Improvements in the Treatment of Night-soil and such like Noxious Matters, and in Apparatus therefor.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 4th Nov., 1890-Accepted, 6th Dec., 1890
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Treatment of Night-soil and such like Noxious
Matters, and in Apparatus therefor.
EDWARD WILLIAM CRACKNELL of Bond Street Chambers George Street in the
City of Sydney and Colony of New South Wales Consulting Engineer and Architect
do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to
he performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-
This invention relates to improvements in the treatment of nighisoil and the most
offensive matters contained in city refuse such as condemned fish decayed food and
such like and to improvements in apparatus therefor. It has been specially designed
to provide a safe and reliable method for such purpose by which the matters will
be converted into poudrette or marketable manure without the escape of noxious
gases or offensive odours.
These improvements in the treatment of nightsoil &c. consist or are involved in
the separation or straining of bulky and hard and heavy matters from the material to
be treated the disintegration of the separated smaller and lighter matters in a
centrifugal destructor or devil its further dessication and treatment in a steam
jacketted cylinder having revolving blades and the burning of the separated bulky
hard and heavier matters while all the operations are conducted in chambers or
apparatus having exhaust drafts conveying all gases and gaseous emanations to the
furnace to be destroyed. And these improvements in apparatus for treating night-
soil &c. consist in the combination and arrangement of inechanical parts hereinafter
more particularly set forth and claimed.
But in order that this invention may be clearly understood I will now describe the
same with reference to the drawings herewith.
Figure 1 is a plan of a complete plant or apparatus for treating nightsoil &c.
according to these improvements.
Figures 2, 3 and 4 are sectional elevations of the same on lines a a b b and c c
respectively in Figure 1.
Figures 1, 2, 3 and 4* are plan, end view, longitudinal section and cross section
respectively (on a larger scale) of the strainer and the centrifugal destructor
or devil.
A is receiving chamber or platform. B separating chamber. C dessicator.
D steam producer and drying chamber for rubbish &c. E an exhaust fan or blower.
Fan engine. G a flue or chimney. Ha furnace or cremator for rubbish city
refuse &c. preferably one of those known as "Cracknell's Patent Incinerating
Furnace." A is sliding door. A hopper. B₁ is binged screen or grid. B² its
hinge or spindle. B³ catch pit. B centrifugal destructor. B³ receiving hopper.
B door or damper. ¹ is steam jacket. C spindle or shaft. Ca angular knives
blades or tearers. Cspindle. driving gear. C discharge doors. C' steam
supply pipe. D steam producing jacket. D is a vapour pipe from rubbish cremator
or drier. D³ steam pipe. El exhaust gas pipes of chamber or platform A. E' similar
exhaust of chamber B and E³ exhaust of dessicator C. E is injector mouth. Es pipe
to rubbish cremator or furnace. The hinged screen or grid B' is adapted to be
raised and lowered on spindle B2 (as shewn in dotted lines Figure 2) by worm
gearing 6x or other suitable contrivances and when down it rests upon catch pit B³
which has a sloping bottom b' and is perforated or open on its side b². The shell of the
centrifugal destructor B is perforated throughout and contains angular knives 6* on
a spindle 65 and angular knives on its shel!. The shell and the spindle b³ are
arranged by any well known means to revolve in opposite directions. The dessicator C
is stationary and the spindle is revolved by means of gear C as shown or other

page_text: suitable gearing in either direction at will of the attendant. The steam producer and
drier D may be an ordinary steam boiler served with ordinary fuel or it may be as I
prefer a steam producer above a rubbish furnace H in which the fuel used will be
wholly or in part made up of combustible parts of city refuse garbage and such
like as in what is known as "Cracknell's Patent Incinerating Furnace."
ash pit.
H' is
The carts or other conveyances containing nightsoil or other material to be
treated are drawn into or upon chamber or platform A and door A¹ being opened
their contents are tipped upon grid or screen B. Any bricks bottles boots and
other large substances are separated and retained on such grid while the smaller
fall through into catch pit B³. The gear * being set in motion the grid is elevated
when the large rubbish thereon are thrown into hopper A2 from which they are
directed or shot on to the lower floor and fed into the drying chamber D. The
nightsoil &c. together with paper rags and small rubbish having passed through
grid B' find their way through perforations in side 62 into centrifugal destructor B*
leaving behind in the lower corner of heavier particles such as iron and other
metal. The destructor B being set in motion the more liquid portions and smaller
particles are thrown outwards through the perforations in the shell into hopper B5
while the solid matters which are not made small enough are deposited at the end of
the destructor in a suitable receiver or platform either to be conveyed to grid B¹
to hopper B or to drying chamber D according to the further treatment they may
require. The strained and pulped nightsoil is then passed in charges from hopper B
into dessicator C where it is dried by the heat of steam jacket and dessicated
by knives blades or stirrers C³ on shaft C2 which latter may be revolved in either
direction at the will of the attendant so that the charge is thoroughly treated and
passed from end to end of the dessicator and finally discharged through doors C in the
form of poudrette. By the action of the exhaust fan or blower or similar contrivance E
all offensive odours and gases from the material in or on the receiving chamber A
are drawn through pipe E similar odours and gases from the material under treatment
in separating chamber B are drawn through pipe E' and similar odours and gases
from the charge being dessicated in cylinder are drawn through pipe E³ and the
whole are conveyed by pipe E³ to the ash pit H¹ whence they find their way through
firebars into furnace H and are thoroughly burnt and destroyed. This exhaust action
is assisted by an injector-like contrivance E. The products of combustion pass away
through flue G as well understood. An engine F is shown in a suitable position for
giving motion to the centrifugal destructor the stirrers of the dessicator the exhaust
fan &c. by means of shafting belting gearing or other mechanical means as is well
understood;
Having now particularly described and explained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what 1.
claim is :-
First The improvements in the treatment of nightsoil and such like noxious
matters consisting in the method or cycle of operations herein set forth and explained
and the carrying out of the same in chambers and apparatus connected by means of
forced draughts with a furnace for burning the gases or odours given off during such
operations substantially as herein described.
Second-The improvements in apparatus for treating nightsoil and such like noxious
matters consisting in the combination and arrangement together of the mechanical
parts or any mere modification thereof substantially as herein described and explained
and as illustrated in the drawings.
Third-In apparatus for treating nightsoil and such like noxious matters the com-
bination with a receiver for the material of a hinged separator or grid such as B
adapted to turn or tip on a hinge or spindle such as B2 by means of a worm wheel
or other gearing substantially as herein described and explained and as illustrated in
the drawings,
%
Fourth In apparatus for treating-nightsoil and such like noxious matters the

page_text: combination and arrangement with a dessicator and preferably with a strainer or
separator of a perforated centrifugal destructor such as B having revolving knives
such as and knives such as 66 substantially as herein described and explained and as
illustrated in the drawings.
Fifth In apparatus for treating nightsoil and such like noxious matters the
combination and arrangement with a grid or screen such as B¹ and a receiving
hopper such as B of a catch pi: such as B³ having perforated side such as 6 and
sloping bottom such as with a catch corner substantially as berein described and
explained and as illustrated in the drawing.
Sixth In apparatus for treating nightsoil and such like noxious matters the
combination and arrangement with receiving and treating chambers and apparatus
such as A, B and C and with the ash pit of a furnace of an exhaust fan or blower such
as E and pipes such as E1, E2 and E3 with or without an injector such as E substan-
tially as herein described and explained and as illustrated in the drawing.
Dated this Eighteenth day of September One thousand eight hundred and ninety.