CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PROCESS OF MANUFACTURING AMMONIA, CHARCOAL,ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE
Year: 1855

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Ellis, of Heckmondwicke, in the County of
York, Surgeon, for the Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
PROCESS OF MANUFACTURING AMMONIA, CHARCOAL, ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE
"
York, Surgeon, for the Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
PROCESS OF MANUFACTURING AMMONIA, CHARCOAL, ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE
"
Sealed the 8th January 1856, and dated the 18th July 1855.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Ellis at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 18th July
1855.
I, JOHN ELLIS, of Heckmondwicke, in the County of York, Surgeon, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN
THE PROCESS OF MANUFACTURING AMMONIA, CHARCOAL, ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE
NAPHTHA," to be as follows:-
The means by which these improvements may be effected consist in the use
and employment of four different apparatus of the following construction:-
First, an apparatus composed of three retorts set in brickwork, a separate
pipe leading from each of such said retorts to a condenser, which is kept
continually immersed in a cistern of cold water. A pipe extends from the
aforesaid condenser to a vat, said pipe being furnished with a valve for the
escape of overcharged gas as it passes from the condenser into the vat during
the working of the apparatus. The condenser is furnished with a cock for

page_text: drawing off the condensed products. The operations of this apparatus are as
follows:-
The above retorts are all charged with one or other, or a mixture of any two
or more, of the following ingredients, matters, or substances, namely:-
All kinds of animal oil mixed with animal refuse;
do.
do. fats
do. oils from fish
do.
do.
do.;
do. ;
all kinds of cotton and wool refuse, waste cloth, &c. containing oil;
do. do. refuse from tallow chandlers & butchers;
do. do. horns, hoofs, bones, & such like substances;
do. do. materials which contain or are impregnated with any greasy
oleagenous matters or substances.
The retorts when charged are closed and luted in the manner commonly
practised of closing ordinary retorts; strong heat being then applied causes
decomposition of the contents of the retorts, and occasions the escape of
naphthaline and ammonia in the form of gas, and likewise a considerable
quantity of dark-colored oil and water to accumulate.
The whole of these products are conducted from the retorts to the con-
denser, where they mix with a quantity of cold water, the condenser being
immersed in a cistern of water to keep it cool. The residue left in the retorts
is animal charcoal. When the condenser has become charged from one-half
to two-thirds full with the volatile products from the retorts, the contents of the
condenser are then removed to the second apparatus, where they are distilled
by the well-known process of distillation, the result being crude naphtha and
ammonia, which are passed from the end of the worm by a cock, and collected
into a portable receiver placed beneath the same. This receiver is so con-
structed as to separate the naphtha from the ammonia. The naphtha being the
lighter body, and incapable of mixing with the ammonia, may be removed from
the receiver by a short syphon pipe passing through the side of the receiver,
and the ammonia is removed by another syphon pipe, the inner leg of which
reaches nearly to the bottom of the said receiver. The naphtha thus separated
is then placed in a large vat and well mixed with sulphuric acid and lime, and
from this vat the naphtha is pumped into the middle compartment of a third
apparatus, in connection with which there is a pipe leading from a steam
boiler, the use of the steam being to rectify, wash, and force the naphtha into
an adjoining compartment in the said apparatus, where the process of washing,
&c. is again repeated as before, and by employing several of such compart-
ments the naphtha may be still further purified; it then passes through the
worm,, and the product is pure naphtha. The ammonia in its impure state is

page_text: now placed in the fourth and last apparatus, which consists of an ordinary still
set in brickwork and a worm.
The process of distillation is conducted in the usual way, each distillation
producing a purer and a more powerful article. Instead of the above
apparatus I employ an apparatus of the following construction, that is to
say-I take four closed vessels and arrange them in juxtaposition at con-
venient distances asunder, connecting them all together by bent pipes,
securely fixed to the tops thereof. The first of these closed vessels is furnished
with a hopper-shaped mouth for charging the vessels with ammonia, the
escape of which is prevented by placing a valve within the said hopper-shaped
mouth. In connection with the above closed vessels is a steam boiler, from
which steam is conducted into worms arranged within the aforesaid vessels
near the bottom thereof, the worms being also severally connected together
by pipes furnished with stop-cocks, the steam escaping from the open end of
the last worm. Each vessel is also furnished with a cock for drawing off the
ammonia in a more or less purified state, as required.
After the ammonia and naphtha are removed from the second apparatus,
the oil which remains therein is removed to the fourth apparatus, where the
oil is subjected to the process of distillation, by which a very superior descrip-
tion of oil is obtained.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Ellis in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 18th
January 1856.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
ELLIS, of Heckmondwicke, in the County of York, Surgeon, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eighteenth day of July, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five, in the nineteenth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said John Ellis, Her special licence that I, the said John Ellis, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said John Ellis, 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 and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and
Isle of Man, an Invention for "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PROCESS OF

page_text: upon
MANUFACTURING AMMONIA, CHARCOAL, ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE NAPTHA,"
the condition (amongst others) that I, the said John Ellis, 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 John Ellis, 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
thereof:-
.
My Invention of improvements in the above process consists in the use and
employment of four different apparatus of the following construction:-
Firstly, an apparatus composed of three retorts set in brickwork, a separate
pipe leading from each of such said retorts to a condenser, which is kept
continually immersed in a cistern of cold water; a pipe extends from the
aforesaid condenser to a vat, said pipe being furnished with a valve for the
escape of overcharged gas as it passes from the condenser into the vat during
the working of the apparatus. The condenser is furnished with a cock for
drawing off the condensed products, which are afterwards removed to the
second apparatus, where they are distilled by the well-known process of dis-
tillation, the result being crude naphtha and ammonia, which are passed from
the end of the worm by a cock, and collected into a portable receiver placed
beneath the same. This receiver is so constructed as to separate the naphtha
from the ammonia. The naphtha being the lighter body, and incapable of
mixing with the ammonia, may be removed from the receiver by a short
syphon pipe passing through the side of the receiver, and the ammonia is
removed by another syphon pipe, the inner leg of which reaches nearly to the
bottom of the said receiver. The naptha thus separated is then placed in a
large vat, and well mixed with sulphuric acid and lime, in the proportion of
about one part acid to twenty-four parts lime, and from this vat the naphtha is
pumped into the middle compartment of a third apparatus, in connection
with which there is a pipe leading from a steam boiler, the use of the steam
being to rectify, wash, and force the naphtha into an adjoining compartment in
the said apparatus, where the process of washing, &c. is again repeated as
before, and by employing several of such compartments the naphtha may be
still further purified. The naphtha then passes through the worm, and the
product is pure naphtha. The ammonia in its impure state is now placed in
the fourth and last apparatus, which consists of an ordinary still set in brick-

page_text: work and a worm. The process of distillation is conducted in the usual way,
cach distillation producing a purer and a more powerful article; or, instead of
the above apparatus, I employ an apparatus of the following construction,
that is to say I take four closed vessels and arrange them in juxtaposition.
at convenient distances asunder, connecting them all together by bent pipes
securely fixed to the tops thereof. The first of these closed vessels is furnished
with a hopper-shaped mouth for charging the vessels with ammonia, the
escape of which is prevented by placing a valve within the said hopper-shaped
mouth. In connection with the above closed vessels is a steam boiler, from
which steam is conducted into worms arranged within the aforesaid vessels near
the bottom thereof, the worms being also severally connected together by pipes
furnished with stop-cocks, the steam escaping from the open end of the last
worm. Each vessel is also furnished with a cock for drawing off the ammonia
in a more or less purified state, as required.
In order to explain my said Invention as completely as possible, I now
proceed to describe in detail the best means I am acquainted with for carrying
the same into practical effect, reference being had to the illustrative Drawings
hereunto annexed, and to the numeral figures and letters of reference marked
thereon respectively, as follows:-
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.
Figure 1 is a front elevation (partly in section) of the first above-mentioned
apparatus; Figure 2 is a front elevation (partly in section) of the second above-
mentioned apparatus; Figure 3 is a front elevation (partly in section) of the
third above-mentioned apparatus; Figure 4 is a front elevation (partly in
section) of the fourth above-mentioned apparatus; Figure 5 is a front eleva-
tion (partly in section) of another form of construction of apparatus herein-
after referred to. At each of the foregoing Figures I employ similar letters
of reference to denote corresponding parts, in so far as such parts appear or
can be seen at each of the said Figures respectively.
At Figure 1, A is the brickwork, in which the retorts B, B, B, are set in the
usual way; C is the fire-place; D, D, iron piping, leading from the several
retorts to the condenser E, holding ammonia, naphtha, oil, &c. in solution;
G, ends of the pipes D, immersed in about ten inches of water in the con-
denser; H, cistern filled with water, in which the condenser E is placed, and
securely held in position in any convenient manner; I, cock for drawing off
the condensed gas into a receiver K; L, vat or receptacle for receiving the
overcharged gas as it escapes from the condenser by the safety tube M; N,.

page_text: of refuse from tallow chandlers and butchers; all kinds of horus, hoofs, bones,
and such like substances; all kinds of materials which contain or are impreg-
nated with any greasy or oleaginous matters or substances. The retorts when
charged are closed and luted in the manner commonly practised of closing
ordinary retorts; strong heat being then applied causes decomposition of the
contents of the retorts, and occasions the escape of naphthaline and ammonia
in the form of gas, and likewise a considerable quantity of dark-colored oil and
water to accumulate. The whole of these products are conducted from the
retorts to the condenser E, where they mix with a quantity of cold water; the
residue left in the retorts is animal charcoal. When the condenser has become
charged from one-half to two-thirds full with the volatile products from the
retorts, said products are then removed to and operated upon in the apparatus
exhibited at Figure 2, the construction of which is as follows:-A, A, is a still,
set in brickwork B in the ordinary way; C, man-hole of still; D, tubing
leading from the still to a worm E, placed in a cooler G filled with water;
HI, cock, fitted to end of worm for drawing off the condensed impure naphtha
and ammonia into a receiver I, so constructed as to separate the ammonia
from the naphtha, for which purpose I employ two syphon pipes K and L; that
marked K receives the naphtha from above, and that marked L the ammonia
from below. The naphtha thus obtained is introduced into the middle com-
partment of the apparatus, exhibited at Figure 3, the construction of which is
as follows:-A, a steam boiler, set in brickwork B in the ordinary way; C,
the fire-place; D, safety valve; E, man-hole; G, pipe for conveying steam
from boiler A to the rectifier H; I, I, pipe, connected to the pipe G, and pro-
ceeding from thence to another rectifier K; L, tube for conducting naphtha
from the rectifier H to the rectifier K. by the pipe M; N, pipe for conducting
naphtha from second rectifier to the worm O, said worm being placed in a
vessel containing cold water for condensing the naphtha in the worm, from
whence it is discharged pure or proof into carboys or other convenient recep-
tacles ready for commercial purposes. The impure ammonia obtained, as

page_text: previously described, in the second apparatus, is now purified in the apparatus
exhibited at Figure 4, the construction of which is as follows:-A is a boiler,
set in brickwork B; C, the fire-place; D, man-hole; E, piping for connecting
the boiler A with the worm G, said worm being placed in a vessel H contain-
ing cold water; I, cock for drawing off the pure or proof ammonia from the
worm G, and for depositing it in carboys or other convenient receptacles ready
for commercial purposes. For the convenience of filling several vessels at one
time, the worm G may be prolonged, as exhibited, and furnished with cocks I, I.
I propose also to adapt a cock to each carboy or other receptacle to prevent
escape and loss of ammoniacal gas therefrom. Or, instead of employing the
above apparatus, the process of distillation may be conducted in the apparatus
exhibited at Figure 5, the construction of which is as follows:-A, A1, A2, A³.
are four closed vessels of different capacities, connected together by pipes B, B,
The vessel A has a hopper-shaped mouth C affixed thereto for charging this
vessel with ammonia; D, D, are a series of worms, one in each of the afore-
said closed vessels; these worms are connected together by pipes E, E, and to
the steam boiler G, set in brickwork in the usual way; H, H, are stop-cocks
for letting off steam, according to the strength of the ammonia under process
of distillation; I, I, are valves, fitted to one end of each of the pipes B, B, to
allow the ammonia to enter successively from one vessel into another, but to
prevent the return of the same; K, K, are a series of cocks, one to each of the
pipes B, to shut off when necessary the connection between one or other of the
vessels and that adjoining it; L, L, cocks for drawing off the ammonia at any
strength desired. The oil remaining in the apparatus at Figure 2 (after the
naphtha and ammonia have been removed therefrom as above stated) is now
placed in one or other of the apparatus exhibited at Figures 4 and 5, and sub-
mitted to the process of distillation, thereby producing a very superior descrip-
tion of oil suitable for various useful purposes.
Having now fully described the nature and object of my said Invention,
together with the best means I am acquainted with for carrying the same into
practical effect, I would remark, in conclusion, that I claim as my Invention of
"improvements in the process of manufacturing ammonia, charcoal, animal
and vegetable naphtha,"-
Firstly, the use and employment of the several ingredients, matters, or sub-
stances above stated.
And, secondly, the operating upon the said several ingredients, matters, or
substances in apparatus of the construction above particularly described, and
represented by the Drawings hereunto annexed, substantially as set forth, for

page_text: the purpose of obtaining from such said several ingredients, matters, or sub-
stances, products of ammonia, charcoal, animal and vegetable naphtha, and oil,
as above stated.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Ellis, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Fourteenth day of January, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-six.
Witness,
GEORGE SCOTT,
Heckmondwicke.
JOHN ELLIS. (L.S.)