Improvements in the Treatment and Utilization of Sewage.
Year: 1885

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Improvements in the Treatment and Utilization of Sewage.
I, CHARLES THOMAS KINGZETT F.I.C. F.C.S. Vice President of the Society of
Public Analysts of Trevena, Amhurst Park Stamford Hill in the County of
Middlesex do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the
same is to be performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement:-
This invention has for its object improvements in the treatment and utilization
of sewage and other waste liquors &°.
I employ for this purpose, soot or soot in conjunction with clay or lime or with
the saline deposit or the chalybeate water which is found at Southbourne-on-Sea
and both of which contain a large quantity of the sulphates of iron and aluminium
or other water containing like salts with or without clay or lime. Or I employ
powdered coke with or without clay or lime with the said chalybeate water or
similar saline substances.
The sewage is treated preferably first by precipitation and then by filtration.
The liquid is thus effectually purified and the solid material separated from it
makes a useful manure and it can also be utilised when dried, either as a fuel or
for brickmaking or for conversion into ballast.
In carrying out my invention I employ soot with the view of assisting the
'purification and subsidence of the solid matters contained in sewage and its
clarification and precipitation and at the same time of producing a deposit more
or less particulate in character, which admits of being more readily pressed than
ordinary sewage sludge and is more valuable in itself.
Where land is readily available for filtration or irrigation with the effluent I do
not attach much importance to the use of iron or aluminium-salts in any form in
conjunction with the soot as precipitating agents, because the sewage effluent
resulting from precipitation with soot will contain more organic matter in solution
than is the case where metallic salts such as iron or aluminium are also employed,
and this is an advantage since the dissolved organic substances can be and are
readily assimulated by the land and become available for food for plant life at the
same time that the purification of the effluent is thereby completed. It is usually
however advisable to employ a little clay or clay and lime together with the Boot.
The effluent after filtration through land employed say in the proportion of one
to two acres to the sewage of say 10,000 persons may be allowed to pass or drain
away into the nearest watercourse or river. Where however land is not readily
available I prefer to employ in conjunction with soot or soot and clay a proportion
of lime for the purpose of making the sewage alkaline in character and then to
add the saline deposit or the chalybeate water found at Southbourne-on-Sea. In
this case the deposit or solid becomes richer in organic matters and the effluent is
sufficiently purified to be allowed to flow direct into a watercourse or river of good
volume, but even then it is preferable if possible to filter through land.
In the practical application of my invention the quantity of soot to be employed
for the addition to the sewage varies with the composition of the sewage from

page_text: Clay 2 to 5 grains
Lime 2 to 5 grains
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and I also add for each gallon of sewage saline deposit or chalybeate water as
already mentioned equivalent to.2 to 5 grains of saline matter. In such a case
the mixture or emulsion of soot with clay and lime is first added and after a short
interval the saline matter or chalybeate water, taking care to effect a thorough
mixture with the sewage.
I can also use the said saline deposit or chalybeate water in conjunction with
other carbonaceous matter such as powdered coke in place of soot.
The deposit or precipitate obtained by my process can be readily pressed and it
constitutes a fairly good manure, because in its physical character it is porous and
particulate, so that on the one hand it does not choke up the land like ordinary
sewage sludge and on the other hand air finds easy access to all parts of it and
plants readily make use of it as food.
The material may be, after pressure, air, dried and employed as fuel for use in
boiler and other furnaces or it may be suitably admixed with more clay and
converted into bricks or it may be admixed with other materials such as are
ordinarily employed in the preparation of ballast, or it may be roasted alone in a
suitable apparatus and converted into a carbonized material for use over again in
precipitating and purifying sewage.
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
1. The use of soot either alone or in conjunction with other materials for the
precipitation of sewage and the production of a deposit or precipitate which may
be usefully employed in the manner and for the purposes hereinbefore described.
2. The use of the saline deposit and the chalybeate water which are found at
Southbourne-on-Sea either alone or in conjunction with soot, or powdered coke or
other carbonaceous matters for the precipitation of sewage and the production of a
deposit or precipitate which may be usefully employed in the manner and for the
purposes herein before described.