Purpose of Manufacturing Manure.
Year: 1885

page_text: Purpose of Manufacturing Manure.
I, JAMES Ross, of Avondale House, Avondale Square, Old Kent Road, in the
County of Surrey Leather Merchant, do hereby declare the nature of my invention
for "AN IMPROVED METHOD OF TREATING SCRAP AND OLD LEATHER FOR THE
PURPOSE OF MANUFACTURING MANURE," to be as follows :-
--
My invention has for its object the treatment of scrap leather or leather parings
or cuttings and old leather such as old boots or shoes, leggings, and the like so as
to produce manure.
I am aware that it has been proposed to reduce leather by superheated steam for
the purpose, and my invention is designed to simplify and cheapen the process of
treating leather for manure..
In the following description I have merely quoted figures and proportions as
I have found by experiment necessary for treating the quantities of leather referred
to, but I do not contine myself to such, as when larger or smaller quantities of
leather scrap or parings or cuttings and old boots or shoes have to be treated the
proportions and duration of treatment must be varied.
In treating five hundredweight of leather scrap, cuttings, or parings and five
hundredweight of old boots or shoes I proceed as follows:
I arrange a jacketted tank having a perforated removeable bottom to insert the
leather scrap, cuttings or parings and connected by a pipe with the boiler or
source of steam.
This tank is covered and connected with pipes fitted with condensing and
collecting or separating apparatus so that the rising vapors from the tank when
heated may be condensed and products held in suspension or solution in the steam
or vapor rising from the leather scrap, cuttings or parings be collected.
I find that for five hundredweight of scrap, cuttings or parings in this tank the
admission of steam through the perforated bottom of the tank at a pressure of
about forty pounds for about forty minutes will effect the desired purpose.
The steam circulates among the leather scraps, cuttings or parings.
If desired after treatment the said leather can be dried on a hot plate, centrifugal
machine exposed to hot air, or otherwise.

page_text: For the treatment of five hundredweight of old boots or shoes or the like used
leather I place the same in a horizontal eccentrically pivoted iron or suitable
metallic cylinder so as to thoroughly stir the contents on the rotation of the same.
I advantageously add about one half hundredweight of horse hoof parings to
this quantity of old leather and admit the said forty pounds pressure of steam for
say one hour.
.
After treatment I mix the product from the scrap or parings from the jacketted
tank with the product from the old leather and horse hoof parings and afterwards
break or grind the same, or I can break or grind each separately and mix
afterwards.
The addition of the horse hoof parings appears to increase the amount of
ammonia in the product.

page_text: Purpose of Manufacturing Manure.
I JAMES Ross of Avondale House Avondale Square Old Kent Road in the
County of Surrey Leather Merchant do hereby declare the nature of this invention
for AN IMPROVED METHOD OF TREATING SCRAP AND OLD LEATHER FOR THE
PURPOSE OF MANUFACTURING MANURE and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-
My invention has for its object the treatment of scrap leather or leather parings.
or cuttings and old leather such as old boots or shoes, leggings and the like so as to
produce manure.
I am aware that it has been proposed to reduce leather by superheated steam or
hot air or gases for the purpose and my invention is designed to simplify and
cheapen the process of treating leather for manure.
In the following description I have merely quoted figures and proportions as
I have found by experiment necessary for treating the quantities of leather referred
to, but I do not confine myself to such, as when larger or smaller quantities of
leather scrap or parings or cuttings and old boots or shoes have to be treated, the
proportions and duration of treatment must be varied.
In treating five hundred weight of old boots or shoes I proceed as follows
Referring to the accompanying sheet of drawings and to the figures and letters
of reference marked thereon in which
Fig. 1 is a sectional elevation of my apparatus for effecting my process.
Fig. 2 enlarged sectional elevation of a method of supporting the tank and
admitting steam to it.
I arrange a tank or receptacle A preferably constructed of sheet iron and which
may be covered with noncorrosive substances if desired and having a perforated
bottom B advantageously removable at will.
The leather scrap cuttings or parings or old boots and the like are placed in the
said tank.
Fitted to the said tank are steam pipes C C. These pipes pass or screw into
bosses D D¹ carried by the tank and which bosses fit journals E E¹ mounted in
pedestals F F
Pipes G G also enter D D¹ and are connected by a flexible length with the
steam main or boiler. The pipes C C¹ extend below the perforated bottom B,,
C being.shewn fitted with a nozzle H, and C¹ taking a turn before its nozzle Hi
faces Hor both pipes could take one or more serpentine bends.
On the tank A which is usually square in section I arrange a ring of teeth I, and
mount a gear wheel J operated by crank or otherwise on the pedestal F so as to

page_text: tip the tank and discharge its contents by rotating the wheel J or I may use other
suitable tipping mechanism.
To tip the tank the hood K must be freed from it.
I prefer to arrange angle irons L round the tank and on which the hood Krests
when lowered down.
I connect this hood by chains M passing over a pulley N (or may use other
means of raising and lowering the same). From the hood K a pipe or socket ()
proceeds sliding in the bend or extension of a pipe P.
This pipe P leads to the serpentine condenser Q and I advantageously mount a
fan or other propellor or exhauster R in the pipe P.
Cocks S may be fitted to the lower limbs of the condenser Q to drain off any
condensed water or ammonia and the condensers lead to a tank T.
I may vary the form of condenser used but have shewn this one as a simple
variety..
Several tanks A can be connected by their pipes P to one condenser.
U are cocks or syphons on the tank A below the perforated bottom B to draw
off grease or liquid that may remain.
Say, I am treating five hundred weight of leather scrap cuttings or parings.
Such are placed in the tank, the hood K lowered onto the angle irons L so that the
tank is now closed to the outer air. The steam is now admitted to the pipes C C¹
and as their nozzles face each other, the steam jets are broken up or divided and
the steam rises through the perforated bottom B among the scraps cuttings or
parings. Continuing, for this quantity, about 40 lbs pressure of steam for about
40 minutes will effect the desired purpose.
The exhauster or fan R being worked during this treatment, draws the steam
and free ammonia escaping from the leather to the pipe P and thence to the
condenser where they are condensed and such ammonia as is received in the
bends of the condenser and the tank T removed at will.
The steam being stopped the hood K can be raised and the wheel J turned to
tilt the contents of the tank on to a suitable receptacle and the product may if
desired be further dried by hot plate, or air, centrifugal machine or otherwise.
The liquified grease or matter extracted from the leather and which has settled
to the bottom of the tank can be readily removed from it by the cocks or syphons U
and utilized in any suitable manner.
In treating old boots or like used leather which generally contains less ammonia
than fresh cuttings scraps or parings I may for such quantity as has been
heretofore referred to in connection with the cuttings scraps or parings, add say
one half hundred weight of horse hoof parings, and continue to treat with steam
at say 40 lbs pressure for about one hour, or I may in some cases substitute
équivalent animal matter such as horn parings or cuttings, or chopped animal
hair wool or feathers in the same proportion or I may add the same to the horse
hoof parings.
After treating the fresh scrap leather and the used leather and parings or
equivalent matter I break or grind the same and may mix the two products before
grinding or after it or use either seperately when ground.
Such products I find constitute a valuable manure containing a considerable
percentage of ammonia and which lightly sprinkled on the ground or sown with
seeds acts as a good fertilizer, and which I have termed "Torrefine."
By the treatinent of leather by my process I obtain the product in a readily
friable state, brittle and easily reducible to powder, instead of becoming caked or
setting in tough lumps as I have known leather treated by superheated steam or
hot air or gases to become.
The perforated bottom with the steam jets below plays a most important part as
the grease or extractive matter from the leather can be easily recovered, and the
'steam can thoroughly permeate the leather.

page_text: I am well aware that it has been proposed to treat waste leather to make a
manure, by superheated steam and hot air or gases, but not in the manner above
set forth.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is
Firstly. The method of treating leather cuttings scraps or parings, and old or
used leather such as boots and the like with horsehoof parings or equivalent animal
matter yielding ammonia, in a closed tank or vessel provided with a perforated
bottom through which jets of steam are admitted, the waste steam or rising vapors
being drawn off and condensed, substantially as and for the purposes described.
Secondly. The arrangement of tank A provided with perforated bottom B, steam
jets arranged below such bottom, moveable hood K, means for discharging the
contents of the tank and combined with the pipe P and a suitable condenser Q, for
the purpose of treating. leather for the production of a fertilizer substantially as
described.