Im- PROVEMENTS IN THE MODE OF HEATING ANIMAL, VEGETABLE, AND MINERAL MATTERS, WHEREBY TO EFFECT THEIR DESICCATION, VAPORIZATION, DECOM- POSITION, REDUCTION; FUSION, OR VOLATILIZATION, AND IN APPARATUS FOR SAME."
Year: 1864

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Clark, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the County,
of Middlesex, Engineer and Patent Agent, for the Invention of "Im-
PROVEMENTS IN THE MODE OF HEATING ANIMAL, VEGETABLE, AND MINERAL
MATTERS, WHEREBY TO EFFECT THEIR DESICCATION, VAPORIZATION, DECOM-
POSITION, REDUCTION; FUSION, OR VOLATILIZATION, AND IN APPARATUS FOR
SAME." A communication from abroad by Heuri Adolphe Archereau,
Chemist, of 29, Boulevart St. Martin, Paris.
Sealed the 29th November 1864, and dated the 2nd June 1864.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Clark at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his l'etition, on the 2nd
June 1864.
I, WILLIAM CLARK, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex,
Engineer and Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MODE OF HEATING ANIMAL, VEGETABLE,
AND MINERAL, MATTERS, WHEREBY TO EFFECT THEIR DESICCATION, VAPORIZATION,
DECOMPOSITION, REDUCTION, FUSION, OR VOLATILIZATION. AND IN APPARATUS FOR
THE SAME," to be as follows:-
This Invention consists in heating in closed vessels without contact of
atmospheric air the materials which are to be submitted to distillation,
reduction, decomposition, or other action, by using alinost exclusively as
media and vehicles of the heat to be communicated or applied to them the
volatile substances which are evolved from the very matters-under dis-

page_text: tillation, decomposition, or reduction, or the non-oxydizing gases with which
they may be surrounded.
The word distillation in its largest acceptation will be used hereafter in this
Specification for brevity, whether I meandistilling materials without alteration
or decomposition, they being only vaporized or such as undergo changes in
their physical state or chemical composition, or, in a word, such as undergo
a reduction or a complete or partial decomposition through the action of
heat under or without the influence of re-agents and reducing agents, or
whether I mean the volatile gaseous substances forming a non-oxydizing
atmosphere, and having a circulating motion as herein-after explained.
In this system a certain portion of the substances which, through the
first continuous action of heat are made to pass into the aeriform state,
is carried off either in a direct or indirect way by mechanical or physico-
mechanical means from distillatory vessels into closed apparatus where
it. becomes superheated, and thence into the closed vessels which are filled
with the material being distilled, which material takes up part of the caloric
in the said aeriform substances. The arrangement of the material being
distilled should be such that the gases or other products arising from or used
in the distilling process may circulate in a sufficiently uniform manner
through the spaces resulting from either the solid state and advantageous
irregular form of the material itself or from special artificial dispositions
suited to each substance for the purpose of leaving some void places
for the passage of the vapours and superheated gases, the nature of which
is variable according to the matters they arise from, but still dependent
upon that of the material being distilled, which allows of their being intro-
duced in a continuous way into the distillatory vessels without any danger of
bringing in too extraneous elements which would be noxious to such as are
existing, and such as are formed therein successively. In fact it will be
understood that having principally the greatest analogy to the latter, these
vapours or gases cannot impair their purity or notably alter their composi-
tion, which presents great advantages..
The aeriform substances produced from the materials submitted to distil--
lation are sometimes conveyed on their passing out of the refrigerating
apparatus into a refrigerator suited to the condensation of the vapours to
be retained, thence the non-condensed portions, or such as are not capable
of being condensed, separate in such a manner that a certain quantity passes
to the superheater, where it expands by immediate contact part of the
caloric received from the materials to be distilled, whilst the remaining part,
which is frequently a gas, but which may be also a non-condensed vapor

page_text: from the material under operation, enters a conduct pipe leading, according
to the requirements and the materials under treatment, into one or several
refrigerators, thence escaping either into the atmosphere to a furnace or.
gasholder, or in any suitable receptacle for the future use of the non-condensed
portions.
The
That portion of aeriform matter which is employed as a medium for con-
veying the heat from the superheater to the matters being distilled, passes
sometimes directly and in a continuous way from the distilling apparatus
to the superheater, whence it comes back charged with caloric, the action
of which upon the bodies being distilled causes a fresh production of aeriform
matters; the excess of the latter is sometimes conveyed to superheating
apparatus but more generally to a refrigerating apparatus, thence finding.
its way through the above-mentioned conduct pipe as explained.
distillation thus continues to the end of the operation, the results and products
of which are dependent upon the nature of the substances under treatment
as before mentioned, but frequently also upon the temperature at which
they have been treated. This temperature (ascertained by the operator)
should be regulated according to requirements, the nature of the materials
under operation, and the purpose to be attained, both by following the
principles and rules actually used in distilling operations by means of closed.
vessels heated from outside and by using suitable chemical re-agents when
deemed necessary. From what precedes it may be readily understood that
the system for which I apply for Letters Patent is applicable to various
matters everywhere existing, in fact I apply it successfully to natural matters
and artificial compounds, to solid materials and such as are capable of being
liquified by the action of heat. When the matters are in the solid state
and capable of being stowed in the distilling apparatus so as to leave inter-
stices or voids as aforesaid there are not any peculiar arrangements to be
made. When wood, for instance, is to be distilled or carbonized, it would
prove rather more difficult to stow it without than with numerous interstices,
but when I have to treat matters either liquid or capable of being liquified
by the heat applied to them, or pulverulent substances such as coal of
which coke is made, in such cases I contrive by various means to produce
artificial voids; these means, which are very numerous, will produce the same:
effect as those mentioned hereafter.
Supposing I have to carbonize one hundred or more tons of pulverulent
or smith's coal in a furnace, which may be much like a vaulted brick furnace,
when it is not desired to have the mass of coal to be lodged in the furnace
drained by means of metal or other resisting fire-proof pipes, I may build

page_text: it with lumps of coal similar to those established by plasterers in the
neighbourhood of Paris for burning their plaster, then build upon the
pillars or even upon the arches coke walls, without the application of any
mortar. Such arches and walls thus made of shapeless lumps of coke or
rather of lumps of suitable form (preferably small coal agglomerated) will
allow of the superheated. aeriform matters conveying by their successive
circulation the caloric necessary for the carbonization of the coal laid upon,
above, or beside the arches through the interstices left in the coke walls,
which should be larger in proportion as it is desired to obtain denser coke.
Instead of using coke for building the said arches, though generally pre-
ferable to any other materials, when the result or residue of the manufacture
is to consist of coal, any other solid substance of different nature may also be
used. The pulverulent matters may also be arranged in jars or vessels similar
to those made use of for carbonizing bones, said vessels being contained in
a large capacity, which may be termed an oven or furnace. The precautions
to be taken for liquid or liquifiable matters chiefly consist, as regards those of
great fluidity in causing their absorption by porous bodies, pumice stone for
instance, and then to place them likewise in flat or other vessels as above
described. Further, I may, through the action of the vapourous products
conductors of caloric, introduce the liquid or liquified matter to be distilled
in the form of a cascade in a continuous manner, which matter receives
successively on its fall through the materials in said cascade the required heat
for the result it is desired to attain, viz., distillation with or without decompo-
sition. There is no objection to previously heating the materials contained in
the chemical cascade, this would on the contrary form in certain instances an
additional advantage. It is necessary also with certain substances to be
submitted to the calorific action peculiar to this system to make some other
arrangements which will be better understood by setting forth some examples..
Supposing I have to produce the distillation of the residue of gas or other
material equally decomposable into solid and aeriform products capable or
not of being condensed into solid or liquid substances, the matter being of a
nature to dissolve before attaining the temperature of distillation, and also
yielding in the receiver a solid residue advantageous for certain like solid
products, in this case I employ with the distillable material pulverulent sub-
stances, such as small coke or charcoal, the result of which is the possibility
of applying this system to the distilling of all agglomerates, either mineral or
vegetable, which constitutes a new means of manufacturing products of a like.
nature to Paris coal, with the advantage of enabling a quantity of distilled
products to be collected by condensation which heretofore were burnt. For

page_text: other substances, and for different purposes, I still incorporate the material
to be treated by agglomeration, whether the substance to be distilled serves:
by its own coagulating properties to agglomerate the substances thius mixed
or the adhesive properties be derived from the extraneous matters serving
as re-agents or otherwise in the operation; or again, the coagulating
adhesive properties may be derived from both. In zinc works it may be
deemed proper to have coke made, the decomposition or distillation of which
will be readily obtained in a common blast furnace instead of in couoibles
or ovens heated externally. The same advantage is gained in the manu
facture of phosphorus and other products. It is not possible to specifyzhere:
the various means by which I may facilitate the passage of the aeriform
matters produced by the distillation, through the large number of substances
to which this new method of heating is applicable.
of
ito
In addition to the above I will further mention the following applications
my system
1st. For manufacturing metallurgical coke, at same time obtaining sub-
products therefrom. 2nd. For manufacturing lighting gas from all the sub-
products in gasworks, by distilling all the substances capable of yielding gas:
3rd. For manufacturing charcoal from any suitable essence; by utilizing the
sub-products and carbonizing. vegetable substances in general, nor producing
the mere desiccation thereof. 4th. For the carbonization of bones and utiliza
tion of the sub-products. 5th. For distilling asphalte and the like 6th För
distilling boghead and combustible schists. 7th. For distilling native bitu-
mens. 8th. For distilling peat and treatment of its sub-products: 9th. For
distilling lignites and their sub-products. 10th. For distilling coal tar and
other residues. 11th. For manufacturing Paris coal. 12th: For manu
facturing phosphorus. 13th. For distilling sulphur in order to define it! 14th."
Distilling metallic zinc alloyed with other metals. 15th. For manufacturing
zinc from ores and reducing re-agents. 16th. For distilling American petro-
leum oils and their cogeners. 17th. For distilling fatty bodies! 18th. For
distilling all substances capable of producing alcohol. 19th. For distilling
substances capable of producing essences and the rectification thereof."
20th. For distilling oils more or less heavy, solid, or fatty. 21st. For the.
carbonization of waste tan. 22nd. For manufacturing ferrocyaitide of potas
sium from animal substances. 23rd. For distilling turpentine oil 24th. For
distilling various resins. 25th. For distilling various vegetable vid uten
26th. For manufacturing manure by the distillation of animal substances.
27th. In the manufacture and treatment of cadmium, potassium, "and sodium.
29th. For distilling matters dissolved by sulphuret of carbon, "So. For
matters.
Totodates

page_text: manufacturing oxygen bythe decomposition of oxides, salts, and acids, through'
heat. 31st. In the preparation of sulphuret of carbon by superheating vapours
from sulphur passing over coal, which vapors heat. it until combination is
effected; the operation being continued by superheating the vapors from
sulphur and sulphuret of carbon. 32nd. In the preparation or production of
oxide.of carbon through the action on coal of oxides, carbonates, and various
other bodies containing oxygen. 33rd. In the preparation or production of
carbonic acid through the action on coal of various oxides containing oxygen.
34th. In the desiccation of gypsum (plaster) and the production of steam
unmixed with the products of combustion. 35th. For burning hydraulic
lime and cement, and the production of carbonic acid unmixed with products
of combustion. 36th. For the reduction to a metallic state of oxides and
carbonates of iron by employing coal, oxide of carbon, and carbonated or
non-carbonated gas. 37th. For the reduction of all reducible ores by means
of carbon, its oxide, and hydrogen gas carbonated or not, with or without
previous roasting. 38th. In the decomposition of various sulphates by coal,
with or without other reducing agents. 39th. In the decomposition of
various carbonates, with or without the assistance of steam, and reducing or
other agents. 40th. In the decomposition of chloride of magnesium for
the production of hydrochloric acid and magnesia by the circulation of
super-heated steam. 41st. In the preparation of ether. 42nd. For manu-
facturing azotic and hydrochloric acids, alsofor the manufacture of ammonia..
43rd. In the decomposition of azotes, with or without reducible agents.
44th. For heating steam for various purposes, and chiefly for desulphuretting
metallic sulphurets, and collecting the sulphurous products therefrom.
45th. In the decomposition of chlorates. 46th. For drying linen and fabrics
in general, and for the desiccation of tobacco. 47th. In the baking of bread..
48th. In the desiccation and baking of alimentary substances, of both
animal and vegetable natures. 49th. In the superficial carbonization of
wood, without any possibility of its ignition, for the purpose of preserving.
it (as railway sleepers, for instance). 50th. For the concentration of sul-
huric acid in a chemical state in a continuous manner, by using other.
matters than platinum. 51st. For the manufacture of chlorine. 52nd.
For the calefaction, heating, and melting of iron, cast iron, cast steel, and
all oxidizable metals and alloys. 53rd. For heating all matters of mineral
nature which may be modified or acted on by contact of the products of
combustion of the oxygen of the air, by surrounding them with a circulating
atmosphere most appropriated for the purposes intended...
-3100 R
101
16 DICIES
290118120111a
16 to make the Invention as intelligible as possible, and avoid all

page_text: ambiguity resulting from the meaning of certain expressions and explanations
which may be contained in the present Specification, I will revert to what
precedes and give further particulars of such parts as require elucidation.
In the commencement of this description I have stated that the Invention
consists in heating in closed chambers out of contact with atmospheric air
the matterswhich are to be submitted todistillation or decomposition, by using
almost exclusively the media before mentioned. In using the word almost I.
wish it to be understood that I do not confine myself to any other. Thus I
intend, as above described, to carry off the aeriform matters produced from..
the distillation by physico-mechanical means, by the attraction of jets of gas,
or of steam under pressure passing into one or several channels, where they,
produce a very active circulation, which sets in motion the aeriform fluids
situated in contiguity therewith. I therefore intend to heat almost exclu-
sively with the fuel, and in the manner aforesaid; still reserving the. use of
steam jets and also other gases or vapors capable of producing like effects
under pressure as means of carrying off the products.. I may even when
acting on small quantities use extraneous bodies in order to effect favorable
re-actions or combinations; neither do I exclude external heating, but it. will
be understood that as I most frequently act upon large masses, and conse-
quently in apparatus of extended dimensions, external heating will often serve
only to compensate or diminish the waste of heat in the apparatus. The
word almost is also qualified by the manner in which the operation is effected.
Thus, when on commencing the material has been placed in the distilling
apparatus, on the first impulse being given to the gases circulating in the
superheater pipes, distilling apparatus, and in the refrigerator, there are not
any products of distillation to be disposed of, but only atmospheric air or
acriform matters until the distillation has commenced. The distillation takes
place when the gases filling up the whole of the chambers. employed in the
operation have been circulating long enough from the superheater to the dis-
tillatory apparatus. The gaseous vapours from the substances are soon added
thereto, and then the gases or other elastic fluids which serve to produce the
emission of the aeriform substances suited to the materials acted upon, which
fluids are afterwards expelled, and it is then that the real purpose of the
system is exactly ascertained.
By the denomination of superheater I include any apparatus or means
capable of communicating in any suitable manner with volatile products of
distillation, either separately or combined with jets of steam or other jets of
extraneous nature of any heat required, and at anytemperature accordingtothe
nature of the substances under treatment and the purpose which it is desired

page_text: to attain; or, in other words, at the lowest as well as at the highest tem-
peratures. Superheating means here simply imparting to the volatile
products, vapours, and gases employed, a higher temperature to that they
have on leaving the materials being distilled, the increase being more or
less as may be deemed necessary.
Now I wish it to be understood, 1st, that the first heating up to the
moment when the material should begin to distil, may also be effected in
certain cases with products of combustion, or with the gases of the atmo-
sphere, or others in a heated state, and the action of which will not be
prejudicial below the temperature necessary for the distillation, or that
capable of producing the desired effects upon the matters under treatment;
2nd, that I may either impede or facilitate at will the flow of the volatile
distillatory matters towards the condenser and other parts of the apparatus
necessary to the efficient working of this system, by closing more or less the
issues of the aeriform matters; 3rdly, that I intend to make use of any
mechanical apparatus, such as pumps, fans, pneumatic screw, and generally
all blowing and exhausting machines, for exhausting and forcing gases or
setting in motion the elastic fluids; 4thly, that the chief reasons for con-
veying the volatile products of distillation, either by taking them directly
from the distillatory apparatus, or on their issuing from the condensers, depend
upon the nature of the volatile products obtained, which are of most variable
nature according to circumstances and the conditions of the operation.
When it is proposed to obtain gas from American petroleum oils I take the
products of distillation direct from the distilling apparatus, which products
being alreadyheated and in a state of decomposition, itwould be useless to cool
and have afterwards to re-heat them, causing a loss of heat, which it is better
to prevent. The condenser in this case serves only to cool the gases obtained.
If this decomposition is perfect there will not remain any solid or liquid
matters to condense, and if imperfect it will be necessary to cause the volatile
products to pass through another superheater suitable for decomposing such
portions as pass without being transformed into gas; said superheater being
placed between the distilling apparatus or vessel and the refrigerator or con-
denser. It will also be quite evident that if it be intended in a similar
operation to that which precedes to collect during the decomposition a
pyrogenated essential matter condensable in a liquid, the gases on their
issuing from the condenser should be conveyed to the superheater after sepa-
rating the essence to be extracted. I therefore reserve the right to cause the
aeriform volatile products of distillation, and all others that may be added
thereto, to take such a course as may be deemed proper for attaining the

page_text: proper results, and also as maybe understood by reference to the blast furnace
represented in the Drawings annexed to the present Specification, to convey
the gases and other aeriform substances from various heights, and cause them
to circulate in several superheaters, and through chambers filled with charcoal
and other substances, so as to decompose the carbonic acid or steam derived
from chemical or calorific reactions effected in the blast furnace; or I may
introduce only non-oxydizing gases undecomposable by heat, viz., the oxides
of carbon and hydrogen through openings, serving as substitutes for tuyeres;
these gases not being liable to produce, as carbonic acid and steam, a lower
temperature by chemical decomposition, will be injected into the lower part
of the blast furnace at the desired temperature, in order to operate the car-
buration of iron reduced to the metallic state, and the fusion of all matters
therein, and generally to effect their chemical reduction throughout the
other parts of the furnace. The same gases will then on their escaping from
the chamber wherein the carbonic acid and steam have been decomposed,
be compelled to pass through a superheater in a highly-heated state, where
they attain the required temperature for the purpose.
The foregoing explanations will hold good for manyapplications, and forthé
treatment of numerous matters which it would be needless to describe, such
as how and where the gases are to be obtained and introduced, or how and
when additional superheaters and decomposing apparatus may be applied
containing materials suited to the desired results. It will be unnecessary to
describe particularly the construction of the apparatus for the working of this
system. I will only remark, that in large operations, such as when producing
lighting gas on a large scale by carbonizing all kinds of combustible sub-
stances, when convenient I sink in the ground as much as possible the
vessels or capacities, in which are placed the materials to be distilled, as also
the superheaters, whatever may be their construction, but principally such as
consist of chambers filled with materials taken generally from those which
have refractory properties and great affinity for heat. These I use preferably
to others for superheating purposes, especially when it is required to use high
temperatures, and when their contact is not injurious to the matters.under
treatment. To this end I arrange them, so as to cause gases or the like
fluids to pass through, heating them afterwards to a suitable degree by any
suitable means. I also intend to use all possible sources of heat, and to
operate at any temperature. Whilst the materials in the superheater are
being cooled by the passage of the volatile products of distillation, super-
heaters of a like nature receive the action of the source or sources of heat
employed, and in order to pass from one superheater to another I have but to

page_text: change the direction of the flow of heating gases and that of the products to
be heated. Though I think that the foregoing description may be sufficient
to make this system sufficiently understood, yet to render it more lucid and
better enable persons skilled in the art to work the Invention, I have repre-
sented it in the annexed Drawings of apparatus employed therein.
..
:
Sheet 1, Fig. 1. A represents a cast-iron pipe heated continuously by the
fuel B. The gases existing in the distilling apparatus D, or proceeding from
the wood which is to be raised to distilling heat, escape according to require-
ments through the pipes G or H, or through both at once. In cases where
the volatile products enter the pipe H only leading to the condenser Y, they
flow (the non-condensed portion) to the point P, thence to be led along the
pipe Q, R, and are afterwards superheated in the worm A. When the
volatile matters of distillation pass directly from the distilling apparatus to
the re-heater they are led along the pipe Q, R, from point O to point R only:
✗ is the orifice of a pipe leading to other refrigerators, and if needed
to one or more superheaters suitable for operating the decomposition of the
matters or for various purposes. This conveys the gases into capacities,
where they are stored, or again to apparatus, where they are immediately
used, should they not be discharged into the atmosphere. Z is a pipe for the
discharge of condensed products liquid or liquefiable.
Sheet 2, Fig. 2, represents the same apparatus forming the two essential
elements of the system, viz., a superheater, a vessel in which the materials
are to be distilled, and an apparatus for cooling and condensing the matters
resulting from the operation. At the point Y, I have represented a jet of
steam or compressed gas, the function of which is to determine the circulation
of the gases either contained or generated in the apparatus of this system.
'At the point S there may be seen a fan or blower representing any suitable
mechanical arrangementsfor operatingthe circulation of the gases or vapours:
The superheater A is heated by the fuel B, the products of combustion of
which may, after sufficiently accumulating the heat in the chamber of the
superheater A, be conveyed to another superheater of the same nature. By
closing the chimney of the superheater which I desire to make use of, and
the passage through which the flame is introduced therein, this apparatus
will prove air-tight and be ready to receive the aeriform products, the super-
heating of which it is intended to operate, which takes place immediately after
the mechanical or physico-mechanical apparatus has been set at work.
The distilling apparatus D represents the small coal laid upon arches, and
between hollow coke walls, which have already been described. The refrige-
rators consist of solid matters not exerting any noxious action upon the

page_text: products passing thereon. These matters, by reason of their bulk and their
great affinity for heat serve to cool or condense the aeriform matters of dis-
tillation. I cool the solid bodies which compose the refrigerators both in this
and other systems, by any suitable means known in science and practice,
either in a continuous or non-continuous way.
In the system of heating above specified, the action may in many circum-
stancesbe made continuous, both as regards the superheater andsuperheating,
and also as regards the refrigerator or condenser. I may also combine several
apparatus together, so as to produce a further circulating movement of the
aeriform products, butmore complicated as the circulation is morelengthened,
while the products may pass from one apparatus to another at the will of the
operator.
Sheet. 3 shows the invention as applied a blast furnace for giving the
requisite heat to the superheater. This furnace is either stationary or movable,
and may be of any form and size; it may be also single or multiple, according
to the amount of heat required and the nature of the operation. b, super-
heater formed of a turret filled with helical flues in which circulate the pro-
ducts of combustion from the fuel; these flues are closed by fire-bricks or
other suitable material capable of bearing a high temperature and having
great affinity for heat, so that on their passage through the flues the heated
gases are deprived of their caloric. Although only a single superheater is
shown, there may be several employed, so as to obtain a continuous operation,
as before stated in the course of this Specification, and for the reasons therein
expressed; c, chimney rising above the superheater, and through which
escape the products of combustion when cooled on their passage through the
superheater; d, damper for opening and closing the chimney c; e, damper in
the channel through which the furnace is set in communication with the
superheaters; f, ordinary blast furnace with its mouth g and body h, which is
of a curved form at i, and contracted towards the bottom at j, also furnished
with material k and crucible l; m, door for closing and opening the mouth g,
through which are introduced the ores, fuel, and fluxes; n, upper channel by
means of which the superheaterbcommunicates with the blast furnace f. This
channel is established at such height as that it may be possible to collect in
the blast furnace the gaseous oxide of carbon in suitable amount and with the
greatest possible quantity of steam. This channel will be generally placed
lower than it is shown in the Drawing; o, damper in channel n; p, tuyere,
introducing oxide of carbon at a sufficient pressurefor effectingthe circulating
motion of the gases in the blast furnace and superheater, returning them to
the blast furnace either in a direct or indirect way: indirectly, when said

page_text: gases are caused to pass into additional superheating or decomposing appa-
ratus; said tuyere may be replaced by any other suitable arrangement. q..
lower channel for establishingfurther communicationbetweenthe reheater and
the blast furnace. This channel is placed nearly at the same height as the
tuyeres, and is provided with a damper q'; r, pipes for gases in excess
generated in the blast furnace, which are conveyed partly to boilers or other
apparatus, and partly to refrigerators, gasometers, or otherwise, whence they
are conveyed under pressure to apparatus supplying the tuyere, or by such
apparatus as is substituted for the said tuyere, by establishing a like circulating
movement of the aeriform products.
I will now proceed to describe the operation :-
Supposing one of the superheaters to be raised to the desired temperature
through the action of fuel a, I shut the dampers d and e, and open o and q¹, at
same time operating the tuyere p, which introduces the oxide of carbon under
pressure, and imparts to the gaseous products a circulating movement in the
direction of the arrows. In this movement the gases become heated by their
passage through the superheater and carry them into the blast furnace, the
materials in which are heated, thereby leaving the greater part of their
caloric as they meet colder and more numerous bodies.
The movement still going on, the substances in the blast furnace reach at
length thetemperature of reactionthe oxide of carbon acting uponthe metallic
oxide is transformed into carbonic acid, meeting in the blast furnace with
carbon in excess is again transformed into oxide of carbon, if the temperature
is sufficient.
The circulating motion of the gas still continuing the metallic oxide is at
length completely reduced, and the metal formed being at a high temperature
is combined with carbon, so as to form carburet of iron (cast steel), which
flows into the crucible together with the scoria, as is the case in blast furnaces
Whilst these phenomena of reduction and fusion are taking place, gases and
vapours are constantly produced, the excess of which is conveyed off through
the channel r, at same time the other gases still continue the circuit which
constitutes the basis of this Invention.
Sheet 4, shows the Invention applied to a small kiln for heating, baking, or
distilling plaster, coal, and other materials. a, flue conveying the waste heat
from an apparatus or kiln, or the aeriform products of a furnace constructed
for the purpose for heating the superheater; b, damper opening or shutting
off the passage of heated gases in flue a; c, superheater formed of a turret
filled with fireproof materials arranged helically, and furnished with spaces
throughout; d,kiln or anycapacityof variable form for containing the matters

page_text: to be heated, such as coal, wood, peat, plaster, or others; e, door at the top of
kiln; f, grate containing the materials; g, discharge door in the lower part
of the kiln d; h, channel through which the upper part of kiln d com-
municates with the top part of the superheater c. This channel is provided
with a damper i and a tuyere j, which injects under pressure the gas or vapour
producing the circulating movement of the gases or vapours; k, lower channel
putting in communication the superheater c with the kiln d. This channel
is divided into two parts by a partition, so as to cause the gases to traverse
the superheater either in the kiln or the chimney by means of a damper. r;
1, channel leading from the base of kiln d to any suitable refrigerator m;.n,
chimney placed on channel 1, through which the products of combustion or
the heated gases escape after they have become cool, and proceeding from a
source of waste heat. This chimney n may be open or closed at its upper
part by a valve o; p, damper placed on channel ; q, tuyere projecting
steam for the purpose of improving the draught when the chimney is open.
This being understood, I will now proceed to describe the working of the
apparatus. It is provided with several superheaters working alternately
for the purpose of obtaining a continuous operation.
First, I begin to exhaust through the chimney the heated gases proceeding
from the source of heat employed, which are conveyed by the channel-a, and
are caused to traverse the superheater c, channels k and L, and finally pass to
the chimney n, the dampers b and o being open, and i and p shut. When the
superheater has reached the desired temperature the dampers band o are shut
and i and p opened, the damper r is afterwards regulated in such manner that
the gases may be made to pass from the superheater to the kiln through the
upper part of channel ; the tuyere j is then opened, by which is obtained
the circulating movement of the gases from the superheater through the
kiln up and down, as indicated by the arrows. In this movement the gases
convey the heat required for the calorific or chemical reactions, and the
aeriform products resulting from such action escape partly into the
refrigerator m, whilst the other part continues to circulate in a continuous
manner, save and except the very short interruption caused by substituting
one superheater for another, and such as may be necessary for charging
and discharging the materials to be treated.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Clark in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
1st December 1864.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
CLARK, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex,, Engineer and
Patent Agent, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Second day of June, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-fourin thetwenty-seventh year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
William Clark, Her special licence that I, the said William Clark, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William
Clark, my 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, exercise, and
vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel
Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MODE
OF HEATING ANIMAL, VEGETABLE, AND MINERAL MATTERS, WHEREBY TO EFFECT
THEIR DESICCATION, VAPORIZATION, DECOMPOSITION, REDUCTION, FUSION, OR VOLA-
TILIZATION, AND IN APPARATUS FOR THE SAME," a com" to me from abroad by
Henri Adolphe Archereau, Chemist, of 29, Boulevart St. Martin, Paris,
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William Clark,
my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or
their, or one of their hands and seals, 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 I, the said William Clark, 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 reference being had to the Sheet of Drawings hereunto
annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):-
This Invention consists in heating in closed vessels without contact of
atmospheric air the materials which are to be submitted to distillation,
reduction, decomposition, or other action by using almost exclusively as
media and vehicles of the heat to be communicated or applied to them,
the volatile substances which evolve from the very matters under dis-

page_text: tillation, decomposition, reduction, or otherwise, or the non-oxidizing gases
with which they may be surrounded.
The word distillation in its largest acception will be used hereafter. in
this Specification for the sake of brevity, whether I mean materials distilled
without being changed or decomposed, or only vaporized and such as undergo
changes in their physical state or chemical composition or in a word such as
undergo a reduction on a complete or partial decomposition, through the
action of heat under or without the influence of reagents and reducing agents;
or whether I mean the volatile gaseous substances forming a non-oxidizing
atmosphere circulating in the manner herein-after explained.
In this system, a certain proportion of the substances which through
the first continuous action of heat are caused to pass to an aeriform state
is carried off either in a direct or indirect way by mechanical or physico-
mechanical means from the distillatory vessels into closed apparatus where
they are superheated, and thence into the closed vessels which are filled with
the material to be distilled, which material takes up a portion of the caloric
in said aeriform substances. The arrangement of the material under distilla-
tion should be such that the gases or other products arising from or used in
the distilling process may circulate equally through the spaces produced either
by the solid and advantageous irregular form of the material itself, or by
artificial arrangements suited to each substance for the purpose of leaving
some void places for the passages of the vapours and superheating gases,
nature of which, if any, varies according to the matters they arise from,
but still dependent upon that of the material being distilled, which allows
of their being introduced in a continuous way into the distillatory apparatus
without any danger of bringing in extraneous elements which would be
injurious to such as already exist or form therein from time to time. In
fact it will be understood that having principally the greatest analogy
with the latter, these vapours or gases cannot impair their purity or alter
greatly their composition, which presents great advantages..
the
The aeriform substances proceedingfromthe materialsthemselves subjected
to the distilling heat are often on passing out of the refrigerating apparatus
introduced into a refrigerator suited for condensing the vapours to be secured,
thence the non-condensed portions, or such as are not capable ofcondensation;
separate in such a manner that a certain quantity passes to the superheater
whence it becomes charged with heat, which is afterwards expanded partly
by immediate contact with the materials to be distilled whilst the remaining
part, which is frequently a gas, but which may be also a non-condensed
vapour from the material under operation, enters a pipe leading accord-

page_text: ing to the requirements, and the materials under operation, into one or
more refrigerators, thence to escape either into the atmosphere, into a
furnace or gas holder, or in any suitable receptacle for the future use of
the non-condensed portions. That portion of aeriform matter which is
employed as a medium for conveying the heat from the superheater to
the matters being distilled, passes sometimes directly and in a continuous
'manner from the distillatory apparatus to the superheater, whence it comes
back charged with caloric, the action of which upon the bodies being distilled
causes the production of fresh aeriform matters, any excess of which latter is
sometimes conveyed to superheating apparatus, but more generally to a refri-
gerator, and thence to the pipe above-mentioned. The distilling process thus
continues to the end of the operation, the results and products of which, as
before-mentioned depend upon the nature of the substances under treatment,
but frequently also upon the temperature at which they have been treated.
This temperature, which should be regulated by the operator according to
requirements, the nature of the materials under operation, and the purpose
to be attained both by following the rules and principles actually used
when distilling in closed vessels heated on the exterior, and by using
suitable chemical reagents when deemed necessary. From what precedes it
may be readily understood that this system is applicable to numerous matters
of various origin. In fact I apply it successfully to natural matters and
artificial compounds, to solid and liquid materials and such as are capable
of being liquified by the action of heat. When the matters are in the
Bolid state, and may be so placed in the distillatory apparatus as to leave
interstices or hollows as before-mentioned, any peculiar arrangements for
the purpose are unnecessary. When wood, for instance, is to be distilled
or carbonized it would prove rather more difficult to stow it without than
with numerous interstices, but when I treat matters either liquid or
liquifiable by the heat applied to them, or pulverulent substances such as
coal of which coke is made, in which cases I contrive to produce spaces by
various artificial means, these means, which are very numerous, will produce
the same effect as those herein-after mentioned. Supposing I have to
carbonize one hundred or more tons of pulverulent or smith's coal in a
furnace, which may be much like a vaulted brick furnace when it is not
desired to have the mass of coal to be lodged in the furnace, drained. by
means of metal or other resisting fire-proof pipes, I may build arches with
lumps of coke similar to those established by plasterers in the neighbourhood
of Paris, for burning their plaster, then build upon the pillars of these arches
or even upon the arches themselves, coke walls without any mortar, such

page_text: arches and walls, thus made of rough lumps of coke or rather of lumps of
suitable form (preferably fine coke agglomerated) will allow of the super-
heated aeriform matters conveying by their continuous circulation the
caloric necessary for the carbonization of the coal laid upon, above, or beside
the arches, the interstices left in the coke walls which should be larger in
proportion as it is desired to obtain coke of greater density. Instead of.
using coke for building the said arches and walls, though generally it is
preferable to any other materials, especially when the result or residue of
the manufacture is to consist of coal, any other solid substance may be
used. The pulverulent matters may also be arranged in jars or vessels
similar to those made use of for carbonizing bones, said vessels being con-
tained in a large capacity, which may be termed an oven or furnace. The
precautions to be taken for liquid or liquefiable matters chiefly consist, as
regards those of great fluidity, in causing them to be absorbed by porous
bodies, pumice stone for instance, and then to place them likewise in flat or
other vessels as above described. I may further, through the action of the
vaporous products, conductors of caloric into the interior of a chemical
cascade, so called Clement Desorme's cascade, cause the liquid or liquefied
matter to be distilled to pass through in a continuous manner, which matter
receives on its passage through the materials in said cascade the required
heat for the result. it is desired to attain, viz., distillation with or without
decomposition. There is no objection to previously heating the materials
contained in the chemical cascade, this would on the contrary form an
additional advantage in certain cases. It is suitable also with certain sub-
stances to be submitted to the calorific action peculiar to this system, to
adopt some other arrangements which will be better understood by giving
some examples.
Supposing I have to effect the distillation of gas residue or other material
equally decomposable into solid and aeriform products, and capable or not
of being condensed into solid or liquid substances, the above matters being
of a nature to dissolve before attaining the temperature of distillation, and
also yielding in the receiver a solid residue advantageous for certain like
solid products. In this case I. combine the distillable material with pul-
verulent substances, such as small coke or charcoal, by which means I may
apply this Invention to the distillation of all agglomerated fuel, either
mineral or vegetable, which constitutes a new means of manufacturing pro-
ducts of a like nature to Paris coal, with the advantage of enabling a quantity
of distilled products to be collected by condensation, which heretofore were
burnt. For other substances and for different purposes I still incorporate
.
:

page_text: the material to be treated by agglomeration, whether the substance to be
distilled serves by its own coagulating properties to agglomerate the sub-
stances thus mixed, or the adhesive properties be derived from extraneous
matters serving as reagents or otherwise in the operation, or the coagulating
adhesive properties may be derived from both. In zincworks it maybe deemed
necessary to have cakes made, the decomposition or distillation of which-may
be readilyobtained, in a common blast furnace instead of in crucibles or ovens
heated externally. The same advantage may be obtained in the manufac-
ture of phosphorus and other products. It is not possible here to specify the
various means by which I may facilitate the passage of the aeriform matters
produced by distillation through the numberless substances to which this
new method of heating is applicable.
In addition to the above applications I will further mention the following
applications of this system :-
1st, for manufacturing metallurgical coke, at same time time obtaining
sub-products therefrom. 2ndly. For manufacturing lighting gas from all
the sub-products in gasworks by the distillation of all substances capable
of yielding gas. 3rdly. For manufacturing charcoal from any suitable
essence and utilizing the sub-products, as also for carbonizing vegetable sub-
stances in general, or producing the mere desiccation thereof. 4thly. For
carbonizing bones with utilization of the sub-products. 5thly. For distilling
asphalte and the like. 6thly. For distilling bogheads and combustible schists.
7thly. For distilling native bitumens. Sthly. For distilling peat and treat-
ing its sub-products. 9thly. For distilling lignites and their sub-products.
10thly. For distilling coal tars and other residues. 11thly. For manufactur-
ing Paris coal. 12thly. For manufacturing phosphorus. 13thly. For distill-
ing sulphur in order to refine it. 14thly. For distilling metallic zinc alloyed
with other metals. 15thly. For manufacturing ores and reducing agents.
16thly. For distilling American petroleum oils and their congenors. 17thly.
For distilling fatty bodies. 18thly. For distilling all substances capable of
producing alcohol. 19thly. For distilling substances capable of producing
essences and the rectification thereof. 20thly. For distilling oils more or less
heavy, solid, or fatty. 21stly. For the carbonization of waste tan. 22ndly. For
the manufacture of ferro-cyanide of potassium from animal substances. 23rd.
For distilling turpentine oil. 24thly. For distilling various resins. 25thly
For distilling various vegetable matters. 26thly. For manufacturing manure
by the distillation of animal substances. 27thly. In the manufacture and
treatment of mercury and amalgam. 28thly. In the manufacture and treat-
ment of cadmium, potassium, and sodium. 29thly. For distilling matters

page_text: dissolved by sulphuret of carbon: 30thly. For manufacturing oxygen by the
decomposition of oxides, salts, and acids through heat.
31st. In the pre-
paration of sulphuret of carbon by superheating vapours from sulphur passing
over coal, which vapours heat it until combustion is effected, the operation
being continued by superheating the vapours from sulphur and sulphuret of
carbon. 32ndly. In the preparation or production of oxide of carbon through
the action on coal of oxides, carbonates, and various other bodies containing
oxygen. 33rdly. In the preparation or production of carbonic acid through
the action on coal of various oxides or other matters containing oxygen
34thly. In the desiccation of gypsum (plaster) and the production of steam
unmixed with the products of combustion. 35thly. For burning hydraulic
lime and cement, and the production of carbonic acid unmixed with products
of combustion. 36thly. For the reduction to a metallic state of oxides and
carbonates of iron by employing charcoal, oxide of carbon, and carbonated or
non-carbonated gas. 37thly. For the reduction of all reducible ores by
means of carbon, its oxide and hydrogen gas carbonated or not with or
without previous roasting. 38thly. In the decomposition of various sulphates
by coal with or without other reducing agents. 39thly. In the decomposition
of various carbonates with or without the assistance of steam and reducing or
other agents. 40thly. In the decomposition of chloride of magnesium for the
production of hydrochloric acid and magnesia by the circulation of super-
heated steam. 41st. In the preparation of ether. 42ndly. For manufac-
turing azotic and hydrochloric acids, also for the manufacture of ammonia.
43rdly. In the decomposition of azotes with or without reducing agents.
44thly. For heating steam for various purposes, and chiefly for desulphur-
retting metallic sulphurets, and collecting the sulphurous products therefrom.
45thly. In the decomposition of chlorates. 46thly. For drying linen and
fabrics in general, and for the desiccation of tobacco. 47thly. In baking
bread. 48thly. For the desiccation and baking of alimentary substances of
both animal and vegetable natures. 49thly. For the superficial carbonization
of wood without any possibility of ignition for the purpose of preserving it, as
railway sleepers, for instance. 50thly. For the concentration of sulphuric
acid in a chemical state in a continuous manner by using other matters than
platinum. 51stly. For the manufacture of chlorine. 52ndly. For the cale-
faction, heating and fusion of iron, cast iron, cast steel, and all oxidizable
metals and alloys. 53rdly. For heating all matters of mineral nature which
may be modified or acted on by contact of the products of combustion or the
oxygen of the air by surrounding them with a circulating atmosphere most
appropriate for the purposes intended.

page_text: In order to make the Invention as intelligable as possible, and avoid all
ambiguity resulting from the meaning of certain expressions and explanations
which may be contained in the present Specification, I will revert to what
precedes and give further particulars of such parts as require elucidation. I
have before stated that the Invention consists in heating in closed chambers
out of contact with atmospheric air the matters which are to be submitted to
distillation or decomposition, by using almost exclusively the media before
mentioned. In using the word almost I wish it to be understood that I do
not confine myself to any single mode of heating, thus I may, as above
described, carry off the aeriform matters produced from the distillation by
physico-mechanical means, such as by the attraction of jets of gas or steam
under pressure passing into one or several channels, where they produce a
very active circulation, which sets in motion the aeriform fluids contained
therein; I therefore intend to heat the matters almost exclusively in the
manner aforesaid, still reserving the use of steam jets, and also other gases or
vapours capable of producing like effects under pressure. I may even when
acting on small quantities use extraneous bodies for effecting favorable
reactions or combinations; neither do I exclude external heating, but it will
be understood that as I most frequently act upon large masses, and conse-
quently use apparatus of extended dimensions, external heating will often
serve only to compensate or diminish the waste of heat in the apparatus. The
word almost is also qualified by the manner in which the operation is effected.
Thus when the material has been first placed in the distilling apparatus on the
first impulse being given to the gases circulating in the superheater pipes,
distilling apparatus, and in the refrigerator, there are not any products of
distillation at disposal, but only atmospheric air or aeriform matters until the
distillation commences. The distillation therefore takes place when the gases
filling up thewhole of the chambers employed in the operation have circulated
long enough from the superheater to the distilling apparatus. The gaseous
vapours from the substances are soon added thereto, and then the gases or
other elastic fluids which served to produce the emission of the aeriform
substances suited to the materials acted upon, which fluids are then expelled,
and it is then that the real purpose of the system is clearly shown. By the
dénomination of superheater 1 include any apparatus or means capable of
communicating in any suitable way to the volatile products of distillation,
either separatelyor accompanied withjets of steam or of other nature, such heat
as is required according to the temperature and the nature of the substances
under treatment, and the purposes which it is desired to attain, or in other
words, at the lowest as well as at the highest temperatures. Superheating

page_text: means here simply giving the volatile products, vapours, and gases employed a
higher temperature than that they possess on leaving the materials being
distilled, the increase being more or less as may be deemed necessary.
Now I wish it to be understood, 1st, that the first heating up to the moment
when the material begins to distil may also be effected in certain cases with
the products of combustion or with the gases of the atmosphere or others in a
heated state, and the action of which will not be prejudicial below the tem-
perature necessary for the distillation, or that capable of producing the
desired effects upon the matters under treatment; 2ndly, that I may either
impede or facilitate at will the flow of the volatile matters distilled to the
condenser or other parts of the apparatus necessary for the efficient working
of this system by closing more or less the outlets for the aeriform matters;
3rdly, that I intend to make use of any apparatus, such as pumps, fans,
pneumatic screws, and generally all blowing and other machines used for
exhausting and forcing gases, for the purpose of setting in motion the elastic
fluids; 4thly, that the chief reasons for carrying away the volatile products of
distillation, either directly from the distillatory apparatus or on their issuing
from the condensers depends upon the nature of the volatile products
obtained, which vary according to circumstances and the conditions of the
operation.
When it is proposed to obtain gas from American petroleum oils, I take
the products of distillation direct from the distillatory apparatus, which
products being already heated, and in a state of decomposition, it would be
useless to cool, and have afterwards to reheat, causing a loss of heat, it is
better to prevent. The condenser in this case serves only to cool the gases
obtained. If this decomposition is perfect, there will not remain any solid cr
liquid matters to condense, and if imperfect it will be necessary to cause the
volatileproducts to pass through another superheater suitable fordecomposing
such portions as have passed without being transformed into gas, said super-
heater being placed between the distilling apparatus or distillatory vessel and
the refrigerator or condenser. It will also be evident that if it be intended in
a similar operation to that which precedes to collect during the decomposition
a pyrogenated essential matter condensable in a liquid, the gases on their
issuing from the condenser should be conveyed to the superheater after being
deprived of the essence it is desired to obtain. I therefore reserve the right
of causing the aeriform volatile products of distillation and all others that "
might be added thereto to take such a course as may be deemed proper for
attaining the desired results, and also as may be understood by reference to
the blast furnace represented in the Drawings annexed to the present Specifi-

page_text: cation, to conveythe gases and other aeriform substances from variousheights
and cause them to circulate in several superheaters, and through chambers
filledwith charcoal and other substances so as to decompose the carbonic acid
or steam derived from chemical or calorific reactions effected in the blast
furnace, and introduce onlynon-oxydizing gases undecomposable byheat, viz.:
the oxides of carbon and hydrogen through openings serving as substitutes
for tuyéres. These gases not being capable of producing as carbonic acid and
steam a lower temperature by chemical decomposition will be injected into the
lower part of the blast furnace at the desired temperature in order to operate
the carburation of iron reduced to the metallic state, and the fusion of all
matters therein, and generally to effect their chemical reduction throughout
the other parts of the furnace. The same gases will then on their escaping
from the capacity wherein the carbonic acid and steam have been decomposed
be compelled to pass through a superheater in a highly heated state, where
they attain the required temperature for the purpose desired. The foregoing
explanationswill holdgood formanyapplications, and for the treatment of nume-
rous matterswhich itwould be needless to describe, such as how andwhere the
gases are to be obtained and introduced, how and when additional super-
heaters and decomposing apparatus may be applied containing materials
suited to the desired results. It will be unnecessary to describe particularly
the construction of the apparatus necessary for the working of this system.
I will only remark that in large operations, such as the production of lighting
gas on a large scale by carbonizing all kinds of combustible substances where
convenient, I sink in the ground as much as possible the furnaces or
chambers in which are placed the materials to be distilled, as also the
superheaters whatever may be their construction, but principally such as
consists of chambers filledwith materials havingrefractoryproperties andgreat
capability for heat. These I use preferably to others for superheating pur-
poses especially when it is required to use high temperatures, and when their
contact cannot be injurious to the matters under treatment. To this end I
arrange them in such manner as to permit the gases or like fluids to pass
through, heating them afterwards to the desired degree by any suitable
means. I may also use all possible sources of heat, and operate at any.
temperature. Whilst the materials in the superheater are being cooled by
the passage of the volatile products of distillation superheaters of a like
nature receive the action of the source or sources of heat employed, and in
order to use successively one superheater after another it is simply necessary
to change the direction of the flow of heating gases and that of the products
to be heated. Though the foregoing description may be sufficient to make

page_text: this system perfectly understood, yet in order to render it more lucid and to
better enable persons skilled in the art to work the Invention, I have
represented it in the annexed Drawings.
Fig. 1, A represents a cast-iron pipe heated by the furnace B in a con-
tinuous way.
The gases existing in the distillatory apparatus D, or
proceeding from the wood which is to be raised to distilling heat, escape
according to requirements through the pipes G or H, or through both
simultaneously. In cases where the volatile products pass through pipe H,
only leading to the condenser Y, they flow (the non-condensed portion) to
the point P, thence along the pipe Q, R, and are superheated afterwards in
the worm A. When the volatile products produced by the distillation pass
directly from the distillatory apparatus to the re-heater, they are conveyed
along the pipe Q, R, from point O to point R only; X is the orifice of a
pipe leading to other refrigerators, and if needed to one or more super-
heaters suitable for operating the decomposition of the matters, or for various
purposes, such as for conveying the gases into chambers where they may
be stored, or to other apparatus for immediate use, supposing they are not
discharged into the atmosphere; Z is a pipe for the discharge of condensed
products liquid or liquifiable.
Fig. 2 represents the same apparatus combining the two essential elements
of the system, viz., a superheater, a chamber in which the materials are
distilled, and an apparatus for cooling and condensing the matters resulting
from the operation. At the point Y, I have represented a jet of steam or
compressed gas, the object of which is to determine the circulation of the
gases either contained or generated in the apparatus of this Invention: At
the point S there may be seen a fan representing any suitable mechanical
arrangement for operating the circulation of the gases or vapours... The
superheater A is heated by the furnace B, the products of combustion of
which may after sufficiently accumulating the heat in the chamber of the
superheater A be conveyed to another superheater of same nature. By
closing the chimney of the superheater which I desire to make use of, and
the passage through which the flame is introduced therein, this apparatus.
may be made air-tight, and ready to receive the aeriform products, the super-
heating of which it is intended to operate, which takes place immediately after
the mechanical or physico-mechanical apparatus has been set at work. The
distilling apparatus D represents the small coke coal placed upon arches upon
hollow coke walls which have been already described. The refrigerator is
composed of solid matters not exerting any noxious action upon the products
passing through them. These matters by reason of their bulk and great

page_text: capability for heat serve to cool or condense the aeriform matters of
distillation. I cool the solid bodies of which the refrigerators are com-
posed, both in this and other systems by any suitable means known to science
and practice either in a continuous or non-continuous manner. In the
system of heating above specified, the action may in many cases be made
continuous both as regards the superheater or superheating, and also as
regards the distilling, refrigerating, or condensing processes. I may also
combine several apparatus together so as to produce a more extensive
circulating movement of the aeriform products, which is the more complicated
as the circulation is more lengthened, while the products may pass from
one apparatus to the other at the will of the operator....
Fig. 3 shows the Invention as applied to a blast furnace. a, furnace,
affording the requisite heat to the superheater. This fire-place is either fixed
or movable, and may be of any form and dimensions; they may be also one
or more in number, according to the amount of heat required during the
operation; b, superheater, formed of a dome filled with helical flues, in which
circulate the products of combustion from the furnaces. These flues are
formed with fire bricks or other suitable materials capable of bearing a high
temperature, and having great affinity for heat, so that on their passage
through the flues the heated gases may be deprived of their caloric. Although
only one superheater is shown, there may be several employed, so as to obtain
a continuous operation, as before stated in the course of this Specification, and
for the reasons. therein expressed; c, chimney rising above the superheater;
and through which escape the products of combustion when cooled by their
passage through superheater; d,damper foropening and closingthe chimneyc;
e, damper placed in the channel through which the furnace is set in communi-
cation with the superheaters; f, ordinary blast furnace, with its mouth g and
body h, which is of a curved form at i, contracted towards the bottom at j,also
furnished with material and crucible l; m, door for closing and opening the
mouth g, through which are introduced the ores, fuel, and fluxes; n, upper
channel by means of which the superheater 6 communicates with the blast
furnace f. This channel is established at a suitable height for collecting in
the blast furnace the gaseous oxide of carbon in as pure a state as possible,
and with the smallest quantity of steam. This channel will be generally
placed lower than it is shown in the Drawing; o, damper on channel n;
p, tuyére, introducing oxide of carbon at a sufficient pressure for effecting the
circulating motion of the gases in the blast furnace and superheater, returning
them to the blast furnace either directly or indirectly, when these gases are
caused to pass into additional superheating and decomposing apparatus. This

page_text: jet may be replaced by any other suitable arrangement; q, lower channel for
establishing further communication between the reheater and the blast
furnace. This channel is placed nearly at the same height as the tuyéres,
and is provided with a damper q', also shown at B', Figs. 1 and 2; r, over-
flow pipe for the gases in excess generated in the blast furnace, which are
conducted partly to boilers or other apparatus and partly to refrigerators,
gasometers, or otherwise, whence they are conveyed under pressure to appa-
ratus for feeding the tuyére p or other apparatus substituted for the said
tuyére, by establishing a like circulating movement of the aeriform
products.
..I will now proceed to describe the operation:-Supposing one of the super-
heatersto be raised to thedesired temperature through the action of furnace a
I then shut the dampers d and e and open o and q', at same time operating
the tuyére p, which introduces the oxide of carbon under pressure, and
imparts to the gaseous products a circulating movement in the direction of
the arrows.
In this movement the gases become heated by their passage
through the superheater, and impart their caloric to the blast furnace, the
materials in which are heated, thereby giving up a greater part of their caloric
according as they meet with colder and more numerous bodies. This move-
ment still going on, the substances in the blast furnace reach at length the
temperature of reaction, the oxide of carbon acting upon the metallic oxide is
transformed into carbonic acid, which carbonic acid meeting in the blast
furnace with carbon in excess, is again transformed into oxide of carbon if the
temperature is sufficient. The circulating motion of the gas still continuing;
the metallic oxide is at length completely reduced, and the metal formed
being at a high temperature, is combined with carbon, so as to form carburet
of iron (cast iron), which flows into the crucible together with the scoria, as
in the case in blast furnaces. Whilst these phenomena of reduction and
fusion are taking place gases and vapours are constantly produced, the excess
of which is conveyed off through the channel 7, at same time the other gases
still continue the circuit which constitutes the basis of the system.
Fig. 4 shows the Invention applied to a small furnace for heating, baking,
and distilling plaster, coal, and other matters. a, flue conveying the waste
heat from an apparatus or furnace, or it may be the aeriform products, from a
furnace constructed for the purpose of heating the superheater; b, damper.
opening or shutting off the passage of the heated gases in flue a; c,superheater,
formed of a dome, filled with fireproof materials arranged helically, and fur-
nished with spaces throughout; d, furnace or other chamber of variable form
for containing the matters to be heated (such as coal, wood, peat, plaster, of

page_text: others); e, door for supplying same, fitted at top of furnace d; f, grate
supporting the materials under treatment; g, discharge door at the lower
part of furnace d; h, channel, by means of which the upper part of kiln d
communicates with the upper part of the superheater c. This channel
is provided with a damper i and a tuyére j, which injects under pressure the
gas or vapour, producing the circulating movement of the gases or vapours;
k, lower channel setting superheater c in communication with the furnace d.
This channel is divided into two parts by the partition, so as to cause the
gases traversing the superheater either to the furnace or to the chimney by
means of a damper r; l, channel leading from the base of furnace d to any
suitable refrigerator m; n, chimney placed on channel 7 through which escape
the products of combustion from the furnace or the heated gases after they
have become cooled, proceeding from the source of waste heat. This
chimney n may be opened or closed at its upper part by a valve o; p, damper
placed on channel 1; q, tuyére injecting steam, for the purpose of improving
the draught when the chimney is open. This being understood, I will now
proceed to describe the working of the apparatus. It is provided with several
superheaters working alternately for the purpose of obtaining a continuous
operation. First, I begin to exhaust through the chimney the heated gases
proceeding from the source of heat employed, which are introduced at
channel a, are caused to traverse the superheater c, and then descend thence
through channel 1, and finally to chimney n, the damper b and valve o being
open and i and p shut. When the superheater has reached the desired
temperature the dampers b and valve o in the chimney are shut, and i and p
opened; the damper r is afterwards regulated in such manner that the gases
may be made to pass from the superheater to the furnace through the upper
part of channel k; the tuyére j is then opened, by which is obtained the
circulating movement of the gases from the superheater through the furnace
downwards, as indicated by the arrows. In this movement the gases
convey the heat required for the calorific or chemical reaction and the
aeriform products resulting from such action escape partly into the re-
frigerator m, whilst the other part continues to circulate in a continuous
manner, save during the very short intervals caused by substituting one
superheater for another, and such as might be necessary for charging and
discharging the materials to be treated.
Figs. 5 and 6 show an elevation and plan of a separate superheating
apparatus arranged according to this Invention. In this apparatus it will be
seen that the flame from furnace a passes into tubes b of fire-proof material,
constituting with the similar solid part c surrounding them a mass having

page_text: great affinity for heat, and presenting a large heating surface; the, form
resembles that of a locomotive tubular boiler, except that the water is here
replaced by sand or other suitable refractory material, and the metal tubes by
others of refractory clay, or other material capable of resisting great heat,
such as lime, magnesia, and others. The products after having circulated in
tubes 6 are caused to enter tubes d by means of any suitable mechanical or
physico-mechanical arrangement, such as that represented at e, where a jet of
steam is shown as being projected through a pipe f for producing the cir-
culation of the products of combustion in tubes d, which are similarly
arranged to those b, and whence they pass to chimney g; h, valve, which,
when closed, prevents the products of combustion from the furnace passing
direct to chimney g until they have circulated in tubes b and d; i, valve for
cutting off the circulation of the products of combustion towards the chimney,
on their exit from pipes d; j, valve for preventing the admission of the pro-
ducts of combustion from the furnace into the apparatus."
This being
understood, if the valve h be closed, the products of combustion will circulate
in pipes b and d, and pass out at chimney g. When these tubes are heated
sufficiently for the purpose desired the valve his opened, and valves i and j
closed, a circulation will thus be established in the manner indicated by the
arrows. If any suitable liquid be then injected by opening k it will become
vaporized on the inclined plane a', and be superheated in the tubes, or even
decomposed if the temperature be sufficient. The products may then be
collected at opening 1, or it may be at others placed at the extremities of the
apparatus. It will be easily understood that I may introduce either solid or
gaseous bodies into the apparatus to be subjected to the action of caloric.
Fig. 7 shows an apparatus with continuous action having a single super-
heater, and applied to a blast furnace. In this apparatus, which is also
tubular, there are used neither valves nor other parts for cutting off the
circulation of the products. The products of combustion from furnace a
traverse the fire-clay tubes b, which are enclosed with similar matters, and
flow out at chimney c in the direction shown by the arrows. The products
escapingfrom the blast furnace d enter by pipe e into chamber f,and circulate
in tubes g which alternate with tubes b; these products are then returned to
the blast furnace by pipe h. It will thus be seen that the circulation of the
products escaping from the blast furnace is effected in an inverse direction to
those circulating from furnace a. As the tubes b impart their caloric to
tubes g, point 1 of said tubes will possess a maximum amount of heat, and
point 2 a minimum amount. Whence it results that the products to be

page_text: treated arriving first at the coolest point 2 circulate in the tubes until they
reach point 1, possessing the greatest amount of caloric, the circulation of the
products being effected in the direction of the arrows, traversing the blast
furnace d from the bottom in an upward direction. If it is desired to produce
the circulation of the products in a downward direction in the blast furnace,
it should be placed on the other side of the apparatus, and not in proximity to
furnace a. It will thus be seen that this tubular apparatus is continuous in
its action, while the products of combustion circulate uninterruptedly at the
same time as the products under treatment, but in contrary directions. This
apparatus may also be applied otherwise than to a blast furnace.
Havingdescribed the nature of thisInvention and the manner of performing
the same, I declare that what I claim as the Invention to be protected by the
herein-before in part recited Letters Patent, is,-
First, the improved system of heating matters in closed vessels free from
atmospheric air,inorder to effect theirdesiccation, vaporization, decomposition
reduction, calorification, fusion, or volatilization, employing as a means of
communicating the necessary heat the currents of aeriform substances pro-
duced by subjecting said matters to suitable treatment, such as distillation,
decomposition, reduction, or otherwise; or I may surround them with non-
oxydizing gases, such as when heating faggots or iron, without giving forth
any gaseous substances or vapours, but which are at same time acted on by
the oxygen of the air or gases of combustion.
Secondly, I claim the mechanical or physico-mechanical means necessary
for causing the circulation of the gases and vapours serving as vehicles of the
caloric, said gases or vapours traversing a circuit formed by closed apparatus
consisting, 1st, of spaces or chamber in which are placed the bodies to be
treated; 2ndly, of non-continuous superheating apparatus formed of highly
refractory material, and either tubular or non-tubular; 3rdly, of continuous
apparatus of similar refractory materials (such as a cast-iron worm for
example), and also of continuous apparatus of refractory clay, the latter being
of tabular form; 4thly, of refrigerators or condensing apparatus when the
matters under treatment require them.
Thirdly, I claim the use of the system of superheating apparatus herein-
described in all the various applications before enumerated under fifty-three
heads in the course of this Specification.
Fourthly, I claim the entire arrangement of apparatus by which is produced
a circulation of gases or vapours, continually absorbing the caloric contained
in the several superheaters, and drawn from the furnaces or other sources of

page_text: In witness whereof, I, the said William Clark, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this First day of December, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four.
Witness,
JAMES DAISH,
53, Chancery Lane,
London.
W. CLARK.
(L.S.)