IMPROVEMENTS IN COMPRESSING OR SOLIDIFYING FUEL AND OTHER. MATERIALS
Year: 1849

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
BUCKWELL, of the Artificial Granite Works,. Battersea, in the County of
Surrey, C. E., send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the.Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Twenty-eighth day of
March, (one thousand eight hundred and forty-nine) in the twelfth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said William Buckwell, my exors, adññors, and assigns, Her especial
licence, full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said William
Buckwell, my exors, adñors, and assigns, or such others as I, the said.
William Buckwell, my exors, adññors, 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, within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN COMPRESSING OR SOLIDIFYING FUEL AND OTHER.
MATERIALS;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso that I,.
the said William Buckwell, shall cause a particular description of the nature
of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, by an
instrument in writing under my hand and seal, 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.

page_text: and by the same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at large
appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
William Buckwell, 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 ascertained in and by the following statement thereof, that is to say :-
My Invention consists of a new method of condensing, solidifying, and
compressing coke, coal, or other material ordinarily used as or applicable for
fuel, by subjecting it to percussion in moulds, and so converting it into dense
or solid blocks easily portable, and admitting of convenient stowage. And the
mode or process which I have adopted for producing this effect is the follow-
ing-Taking, for example, as the fuel to be compressed or solidified, coke in
a crushed, granular, or fractured state, and mixed with a small quantity of
liquid, I cause it be fed or fall in this state into a massive cast-iron mould
lined with wrought iron casehardened, firmly fixed and well supported, the
inner surface of the moukl being of the form and dimensions of the intended
blocks. In this mould a ram works. I use and prefer for this purpose a steam
hammer, but other means of obtaining the requisite percussion may be used.
In making hexagonal blocks (which is the shape I prefer) of about fifty
square inches transverse section, I have used such a hammer of about three
tons weight, capable of acting through a space of four feet, and working at
the rate of about fifty blows per minute. As the mould is fed with the fuel
the ram or hammer strikes and beats it in the mould, and thus compresses or
solidifies it; and the best effect I find to be produced by feeding in small
quantities at a time between successive blows of the rani. The block so
formed is then to be removed from the mould; but as in practice I have found
it expedient not to do this immediately, but to suffer the block to rest for a
short time in the mould, I have for this purpose adopted the following method,
which I prefer and recommend as advantageous :-I make the mould of double
the depth required for the formation of a block, supposing one block to have
been formed, the next blow, as herein-after explained, will carry it forward
into the lower part of the mould, a plate of iron fitting the mould being intro-
duced so as to separate this block from the next, which will now be made in
the upper part of the mould, as before described. The block at the lower part
of the mould is then to be driven out, and the upper block to take its place,
which is effected thus:-The plate under the lower of the two blocks in the
mould is supported by a prop inserted into a cylinder filled with steam, the
prop moving in the cylinder as a piston. This prop, whilst a block is being
formed, remains bolted or fixed, but when a block has been formed the
prop
is

page_text: to be unfixed, and it will descend into the cylinder by the succeeding blow of
the hammer, so as to release the lower block of fuel from the mould, which
is then to be removed, the upper block taking its place. The steam in the
cylinder will then bring the prop back into its place under a plate in the
mould, where it is again to be bolted or fixed, and the process repeated. In
the first instance, and before any block of fuel has been formed in the mould
it will of course be necessary to place in the lower part of the mould under
the plate of iron before mentioned for separating the successive blocks of fuel,
a block of wood, or other material capable of bearing the blows, which, being
driven out after the first block of fuel has been formed, may then be laid aside,
but it is desirable to use it when finishing work, so as to leave such block in
the mould in preference to a block of fuel. I subject the blocks, when
formed to the action of a dry atmosphere in a room or chamber, at a tempera-
ture somewhat higher than the outer air. But this is not essential, the action
of the outer atmosphere in fine weather being sufficient to produce the same
effect, though in a longer time, varying, of course, according to the condition
of the atmosphere. As respects the quantity of liquid to be applied to coke
or other fuel before subjecting it to the blows of a ram or hammer, when in
a mould, I would state that it is impossible to specify any exact proportion,
because coke or other fuel itself varies as to its state of dryness according to
circumstances, and particularly according to the condition of the atmosphere.
It may be, and sometimes is found to be, sufficiently damp by exposure to and
absorption from the atmosphere, without the addition of any liquid, but in
ordinary cases it will be necessary to mix with it a small quantity of water or
matter in a fluid state. If the coke or other fuel, when subjected to the ram,
be not sufficiently damp, a dust will arise, and the solidification will not be com-
plete; if, on the other hand, it be too much loaded with liquid, the excess will
shew itself on the surface of the block, and in this case again the effect of the
impact will be less perfect. A workman will very soon be able to judge with
sufficient accuracy of the proper condition from the mere feel of the materials.
If bituminous matter, such as tar or other matter, in a liquid state be used in
combination with the fuel to be compressed, the water will be omitted or
proportionately diminished.
Having thus stated the manner in which the operation may be effected,
as applied to coke, I would remark, that I have merely selected coke as the
material by way of example, and because I think the Invention may be very
usefully applied in practice to coke alone. But the same process may be
applied to mixtures of coke and coal, also to coal, and to mixtures of different
sorts of coal, and to other materials which may be used as fuel.

page_text: Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and the manner of-per-
forming the same, I would have it understood that what I claim is the
compressing or solidifying fuel in moulds by percussion..
In witness whereof, I, the said William Buckwell, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-eighth day of September, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and forty-nine.

page_text: passed in the fifth and sixth years of the reign of His late Majesty King
William the Fourth, intituled "An Act to amend the Law touching Letters
Patent for Invention.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Twenty-eighth day of September,
in the year of our Lord 1849, the aforesaid William Buckwell came before
our said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Specifica-
tion aforesaid, 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.
Enrolled the Twenty-eighth day of September, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and forty-nine.