IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURING OF FUEL
Year: 1836

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HENRY
HUNTLEY MOHUN, of Walworth, in the County of Surrey, M.D., send
greeting.
WHEREAS His present most Excellent Majesty King William the Fourth,
by His Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Fourth day of October, in the seventh year of His reign,
did, for Himself, His heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Henry Huntley Mohun, His especial licence, full power, sole privilege and
authority, that I, the said Henry Huntley Mohun, my exors, admers, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said Henry Huntley Mohun, my exors,
admors, or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to
time and at all times during the term of years therein expressed, should
and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales,
and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
THE MANUFACTURING OF FUEL;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a
proviso that I, the said Henry Huntley Mohun, shall cause a particular
description of the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be inrolled in His Majesty's High Court of
Chancery within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of
the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same, reference
being thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Henry Huntley Mohun, do hereby declare the nature of my said Invention,
and the manner in which the same is to be performed, are fully described
and ascertained in and by the following statement thereof, that is to say :-
My Invention consists in combining certain materials into fuel, as will be
hereafter described, whereby I am enabled to produce a cheap and highly
useful fuel. The materials employed by me are,-first, peat earth, peat turf,
peat moss, slimy or other mud or marl, or any other earth which is composed
largely of vegetable matter; secondly, nitre; thirdly, alum; fourthly, linseed
or other seeds or shelled fruit; fifthly, rosin; sixthly, coke; seventhly, any
green vegetable matter; and, eighthly, animal excrement or other animal
matter.
And in order to give the best information in my power for carrying out
the Invention, I will describe a process of combining these materials into
a fuel.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PROCESS OF COMBINING AND PRESSING THE MATERIALS
INTO LUMPS OF FUEL.
Take one ton of peat in its raw or charred state; thirty pounds of nitre (the
crude nitre does best); fourteen pounds of alum, which has the effect, when
properly dissolved and thoroughly amalgamated with the rest, to prevent smoke ;
fourteen pounds of linseed; fourteen pounds of rosin or asphaltum or naptha;
one hundred and fifty pounds of coke; one hundred and sixty-eight pounds of
green vegetable matter; one hundred and fifty-six pounds of animal excre-
ments or other animal matter. Note, the quantity of the various materials
will depend on the quality of the peat earth, peat turf, peat moss, slimy or
other mud, marl, or any other earth which is composed largely of vegetable
matter, and the above quantities are given for peat of the best quality.
And in order to determine the relative quantities for any particular earth, it
will be necessary to weigh out varying quantities, and having mixed, pressed,
and dried them, to burn the same, in order to ascertain which mixture
produces the description of fire desired. Having thus tested the quantities
required by any particular peat earth, peat turf, peat moss, slimy mud, marl,
or any other earth composed largely of vegetable matter, the process of
mixing may be proceeded with for large quantities. The peat is first to be
passed through the mixing mill in a dry state, and the mill employed is an
ordinary pug mill, such as is used in brick making. About one third or half
of the linseed is to be boiled in water, in order to produce a liquid about the
consistency of thin glue; in this the alum is to be dissolved, the remainder of the

page_text: linseed with the rosin and nitre are to be crushed very fine by edge stones or other
means, and the green vegetable matter is also to be ground or crushed in like
manner, and thus produce a pulp, taking care to keep the vegetable juices from
running away. The whole of the materials are then to be mixed with spades
or otherwise well ground in the pug mill, the object being to obtain an
intimate blending of the various materials in order to the same burning
equally. The combined mass thus so produced is then to be pressed in moulds
by a strong screw or other press, the shape and dimensions of the lumps not
being material, but it is desirable the materials should be well pressed in
order to prevent the lumps readily coming to pieces; if well pressed the fuel
will be apt to crumble and burn too fast if exposed to a strong draft, but I
claim the combination whether the same be submitted to pressure or not, the
advantage of pressing being to encrease the time it takes consuming. The
lumps thus produced are to be piled one on the other, leaving spaces between
for the circulation of the atmosphere. And it will facilitate the preparation to
have such piles in a closed shed or room, the atmosphere of which can be
heated, though in summer time and in warm dry weather this will not be
necessary, unless great expedition is required. Care must be taken not to
expose it to a great artificial heat when just formed or pressed.
dried by the atmosphere only for the first two or three days.
peat it should be observed may be first used for the purposes of distilling gas
therefrom, as has been before practised, and the charred peat in the retorts
subsequently used for the making of the fuel in place of the raw peat as
above described. And in order to make the new fuel for the purpose of
obtaining gas therefrom for illuminating purposes take in the proportion of
ten pounds of nitre, forty pounds of rosin, twenty-four pounds of linseed, one
hundredweight of green vegetable matter, one ton of peat, which being
combined and treated according to the directions above given, and the lumps
put into ordinary gas retorts, and distilled similar to ordinary coal.
It must be
Note,-the
Having thus described the nature of my Invention and the manner of
combining the same, I would remark that I do not confine myself to the
precise three processes here described, for it will be evident that the object to
be obtained is a careful combining or mixing of the materials herein
mentioned, and the subsequent pressing the same into hard lumps, of con-
venient size; and whether such processes are conducted as above described, or
by any other convenient means, it does not alter the nature of my Invention.
And I would remark, that I do not claim the application of each of the eight
parts or materials separately as a fuel, whether pressed or unpressed, some of
them, such as the peat earths or peat turf, peat moss, and coke, and some

page_text: others have been used for fuel before.
And note, the green vegetable matter
is most useful as soon as possible after cutting, and when the vegetable juices
are not dried up. Nor do I confine myself to the using the whole or even the
larger number of the eight matters above mentioned into one fuel, though I
believe the same to be the best compound. But what I claim is the combin-
ing and pressing such materials into fuel, as above described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry Huntley Mohun, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Thirty-first day of March, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and thirty-seven.
HENRY HUNTLEY
(L.B.) MOHUN.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Thirty-first day of March, in
the year of our Lord 1837, the aforesaid Henry Huntley Mohun came
before our said Lord the King in His Chancery, and acknowledged the
Specification aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained and specified,
in form above written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped
according to the tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.
Inrolled the Fourth day of April, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and thirty-seven.