Improvements in or relating to the Manufacture of Fuel.
Year: 1896

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or relating to the Manufacture of Fuel.
I, PAUL RAOUL DE FAUCHEUX D'HUMY of 136 Princes Road, Liverpool in the
County of Lancaster, Civil & Naval Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of
this invention to be as follows:-
This invention has for its object the utilisation of fibrous inflammable matters,
such for instance as shavings, sawdust, chips and the like, so as to produce a very
valuable fuel. In my experiments I have used ozokerite, naphthalene, crude
petroleum or other mineral oil, cheap vegetable oil and other fatty matters,
nitrate of soda, resin and caustic soda, and lastly and mainly pitch-pine shavings
or sawdust or other refuse woody matter or waste fibrous material.
In carrying out my invention, I add the pitch-pine sawdust or other woody
matter or vegetable fibre to a mixture of mineral oil, ozokerite and naphthalene
and an alkali such as caustic soda and nitrate of soda heated to a temperature of
about 600-700° F. At this temperature the chemical ingredients of the woody
matter or fibre are disassociated, the oily matters taking up the alkali, essential
oil, resin, pyroligneous acid, etcetera, of the wood, and the carbon permeating the
oil as a disintegrated or very easily disintegrated material. The liquid must be
agitated from time to time while the wood is dissolving. Among matters which
I have tested and found very admirable are pine fir cones, resinous bark, pitch
pine and other wood, refuse from cotton and linen mills and the like. The
materials are boiled together and agitated from time to time, usually for about
50 minutes, until the wood is found to be entirely carbonised and dense white
fumes begin to rise. The material is now allowed to cool, and at the same time
is continued to be agitated or stirred. It thus forms hard granules. These
granules are soluble in water, and a solution thus formed, consisting of equal
parts of water and of these granules, is very useful as a binder for vegetable and
animal refuse, comminuted coal, and other like mineral substances steeped therein.
The matters, after thorough mixing, are dried and converted into briquettes in
the usual manner. The granules along or in conjunction with fine refuse matter
such as above described produce a fuel of remarkable heating power, practically
smokeless, and producing very little cinder, except such as is caused by the
admixture of mineral refuse.
The quantities I prefer to use for this purpose for 600 parts of pitch pine
sawdust are, ozokerite 28 parts, naphthalene 15, mineral oils 200 parts, vegetable
oils and fatty matters about 60 parts, resin 100 parts, nitrate of soda
70 parts, caustic soda 100 parts. It is obvious, however, that these
quantities can be very largely departed from without materially altering
my invention and also that many of these ingredients are interchangeable
to a considerable extent and that the particular quantities of each used will
depend considerably upon their price. Thus, ozokerite, which is a waste substance
in Russia, and naphthalene, which is also largely a waste substance, and crude
mineral oils can be substituted very largely one for the other. The vegetable oils,

page_text: fatty matters and resin are also largely interchangeable, while the nitrate of soda
being used mainly to give unstable combined oxygen to the compound can be
exchanged for other wellknown oxygenating compounds, such as chlorates, bi-
chromates etcetera, or can be dispensed with if it be not desirable to have an
extremely easily ignited fuel. The caustic soda, can also be dispensed with but
its use is beneficial in giving a hardening nature to the fuel as it assists in
solidifying the petroleum.
It will be seen from this that the essential feature of my invention consists in
the disassociation of the constituents of the vegetable, fibrous matter in the
mixture of hydrocarbons or of hydrocarbons and fatty matters, thus forming an
exceedingly combustible material of very high calorific power, the nitrate of soda
being added, where requisite, to increase its inflammability.
Dated this 10th day of September 1896.
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Of 6 Lord Street, Liverpool, Agents for the Applicant.
relating
the ma
I, PAUL RAOUL DE FAUCHEUX D'HUMY of 136 Princes Road, Liverpool in the
County of Lancaster, Civil & Naval Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of
thi-invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
This invention has for its object the utilisation of fibrous inflammable matters,
such for instance as shavings, sawdust, chips, and the like, so as to produce a very
valuable fuel. In my experiments I have used, ozokerite, naphthalene, crude
petroleum or other mineral cil, cheap vegetable dil and other fatty matters,
nitrate of soda, resin and caustic soda, and lastly and mainly pitch-pine shavings
or sawdust or other refuse woody matter or waste fibrous material.
In carrying out my invention I add (1) the pitch pine sawdust or other woody
matter or vegetable fibre sufficiently comminuted so that preferably in no case
shall any portion be more than one sixteenth of an inch in thickness to a mixture
of (2) mineral oil, ozokerite, and naphthalene, (3) an alkali such as caustic soda
and (4) nitrate of soda heated to a temperature of about 600 to 700 Fah. At this
temperature the chemical ingredients of the woody matter or fibre are disassociated
the oily matters taking up the alkali, the essential oil, resin, pyroligneous acid,
etc. of the wood and the carbon permeating the oil as a disintegrated or very
easily disintegratable material. The liquid must be agitated from time to time
01 continuously while the wood is dissolving. Among matters which I have
tested and found very admirable are pine fir cones, resinous bark, pitch pine ard
other wood, refuse from cotton and linen mills and the like. The materials are
boiled together and agitated usually for about fifty minutes until the wood is
found to be entirely carbonised and dense white fumes begin to rise. The material
is now allowed to cool and at the same time is continuously agitated or stirred.
It thus forms hard granules. These granules are soluble in water and a solution
thus formed, consisting of equal parts of water and of these granules is very
useful as a binder for vegetable and animal refuse, comminuted coal and other
like materials so as to make briquettes or the like. The materials after
thorough mixing are dried and. converted into briquettes in the usual
manner. The. granules alone or in conjunction with fine refuse matters such
as, above described produce a fuel of a remarkable heating power practically
smokeless and producing very little cinder except such as is caused by the

page_text: admixture of the other mineral refuse. The quantities I prefer to use for making
my concentrated fuel are :-
Pitch pine sawdust
Mineral oils
Ozokerite
Naphthalene
Vegetable oils & Fatty Matters"
Nitrate of Soda.
Resin.
Caustic Soda.
600 parts
28 parts
15 paris
200 parts
about
60 parts
60 parts
100 parts
60 parts
It is obvious however that these quantities can be very readily departed from
without materially altering my invention and also that many of these ingredients
are interchangeable to a considerable extent and that the particular quantities
of each used will depend considerably upon their price thus ozokerite which is
a waste substance in Russia, naphthalene, a nearly waste product and the crude
mineral oils can be substituted very largely the one for the other. The vegetabie
oils, fatty matters, and resin are also largely interchangeable while the nitrate
of soda being used mainly to give unstable combined oxygen to the compound can
be exchanged for other wellknown oxygenating compounds such as chlorates, bi-
chromates, etc., or can be dispensed with if it be not desirable to have an extremely
easily ignitable fuel. The caustic soda can also be dispensed with but its use is
also beneficial in giving a hardening nature to the fuel as it assists in solidifying
the petroleum and also very greatly in dissolving the woody fibre. It will be
seen from this that the essential features of my invention consist in the dis-
association of the constituents of the vegetable fibrous matter in the mixture of
hydrocarbons or of hydrocarbons and alkali, thus forming an exceedingly com-
bustible material of very high calorific power, a salt containing readily available
oxygen being added where requisite, to increase inflammability.
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 :-
1. The manufacture of fuel by treating cheap or waste fibrous combustible
materials such as wood, peat or the like with hydrocarbons or hydrocarbons and
alkali at such a heat as to decompose the said fibrous combustible matters
substantially as described.
2. An artificial fuel formed of hydrocarbons or hydrocarbons and alkali with
carbon disseminated through the mass formed by the decomposition in the hydro-
carbons or hydrocarbons and alkali of vegetable matter and with or without a
salt containing readily available oxygen such as nitrate of soda, substantially as
described.
Dated this 15th dor of Innum 1807
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Of Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham, and London, Patent Agents.