IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR THE EXTRACTION OF NITRATE OF SODA FROM CRUDE NITRATE EARTH STONE, USUALLY CALLED CALÈCHE.”
Year: 1872

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Robert Francis Fairlie, of Victoria Strect, in the
City of Westminster, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN APPARATUS FOR THE EXTRACTION OF NITRATE OF SODA FROM CRUDE
NITRATE EARTH STONE, USUALLY CALLED CALÈCHE.”
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Robert Francis Fairlic.
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 21st October 1872.
I, ROBERT FRANCIS FAIRLIE, of Victoria Street, in the City of
Westminster, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR THE EXTRACTION OF NITRATE
OF SODA FROM CRUDE NITRATE EARTH STONE, USUALLY CALLED CALÈCHE," to be as
follows:-
Many methods have been hitherto adopted in the treatment of crude
nitrate earth stone or calèche, in order to extract therefrom nitrate of
soda. In some of these methods open boilers or cauldrons, and in
others closed boilers have been employed, such boilers having beci

page_text: varied in their construction to suit the views of those employing them.
In every case however it has been found that much time and labor have
to be spent in order to carry out the process of extraction; and it is
well known that even with the best method hitherto adopted a largo
per-centage of nitrate of soda still remains in the calèche after the
operation of extraction has been completed, and this per-centage is of
course lost.
In the open boilers or cauldrons various arrangements have been
adopted for stirring up the calèche in order to effect a better and
speedier dissolution of the nitrate of soda from the common earth with
which it is mixed, and although this stirring up produces better results
than when no movement is given to the calèche during the process
of boiling, yet there is no reduction of the large quantity of water
usually required in the operation. Moreover the difficulties attending
the cleansing out of the open boilers or cauldrons after the dissolution
has taken place and the liquor run off, are always a source of great
expense on account of the great length of time taken up and labor
employed. The use of closed boilers is also very expensive, and the
per-centage of nitrate of soda lost by imperfect dissolution is equally
great.
The best construction of closed boilers heretofore adopted consists of.
square and wagon-shaped boilers, usually termed cachuchos, with one
end, and in some cases both ends, mado to open and shut with doors
which are made steam-tight. Into these cachuchos, on the bottom of
which for their entire length inside rails to a suitable gauge are fixed,
box wagons perforated at the sides, ends, top, and bottom are run, tho
wagons having been previously filled to a certain extent with broken
nitrate carth, stone, or calèche, and the door or doors of the cachucho
are made steam-tight. Water is let into the boiler or cachucho through
a suitable opening, and when sufficient to cover or nearly cover the
wagons containing the calèche the supply of water is shut off, and steam
is admitted for the purpose of boiling the water, and thus dissolving the
calèche. As the dissolution takes place the water absorbs the nitrato
of soda, and when the dissolution is supposed complete, the liquor being
a more or less saturated solution of nitrate of soda is run off into settling
tanks, and thence into cooling pans, where the crystallization takes
place. But as the box wagons may contain from 4 to 6 tons of calèche,
it is found that a very large quantity of water has to be employed,

page_text: and as water is generally excessively scarce in those districts where
calèche is found, it is very expensive; secondly, that though the boiling
process may be continued for a considerable period, the water rarely
thoroughly permeates or penetrates to the centre of the wagons,
owing to the great body of calèche in each wagon, and to the wagon
being stationary whilst in the cachuchos, consequently when the liquor
is run off, there still remains in each wagon along with the plain earth
or refuse a large per-centage of nitrate of soda, which is emptied off to
spoil, and lost. There are thus in the present operations great loss of
time, imperfect dissolution of the calèche, large quantities of water used,
which also require a great deal of steam to boil, a large quantity of both
water and fuel to provide the steam, and finally great delay in the
crystallization, owing to the large quantity of water which holds the
nitrate of soda in solution after the process of boiling, making the liqour
poor and thin. The object therefore of my present Invention is to
overcome these defects and difficulties in the process of manufacturing
or extracting nitrate of soda, to greatly reduce the quantity of labor
required, to diminish the quantity of water necessary for extracting the
nitrate of soda, to greatly quicken the operation, to reduce the quantity
of steam necessary for the dissolution of the calèche, thereby saving
both water and fuel, to extract a larger per-centage of nitrate of soda
from the calèche, and finally, to deliver a strong or rich liquor to the
cooling pans, so that the process of crystallization is much quickened.
My Invention consists in constructing and mounting the bodies of the
wagons so that they are capable of being rotated when inside the
cachucho, and in a mode of imparting rotary motion to the wagon
bodies when inside the cachucho, so that the mass of calèche is not only
turned over and over by such rotation, but also worked up or stirred
about.
In carrying out my Invention I construct the cachucho and the
body of each wagon of cylindrical form (thereby greatly lessening the
quantity of material required in their construction, and at the same
time giving greater strength), and I mount the wagons on their frames
in such manner that they are free to revolve thereon on a horizontal
axis. The ends of the revolving cylinder or body of the wagons are
furnished with clutches or other engaging apparatus, so that when a
number of them are run into the cachucho they gear together. One
end of the cachucho is provided with a stuffing box, through which a

page_text: shaft driven by steam or other power is passed, and this shaft has a
corresponding clutch to take into the wagon first run in. The cylinders
or bodies of the wagons are perforated with holes, and are furnished
internally with bars or arms for working up or stirring the calèche.
These bars may be carried radially or otherwise across the wagons, or
they may project from the periphery towards the centre, or be arranged
in any way which may be found best for acting upon the mass of
calèche.
The operation is readily understood:-The wagons filled with broken
calèche having been run into the cachucho, the end door is closed, the
requisito quantity of water (which is considerably less than that required
with the old apparatus) is supplied, and steam is let in as before
explained. During this treatment with steam the wagons are caused to
rotato continuously or intermittently. The whole mass is thus uniformly
submitted to the action of the steam and hot water, and the extraction
of the nitrate of soda is thereby effected quickly in an efficient and
economical manner. The saturated solution of nitrate, commonly called
liquor, is drawn off as herein-before stated into settling and crystallizing
tanks.
The wagons are filled with the calèche through openings in their
peripheries, which openings are then closed by suitable covers, and when
the process is completed and the nitrate has been run off, the earth or
refuse remaining in the wagons can be readily removed by moving the
wagons on their axes so as to bring the said openings to the bottom, the
fastenings or covers of the said openings having been previously
removed; the refuse thus drops out and the wagon is ready for refilling
with calèche.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Robert Francis Fairlie in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 19th April 1873.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ROBERT
FRANCIS FAIRLIE, of Victoria Street, in the City of Westminster,
Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-first day of October, in the year

page_text: of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two, in the thirty-
sixth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said Robert Francis Fairlie, Her special licence
that I, the said Robert Francis Fairlie, my executors, administrators,
5 and assigns, or such others as I, the said Robert Francis Fairlie, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with,
and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during tho
term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise,
and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland,
O the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN APPARATUS FOR THE EXTRACTION OF NITRATE OF SODA FROM CRUDE NITRATE
EARTH STONE, USUALLY CALLED CALÈCHE," upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said Robert Francis Fairlie, my executors or administrators,
by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and
5 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 Scal Patent Office within six
calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters
Patent.
) NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Robert Francis Fairlie, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement thereof, reference being had to the accom-
panying Drawings, that is to say:—
Many methods have been hitherto adopted in the treatment of crude
nitrate carth stone or calèche, in order to extract therefrom nitrate of
soda. In some of these methods open boilers or cauldrons, and in others
closed boilers, have been employed, such boilers having been varied in
their construction to suit the views of those employing them. In every
case however it has been found that much time and labor have to be
spent, in order to carry out the process of extraction; and it is well
known that even with the best method hitherto adopted a large per-
centage of nitrate of soda still remains in the calèche after the operation
of extraction has been completed, and this per-centage is of course
lost.

page_text: imperfect dissolution of the calèche, large quantities of water used,
which also require a great deal of steam to boil, a large quantity of both
water and fuel to provide the steam, and finally great delay in the
crystallization owing to the large quantity of water which holds the
nitrate of soda in solution after the process of boiling, making the liquor
poor and thin. The object therefore of my present Invention is to
overcome these defects and difficulties in the process of manufacturing
or extracting nitrate of soda, to greatly reduce the quantity of labor
required, to diminish the quantity of water necessary for extracting the
nitrate of soda, to greatly quicken the operation, to reduce the quantity
of steam necessary for the dissolution of the caleche, thereby saving
both water and fuel, to extract a larger per-centage of nitrate of soda
from the calèche, and finally to deliver a strong or rich liquor to
the cooling pans, so that the process of crystallization is much
quickened.
My Invention consists in constructing and mounting the bodies of
the wagons so that they are capable of being rotated when inside the
cachucho, and in a mode of imparting rotary motion to the wagon
bodies when inside the cachucho, so that the mass of calèche is not only
turned over and over by such rotation, but also worked up or stirred
about.
In carrying out my Invention I construct the cachucho and the body
of each wagon of cylindrical form (thereby greatly lessening the
quantity of material required in their construction, and at the same
time giving greater strength), and I mount the wagons on their frames
in such manner that they are free to revolve thereon on a horizontal
axis. The ends of the revolving cylinder or body of the wagons are
furnished with clutches or other engaging apparatus, so that when a
number of them are run into the cachucho they gear together. One end.
) of the cachucho is provided with a stuffing box, through which a shaft
driven by steam or other power is passed, and this shaft has a corre-
sponding clutch to take into the wagon first run in. The cylinders
or bodies of the wagons are perforated with holes, and are furnished
internally with bars or arms for working up or stirring the calèche.
5 These bars may be carried radially or otherwise across the wagons, or
they may project from the periphery towards the centre, or be
arranged in any way which may be found best for acting upon the mass
of calèche.

page_text: Figure 1 of the accompanying Drawings is a longitudinal vertical
section, and Figure 2 a transverse section of apparatus constructed
according to my Invention, and shewing the wagons in the cachucho;
Figuro 3 is a horizontal section of the apparatus without the wagons;
Figure 4 is an elevation of that end of the cachucho through which the
wagons are run in and out; Figure 5 is a face view of one of the
drivers on the ends of the wagon bodies and on the end of the driving
shaft; Figure 6 is a detached view of one of the journals for the ends of
the trucks.
A is the cachucho which is of cylindrical form; B, B, are the wagon
bodies which are also cylindrical; three of these are shown in the Draw-
ings, but the cachucho may be constructed to hold more or less than
three as thought necessary. The wagon bodies B, B, are provided with
journals C, C, which rest in bearings on frames D, D, one at either end
of cach wagon body. The wagon frames D, D, are mounted on
wheels E, E, to run on rails F, F, in the cachucho. The ends of the
wagon bodies aro furnished with clutches or drivers G, G, shewn
detached in Figure 5, and these clutches or drivers gear together when
the wagons are run into the cachucho. The end I of the cachucho is.
a fixture; it is provided with a stuffing box I through which a driving
shaft K passes. The inner end of this shaft is also furnished with a
clutch or driver G, into which the clutch or driver on the end of the
first wagon gears. The shaft K is driven by any suitable power. The
wagons are run into and out of the cachucho at the end L which is pro-
vided with doors as shewn, which are capable of being closed steam-tight;
M is the inlet for water to tho cachucho; N is the steam inlet which com-
municates by a pipe O with longitudinal pipes P, P, perforated to allow
the steam to issue all along the bottom of the cachucho; Q is the outlet
for drawing off the liquor at the end of the operation into settling and
crystallizing tanks. The wagon bodies B, B, are perforated with holes
as shown, and are furnished internally with bars or arms R, R, (see
Figure 2) which serve to work or stir up the calèche as the wagon bodies
.rotate.
The operation is readily understood:-The wagons filled with broken
calcche having been run into the cachucho the end door L is closed, the
requisite quantity of water (which is considerably less than that required
with the old apparatus) is supplied at M, and steam is let in at N, as
before explained; during this treatment with steam, the wagons are

page_text: caused to rotate continuously or intermittently by means of the driving
shaft K and clutches G. The whole mass is thus uniformly submitted to
the action of the steam and hot water, and the extraction of the nitrate
of soda is thereby effected quickly in an efficient and economical
manner. The saturated solution of nitrate, commonly called liquor, is
drawn off at Q as herein-before stated into settling and crystallizing
tanks.
The wagons are filled with the calèche through openings in their.
peripheries, which openings are then closed by suitable covers shewn
at S, S, and when the process is completed and the nitrate has been run
off, the carth or refuse remaining in the wagons can be readily removed
by moving the wagons on their axes, so as to bring the said openings to
the bottom, the fastenings or covers of the said openings having been
previously removed; the refuse thus drops out and the wagon is ready
for refilling with calèche,-
And having now described the nature of my said Invention, and in
what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that I claim as
my "Improvements in Apparatus for the Extraction of Nitrate of Soda
from Crude Nitrate Earth Stone usually called Calèche."
1. Constructing and mounting the wagon bodies in such manner that
they are capable of being rotated when inside the cachucho substantially
as and for the purpose herein-before described.
2. The mode or means substantially as hercin-before described of
imparting rotary motion to the wagon bodies when inside the cachucho.
3. Constructing apparatus substantially as herein-before described, and
represented in the annexed Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Robert Francis Fairlie, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Eighteenth day of April One thousand
eight hundred and seventy-three.