Year: 1886

page_text: Date of Application, 27th May, 1886.
Complete Left, 28th Feb., 1887.
Complete Accepted, 23th Mar., 1887.
RESERVI
I, JAMES VATE JOHNSON of 47 Lincolns Inn Fields in the County of Middlesex
Gentleman do hereby declare the nature of this Invention to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to apparatus for extracting sulphur from earths, ores or
other substances containing sulphur the said apparatus being also applicable to the
sublimation of raw or crude sulphur.
The improved apparatus constructed according to this Invention is provided with a
rotating retort or chamber in which the materials are subjected to the action of super-
heated or ordinary steam as hereinafter described.
The retort is provided with suitable opening or openings for the introduction and
removal of the materials and is mounted on hollow trunnions one of which is provided
with collars to prevent its longitudinal displacement. The steam is admitted through
one of these trunnions and the sulphurous vapour escapes through the other.
The retort which may be of cylindrical spherical or other suitable form has rotary
motion imparted to it preferably by means of a worm and worm wheel and is enclosed
in a chamber of brickwork in which the products of combustion from a furnace or
furnaces preferably situated underneath the retorts are caused to circulate. Suitable
openings are provided at the upper and lower part of this chamber for the introduction
and removal of the materials and these openings as well as those in the retort are
closed by suitable doors or plugs. Steam from a boiler or generator is supplied to the
apparatus by a pipe which after passing through the heating chamber surrounding the

page_text: retort enters the latter through one of the irunnions and distributes the steam as
uniformly as possible throughout the materials by means of perforated branch pipes or
nozzles with contracting orifices. The Trunnion through which the products escape
may communicate with a box or chamber in which the vaporous products can be
examined and from which they can be directed into different receptacles according to
their quality or nature. The retort may be provided internally with a helical or other
agitator scraper or stirrer. With apparatus arranged as hereinbefore described the
materials are progressively and uniformly heated by means of the steam the subsequent
condensation of which also facilitates the condensation of the sulphurous vapour and
the processes of extraction or sublimation are enabled to be carried on under the most
favourable conditions.
TAL: SEAL
1930

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION,
Improvements in Apparatus for Extracting and Subliming Sulphur.
I JAMES YATE JOHNSON of 47 Lincolns Inn Fields in the County of Middlesex
Gentleman do hereby declare the nature of this Invention which Invention has been
communicated to me from abroad by Charles Dubois of Marseilles in the Republic of
France Manufacturer of Chemicals and in what manner the same is to be performed,
to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
_
This Invention relates to apparatus for extracting sulphur from earths ores or
other substances containing sulphur the said apparatus being also applicable to the
sublimation of raw or crude sulphur.
The improved apparatus constructed according to this Invention is provided with a
rotating refort or chamber in which the materials are subjected to the action of super-
heated or ordinary steam as hereinafter described. The retort is provided with a
suitable opening or openings for the introduction and removal of the materials and is
mounted on hollow trunnions one of which is provided with collars to prevent its
longitudinal displacement. The steam is admitted through one of these trunnions and
the sulphurous vapour escapes through the other-The retort which may be of
cylindrical spherical or other suitable form has rotary motion imparted to it preferably
by means of a worm and worm wheel and is enclosed in a chamber of brickwork in
which the products of combustion from a furnace or furnaces preferably situated
underneath the retort are caused to circulate-Suitable openings are provided at the
upper and lower parts of this chamber for the introduction and removal of the materials
and these openings as well as those in the retort are closed by suitable doors or plugs.
Steam from a boiler or generator is supplied to the apparatus by a pipe which after
passing through the heating chamber surrounding the retort enters the latter through
one of the trunnions and distributes the steam as uniformly as possible throughout the
materials by means of perforated branch pipes or nozzles with contracted orifices-The
trunnion through which the products escape may communicate with a box or chamber
in which the vaporous products can be examined and from which they can be directed
into different receptacles according to their quality or nature—The retort may be
provided internally with a helical or other agitator or stirrer-With apparatus arranged
as herein before described the materials are progressively and uniformly heated by
means of the steam the subsequent condensation of which also facilitates the condensa-
tion of the sulphurous vapour and the processes of extraction or sublimation are
enabled to be carried on under the most favourable conditions.
And in order that the said Invention may be fully understood I shall now proceed
more particularly to describe the same and for that purpose shall refer to the several
figures on the annexed sheets of drawings the same letters of reference indicating
corresponding parts in all the figures.
The apparatus illustrated in vertical and longitudinal sections in Figure 1 and in
plan in Figure 2 of the accompanying drawings is composed of a body or chamber A

page_text: forming a retort rotating on hollow metal trunnions B and C supported by bearings M M'
attached to standards L L strongly connected together and secured to the walls or
brickwork enclosing the retort A by tie rods d'd'. "Apertures t situated diametrically
opposite to one another are provided in the body or chamber A at or near the middle
part of the latter-These apertures serve for the introduction and removal of the
materials to be treated and are closed by suitable metallic plugs or covers--A steam
supply pipe T is passed through the trunnion B and the gases and vapours produced
in the apparatus escape through the trunnion C which is provided with a flange or
collar a for the purpose of preventing any longitudinal displacement of this end of
the retort (arising from expansion)-Upon the trunnion B is keyed a worm wheel D
prevented from shifting laterally by a groove working over a crescent shaped plate F
attached to the standard L. The said wheel D is in gear with an endless screw or
worm E keyed upon a shaft rotating in bearings G.G¹ (figure 2) and provided with
fast and loose pulleys H H receiving motion from the main shaft of the factory or
otherwise The shaft carrying the worm E in addition, to collars or shoulders is
provided with a steel centre bearing against a plate or block of the same metal on a'
thrust piece I bolted to the standard L.
"
"
The chamber or retort A rotates upon the trunnions B and C and is enclosed in
walls of masonry provided with two fire places or grates W W the products of
combustion from these grates being caused to circulate around the retort on all sides.
In the summit or highest part of the roof or vault of the enclosing brickwork or
masonry there is a central opening serving for the introduction into the retort of
the materials to be treated and two other openings gg' (figure 2). The opening is
provided with a metal cover and each of the openings yg is provided with a chimmey X
figure 1-A discharging hopper Y figure 1 is provided at the centre of the apparatus
between the fireplaces WW1 being provided with a sliding door or valves which
when open allows the materials treated to fall into a tunnel Z from which they can be
removed in any convenient manner. Steam from any suitable generator is supplied.
through the pipe N which enters the apparatus through an orifice in the support or
standard L and is carried along the side of the retort where it is brought into contact
with and heated by the hot gases from the fire places W W'. This steam pipe then
proceeds along the support from f₁ to " (see dotted lines figure 2) and returns in
à parallel line on the other side of the retort passing through the end wall again
at By the time it has reached this point the steam is highly superheated and is
then led through a junction piece or union O into the pipe Tleading to the interior
of the retort This pipe is provided with nozzles Q whereby the steam is uniformly
distributed throughout the mass of materials under treatment--The junction piece Ö
is provided with an inspection hole in the front and the pipe T passes through a
gland in the trunnion B. The pipe T which is screwed into the piece O is
supported at the opposite or hinder end of the retort by a cross bar -The nozzles Q
are arranged radially and by preference are directed towards the lower part or bottom
of the retort being contracted at their open ends in order to distribute the steam more
effectually.
The gases and vapours produced in the chamber A escape through the trunnion C
which is provided--with-a stuffing box R having a gland into a box or chamber S
from whence the said gases and vapours are delivered either into a main pipe P or into
a secondary pipe U Figure 2-Access can be obtained to the interior of the chamber S
when the apparatus is not in action by means of a man hole e provided with a suitable
cover In the upper part of this chamber there is a screw threaded hole serving for
connecting it to a ring for lifting or carrying the chamber by or for the insertion of a
thermometer in order to observe the progress of the operation and the lower part is
provided with a pipe having a stop cock y for taking samples of the product. This
chamber is also provided internally with a double acting valve V shewn in dotted
lines in the drawing capable of being operated by means of a lever handle a turning
on a hinge pin m so as to close the orifices of the pipe P or of the pipe U either of
which can thus be caused to receive the vapours. coming into the chainber from the
retort through the trunnion C.

page_text: The box or chamber S is not required in cases where it is not necessary to divide
or separate the vapours produced. It may then be unbolted and an ordinary
cylindrical tube be substituted in its place so as to connect the stuffing box R directly
with the pipe P. This is done when the materials under treatment do not contain
any product liable to distil over before the sulphur and capable of injuring the
quality of the latter.
It is evident that the shape of the retort or chamber A may be modified in various
ways without affecting the principle of its action. For example in place of being
made cylindrical as in the arrangement illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 it may be made
as indicated in Figure 3 in the form of two truncated cones a d¹and a' be¹¹
joined together at their bases at b. This form facilitates the discharge of the
contents through the discharge opening which is situated at the junction of the two
inclines formed by the conical sides down which the material slides readily. When
the cover is removed the materials can be caused to fall out of the discharge opening
by causing the retort to describe one or two revolutions.
The same opening can be used for charging and discharging being turned upwards
or downwards accordingly. With this form of retort the central tube T and branches Q
can be dispensed with, with the object of obviating the carrying over of certain
products which are sometimes produced towards the end of the operation. In this
case the superheated steam is delivered into the hollow irummion B from the junction
piece and after passing through the retort escapes at the opposite end through the
trunnion C.
According to another arrangement a series of perforated branch pipes are employed
delivering the steam into the body of the materials as indicated in Figure 4. This
arrangement is preferable in treating sulphur ore and other sulphurous materials
with which there is no danger of the carrying over of products which might injure
the quality of the sulphur.
Figure represents part of an apparatus constructed according to this arrangement
being a vertical section taken through the axis of the retort and Figure represents
a transverse section taken along the line 1-2 Figure 4. The trunnion B in this case
is closed at both ends so as to form a chamber and the tube T passing through this
chamber is provided on its under side with a long slot or opening
through which
the steam escapes into the chamber as indicated in Figure 4. The inner end of the
hollow trunnion B is closed by a disc perforated by a suitable number (eight in the
example illustrated) of holes al communicating with a corresponding
number of distributing or perforated pipes a²³ ³ ³ ³ ³ j³ ³ ³ attached by supports
to the sides of the retort. The hollow trunnion B is divided radially as indicated
in Figure 5 into a number of compartments or passages corresponding with the holes
in the disc closing the inner end and as the retort rotates the steam supply pipe T
being stationary the aforesaid compartments or passages are successively placed
in communication with the said pipe through the opening in the lower side thereof.
Steam is thus admitted to all the perforated pipes &c., in succession and at the
moment when they are brought by the rotation of the retort to the lower part of the
latter so that they deliver the steam into the body of materials under treatment
the steam being at the same time automatically cut off from the perforated pipes that
for the time being are situated at the upper part of the retort. By means of this
arrangement the steam is enabled to act economically and energetically upon the
materials so as to greatly accelerate the distillation of materials of suitable quality.
It is evident that the constructive details of the arrangements hereinbefore
described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings may be modified in various
ways without in any way affecting the spirit of the Invention. For example the
cylindrical or other retort may be made with only one opening for the charging and
discharging of the materials, the exhausted residue being drawn to the opening by
means of a helical or other scraper arranged inside the retort and serving to stir
up the materials so as to enable the superheated steam to act more effectually on
all parts thereof.

page_text: In short the result to be obtained by means of this apparatus consists in a
progressive and uniform heating of the materials to be treated by the action of
superheated steam which on the other hand facilitates the condensation of the vapours
of sulphur by its own condensation. The apparatus is very durable and enables a
large yield or output of sulphur to be obtained.
In treating sulphurous earths or analogous products the apparatus may in case
of need be worked without steam in order to extract the sulphur the rotating retort
alone being capable of yielding satisfactory results.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said Invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that I claim is :-
First. The general arrangement of apparatus for extracting sulphur from
sulphurous earths. or ores or other sulphurous materials or for subliming raw ΟΙ
crude sulphur, the said apparatus consisting essentially of a rotary retort and means
for heating the same combined or not with means for introducing a supply of super-
heated or other steam into the mass of materials under treatment substantially as
hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Second. In apparatus for extracting and subliming sulphur the combination of
a rotating retort mounted on hollow trunnions, means for introducing steam into the
retort through one of the said trunnions and means for delivering the sulphurous and
other vapours through the other trunnion substantially as hereinbefore described with
reference to the accompanying drawings.
Third. In apparatus constructed and operating as hereinbefore set forth for
extracting and subliming sulphur the arrangement for distributing the steam through
perforated pipes in the body or mass of materials in the retort substantially as
hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 4 and 5 of the accompanying
drawings.
31
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