IMPROVEMENTS IN BURNING CERTAIN FLUIDS FOR THE PUR- POSE OF OBTAINING HEAT
Year: 1853

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Higgin, of the City of Manchester, in
the County of Lancaster, Manufacturing Chemist, for the Inven-
tion of "IMPROVEMENTS IN BURNING CERTAIN FLUIDS FOR THE PUR-
POSE OF OBTAINING HEAT."
Sealed the 8th March 1854, and dated the 14th September 1853.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Higgin
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition.
on the 14th September 1853.
I, JAMES HIGGIN, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
5 for "IMPROVEMENTS IN BURNING CERTAIN FLUIDS FOR THE PURPOSE OF
OBTAINING HEAT" to be as follows:-
This Invention consists in causing coal tar or wood tar in a fluid
state or any other suitable bye product to flow down pipes on to a plate
or tile or on the usual fire bars, which may be covered thinly with

page_text: ignited coals or fuel, and a current of air being admitted at the same
time the tar continues to burn under the boiler or vessel to be heated
in such a manner that the ordinary fuel may be entirely or in a great
measure dispensed with. The tar is kept hot by being contained in a
cistern or vessel placed in the boiler, or in any convenient position to
obtain the necessary heat, and the quantity flowing down is regulated
by taps, the necessary quantity of air being also regulated by dampers
in such a manner as to cause a perfect combustion of the tar.
This Invention is peculiarly applicable to the purposes of steam
navigation, where a reduction in the bulk of fuel is as desirable as a
reduction in the cost itself, but a considerable saving will be effected
as compared with the present fuel in all cases where heat is required
for raising steam, or for other purposes.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said James Higgin in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 13th March 1854.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,
JAMES HIGGIN, of the City of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster,
Manufacturing Chemist, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent, bearing date the Fourteenth day of September,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-three,
in the seventeenth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and
successors, give and grant unto me, the said James Higgin, Her
especial license that I, the said James Higgin, my executors, ad-
ministrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said James Higgin,
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,
usc, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for

page_text: IMPROVEMENTS IN BURNING CERTAIN FLUIDS FOR THE PURPOSE OF OBTAINING
HEAT," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said James
Higgin, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, 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 Royal Letters
Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said James Higgin, 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 (that is to say):
My Invention consists of using and adapting tar or other volatile
hydro-carbons as fuel for various purposes, such as steam boilers, gas
retorts, &c., which I accomplish by making a number of small flues of
fire bricks, or other suitable material, about two feet long and about
five inches square at the front of the fire-place, and running from the
outside, on a level with the bars. Into each of these flues I put a
metal pipe, about two inches diameter, open at each end, at an
angle of about forty-five degrees; one end of the said pipes pro-
jeeting about two inches from the top of the flue, and about four
inches from the mouth, the other end being left clear of the brick
work. I cause tar or other volatile hydro-carbons in a heated state to
descend through other pipes into the pipes fixed in the brick work, and
to run in a small stream into each fluc, where it is vapourised and
inflamed or ignited. By a current of air entering from behind, and a
supply of air meeting the partially consumed vapour from under the bars,
I obtain a high degree of heat, and apply it in the usual manner to the
vessel to be heated.
Having thus described the nature and particulars of my said Inven-
tion, and the manner of carrying the same into practical effect, I
desire it to be distinctly understood that I do not confine myself to the
exact details herein specified; but I claim as of my Invention, and
which, to the best of my knowledge and belief, has not been hitherto
used within this realm, the use of tar or other volatile hydro-carbons,

page_text: causing them to descend in small streams on a heated surface, where
they are inflamed or ignited, and supplied with sufficient air to effect
their combustion.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Higgin, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Eleventh day of March, One thousand
eight hundred and fifty-four.
Signed, sealed, and delivered
by the within-named James
Higgin in the presence of
E. J. HUGHES,
Patent Agent,
Manchester.
JAMES HIGGIN. (L.B.)