at the bottom of the incline, after which the upper layer.
of refuse is drawn down upon the grate. The heated gases and flame from the
refuse under fire pass over the upper layer of refuse, and assist in drying it ready
for combustion, after which the gases pass through outlets in the front of the
furnace into flues leading to the chimney.
Some of the furnaces have an extra charging hole in the main arch for the.
purpose of inserting bulky articles which have to be burnt, such as beddings.
descased meat and bad provisions. I provide suitable openings in the flues for
cleaning out the dust whilst the furnaces are working, and in some cases I erect
lifts or clevators for lifting the clinkers from the clinkering floor to the general
ground level.
Where steam power is available the method of raising the clinkers by elevators
may be adopted, the elevator buckets being each in one part and of cast steel. The
latter are attached to steel link-chains in the ordinary manner about every five
feet, working over skeleton wheels at the upper and lower end of elevator. The
clinkers are fed into a cast iron box at lower end which carries the lower wheels
and shaft, and are delivered at the top end into a shoot which carries the upper
wheels and shaft.
Where water can be obtained of sufficient pressure say seventy pounds or over
per square inch, a direct acting lift or ram may be used, carrying a forked frame.
in which is placed a revolving hopper. When the hopper is loaded the water is
turned on by hand, but on reaching the top of the lift the water is shut off by
appet gear. The hoj por is disengaged from the frame as the lift is brought to
est, and the clinkers are tipped into a hopper at the same time. The waste

page_text: valve is then opened by hand and the ram falls to the lower level ready for
further use.
It is obvious that the last method may be adopted for raising sweepings, ashes,
and refuse, from sunk pits in streets, where such are used instead of orderly bins.
This will reduce the nuisance from particles of matter blowing about during the
loading into carts, and will save labour owing to the apparatus tipping direct into
the carts.
I prefer to build the furnaces in single rows with the chimney flue over the
front of the furnaces, or with the chimney flue at the back of the ashpits, and
the furnaces connected thereto by side branches in the side walls or separated
therefrom.
When other forms of furnaces are built in preference to mine, they may be built
below the general ground level, and have means of getting up the clinkers as
herein described, so as to dispence with the usual elevated platform, my preference
being for the furnaces to be built below the general ground level in all cases.
And in order that this Invention may be better understood, I will now explain
it with reference to the accompanying sheet of Drawings. The reference numbers
where repeated on the different Figures indicate corresponding parts on each of
the Figures. Figure 1 is a section showing the chimney flue at the front of and
above the drawing out doors. Figure 2 is a section shewing the chimney flue at
the front of and over the furnaces. Figure 3 is a section shewing the chimney flue
at the back of the ashpits and under the furnaces.
The furnaces are erected in single rows, and the refuse is tipped direct from the
carts into large hoppers 1. The latter are formed immediately over the drying
zone 2 of each furnace, and of the full width of the furnaces. The refuso is partly
dried as it descends towards the firegrate 3, by heat from the material in com-
bustion upon the grate, and is thus prepared for passing forward to the combustion
chamber. The fumes arising from the drying zone are passed over a reverberatory
arch 4, on their passage to the chimney-flue: 5; by which means the vapour is
superheated and the obnoxious gases are reduced to a minimum. Consequent upon
the furnaces being built below the general ground level 6, they do not require so
many binding irons, the cost is less than when built above ground, and the
surrounding buildings and roadways cost considerably less, the main purpose of
this arrangement being to reduce the first cost of the apparatus.
Where there is a demand for morlar it may be made as hitherto from the
clinkers, steam for the engine being generated by heat from the furnaces. The
combined apparatus, including elevator or lift for clinkers and surrounding
buildings generally, are more compact and less likely to be noticed by the public.
The reverberatory arch is in some cases substituted by an iron saddle, or partly by
iron, but this as well as the length of the arch, depends entirely upon the nature of
the material to be treated. Material containing a large percentage of carbonaceous
matter requiring a shorter furnace with brick arch, whilst material with less
carbonaceous matter requires a longer furnace with iron saddle at upper end
of arch.
The extra charging hole 7 in main arch, is not formed in every furnace, but only
in as many as may be considered necessary in each application of this system.
The waste heat passes through outlets S in front of each furnace, there being two
or three of such outlets for the arrangement shewn by Figures 1 and 2, and two
for the arrangement shewn by Figure 3. The outlets 8 on Figure 3 are in the
front corners leading to branch Blues below, the latter being under the centre of
each division wall or separated therefrom. To allow of the dust being cleared away
whilst the furnaces are working, doors 9 are formed in the Hues or front wall. In
the arrangement shewn by Figure 3, the cleaning door is sometimes put in the
main arch near the front wall, instead of in the front wall.
The clinkering doors 10, ashpits 11, and binders 12, are parts well understood.
The grate bearers 13, aro cast with dividing fins to keep the bars apart from each
other, and may be made so as to move alternate bars of the grate for the purpose

page_text: of breaking up the clinkers. The arrows indicate the direction of the waste heat
going to the main flue.
Having now described the nature of my Invention and in what manner it is to
be carried into practise, I wish it to be understood that I do not claim any of the
well-known parts shown or described herein, nor do I confine myself to the precise
details herein shewn and described, but what I claim as my Invention is :-
First. The general details and the use of a reverberatory arch for the purpose of
reducing the noxious fumes to a minimum substantially as herein shewn and
described.
Second. The general details of destructor furnaces with regard to erecting thein
below the ground lovel for the purpose herein set forth substantially as herein
shown and described.
Third. The use of the apparatus herein described for raising clinkers or refuse
for the purposes herein named and described.
In witness whereof I the said Brierley Denham Healey have hereunto set
my hand and seal the twenty sixth day of April in the year of our Lord
one thousand eight hundred and eighty three.
D. D. HEALEI.
(L.B.)