IMPROVE- MENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF MANURE
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Clark, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, Engineer and Patent Agent, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF MANURE."-A communication from abroad
by Alfred François Mosselman, of 29, Boulevart St. Martin, Paris,
Manager of the West of France Lime Burning Company.
.
Sealed the 10th November 1863, and dated the 30th May 1863.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Clark at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 30th
May 1863.
I, WILLIAM CLARK, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex,
Engineer and Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF MANURE," to be as
follows:-
This Invention relates to improvements on a former Patent granted to me
and dated 23rd July 1862, No. 2097, in which it is stated that when treating
fresh urine in which the azote has not passed into a state of ammonia, I allow
the lime to become slaked, and to gradually and completely absorb the un-
fermented urine. I thus obtain a compost containing all the fertilizing
elements obtained in urine, which may be employed as manure, either alone or
mixed with animalized lime. In the present instance I further develop this
principle, by means of which the lime is caused to gradually and completely
absorb the urine, and which I term lime supersaturated with urine.

page_text: A further improvement consists in a means of preventing the fermentation
of urine, with a view to retain all its original properties. For this purpose I
cause the urine to absorb fat caustic lime, which imbibes the water contained
in the urine and at same time retains, either in a fresh state or in combination,
the rich azoted or other matters necessary for manure.
This method of pre-
servation by means of fat caustic lime is especially applicable to fresh urine,
which, when treated in this manner, does not lose any of its fertilizing
properties; but as the lime in becoming slaked only absorbs a certain quantity
of water, it results that the lime in absorbing the urine takes up an amount of
fertilizing matters equal only to that of the liquid absorbed, so that hitherto
the lime on being slaked with urine has been but slightly charged with ferti-
lizing matters. In order to obviate this I employ a means of slaking lime so
that it shall not only absorb and even saturate the urine, but also supersaturate
it, by causing it to take up or absorb a much greater quantity than it would
naturally do, so that what I term the supersaturated lime will be of exceeding
richness, resulting from the considerable quantity of fertilizing liquid absorbed.
To speak more properly, the fat lime assumes the properties of the urine or
other liquid at same time that it totally or partially eliminates the water or
other liquid.
In order to obtain this result, I proceed as follows, reserving the right of
obtaining the same result by any other means than that herein described :-
I pour the urine on to quicklime until it ceases to be absorbed, I then make
holes or channels through the bed of lime and pour fresh urine, so as to fill
these channels and cover over the lime, when the urine will become further
absorbed. I repeat this operation several times (that is, make channels and
pour in the urine) until it becomes completely absorbed. When the urine
remains on the surface of the lime, notwithstanding the channels that have
been made, I add quicklime, which becomes slaked by the urine and after-
wards saturated with said liquids; the operation is terminated by super-
saturating the lime with urine as for the first' layer of lime, and so on for
succeeding operations.
I have observed that after successively absorbing the urine the lime acquires
fresh absorbent properties, which is explained by the fact that lime is com-
posed of molecules possessing absorbent properties of different degrees, some
being saturated before the others have begun to be penetrated; there is also
an almost continual evaporation or desiccation of water taking place, while the
rich parts of the urine become immediately retained, fixed, and preserved by
the lime.
This Invention is also applicable for the supersaturation of lime not only

page_text: with urine but any other liquid containing rich fertilizing properties. This
Invention thus consists in the treatment of lime supersaturated with urine or
other liquid to an extent greater than that necessary for its extinction, and so
as to absorb a very large amount of products contained in the urine or other
fertilizing liquid under operation.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Clark in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
27th November 1863.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
CLARK, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Engineer and
Patent Agent, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Thirtieth day of May, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, in the twenty-sixth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said William Clark, Her special licence that I, the said William Clark, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William
Clark, 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANU-
FACTURE OF MANURE," a communication to me from abroad by Alfred François
Mosselman, of 29, Boulevart St. Martin, Paris, Manager of the West of
France Lime Burning Company, upon the condition (amongst others) that I,
the said William Clark, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in
writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should particu-
larly 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 Clark, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement (that is to say) :-
This Invention relates to improvements in the preservation of solid and

page_text: liquid fecal matters and all others of fermentable nature, whereby to produce
new products, consisting of lime supersaturated with urine and disinfected
urine; in a former Patent granted to me and dated 23rd July 1862,
No. 2097, I have stated that when treating fresh urine in which the azote has
not passed into a state of ammonia, I allow the lime to become slaked and to
gradually and completely absorb the unfermented urine. I thus obtain a
compost containing all the fertilizing elements obtained in urine, which may
be employed as manure either alone or mixed with balls or cakes of animalized
lime. In the present instance I further develope this principle, by means of
which the lime is caused to gradually and completely absorb the urine; this I
term lime supersaturated with urine.
A further improvement consists in a means of preventing the fermentation
of urine, with a view to retain all its original properties. For this purpose I
cause the urine to absorb fat caustic lime, which, on becoming slaked, absorbs
the water contained in the urine, and at same time retains either in a free
state or in combination the rich azoted or other matters necessary for manure.
This method of preservation by means of fat caustic lime is especially appli-
cable to fresh urine, which, when treated in this manner, does not lose any of
its fertilizing properties; but as the lime in becoming slaked only absorbs a
certain quantity of water, it results that the lime in absorbing the urine takes
up an amount of fertilizing matters equal only to that of the liquid absorbed,
so that hitherto the lime on being slaked or mixed with urine has been but
slightly charged with fertilizing matters. In order to obviate this, according
to the present Invention I employ a means of slaking lime so that it shall not
only absorb and even be saturated by the urine, but also supersaturated, by
causing it to take up or absorb a much greater quantity than it would naturally
do, so that what I term the supersaturated lime will be of exceeding richness,
resulting from the considerable quantity of fertilizing liquid absorbed. To
speak more properly, the fat lime assumes the properties of the urine or other
liquid, at same time that it totally or partially eliminates the water or other
liquid.
In order to obtain this result I proceed as follows, reserving the right of
obtaining the same result by any other means than that herein described :-I
pour the urine on to quicklime until it ceases to be absorbed; I then make
holes or channels through the bed of lime, and pour fresh urine so as to fill
these channels, and cover over the lime, when the urine will become further
absorbed. I repeat this operation several times (that is, make channels and
pour in the urine) until it becomes completely absorbed ; when the urine
remains on the surface of the lime, notwithstanding the repeated channels that

page_text: have been made, I add quicklime, which becomes slaked by the urine, and
afterwards saturated with said liquid; the operation is terminated by super-
saturating the lime with urine as for the first layer of lime, and so on for
succeeding operations.
I have observed that after successively absorbing the urine, the lime acquires
fresh absorbent properties, which is explained by the fact that lime is com-
posed of molecules possessing absorbent properties of different degrees, some
being saturated before others have begun to be penetrated; there is also
an almost continual evaporation or desiccation of water taking place, while the
rich parts of the urine become immediately retained, fixed, and preserved by
the lime.
This Invention is also applicable for the supersaturation of lime not only
with urine but any other liquid containing rich fertilizing properties. The
Invention thus consists in the treatment of lime supersaturated with urine or
other liquid, to an extent greater than that necessary to kill it, and so as to
absorb a very large amount of products contained in the urine or other
fertilizing liquid under operation.
In the former Patent herein-before referred to I have stated that I employ
lime in the manufacture of manure, and which I term animalized lime. I
have also explained that the lime has a preservative power, which I will
observe is exerted not only on the liquid absorbed by the lime, but the lime
also preserves equally well the rich parts of the liquid in which it is dissolved,
or in more or less intimate contact, for a greater or less period of time, and
this is so effectual that in cases where a large excess of urine is added to the
lime, it takes up the whole amount, and in fact supersaturates it with urine;
and again if fresh urine be poured on the lime, and allowed to remain for a
greater or less time, in order that the lime may act chemically or otherwise on
the ferment or mass; a liquid may be obtained which although clear will not
be putrescible during a longer or shorter time, and this same lime may be
treated with fresh urine a greater or less number of times. Further, in this
method of disinfecting urine the solid part formed by the supersaturated lime
becomes enriched, while towards the bottom of the disinfected urine there
floats a rich mucilaginous liquid mass, which I also utilize as manure. This
forms an especial feature of the Invention, having for its object the employ-
ment of lime for the utilization of urine in a non-putrescent condition. The
lime is placed in receivers, and the urine decanted more or less clearly by
syphons or otherwise, either in proportion as it is produced or at certain
intervals of time.
It will be evident that in this, as in the preceding Patent before referred to,

page_text: I intend the term urine to include other liquids containing fermentable
properties.
Having thus specified some of the phenomena attending the treatment of
fresh urine, it will be understood that this improved process is also applicable
for treating urine which has already become fermented; in this case the
portion of azote transformed into ammonia will disengage in presence of the
lime, while the azote of the urine not yet passed into a state of ammonia will
undergo, together with the other rich matters, the same reaction before indi-
cated when treating of fresh urine, that is, in this case also there will be
obtained a rich disinfected liquid, a rich mucilaginous liquid mass, and lastly,
a layer of supersaturated and enriched lime.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Clark, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-fourth day of November, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three.
Witness,
JAMES DAISH,
53, Chancery Lane,
London.
W. CLARK. (L.B.)