IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF ILLUMINATING GAS
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Edward Newton, of the Office for
Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil
Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE
OF ILLUMINATING GAS."-A communication from abroad by Charles
Musier Taintor, of the City and State of New York, United States
of America.
Sealed the 14th July 1868, and dated the 24th February 1868.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Edward
Newton at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 24th February 1868.
I, WILLIAM EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery.
Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF
ILLUMINATING GAS," to be as follows:-
The object of this Invention is to obtain a good illuminating gas and
the full quantity of gas that coal is capable of yielding. This is effected
by a process in which the distillation of the coal is separated from the
process of converting the products of distillation into illuminating gas.

page_text: gas
The Invention consists, firstly, in distilling the coal at a low heat
and converting the distillate and condensable products into in
separate benches of retorts; also in converting the volatile products
or fluids given off from the first bench of retorts into gas by subjecting
the distilled products to the different temperatures required to convert
the same into gas; likewise in the employment of automatic seal valves
instead of the ordinary hydraulic main of gas works.
Furthermore, the Invention consists in distributing the distilled
products or fluids given off from the first bench of retorts equally to
the several gas-producing retorts; also in separating the gas generated
in the second bench of retorts from such fluids as escape conversion into
gas in these retorts, and of passing the gas thus generated into pipes
leading to the gas holder while the fluids are conveyed directly into
the third bench of retorts where they are subjected to a higher heat to
convert them into gas.
And lastly the Invention consists in the combination of the whole
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Edward Newton in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 24th August 1868.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
.EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the
County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fourth day of February, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, in the
thirty-first year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said William Edward Newton, Her special
licence that I, the said William Edward Newton, my executors, adminis-
,trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William Edward
Newton, 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

page_text: and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF ILLUMINATING GAS," being a com-
munication to me from abroad, upon the condition (amongst others) that
I, the said William Edward Newton, 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 Edward Newton, 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 Drawing
hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that
is to say):-
In the ordinary process of gas manufacture the three principal
products of coal are gas, coke, and coal tar. The amount of gas obtained
from a ton of coal is by the ordinary process on an average, say, in
round numbers, less than ten thousand cubic feet, whereas the products
of a ton of coal may he made to yield double that amount. The small
quantity of gas and the large quantity of other products by the ordinary
process are due to the method usually employed in gas making of
subjecting the coal and its products to but one. process. The lower
the heat to which coal is subjected the less the coke left in the
retorts, the greater the heat the greater will be the weight of coke
left in the retorts. The products of the low heat would be for the
most part vapors while the quantity of gas would be small but of
the very best illuminating power. Under a high heat the quantity
of gas would be much larger than under the low heat but of a very
poor illuminating quality. It is therefore evident that in order to
obtain a good illuminating gas and the full quantity that coal is
capable of yielding, the process of subjecting the coal to distillation
must be separated from the process of converting the products of
distillation into illuminating gas.
The object of this Invention is the construction and arrangement
of a gas apparatus in such a manner as will accomplish this result,
and the Invention consists, firstly, in a process for manufacturing

page_text: illuminating gas, which consists in distilling the coal at a low heat
and converting the distillate and condensable products into gas in
separate benches or retorts; also in a process of converting the
volatile products or fluids given off from the first bench of retorts into
gas by subjecting the distilled products to the different temperatures
required to convert the same into gas; likewise in a novel construction
and use of automatic seal valves to be employed instead of the ordinary
hydraulic main of gas works.
Furthermore, the Invention consists in a peculiar manner of dis-
tributing the distilled products or fluids given off from the first bench
of retorts equally to the several gas-producing retorts by means of
certain traps and connections; also in a manner of separating the
gas generated in the second bench of retorts from such fluids as escape
conversion into gas in these retorts, and of passing the gas thus
generated into pipes leading, to the gas holder while the fluids are
conveyed directly into the third bench of retorts where they are subjected
to a higher heat to convert them into gas.
And, lastly, the Invention consists in a combination of the whole
into one complete gas-generating apparatus.
In the acccompanying Drawings Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a
set of three "benches" of retorts and the accompanying apparatus;
Fig. 2 is a front elevation of one of a set of three benches, the pipes,
connections, &c., being shewn in section; Fig. 3 is a similar view of
the back of the same.
A, A, A, are retorts placed in bench No. 1; B, B, B, are pipes
provided with seal valves herein-after described, leading from A, A, A,
to C; C is a horizontal connection; D is a pipe forming a return
bend from C to E; E is a horizontal connection; F, F, F, are traps'
or cups in combination with the seal valves for holding liquid;
G, G, G, are pipes leading from E to retorts H, H, H, placed in bench
No. 2; I, I, I, Fig. 3, are outlet pipes from H, H, H; J, J, J, are
pipes furnished with seal valves leading from I, I, I, to K; K is a
horizontal connection; L is a pipe leading from K to a condenser M;
'N is a horizontal connection; 0, 0, 0, are pipes connecting N with
inlet pipes P, P, to the retorts R, R, R; Q is a pipe leading from M, M,
to U R, R, R, are retorts placed in bench, No. 3; S, S, S, Fig. 2,
are pipes leading from R, R, R, to a horizontal connection T; U is a
pipe leading from T to the main surface condenser V; W, W, W, are

page_text: bends forming traps between the pipes J, J, J, and c, c, c; X, X, X,
are automatic seal valves; Y, Y, are pipes connecting traps F, F, F,
No. 2, front; Z is a governor; a, a, a, are inverted cups, the mouths
of which are below the liquid contained in the trap F, F, F; 6 is a
support, to which cups a, a, a, are attached; c, c, c, are pipes leading
from W, W, W, to P, P, P; d, d, d, are guides for the stems of the
valves X, X, X; c, c, are the water inlets for the surface condenser;
fare outlets for the same; g, is a pipe leading from V to Z; h is the
water space in the condenser M, M; i is a break to prevent all the
liquid from entering the first retort H; j, j, j, are vessels containing
water or other liquid for scaling drip pipes; is a pipe leading from Z
to m; is a balanced valve in combination with the governor; m is an
exhauster; n is a pipe leading from m to the purifier o; p is a pipe.
leading to the meter.
Construction of the Scal Valves.-The upper ends of the pipes leading
from the retorts are brought on a level with the bottom of the horizontal
connections. The upper ends of these pipes are surrounded by cups
or traps F, F, F, which are made about six inches deep and kept filled
with liquid, which is spontaneously supplied by the products from the
coal in the process of distillation and gas making. The valves are in
the form of inverted cups provided with stems both bottom and top,
and which are steadied by guides d, d. The bottom of these valves
extends below the surface of the liquid contained in the traps F, F.
The weight of these valves is nearly balanced by the force of the
exhauster, while a slight pressure within the retorts is sufficient to
operate the valves. As the traps F, F, in combination with these
valves are supplied with the liquid that they require directly from the
products of distillation and gas making, it is evident that the valves
of the first bench of retorts will be supplied with a very light liquid,
those of bench No. 2 with a heavier liquid, and those of bench No. 3
with a liquid still heavier; therefore the valves are sealed with a
liquid having a density proportioned to the heat to which they are
subjected. The retorts A, A, A, are subjected to a heat of about seven
hundred degrees Fahrenheit. In these retorts the coal or other gas
materials are placed and subjected to that heat and distilled. The
products at that heat would be for the most part vapors, and in that
form pass off through the pipes B, B, B, the horizontal connection C, the
pipe D, the connection F, and the pipes C, C, C, to the retorts H, H, H.

page_text: Any vapor that may have condensed in its passage through the pipes
B, B, B, the connection C, and a part of the pipe D will flow back to the
retorts A, A, A, and there be redistilled in the retorts H, H, H. The
products of the first bench are subjected to a heat of about nine hundred
degrees Fahrenheit, and partially converted into gas. These products
pass off through the outlet pipes I, I, I, the upright pipes J, J, J, the
connection pipe K, the pipe L, to the condenser M, M. The gas passes
on through Q to U, while the products that have not been converted into
gas are condensed, part of which is conducted to the pipes P, P, P,
through the pipes W, W, W, and the balance which is condensed in
the condenser M, M, falls to the bottom of the horizontal connection N,
thence through the pipes O, O, O, and P, P, P, to the last retorts
R, R, R, where these products in the form of fluids are subjected to
a heat of about one thousand four hundred degrees Fahrenheit, and
converted into gas which passes off through the pipes S, S, S, and
the connection T and pipe U to the main surface condenser, and so
on to the gas holder. The lower bends of the pipes forming the
surface condenser are provided with drip pipes through which any
liquids may pass that are condensed therein, the lower ends being
sealed to prevent the admission of air or the escape of gas. In this
process no hydraulic main is employed. To obviate the necessity of
using a hydraulic main seal valves are employed as above described.
When a lid of a retort is removed the pressure is of course removed,
and the valve falls of its own weight, thereby closing the communication
between that retort and the others, and thus obviating the danger of
admitting atmospheric air into the several retorts and causing com
bustion within them. In the ordinary process of gas manufacture
there is not only a great waste of heat by the necessary process of
charging and discharging retorts, but also a loss of the best products
of the coal. To charge the retorts the lids must be removed which
not only cools the retorts but a large quantity of gas is wasted. The
retorts are kept up to a very high heat, and the moment coal is thrown
in them it gives off gas and continues to do so until the lids are
replaced, which requires time.
Under this improved process A, A, A, are the only retorts charged
and they are kept at a low heat, and the following advantages are
the result-First, there will be a much smaller quantity of coke
to remove than by the ordinary process which will economize time;

page_text: second, owing to the low heat, coal, when thrown in the retorts,
does not immediately give off gas, hence there is time to close the
lids without wasting the gas; third, the retorts of benches Nos. 2
and 3 need never be opened except in case of damage or for repairs,
therefore they are not cooled and a uniform heat may be maintained.
By first distilling the coal under a low heat very little coke. is left
in the retorts, and by converting the products of distillation into gas by
different heats a full quantity of gas is obtained. The ammoniacal
liquid is condensed in the condenser, and may be saved, if desired,
instead of being wasted by running off with the water of a hydraulic
main, as is the case in the ordinary process.
Any number of retorts may be employed that may be desired, but
the Invention is here described by the use of three benches of retorts,
each containing three retorts. It is obvious, however, that one retort in
each bench would answer the same purpose. The retorts may be of
iron or other material.
Having described the Invention that has been communicated to
me as aforesaid, I claim as the Invention secured to me by Letters
Patent as aforesaid,―
First. The process above described for manufacturing illuminating
gas, and which consists in distilling the coal at a low heat and con-
verting the distillate and condensable products into gas in separate
benches or retorts, as described.
Second. Converting the volatile products or fluids given off from
the first bench of retorts into gas by subjecting the distilled products
to the different temperatures required to convert the same into gas.
Third. The construction and use of the automatic seal valves which
are employed for the same purpose and instead of the ordinary hydraulic
main of gas works, as above set forth.
Fourth. Distributing the distilled products or fluids given off from
the first bench of retorts equally to the several gas-producing retorts
by means of the several traps and connections, as above set forth.
Fifth. Separating the gas generated in the second bench of retorts
from such fluids as escape conversion into gas in these retorts and
passing the gas thus generated into pipes leading to the gas holder,
while the fluids are conveyed directly into the third bench of retorts

page_text: where they are subjected to a higher heat necessary to convert the
same into gas.
Sixth. The combination of the whole gas-generating apparatus as
herein set forth, whether the constructed apparatus be precisely in
the form described or otherwise if it produces substantially the same
results.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Edward Newton, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, the Twenty-fourth day of
August, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and
sixty-eight.