MENTS IN STORING and Treating SEWAGE, AND IN APPARATUS' OR' APPLIANCES USED THEREFOR OR IN CONNECTION THEREWITH
Year: 1873

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Benjamin Green at the Office.
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 24th. .
November 1873.
I, BENJAMIN GREEN; of Plaistow; in the County of Essex, Con-
tractor, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for " IMPROVE-
MENTS IN STORING and Treating SEWAGE, AND IN APPARATUS' OR' APPLIANCES USED
THEREFOR OR IN CONNECTION THEREWITH:
"
-
This Invention relates to improvements in storing and treating sewage
so as to enable the same to be stored and removed for use as required
without in any way proving a nuisance to the surrounding neighbour-
hood by the escape into the atmosphere of the noxious gases arising.
therefrom. This I accomplish as follows:-I store the sewage in air-
tight buildings (which I term manure pits) and cause the noxious gases
arising from such sewage to pass up a shaft constructed at one end
of the building; at the base of which shaft a fire is kindled. Thus the
said gases passing through or over the fire are burnt and so rendered
harmless before being allowed to escape into the surrounding atmo-
sphere.

page_text: small apertures at the opposite end to that where the shaft is placed,
so that such air has to traverse the whole length of the building, and
so aids in causing the flow of the gases to the shaft.
The fuel for the said fire may be either coal, mineral oil, faggotts,
ordinary firewood, or whatever may be most conveniently or economi-
cally used according to the locality in which the manure pits are
placed. These pits are constructed to receive the sewage from any
town, village, or area of land through a main supply pipe, which
may be cut off from the pits when required by a sluice, and when
more than one pit are constructed side by side the main supply pipe
may open into a supply reservoir running the whole length of the
series of pits, and communicating with each by a sluice, so that one
pit may be filled without the others. These pits are also constructed
at such a level that the liquid portion of the sewage may be run off
into some adjacent river, sea, or other place destined to receive it,
whilst the soil is left behind to be used for manure as required.
When this liquid is run into a sea or river I prefer to have the pits
at such a level that they may be emptied at or near high water, so
that all will be carried away as the tide runs out. For the purpose
of separating the liquid and solid portions of the sewage these pits
are constructed with double walls along one side, the inner wall or
partition being lower in height than the other walls, so that on the
liquid rising to the height of such partition wall it will flow over
the same into the channel formed between the two walls whence it is
let out as required by a sluice.
The soil when required for use is taken away in air-tight carts or
tanks, such carts or tanks being filled through pipes of proper size
inserted in the front or other wall of the pit near the bottom thereof,
which pipes are provided with means for being closed when not in
use, and communicate with the said air-tight carts or tanks whilst
such are being filled by flexible tubing, the carts or tanks being closed
air-tight when full by any suitable means.
If the soil should accumulate faster than required for use in the
immediate neighbourhood it is let into air-tight tanks suitably situated
for that purpose, and dried by any suitable means, the noxious gases
arising therefrom during such process being led into the said shaft

page_text: and burnt, as before described. When thus dried the soil may be
conveyed about without any unpleasant smell arising therefrom.
The walls of these buildings may be constructed of brick, stone,
concrete, or other suitable material, and the roof should be so made
as to prevent the escape of any of the noxious gases arising from the
sewage, for which purpose I prefer to coat the roof with felt or asphalte
underneath the slating, which felt or asphalte may be laid on a base
either of wood planks or thin iron sheets. The roof should also be
provided with strong iron frames for skylights, and with man-holes,
so that men may be let into the pits for any purpose that may be
required.
The bottoms of the pits I prefer to face with concrete of sufficient
thickness, and to construct with an inclination so as to facilitate the
clearing of the pits. These pits may be used in connection with sewers
now existing.