IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PROCESS OF AND APPARATUS FOR UTILISING EXCREMENTITIOUS MATTERS AND TOWN AND OTHER REFUSE
Year: 1880

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Wadsworth, of the City of Manchester, Machinist,
for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PROCESS OF AND APPARATUS
FOR UTILISING EXCREMENTITIOUS MATTERS AND TOWN AND OTHER REFUSE"
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Wadsworth at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 9th March 1880.
JAMES WADSWORTH, of the City of Manchester, Machinist.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN
THE PROCESS OF AND APPARATUS FOR UTILISING EXCREMENTITIOUS MATTERS AND
TOWN AND OTHER REFUSE."
My Invention relates, first, to improvements in the process of and in the con-
struction and arrangement of machinery or apparatus for evaporating and drying
urinous and excrementitious matter, and for more effectually economising power
therein. I sometimes use two machines constructed in the following manner :-I
cast a cylinder of iron, entirely surrounded by longitudinal passages so arranged as to
communicate together, and thus I form sufficient steam cavities for heating the
said cylinder and its contents, the said passages being curved or arched on the
outside to allow for the unequal expansion and contraction between the outer and
the inner shell, suitable flanges being formed at each extremity of the said cylinder,
to which the cylinder ends are attached. In some cases I construct my cylinder
with a cast iron inner casing, round the central portion of which an outer casing
is formed, with the manhole passing through, and all formed in one and the same
casting suitable flanges by being provided in order to complete the outer casing in
wrought-or-cast-iron. These cylinders are fixed horizontally and provided with a
central shaft, upon which I fix a proportionately large number of arms to agitate
the liquid excrement. When two machines are used to work in conjunction with
each other I make one machine much larger than the other, and I fix the smaller
machine underneath or on a lower level than the larger machine. By means of
heat imparted by steam admitted to the jacket or cavities I reduce the liquid
excrementitious matter introduced into the larger machine to a semi-liquid state,
and then run it in that state into the smaller machine, which is similarly heated,
and wherein I reduce it to a dry powdered state. By this means I am enabled to
economise power in treating such materials. I admit air into both machines, and
exhaust such air, and the vapour arising from the material, through a condenser, by

page_text: means of a draught from a chimney, or by a fan, as described in Specification of
Letters Patent, No. 498, granted to me on February 6th, A.D. 1878. I clean the
scale or incrustation from these machines with a solution of caustic or quick lime.
In further utilising town refuse I collect the urine from public and other urinals.
and place it in suitable cisterns, and mix it with horse dung or with such street
sweepings as contain a large portion of horse dung. I sometimes mix with it a
little lime and keep the mixture about blood heat for a time, by which means I
quickly develope a large amount of ammonia, which may be manufactured into
sulphate of ammonia or be otherwise utilised. In further carrying out my improve-
ments which relate to the construction of and arrangements of apparatus for
drying and otherwise utilising excrement, street sweepings, spent dye wood sewage,
animal or vegetable matters, old shoes, old hats, and other town refuse, I construct
drying or carbonizing cylinder when intended for being heated internally, by
preference, with an outer shell of boiler plating, and I attach longitudinal flanged
and groved bars (by preference cast iron), by means of rivets to the said shell, at
suitable distances from each other on the inside. In the groves of these bars I
insert curved cast iron plates so as to form an internal cylinder, and I fill the
cavity between the shell and such curved plates with non-conducting composition.
When these cylinders are required to be heated externally I make them of cast iron
to run on friction bowls, as herein after described. I also make stationary retorts
in the form of a cylinder, with a chamber running along on the upper side, and
open to such cylinder for the escape of the gases, and through which cylinder I
force the material by means of a revolving screw blade. I sometimes use two
revolving drying or carbonizing cylinders, one fixed above the other, and at one
end of the upper cylinder I apply a stationary bonnet (by means of flanges and
caps) which is internally divided by a partition, one division being used for feeding
the material, and the other for the escape of the gases and the dry or carbonised
powder, and at the other end of the same cylinder I make arrangements for con-
ducting the material from the upper to the lower cylinder; and also for receiving and
conducting into the lower cylinder the material from the stationary retorts, which
I sometimes fix to work in conjunction with the revolving cylinders. These
revolving carbonizing cylinders have flanges projecting internally, and so arranged
that they will lift the material and keep letting it fall, and so cause it to move
forward through the cylinder. The cylinder so arranged being heated to a proper
temperature the material becomes charred, or partly so, and by means of a chimney
or fan I cause a current of air, or the smoke and products of combustion from steam
boiler or other furnaces, to pass through the revolving cylinders so as to carry the
smoke and gases, and light, dry, and carbonised powder along with it into an
enlarged flue, or settling or condensing chamber of sufficiently large area to reduce
the velocity of the current and so compel the dust or powder to fall therein. This
flue or settling chamber is arranged between the cylinders and the chimney or
fan, and is provided with transverse partitions to about one third the depth of such
flue, and between which are suitable doors for the easy removal of the powder,
and at one end of the lower cylinder I attach a cooler for receiving and
discharging the sand and heavier portions of the material, in which cooler
I throw a jet of water to reduce the temperature of the vapour and
products of combustion, and also to cool the sand and heavier portions of
the material from the carbonising cylinders. I am thus enabled to collect
a large quantity of fine powder, to which, if not sufficiently impregnated
with sulphur from the furnace, I add a little sulphoric acid, and thus manu-
facture a powder which is very effective in deodorsing excrementitious matters
and to facilitate the operation of evaporating and drying urinous and excrem-
titious matter, and in reducing the same to a fine and dry powder; and for the same
purpose a single carbouising cylinder might be used with a settling or condensing
chamber, and either with or without stationary retorts. I use these carbonising
cylinders, through which I pass the products of combustion, and heat from furnaces
for separating the fine ash from the cinders, to which I sometimes add a little lime,

page_text: the fine ash in the form of dust, so leaving the cinders much cleaner, and rendering
the dust (which collects in the setting or condensing chamber more valuable as.a
manure. Any kind of vegetable matter may be carbonised by this arrangement
of carbonising cylinders and setting or condensing chambers, and such arrangement
would be effective in absorbing the sulphor from the products of combustion
where large quantities of fuel are burned in boiler and other furnaces, or
otherwise.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said James Wadsworth in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 9th
September 1880.
JAMES WADSWORTH, of the City of Manchester, Machinist.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN
THE PROCESS OF AND APPARATUS FOR UTILISING EXCREMENTITIOUS MATTERS AND
TOWN AND OTHER REFUSE."
My Invention relates, first, to improvements in the process of and in the con-
struction and arrangement of machinery or apparatus for evaporating and drying
urinous and excrementitious matter, and for more effectually economising power
therein.
And in order that this my said Invention may be more readily understood and
carried into practical effect, I have hereunto annexed three Sheets of Drawings
illustrative of my improved machinery or apparatus, and will now proceed to
describe the same, reference being had to the figures and letters of reference marked
on the several views.
Fig. 1 is a plan view partially in section, and Fig. 2 is a transverse section of
my improved cylinder or machine for evaporating and drying; Fig. 3 is a front
view of one of the cylinder ends shewing the facing for the bracket or pedestal (in
which the central shaft revolves), which is illustrated on an enlarged scale by
Figs. 4 and 5 representing a side and end view respectively of such brackets.
In Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, A is a cylinder formed of cast iron in halves or quarters,
as illustrated, and bolted together by the bolts a. Longitudinal passages B (as
shewn more clearly in Fig. 2) are formed entirely surrounding-this-cylinder, and.
are so arranged with openings c as to communicate together, and thus such
passages form steam cavities for heating the said cylinder and its contents, the
said passages being curved or arched on the outside, as illustrated, to allow for the
unequal expansion and contraction between the outer and the inner shell. Suitable
flanges D are formed at each extremity of the said cylinder to which the cylinder
ends E are bolted.
These cylinder ends E are each provided with an annular projection e on the
inside which is turned to fit the cylinder A, whilst the centre of such cylinder end
is bored out to receive a corresponding annular projection f on the bracket F (see
also Figs. 4 and 5) and in which projection is also formed the stuffing box G for

page_text: the central shaft H which revolves in the pedestal I. This cylinder or machine i
fixed horizontally, and upon its central shaft H, which is caused to revolve by
suitable mechanism, I fix a proportionately large number of cast steel arms J t
agitate the liquid excrement, whilst at the extremity of the arms J I attach
adjustable scrapers K secured in position by bolts. When two machines are used
to work in conjunction with each other I make one machine much larger than
the other, and I fix the smaller machine underneath or on a lower level than the
larger machine. By means of heat imparted by steam admitted to the jacket or
cavities B I reduce the liquid excrementitous matter introduced into the larger
machine to a semi-liquid state and then rum it in that state into the smaller
machine which is similarly heated, and being smaller in diameter requires less
power to turn, and wherein I reduce it to a dry powdered state. By this means
I am enabled to economise power in treating such materials. I admit air into
both machines at one end, say, through the opening at e¹, and exhaust such air, and
the vapour arising from the material, through a similar opening at the other end,
thence through a condenser by means of a draught from a chimney or fan, as
described in the Specification of Letters Patent, No. 498, granted to me on
February 6th, A.D. 1878.
In some cases I construct my cylinder in two halves bolted together, as illustrated
in Fig. 6, with a cast iron inner casing L, round the central portion of which an
outer casing M is formed with the man-hole N passing through, suitable flanges O
being provided in order to complete the outer casing in boiler plating P; and to
allow for the unequal expansion and contraction between the outer and inner
casing I extend the boiler plating P beyond the end of the cast iron cylinder Land
there connect the same to the annular boiler plating end Q, which is secured at its
smaller diameter to the cast iron end R, as illustrated.
I clean the scale or incrustation from these machines with a solution of caustic
or quick lime. In further utilising town refuse I collect the urine from public and
other urinals and place it in suitable cisterns and mix it with horse dung or with
such street sweepings as contain a large proportion of horse dung. I sometimes
mix with it a little lime and keep the mixture about blood heat for a time, by
which means I quickly develop a large amount of ammonia which may be manu-
factured into sulphate of ammonia, or be otherwise utilised. In further carrying
out my improvements which relate to the construction of and arrangements of
apparatus for drying and otherwise utilising excrements, street sweepings, spent-
dye-wood sewage, animal and vegetable matters, old shoes, old hats, and other town
refuse I construct drying or carbonizing cylinders when intended for being heated
internally, by preference, with an outer shell of boiler plating, and I attach
longitudinal flanged and grooved bars (by preference, cast iron) by means of rivets
to the said shell at suitable distances from each other on the inside. In the
grooves of these bars I insert curved cast iron plates so as to form an internal
cylinder, and I fill the cavity between the shell and such curved plates with non-
conducting composition.
In Fig. 7 I illustrate a side sectional view, and in Fig. 8 a plan of a revolving
carbonising cylinder in conjunction with stationary retorts, and Figs. 9 and 10 are
front sectional views of parts of the same.
In Figs. 7, 8, 9, and 10, S, S, are a series of stationary retorts fitted with
revolving screw blades S¹, which cause the material fed to such retorts through
the hoppers T to travel along and empty themselves into the intermediate stationary
retort U, which, being fitted with a similar revolving screw blade U¹, causes its
contents to travel along and to discharge themselves into the revolving carbonising
cylinder V through the hopper W. This cylinder V is constructed of cast iron, and
is arranged to revolve upon friction bowls V', and is internally provided with a
series of projecting plates V2 arranged at a suitable angle to throw forward the
material entering through the hopper W and to cause the same to be discharged
through the opening Vs. The stationary retorts S, S, are heated by a furnace Z
which passes beneath the whole of the retorts S, S, in a transverse direction, as

page_text: illustrated in Fig. 10, and thus the material passing through the machine becomes
charred or partly so, and by means of a chimney or fan I cause a current of
air, and the smoke and products of combustion (say from a steam boiler or other
furnace X) to pass through the revolving cylinder V in the direction of the arrows,
and thus I carry the smoke and gases and light, dry, and carbonized powder arising
from the material being charred along with it through the opening X' into an enlarged
flue Y or settling or condensing chamber, which is of sufficiently large area to reduce
the velocity of the current, and to compel the dust or powder to fall therein. The
smoke and gases given off in the retorts S, S, are permitted to escape into this
enlarged flue Y through the pipe Z¹, which is connected by branches to each of
such retorts. This flue or settling chamber Y is arranged between the cylinders
and the chimney or fan, and is provided with transverse partitions Y¹ to about
two thirds the depth of such flue, and between which partitions at the bottom are
arranged suitable doors 1 for the easy removal of the powder.
I sometimes use a single carbonising cylinder, as illustrated in Fig. 11 (upon
which the same letters of reference are used on similar parts as in Fig. 7), with a
similar settling or condensing chamber Y, and at the discharge end of such cylinder
I attach a cooler 2 for receiving and discharging the sand and heavier portions of
the material. In this cooler I throw a jet of water to reduce the temperature of
the vapour and products of combustion, and also to cool the sand and heavier
portions of the material from the carbonising cylinder, the vapour also assisting in
causing the dust to fall in the settling chamber and in absorbing the sulphur given
off from the furnaces.
Instead of passing the products of combustion through revolving carbonising
cylinders, as above described, I sometimes admit a current of air at the hopper end
of the carbonising cylinder, where the material is fed into such cylinder, which
current carries with it the dry and carbonised powder in the opposite direction to
that shewn by the arrows in Fig. 7, and escapes through the cooler or discharge
orifice into a condensing or settling chamber (similar to that shewn in Figs. 7 and
11), where it mingles with the products of combustion from boiler or other
furnaces, such current being obtained by means of a chimney or fan, as hereinbefore
described.
I am thus enabled to collect a large quantity of fine powder, to which, if not
sufficiently impregnated with sulphur from the furnaces, I add a little sulphuric
acid, and thus manufacture a powder which is very effective in deodorising
excrementitious matters.
I use these carbonising cylinders, through which I pass the products of com-
bustion and heat from furnaces, for separating the fine ash from the cinders, say,
as collected from cottages, to which I sometimes add a little lime, the fine ash (and
lime if added) being carried away in the form of dust, so leaving the cinders much
cleaner, and rendering the dust (which collects in the settling or condensing
chamber) more valuable as a manure. Any kind of vegetable matter may be
carbonized by this arrangement of carbonising cylinders and settling or condensing
chambers, and such arrangement would be effective in absorbing the sulphur from
the products of combustion where large quantities of fuel or refuse are burned in
boiler and other furnaces, or otherwise.
Having thus particularly described and ascertained the nature of this my said
Invention, together with the best methods with which I am acquainted for carrying
the same into practical effect, I wish it to be distinctly understood that I do not
confine myself to the precise details, relative proportions, or dimensions of the
various parts of the improved machinery or apparatus herein before described and
illustrated on the accompanying Drawings, as the same may be considerably varied
without departing from the Invention, but what I do claim is,-
1st. The construction of a cast iron evaporating and drying machine cylinder
with longitudinal cavities forming a steam jacket, and of cylinder ends and brackets
and method of securing the same in position, as hereinbefore described and illus-
trated in Figs. 1 to 5 of the accompanying Drawing.

page_text: 2nd. The construction of an evaporating and drying machine cylinder, sub-
stantially as hereinbefore described and illustrated in Fig. 6 of the accompanying
Drawing.
3rd. The manufacture of a carbonaceous powder from street sweepings and other
refuse, as hereinbefore described, and by means of machinery or apparatus, as
illustrated in Figs. 7 to 11 of the accompanying Drawing.
4th. The improved method of and apparatus for separating the fine ash from
cinders, substantially as hereinbefore described and illustrated on the accompanying
Drawings.
5th. The construction and employment of a settling or condensing chamber for
collecting the dust, soot, or other matters from carbonising cylinders or from
furnaces, as herein before described.
6th. The manufacture of ammonia, substantially as hereinbefore described.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Wadsworth, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this 8th day of September, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and eighty.
JAMES WADSWORTH. (L.S.)