IMPROVEMENTS IN EXTRACTING OIL FROM COAL AND OTHER SUBSTANCES YIELDING PYROGENOUS OILS
Year: 1859

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Edward Newton, of the Office for Patents,
66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN EXTRACTING OIL FROM COAL AND OTHER
SUBSTANCES YIELDING PYROGENOUS OILS." - A communication from abroad
by Franklin W. Willard, of New York, in the United States of
America.
Sealed the 27th October 1859, and dated the 25th July 1859.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Edward Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents,, with his Petition, on the
25th July 1859.
I, WILLIAM EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery
Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN EXTRACTING OIL PROH COAL
AND OTHER SUBSTANCES YIELDING PYROGENOUS OILS," to be as follows:-
In the processes heretofore used for the destructive distillation of coal and
other substances yielding pyrogenous oils, stationary retorts have been used,
and it has been found necessary and best to use a low degree of heat in order
to avoid the production of permanent gases which cannot be converted into
oily vapors; but by using a stationary retort its contents are necessarily
exposed to different degrees of heat, so that one portion of the charge evolves
permanent gases and the other portion oleaginous vapors, thereby making a

page_text: loss, as the object of the process is to form only vapors that are susceptible of
condensation, and the operation by the use of a low temperature is of course
a slow one.
The object of the present Invention is the rapid production of the largest
quantity of oleaginous vapors without any considerable generation of in-
condensible gases, and this object is effected by imparting to the retort or
distilling vessel a rotary or other equivalent motion so as to agitate its contents
and expose all portions of the charge equally to the fire. The distilling
operation is to be carried on at a low red heat. By this method the quantity
of oily vapors produced is much greater, and the time occupied in extracting
them is much less than by any of the modes heretofore practised. The retorts
are provided with double heads or ends, and the spaces between the double
ends are filled with clay or other non-conducting material, and braces or studs
are used to prevent the parts from warping or springing. To one of the
double ends or heads of the retort is adapted an excentric plate, which remains
stationary while the retort rotates. This plate closes an opening in the end
of the retort, and, being kept stationary while the retort rotates, will prevent
the latter from getting clogged up.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Edward Newton in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 25th January 1860.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fifth day of July, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, in the twenty-third year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said William Edward Newton, Her special license that I, the said
William Edward Newton, my exccators, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said William Edward Newton, 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 of years 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 EXTRACTING OIL FROM COAL AND OTHER SUBSTANCES YIELDING

page_text: PYROGENOUS OILS," being a communication from abroad by Franklin W.
Willard, of New York, in the United States of America, upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said William Edward Newton, by an instrument in
writing under my hand and seal, 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 William Edward Newton, 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, reference being had to the Drawing hereunto annexed,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say) :-
In the processes heretofore used for the destructive distillation of coal and
other substances yielding pyrogenous oils, stationary retorts have been used,
and it has been found necessary and best to use a low degree of heat in order
to avoid the production of permanent gases, which cannot be converted into
oily vapors; but by using a stationary retort its contents are necessarily
exposed to different degrees of heat, so that one portion of the charge evolves
permanent gases, and the other portion oleaginous vapors, thereby causing a
loss of material, as the object of the process is to form oily vapors that are
susceptible of condensation, and the operation by the use of a low temperature
is of course a slow one.
The object of the present Invention is the rapid production of the largest
quantity of oleaginous vapors without any considerable generation of in-
condensable gases, and this object is effected by imparting to the retort or
distilling vessel a rotary or other equivalent motion so as to agitate its contents
and expose all portions of the charge equally to the fire. The distilling
operation is to be carried on with a low red heat, say about eight hundred
and fifty degrees Fahrenheit. By this method the quantity of oily vapors
produced is much greater, and the time occupied in extracting them is much
less than by any of the modes heretofore practised.
In the accompanying Drawing Fig. 1 is a view of the front end of the
whole apparatus; Fig. 2 is a view of the rear end; Fig. 3 is a longitudinal
vertical section of the same taken through the centre of the retort; and Fig. 4
is a detail view to be herein-after referred to. a, a, represents a cylindrical
retort set in brickwork b, b, leaving a flue space or chamber c, c, entirely
around the retort, through which chamber the flame and products of com-
bustion from the fire-place e, e, circulate and make their escape at the

page_text: chimney d. The retort a, a, has for its rear bearing or journal a hollow
shaft f, the front end being supported by two friction rollers 9, 9, (Fig. 1).
The retort bas a rotary motion imparted to it by means of a large gear
wheel on the shaft f, engaging with a worm or endless screw i, on a
horizontal shaft k, or in any other suitable and convenient manner. The
retort a is filled with a charge of coal, and is exposed while revolving to a
temperature of about eight hundred and fifty degrees Fahrenheit, and the oily
vapors that are evolved escape through the hollow shaft f, and are conducted
into any proper condensing apparatus. In order to prevent the escape of
heat from the retort, and also to prevent the ends of the retort from being
destroyed by the action of the fire, double heads and p are used, the space
between the ends of the retort and the extra heads being filled with clay or
other non-conductor of heat, braces or studs m, m, being used to prevent the
springing or warping of the parts, as shown in the sectional view, Fig. 3.
To obviate the liability of clogging the strainer n, n, of the hollow shaft f
with particles of coal, the Inventor bas adopted the following arrangement of
parts: To the rear false head p is hung, by a short shaft or stud q, a circular
plate r, provided with a flange or lip s, and having a central aperture larger
than the end of the shaft q. While the head p and its shaft q revolves with
the retort, the plater remains stationary and in contact with the bottom of
the retort, and thus prevents the coal or other substance which occupies the
lower portion of the retort from passing into the hollow shaft f, as will be
readily understood without further explanation. It will be evident that it will
be necessary to construct both the false head p and the excentric plate r in
sections, in order that they may be introduced either through the man-hole or
through the door of the retort.
Ilaving now described the Invention of improvements in extracting oil
from coal and other substances yielding pyrogenous oils, as communicated to
me by my foreign correspondent, and explained the manner of carrying the
same into effect, I would remark that what I consider to be new in the above
described improvements, and desire to claim under the above in part recited
Letters Patent, is,
First, the process herein above described for extracting the liquid products
from coals and other substances containing or yielding pyrogenous oils by
the use of a retort so constructed and operated as to have a rotary or other
equivalent motion for agitating its contents and exposing all portions of the
charge equally to the heat, in combination with the use of a low red heat of
about eight hundred and fifty degrees Fahrenheit, as above set forth.
Second, forming double ends or heads to the retort with clay or other

page_text: non-conducting material between the extra heads and the ends of the retort,
and preventing their springing or warping by means of stays or studs m, m,
as described.
Third, the use of the circular plate r, hung upon the false head
head p, and
operating as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Edward Newton, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, the Twenty-third day of January, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty.
Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane.
W. E. NEWTON. (L.B.)