IMPROVEMENTS IN THE APPLICATION AND USE OF CHEMICALS FOR PURIFYING VITIATED AIR, AND IN APPARATUS THEREFOR."
Year: 1880

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Richard Neale, of South Hampstead, in the County of
Middlesex, Doctor of Medecine, for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
APPLICATION AND USE OF CHEMICALS FOR PURIFYING VITIATED AIR, AND
IN APPARATUS THEREFOR."
PROVISIONAL. SPECIFICATION left by the said Richard Neale at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 15th July 1880.
RICHARD NEALE, of South Hampstead, in the County of Middlesex, Doctor of
Medecine. "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE APPLICATION AND USE OF CHEMICALS FOR
PURIFYING VITIATED AIR, AND IN APPARATUS THEREFOR.'
"
My Invention relates to improvements in the application and use of chemicals
for purifying the air in railway or other tunnels, hospitals, churches, mines, and
other places where it is loaded with sulphur fumes, carbonic acid gas, or other
impurities.
The essential feature of my Invention is to cause a very large proportion of any
existing volume of vitiated air to pass over or be saturated with the chemical agent
employed, thereby more or less destroying or removing the impurities with which
the air is loaded.
In carrying out my Invention in the case of railway tunnels a special purifying
carriage or chamber may be supplied to any or each train passing through a tunnel,
such carriage or chamber being open at each end, and the ends partially or entirely
surrounded with wings projecting outwards, so as to cover as large a portion of the
sectional area of the tunnel as practicable; the sides of the purifying carriage or
chamber to be also formed with any desirable number of projecting wings, the
several wings being so arranged that as the train passes through the tunnel the
vitiated air will be caught by them and caused to circulate through the body of
the carriage or chamber, passing in its transit over the chemical substance employed,
which will absorb or change the impurities with which it is loaded, and the air thus
acted upon will pass out through the opposite or rear end of the carriage or chamber
into the tunnel in a comparatively pure condition.

page_text: -
The chemical substance employed may be either a caustic alkali, such as lime,
potash, or soda, or it may be iodine, or any other suitable material or agent, and
can be either packed in trays arranged one above the other in the carriage or
chamber, and kept moist with water contained in an overhead tank or 'used in a
fluid form, passing from an upper to a lower reservoir, and forced back again by a
pump on the engine or by a pump worked from one of the running axles of the
train, the fluid saturating in its passage large horizontally or vertically arranged
surfaces, with which the vitiated air is forced into or comes in contact; or the
chemical substance may be kept moist by steam, or by any other available
method.
In the case of confined volumes of vitiated air, such as found in hospitals,
churches, and other public buildings, mines, or other places, my Invention may be
applied for its purification by placing the chemical substance either in a fluid or
solid state between two porous surfaces arranged in the form of swinging punkahs,
or fans, screens, or other appliances adapted in form and contrivance to the special
requirements of the place where the air is to be purified.
By this Invention the injurious effects produced on the health of passengers by
inhaling the noxious gases accumulated in the railway tunnels of London and other
places will be avoided, the air being kept in a healthy condition. Its advantage
also by purifying the air in mines and places where large numbers of persons are
congregated in small spaces cannot be overrated.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Richard Neale in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 15th
January 1881.
RICHARD NEALE, of South Hampstead, in the County of Middlesex, Doctor of
Medecine. "IMPROVEMENTS, IN THE APPLICATION AND USE OF CHEMICALS FOR
PURIFYING VITIATED AIR, AND IN APPARATUS THEREFOR."
My Invention relates to improvements in the application and use of chemicals for
purifying the air in railway or other tunnels, hospitals, churches, mines, and other
places where it is loaded with sulphur fumes, carbonic acid gas, or other impurities.
The essential feature of my Invention is to cause a very large proportion of any
existing volume of vitiated air to pass over or be saturated with the chemical agent
employed, thereby more or less destroying or removing the impurities with which
the air is loaded. In carrying out my Invention in the case of railway tunnels a
special purifying carriage or chamber may be supplied to any or each train passing
through a tunnel, such carriage or chamber being open at each end, and the ends
partially or entirely surrounded with wings projecting outwards; so as to cover as
large a portion of the sectional area of the tunnel as practicable; the sides of the
purifying carriage or chamber also to be formed with any desirable number of pro-
jecting wings, the several wings being so arranged that as the train passes through
the tunnel the vitiated air will be caught by them and caused to circulate through
the body of the carriage or clamber, passing in its transit over the chemical sub-
stance employed, which will absorb or change the impurities with which it is
loaded, and the air thus acted upon will pass out through the opposite or rear end
of the carriage or chamber into the tunnel in a comparatively pure condition. The
chemical substance employed may be either a caustic alkali, such as lime, potash, or
soda, or it may be iodine or any other suitable material or agent, and can either be
packed in trays arranged one above the other in the carriage or chamber, and kept
moist with water contained in an overhead tank, or used in a fluid form, passing
from an upper to a lower reservoir, and forced back again by a pump on the engine
or by a pump worked from one of the running axles of the train, the fluid saturating
in its progress large horizontally or vertically arranged surfaces, with which the
vitiated air is forced into or comes in contact; or the chemical substance may be
kept moist by steam, or by any other available method. In the case of confined
volumes of vitiated air, such as found in hospitals, churches, and other public
buildings, mines, or other places, my Invention may be applied for its purification
by placing the chemical substance either in a fluid or solid state between two
porous surfaces arranged in the form of swinging punkahs, or fans, screens, or other
appliances adapted in form and contrivance to the special requirements of the place
where the air is to be purified.
By this Invention the injurious effects produced on the health of passengers
through inhaling the noxious gases accumulated in the railway tunnels of London
and other places will be avoided, the air being kept in a healthy condition. Its
advantage also in purifying the air in mines and places where large numbers of
persons are congregated in small spaces cannot be over rated.
And in order that my Invention may be well understood, I shall now proceed
more particularly to describe the same, reference being made to the accompanying
Drawing, like letters of reference indicating corresponding parts in the respective
Figures. Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of one form of my Invention for
purifying the air in railway tunnels and other places, and Figure 2 an end view
thereof.

page_text: A represents a special purifying carriage or chamber attached (in the case of
railway tunnels) to any or every train passing through a tunnel, and open at each
end, where it is furnished with wings a, a, curved and projecting outwards so as to
cover as large a portion of the sectional area of the tunnel as practicable; each end
is also formed on its upper edge with a large wing, shoot, or baffle plate 6 projecting
upwards to within' as short a distance of the crown of the tunnel as possible, for the
purpose hereafter described. In the sides and bottom of the carriage or chamber A
are left any desirable number of rectangular or other openings B opposite, and
dividing which longitudinally are projecting wings a¹ (similar to a), arranged in
pairs so as to face each way, according to the direction in which the train is running.
The several wings a, a, combined with the forward open end of the carriage or
chamber A and the openings B, act in such a manner that as the train is passing
through the tunnel the vitiated air will be caught by them and caused to enter and
circulate through the body of the carriage or chamber A, the half space of each
opening B not admitting the air being closed automatically by a centrally hinged
flap swinging either way. At the same time the steam and gases escaping from the
chimney of the engine will be caught by the wing or baffle plate b, and directed
into the body of the carriage, the gases and vitiated air passing in their transit
through the latter over a chemical substance hereafter specified, which will absorb
or change the impurities, such as sulphur fumes, carbonic acid gas, sulphurcous acid,
sulphuretted hydrogen, or others with which the air is loaded, the air thus acted
upon passing out through the opposite or rear end of the carriage or chamber A into
the tunnel in a comparatively pure state, or, if desired, the several wings a, a, b,
and openings B may be dispensed with, the vitiated air in such case entering the
carriage or chamber A at its open end without their aid. C, C, are trays or cases
arranged one above the other at any desired inclination, and each composed of some
porous material, such as canvas, on which is placed the chemical substance employed,
the latter being protected or not with canvas or other porous covers.. These trays
or cases C, C, slide in grooves formed in or attached to the sides and middle partition
of the carriage or chamber A, or they may be placed in movable rack fraines, and
each series thereof break joint as it were with the succeeding series, so that the air
and gases may be split up in traversing the carriage or chamber, and thereby caused
to more perfectly impinge against the chemical substance, which is kept moist
with water contained in an over head tank D, the water dripping or running through
nipple (or other) pipes c, c, on to the uppermost trays or cases C, C, through which
it permeates on to the next lower trays or cases, and so on through the entire
series, until the chemical substance_contained-thereby-is-completely moistened; or
the tank D may be dispensed with, and the chemical substance moistened by steam,
or by a hose at the various stations on the line, as found most economical and
convenient; or in lieu of applying the chemical in a more or less solid state, as
described, it may be used in a fluid form, as shewn in Figures 3 and 4, where the
overhead tank D¹ contains the chemical solution which drips or runs through the
nipple (or other) pipes d on to and through a series of porous sheets E of canvas
or other material stretched tightly across the carriage or chamber A', to the sides
of which they are battened or otherwise secured,, or they may be carried by
movable rack frames; or in lieu of the sheets E the trays or cases C, C, before.
described, may be used moistened with the chemical solution, omitting therefrom
the chemical substance in the solid form. In either case the insides and outsides
of the carriage or chamber A (or A') may be lined with the porous material and
kept wet with the solution if found desirable. The sheets E being thoroughly
saturated with the chemical solution the latter eventually finds its way into a
lower tank F; whence it is forced back to the overhead tank D¹ by the pump C,
worked by an eccentric from one of the running axles of the carriage or chamber A¹
as shewn or otherwise. The vitiated air entering and traversing the carriage or
chamber A¹ impinges against the saturated sheets E (and other surfaces if any), and
the chemical solution absorbs or changes the noxious gases it contains, the air more
or less purified passing out of the carriage or chamber A¹ into the tunnel, as in
r

page_text: To
Figures 1 and 2; or in lieu of admitting the chemical solution to the sheets E by
the pipes d, a number of thick strands of hemp or other suitable material may be
passed from the overhead tank D' through the series of sheets E (and along the
other surfaces if any) to the lower tank F, the chemical solution travelling along
these strands by capillary attraction, and saturating in its progress the sheets E.
It is to be understood that I do not confine myself to the use or particular
arrangements of the trays or cases C, C, (Figs. 1 and 2) or porous sheets E, Figs. 3
and 4, as it is evident that any surface capable of containing the chemical substance-·
in a solid state, or of being saturated and transmitting it in a fluid form may be
used, such surface or surfaces being constructed of any suitable material and
arranged vertically, inclined, or otherwise. Figures 5 and 6 illustrate a convenient
and handy method of applying my Invention to the purification of confined
volumes of vitiated air, such as found in hospitals, churches, theatres, law courts,
and other public buildings, rooms, or other places, by means of a chemical punkah
or swinging fan H, composed of an upper trough e made of tin, gutta percha, or
other material for holding the chemical solution, and a lower trough f, between
which troughs (combined or not with an intermediate trough) are stretched
one or more vertically arranged sheets g of thick flannel, canvas, or other
absorbent material saturated with the chemical solution by means of the capillary
attraction of thick hemp or other strands h, which pass from the upper trough e
between and in contact with the absorbent sheets g, the chemical solution
finally dropping into the lower trough f, from which it is again forced into
the upper trough e by the band pump i concealed in a bag or tassel.
compensate for loss by evaporation, the lower trough f is supplied with fresh
solution from a bucket or other source by the hand pump j, also concealed by a bag
or tassel, the whole being enclosed in canvas or other light porous material,
ornamented or not, and hiding the internal arrangements of the punkah from view;
or, if preferred, the upper trough e may be supplied from an overhead cistern, so
that a constant supply of the fluid may be maintained without the aid of the pumps
i and j. In lieu of the sheets g a series of bars or piles of similar material may
be arranged at short distances apart (Venetian blind fashion) on a frame between
the troughs e and f, and kept saturated with the chemical solution by the capillary
threads has before, or the body or screen of the punkah may be two or more porous
sheets, between which the chemical substance is packed in a more or less solid form,
and kept moist by water contained in the trough e or overhead cistern (as the case
may be). A swinging motion being imparted to the punkah or fan either by hand,
clock work, gas, steam, or other power, the vitiated air is acted upon by the
chemical solution or substance, and thereby deprived of its noxious gases. Or in
lieu of a chemical punkah or fan swinging against the vitiated air the purification
of the latter may be effected by forcing it (as hereafter described) against or
drawing it through chemical screens made on the same principle as the punkah,
and by introducing acetic acids, disinfectants, or other material into a separate
compartment of the punkah or screen, an agreeable freshness might be imparted to
the purified air, which would render the Invention invaluable for sick rooms,
hospitals, churches, theatres, and other crowded buildings, where the exhalations
from congregated human beings, the fumes from gas burners, tobacco smoke, and
other impurities are so injurious to health. I will now proceed to describe various
other appliances for purifying vitiated air wherever existing according to my
Invention, such appliances being adapted in form and contrivance to the special
requirements of the case. Figures 7 and 8 illustrate an arrangement of apparatus
for purifying the air in mines, tunnels, sewers, or other places where a draught of
vitiated air occurs. It consists of a series of circular discs. I made of canvas or
other porous substance, combined or not with other materials, and fixed centrally at
any suitable distance apart on an axle K mounted in bearings in a chamber L.
These discs I are connected with each other by any desirable number of radial
distance pieces M made of canvas or other porous substance, combined or not with
other material, and are formed on their peripheries with grooved or channeled runs

page_text: or hoops N of cane, wood, metal, or other material, the lower parts of which are
immersed in the chemical solution contained in a tank O below. P is a screen to
protect the lower distance pieces M from the action of the draught or current of
air. As the chamber L is exposed to the draught of vitiated air set up in the mine,
tunnel, or other place, the vitiated air impinges against the upper distance pieces M,
and so causes the discs I to revolve their grooved or channeled runs or hoops N,
being thereby kept constantly wet, and carrying round with them the chemical
solution, which trickles down and permeates the entire surfaces of the porous discs I,
keeps the latter saturated. The vitiated air coming in contact therewith is
deprived of its impurities, as in the former cases. Or in lieu of arranging the
discs I, as described, one or more series of fans or blades covered with canvas.or
other porous substance may be employed, as shewn in Figure 9, similar to those of
a windmill or ventilating cowl, and fixed radially on a shaft R mounted in bearings
in a chamber L¹ or in a cylindrical tube carried by a truck or framing (or without
such enclosures), as found most suitable. Each series of fans or blades Qis
surrounded by a deep flat rim or hoop Q, and by a V or other specially shaped
run S, dipping at their lower parts into the chemical solution contained in a tank T
below. The vitiated air impinging against the faces (more or less inclined) of the
fans or blades Q causes them to revolve, whereby they are continually saturated
with the chemical solution, which acts on the air and purifies it as before. The
arrangements here described, and shewn by Figures 7, 8, and 9, may also be applied
to the purification of the vitiated air in railway tunnels, in which case the
chambers L or L' are mounted on wheels (as shewn by dotted lines), and carried
along with the train to which they are attached. In other cases, where there is no
existing draught, the vitiated air may be forced through the chambers L or L' or
into contact with the various discs by mechanical means, such as by centrifugal
fans or blowing engines driven by steam, hydraulic, wind, clockwork, hand, or other
motive power. Figure 10 illustrates a powerful and effective method and appliance
for purifying vitiated air wherever existing by forcing it through or over the
chemical solution or substance. U represents a centrifugal fan (or blowing engine)
of any description, driven as last described, which sucks or draws the vitiated air
from any building or place where it may be found by the inlet pipe m, and forces
it through pipe n into or over the chemical substance, more or less solid, or through
the chemical solution contained in a tank or vessel V, by which substance or
solution it is deprived of its impurities, and passes in that state through the outlet.
pipe o, to be again circulated through the place whence it was drawn_in_a_vitiated_
state; the relative sizes, positions, construction, and arrangement of the inlet and
outlet pipes, fans, and other appendages, will be determined by the nature and
extent of the building or place where the air is to be purified.
This arrangement would be invaluable for the purification of the vitiated air in
theatres and other buildings where numbers of human beings are closely packed in
limited areas, also in ships, diving bells, and other places where human beings are
confined in closed or ill ventilated spaces, in which cases oxygen might be admitted
to compensate for that consumed.
In all cases where large quantities of vitiated air are produced by combustion in
furnaces of any description, such as of locomotive, stationary, or other engine boilers,
factories, or others, the centrifugal fan or blowing engine could be arranged to draw
the vitiating gases direct from the smoke box or chimney before they could escape
into the atmosphere.
The chemical substance or agent employed in carrying my Invention into effect,
whether used in the solid or fluid form, may be either caustic alkalies, lime, potash,
or soda, chlorides of lead, or other metals, and metalloids, acetates of potash, soda,
or lime, acetic acid, iodinė, permanganates, and oxygen gas, or any other chemical
agent that has the property of correcting or removing poisonous or injurious agents
from vitiated atmosphere.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of my said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried into

page_text: effect, I would observe in conclusion that what I consider novel and original, and
therefore claim as my Invention is,―
The various constructions, combinations, and arrangements of apparatus combined
with the use of chemicals in a more or less solid state, or in the fluid form, for more
or less purifying or depriving vitiated air, wherever existing, of its impurities, by
causing any proportion of its volume to pass or be forced over, through, or against,
or be saturated with the said chemicals, substantially as herein before described
and illustrated by Figures 1 to 10 on the accompanying Drawing.
In witness whereof, I, the said Richard Neale, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this 5th day of January, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and eighty one.
Witness,
EDWARD W. FURRELL,
Consulting Mechanical Engineer,
389, Strand, W.C..
RICHARD NEALE, M.D. (L.S.)