IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION
Year: 1871

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Robert Milburn and Thomas Browning, both
of Number 76, Church Lane, Whitechapel, London, in the County
of Middlesex, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Robert Milburn and
Thomas Browning at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents,
with their Petition, on the 11th October 1871.
We, ROBERT MILBURN and THOMAS BROWNING, both of Number 76,
Church Lane, Whitechapel, London, in the County of Middlesex, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN APPARATUS FOR DRYING AND TREATING SEWAGE DEPOSIT AND SOME OTHER
MATTERS," to be as follows:-
Our Invention has for its object more particularly to recover fertilizing
salts and other matters from sewage deposit or from excreta, and to

page_text: obtain the same in a dry or partially dry state, and our Invention is
also applicable to be employed in drying some other matters, as for
examplo chemicals, dye stuffs, cement, or yeast.
To effect this object we introduce the said sewage deposit or other
matter into a cylinder or retort, by preference made of fire-clay and
mounted and enclosed in a chamber or oven and exposed therein to the
heat of a furnace. The ends of the said retort or cylinder by preference
project through the walls of the said chamber or oven. One end of the
said retort may be closed or partially closed, and the other end be
provided with a door or opening for delivery of the dried sewago or
other matter, and a hopper or feed pipe leading into the interior of the
said retort may be fitted or fixed at the closed or partially closed end of
the said retort. Revolving lifters or scrapers are employed to stir or
keep in motion the contents of the said retort during the operation, and
the said lifters or scrapers may be constructed so as if required to
pulverize or partially pulverizo the dried sewago or other matter provious
to delivery thereof from the said retort.
The process by preference is made continuous, that is to say, the
material to be treated is gradually fed in at one end of tho said retort
and delivered from the other end thereof at a proportionate speed. The
vapours, gases, and noxious fumes disengaged from the matters within
the said retort pass through an aperture or through apertures formed in
the upper part of the retort, and entering the chamber or oven mingle
with the products of combustion from the furnace; this especially in the
treatment of sewage being an important feature of our Invention.
Scrapers actuated by hand or power may be employed to remove any
accumulation of soot which may form on the outer surfaco of the said
retort. Two or more of such retorts may be enclosed or mounted in one
chamber or oven, and be heated by one or more furnaces according to
the length and number of the said retorts in the oven, or the waste heat
from steam boilers or other furnaces may be employed for the heating
medium.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Robert Milburn and Thomas Browning in the
Great Soal Patent Office on the 10th April 1872.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, ROBERT
MILBURN and THOMAS BROWNING, both of Number 76, Ohurch Lane,
Whitechapel, London, in the County of Middlesex, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Eleventh day of October, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one, in the
thirty-fifth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto us, the said Robert Milburn and Thomas Browning,
Her special license that we, the said Robert Milburn and Thomas
Browning, our exccutors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as we, the said Robert Milburn and Thomas Browning, our executors,
administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and
no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during the
term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exerciso,
and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the
Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for “IMPROVEMENTS IN
APPARATUS FOR DRYING AND TREATING SEWAGE DEPOSIT AND SOME OTHER
MATTERS," upon the condition, amongst others, that we, the said Robert
Milburn and Thomas Browning, our executors, administrators, and
assigns, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one
of their hands and scals, should particularly describe and ascertain
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
was to be performed; and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal
Patent Office within six calendar months next and immediately after the
date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that we, the said Robert Milburn and Thomas
Browning, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention, and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement and accompanying
Drawings, that is to say :—
Our Invention has for its object more particularly to recover fertilising
salts and other matters from sewage deposit or from excreta, and to

page_text: obtain the same in a dry or partially dry state, and our Invention is also
applicable to be employed in drying some other matters, as for example
chemicals, dye stuffs, cement, or yeast.
To effect this object we introduce the said sewage deposit or other
matter into a cylinder or retort which is mounted and enclosed in a
chamber or oven, and exposed therein to the heat of a furnace. Tho
ends of the said retort or cylinder by preference project through the
end walls of the said chamber or oven. One end of the said retort may
be closed or partially closed and the other end be provided with a door
or opening for delivery of the dried sewage or other matter. A hopper
or feed pipe leading into the interior of the said retort may be fitted or
fixed at the closed or partially closed end of the said retort. Revolving
lifters or scrapers are employed to stir or keep in motion the contents of
the said retort during the operation, and the said lifters or scrapers may
be constructed so as if required to pulverise or partially pulverise the
dried sewage or other matter previous to delivery thereof from the said
retort.
The process by preference is made continuous, that is to say, the
material to be treated is gradually fed in at one end of the said retort
and delivered from the other end thereof at a proportionate speed. The
vapours, gases, and noxious fumes disengaged from the matters within
the said retort pass through an aperture or through apertures formed in
the upper part of the retort, and mingle with the products of combustion
from the furnace; this especially in the treatment of sewage being an
important feature of our Invention.
Scrapers actuated by hand or power may be employed to remove any
accumulation of soot which may form on the outer surface of the said
retort. Two or more of such retorts may be enclosed or mounted in onc
chamber or oven, and be heated by one or more furnaces according to
the length and number of the said retorts in the oven, or the waste heat
from steam boilers or other furnaces may be employed for the heating
medium.
And in order that our Invention may be more thoroughly understood,
we have attached hereunto a Sheet of Drawings made to a scale of about
one-half inch to the foot and marked with letters of reference, to which
A
انند

page_text: Fig. 1 represents a vertical longitudinal section; Fig. 2 a vertical
cross section on the line A, B ; and Fig. 3.a front end elevation of an ·
oven fitted with one drying retort. The retort D is made'of a cylindrical
form, and is supported on the side walls T, T, which extend from .one
end of the oven nearly to the other end thereof. I
of
In our Provisional Specification we mentioned that we should prefer
to form the said retort of fire-clay, but since the filing of the said
Specification we have found cast or wrought iron to be more suitable
than the said fire-clay; but any material may be used as preferred or
found to be most suitable. We may state that the said retort may be
conveniently. made of cast iron in sections formed with flanches, by
means of which the said sections may be bolted together to form a retort
any desired length. The retort is covered or enclosed by an arched
wall U, the space between the said wall and the upper part of the retort
forming the hopper or return flue P. Apertures R, R, communicating
with the said return flue are formed in the upper part of the retort,
the vapours, gases, and noxious fumes from the retort flowing
through the said apertures into the said return flue. A furnace
N is constructed under the front end of the retort, and the heated gases
from the said furnace flow through the lower flue O to the back end of
the retort, and passing through side flues rise into the return flue U,
through which they flow to the front end of the oven and pass through
the flue S to the chimney. A shaft F is mounted within the retort and
on the said shaft are fixed arms which carry the lifters, agitators, or
pulverisers E, E. A driving pulley H which is fixed on the shaft K
gives motion to the shaft F through the bevil pinion L, which gears
with the bevil wheel M, which is fixed on the shaft F. As the said
shaft is thus caused to revolve, the agitators E, E, maintain the matters
within the retort in constant motion and prevent them from agglo-
merating. The said matters are introduced into the retort through the
hopper C, and are discharged from the other end G of the retort.
Fig. 4 represents a modified arrangement more particularly suitable for
sewage or matters not liable to be injured by direct contact with smoke.
In this example the lower part of the retort or oven consists of a semi-
cylindrical metal trough V, and the upper part of an arched or semi-
cylindrical wall U, the space X between the said trough and the said
wall forming a return flue for the heated gases which flow through the
flue Y to the chimney.

page_text: Having now fully described the nature of our said Invention, and
methods for carrying the same into practical effect, wo would have it to
be understood that we claim, the employment of retorts or ovens con-
structed, fitted, and arranged substantially as and for the purposes
herein-before described and set forth, and as illustrated by the
accompanying Drawings.
In witness whereof, we, the, said Robert Milburn and Thomas
Browning, have hereunto set our hands and seals, this Fourth
day of April, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight
hundred and seventy-two.
DADT
FTT DIDN