CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN CHEMICAL RETORTS, STILLS, AND OTHER APPARATUS, AND IN THE MACHINERY CONNECTED THEREWITH, AND BY THE USE AND EMPLOYMENT WHEREOF VARIOUS PROCESSES CAN BE SPEEDILY, CONVENIENTLY, AND ECONOMICALLY PERFORMED
Year: 1836

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, BENJAMIN
SIMMONS, of Winchester Street, in the Borough of Southwark, and County of
Surrey, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS His most Excellent Majesty King William the Fourth, by
His Letters Patent, under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date
at Westminster, the Eighth day of March, in the sixth year of His reign,
did give and grant unto me, the said Benjamin Simmons, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, His especial licence, full power, sole privilege
and authority, that I, the said Benjamin Simmons, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, and such others as I, the said Benjamin Simmons, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and
no others, from time to time and at all times hereafter during the term of
years therein mentioned, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise,
and vend, within England, Wales; and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my
Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN CHEMICAL RETORTS, STILLS, AND OTHER
APPARATUS, AND IN THE MACHINERY CONNECTED THEREWITH, AND BY THE USE AND
EMPLOYMENT WHEREOF VARIOUS PROCESSES CAN BE SPEEDILY, CONVENIENTLY, AND
ECONOMICALLY PERFORMED;" in which said Letters Patent there is contained a
proviso, that I, the said Benjamin Simmons, shall cause a particular description
of the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to.. be

page_text: performed by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, to be inrolled
in His said Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar months
ext immediately after the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as
reference being thereunto had may more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Benjamin Simmons, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention,
and the manner in which the same is to be performed, are particulary described
and ascertained in and by the Drawings hereunto annexed, and the following
description thereof, that is to say :-
My said chemical retorts are either revolving or vibrating ones, mounted in
proper furnaces, and caused to revolve or vibrate either by machinery or by
hand, and by means of the apparatus to be hereafter described. And I do
not mean hereby to claim the Invention of revolving or vibrating retorts
generally, but only my improved methods of actuating them, and allowing
them to expand by heat longitudinally, and contract again by cooling, and
likewise to supply those parts of them conveniently which are the most liable
to be destroyed by the immediate action of the fire upon them.
In Fig. 1, A, A, is the cylindrical part most exposed to the heat. This is
flanched at both ends, and joined to the flanched cylindrical part B at one end
by screws and screwed nuts, and also to the part C, having a groove formed
around it at its other end in a similar manner. The cylindrical part B rests
upon two plain cylindrical friction wheels D, D, one of which is shewn in
Figure 1, and both of them in the end view, Figure 2, whilst the grooved
part C lies upon the two other friction wheels E, E, with rounded rims, one of
which is shewn in Figure 1, and both of them in Figure 3. The retort is
thus allowed to expand and contract lengthways freely at one end B, but is
confined from doing so at its other end C by means of the groove lying upon
the rounded rims of the friction wheels E, E. These four friction wheels
D, D, and E, E, are mounted in pairs in double adjusting frames F and G,
which are affixed in brackets at each end to the iron side plates II and I of
the furnace, and at such a distance from them as not to bo much affected by
the heat of the furnace, and thereby to keep the necks or pivots of the friction
wheels and their surrounding brasses in their plummer blocks, constantly
lubricated with oil or grease. This is best seen in the sectional plan, Figure 4,
which is taken at the level of the furnace grate. These two side plates
H and I are formed in separate portions, each having a semicircular gap
in it, so as to fit and surround the cylindrical retort above and below, and
as shewn in Figures 2, 3, and 5. The retort is actuated by means of

page_text: a ring of teeth J, formed near to the groove C, and in which a toothed
wheel or pinion K, mounted upon an axis supported in bearings affixed
to one of the side plates of the furnace, works. This pinion may either
be turned by hand, or driven by machinery urged by steam or any other
first mover; and it is charged at one end with any of the materials to be
chemically acted upon in the following manner:-L in Figures 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, and
8, is a cast-iron door, opening upon a strong hinge, and carefully fitted so as
to accurately close and shut up that end of the retort when pressed home by
the screw M, as shewn in Figures 5, 7, and 8. The door being opened and
supported upon an iron bracket, as shewn in Figure 2, the beam N containing
the male and female screws is drawn out of the way by means of a chain, which
is hooked to one end of the beam, as is also shewn in Figure 2, and is passed
through a pulley block hung to an arm affixed to the frame plate of the
furnace, and thence descends to a hook below to which it is hung, and as
shewn in that Figure. The interior of the retort is fitted up in the following
manner is a cast-iron tube, having a flat circular plate formed at one end
of it, which is secured by screws to the end plate of the retort, and as shown
in Figure 1, and thereby the tube is held centrally. It has also another and
smaller flat circular plate cast with it, to which a circular plate P is affixed by
screws, and which latter plate fits and fills the interior of the retort, as is shewn
in Figure 1 in plan, and separately in Figure 9. The front end of the tube
O has also a portion of another flat circular plate Q fitted upon it, the upper
edge of which is bent at a right angle, and lies horizontally upon the tube, so
as to form a sort of shelf, and the upper part of the retort is closed by another
portion of a circular plate R. Figure 10 is a plan of the plate Q with its
shelf, in which is seen a gap or notch S, into which a projection T, Figure 1-1,
formed at the lower front edge of the plate R is fitted; previously, however, a
bolt and pin U, shewn in Figures 12 and 13, is dropped into the gap or notch-
S, and into a hole made to receive its pin, formed in the tube O, after which a
bolt V, shewn in Figure 10, is slipped over the pin U, and retains it and the
upper portion of the circular plate R in their places; and in order to keep the
bolt from slipping out of place during the revolutions or vibrations of the retort,
the bent end of it is made to extend to the inside of the cast-iron door, L, where
it is lodged between two projecting studs W, W, shewn in Figure 2.. Figure
14 is a front view of the parts Q and R of the circular plates closing the
front end of the interior of the retort, and also shewing a number of holes
made through the lower part Q, to permit the passage of any volatile matters
to the tube O, and which is further assisted by three gaps formed around the

page_text: A
octangular part, which is fitted upon a similarly shaped part upon the end of
the tube O. Figure 15 shews the plate P, as screwed to the smaller plate
formed upon the inner end of the tube O, and between which and the back
plate first described a number of holes are made in that tube to permit the
entrance of any volatized matters from that end of the retort, and as shewn in
Figures 1 and 9. Before, however, the front plates Q and R are fitted upon
the tube O, and should the process or processes require it, a hanging scraper
X may be suspended from it, as shewn in Figures 1, 9, and 16, and is also
shewn separately in Figure 17. And still further to aid this dividing, grinding,
or agitating action, a number of iron balls or spheres may also be introduced
within the retort, and as shewn in Figure 1; a single one is also shewn in its
place in Figure 16. The back plate or farther end of the retort has a tube Y
affixed in its centre, and is made cylindrical withinside to receive another
cylindrical part within it, which is formed upon the end of the tube Z leading
to the condensing apparatus, and which joining may be packed air-tight by
any of the usual and well-known methods, and be held or retained together by
means of the screwed loops or nuts, as shown in Figures 6, 7, and 8.
loaded valve opening upwards may also be added, as shown in Figures 6 and 7,
and several apertures also be made in that part of the apparatus, to be used as
required by having pipes or tubes fitted to them, or be closed by means of
plates secured by screws, and as shewn in Figure 6. Furnace and ash-pit
doors are provided, as are also shewn in this Figure, and the interior of the
fire-placed is lined with fire bricks in the usual manner, and as shewn in Figures
1, 4, and 16. In closing the mouth of the retort, the beam N, which is jointed
to the mouth of the retort on one end of it, has its other end hooked underneath
a projecting stud formed to receive it, and thus is enabled to afford a firm
resistance to the pressure of the screw, upon the centre of the door of the
retort. Apertures or openings are also made in the plates of the furnace and
retort, through which to inspect the stato of the fire, or the processes from time
to time, as usual, and which can be closed by hanging doors or stoppers fitted for
that purpose.
The retort may either be continually revolved in one direction,
or be turned sometimes one way, and then in a contrary one, or be caused to
vibrate in opposite directions, and according to the nature of the substances to
be acted upon, and the processes to be performed therein. And as the
cylindrical part of the retort A, A, is the part most liable to be destroyed in
the course of time by the direct action of the fire upon it, so that part may be
replaced at any time, and its flanches be united with the flanches upon each
end of the retort by screws and nuts as above described. The tube Z leading

page_text: as above mentioned to the condensing apparatus must be firmly supported
immoveably upon any fit and proper frame or other fixture.
My improved chemical still is also a revolving or vibrating one, but as the
heat is applied by means of steam, instead of being mounted in a furnace, as in
the case of the retort, it is supported upon four friction wheels D, D, and E, E,
the carriages or bearings of which are mounted or adjusted to a cast-iron frame
a, a. Figures 18, 19, 20, and 21: b, b, are the said carriages or bearings having
tenons at each end, which are held in mortices formed in brackets c, c, affixed
to the frame, as shewn in Figure 19, so as to be raised or lowered in the said
mortices by means of plates or wedges inserted underneath them. They can
also be adjusted endways by other wedges driven in between their shoulders and
the brackets, and as is shewn at d, in Figures 20 and 21, and thus the neces-
sary adjustment of them is provided for in every direction. The steam enters
the still at the pipe or tube e, which is firmly mounted upon the supports f, f.
affixed upon the iron frame a, a, and thence passes downwards into the materials
placed in the body of the still g, through the pipes h, h, h, h, h, shewn in the
vertical section, Figure 22, and one of which is also shewn in the cross section,
Figure 23. And the vapours, steam, or other volatile matters pass from the
still to the condensing apparatus down the vertical flat pipe i, shown in
Figures 22 and 23, entering it at the apertures or openings j, j, j. at its upper
end, and escaping through the part k which leads them to the pipe l, connected
with the worm. In the worm tub m the passage through the pipe e is of course
interrupted, as shewn in the section, Figure 22, at n, in order to cause the
steam, vapours, or other volatile matters to pass downwards through the vertical
pipe i, as above described, and the top of the said vertical flat pipe i is covered
in order to prevent any of the materials with which the still is charged from
entering it there whilst it is revolving. The body of the still g is cylindrical
and is closed at each end by flat circular plates joined to flanches formed upon
each end of the cylindrical body by means of screwed bolts and nuts, and upon
one end of it a toothed ring is formed, into which a toothed wheel or pinion o,
Figures 18 and 20, acts, so as to turn the body of the still either continually in
one direction or to reverse it, or to cause it to vibrate backwards and forwards
as required, the pinion being mounted upon an axis turning upon necks or
pivots mounted in plummer blocks with brasses in the usual manner, and
affixed to the frame of the still, and may be turned either by hand or by
machinery. The still is thus made to revolve around the pipe e, and is fitted
with cylindrical parts at p, p, as shewn in Figures 18, 19, and 22, which turn
upon other cylindrical parts formed upon the pipe e, and can be bound by

page_text: screwed bolts and nuts so as to be steam-tight when properly packed with any fit
and proper material or materials usually employed for that purpose in stuffing
boxes. The still may be charged with the materials to be operated upon and
emptied at the opening q, shewn in Figure 21, and which is to be kept closed
by screws passed through the plate or cover of it into that end of the still, and
it may receive hot water from the worm tub m, by means of a pipe with a cock
in it proceeding from the bottom of the worm tub, and delivering the water
into another opening formed in its cylindrical rim at r, as shown in Figures
18, 19, and 22, and which said opening may be closed by means of a flat
plate bound steam and water tight upon it, either by means of a wedge, as
shewn, or otherwise; and indeed, if preferred, the still may also be charged
and discharged at this latter aperture. The sides of the still frame are kept
at a proper distance apart by means of iron rods with shoulders upon them,
and secured by wedges driven through holes made in them for that purpose,
and as shewn in the different Figures. The entrance of the steam may be
regulated by means of a cock and globes, or metal balls may be introduced into
the still, as shewn, or not, according to the processes to be performed therein.
Having thus described the construction of my said chemical retorts and
stills, and the apparatus by means of which they are actuated, I have now to
add, that I can perform the processes of extracting coal gas and tar from pit
coal and forming it into coke, and also of separating pyroligneous acid, ether,
and tar from wood, and converting it into a superior cylinder charcoal, and
likewise of procuring ammonia and animal oil from bones and converting them
into bone black of an improved quality.
Also I can manufacture oil gas with great facility owing to the fresh heated
surfaces continually presented by the revolving or vibrating actions of the
retort, and especially I can manufacture a prussiate of potash or soda of a
very superior quality, for making Prussian blue, or for other purposes, by the
employment of my revolving or vibrating retorts, and with great economy and
convenience; and my revolving or vibrating stills are peculiarly adapted
to the lixiviating and evaporating the lixiviums of saline matters, and so as to
collect any volatile substances which may be disengaged during these processes,
and by employing the balls or spheres during the evaporation or distillation
those processes may be considerably expedited by the continual division of the
matters subjected to their action.
I do not mean or intend hereby to claim as my Invention the causing retorts
or stills to revolve or vibrate generally, which may have been already done,
but only my improved methods of so actuating them as herein fully shewn and

page_text: described. Neither do I mean or intend hereby to limit myself to the employ-
ment of any particular material or materials in the construction of them, but
to use any which are fit and proper for the purpose; nor do I mean to employ
any particular size of apparatus, but to vary their sizes according to the nature
and extent of the processes to be performed.
In witness whereof, I, tlie said Benjamin Simmons, have hereunto set
my hand and seal this Eighth day of September, One thousand eight
BENJAMIN (L.S.) SIMMONS.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Eighth day of September, in
the seventh year of bis Majesty King William the Fourth, the said Benjamin
Simmons came before our said Lord the King in His Chancery and acknow-
ledged the instrument aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained and
specified in form above written. And also the instrument aforesaid was
stamped according to the tenor of the Statute made in the fifty-fifth year of
the reign of His late Majesty King George the Third.