IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF GAS, AND IN THE TREATMENT OF THE RESIDUES THEREFROM, AND IN THE COMBINATION OF GASES FOR THE PRODUCTION OF LIGHT AND HEAT, AND IN THE APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN
Year: 1873

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Skoines, of 7, Argyle' Street, King's
•
Cross, in the County of Middlesex, Gas Engineer, for the Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF GAS, AND IN THE TREATMENT
OF THE RESIDUES THEREFROM, AND IN THE COMBINATION OF GASES FOR THE
PRODUCTION OF LIGHT AND HEAT, AND IN THE APPARATUS EMPLOYED
THEREIN,
"
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Skoines at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on tho
8th March 1878.
HENRY SKOINES, of 7, Argyle Street, King's Cross, in the County
of Middlesex, Gas Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF GAS, AND IN THE TREAT.
MENT OF THE RESIDUES THEREFROM, AND IN THE COMBINATION OF GASES FOR THE
PRODUCTION OF LIGHT AND HEAT, AND IN THE APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN,” to
be as follows :—

page_text: "
manufacture. It is principally directed to the manufacture of gas
from Cannel coal, carbon, chalk, limestone, bitumen, furnace slag, peat,
wood, paraffin, and any other oleagenous substance; also water, steam,
and air.
My improvements consist in distilling from one or more of the sub- 5
stances placed in a suitablo retort or retorts at a temperature varying
from a bright red to a white heat the gas contained in such substances
and amalgamating the same.
The means employed for obtaining the said gas or gases are as
follows: One or more benches of retorts of any form are provided 1
having one or more chambers or channels made of fire-clay, bricks, or
iron or other suitable material or materials, and set in brick or iron-
work either horizontally, vertically, or at an angle of forty-five
dogrees.
•
I purpose charging one or more of the said retorts with chalk, lime- 1
stone, charcoal, coke, carbon, fire-bricks, and furnace slag or other
suitable materials, and inject water, steam, or air, which may or may not
bo superheated. The products are then passed through another retort
charged as the former, but without injecting water, steam, or air, thence
it is conveyed to another retort charged with Cannel coal, bitumen, or 2
other analogous substance or substances. The amalgamated gases may
then be passed through one or more tanks charged with tar, tallow,
petroleum, or any other oleagenous substances..
I further claim the right of charging the first retort with Oannel coal,
bitumen, or other analogous substance or substances, causing the gas
produced therefrom to pass through chambers or channels of one or
more retorts charged with chalk, limestone, charcoal, coke, carbon, fire-
bricks, furnace slag, or any other suitable materials, thus reversing the
process of manufacture as firstly described.
I likewise purpose to utilize by evaporation and redistillation any s
residues arising during the carrying out of these processes, in order to
convert into a permanent gas the whole of the hydrocarbons contained
in these various materials.
The gas generated may be treated in the ordinary way for con-
.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Henry Skoines in the Great Seal Patent Offico
on the 8th September 1878.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HENRY
3 SKOINES, of 7, Argyle Street, King's Cross, in the County of Middlesex,
Gas Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eighth day of March, in the year of our
Lord One thousand cight hundred and soventy-three, in tho thirty-sixth
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto me, the said Henry Skoines, Her special license that I, tho
said Henry Skoines, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said Henry Skoines, 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 MANUFACTURE
OF GAS, AND IN THE TREATMENT OF THE RESIDUES THEREFROM, AND IN THE
COMBINATION OF GASES FOR THE PRODUCTION OF LIGHT AND HEAT, AND IN THE
APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN," upon the condition (amongst others) that I,
the said Henry Skoines, my executors or administrators, by an instru-
ment in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and scals, should
particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention,
and in what manner the same was to be performed, and cause tho samo
to bo 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 Henry Skoines, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the
samo is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in
and by the following statement thereof, and the Drawings therein
referred to (that is to say):-
My Invention relates to certain improvements in the manufacture and
treatment of gas, and the residues arising or resulting from such
manufacture. It is principally directed to the manufacture of gas from
Cannel coal, carbon, chalk, limestone, bitumen, furnace slag, pent, wood,

page_text: and paraffine, or other oleaginous substances, also water, steam, and
air.
The object of my Invention is to produce gas, whether for illuminating
or for heating purposes, of better quality and more economically than
has heretofore been usual. For this purpose I subject Cannel coal, peat, 5
petroleum, or analogous gas producing substances, in any suitable retort
or retorts to the ordinary process of coking, or first carbonization, and
I remove the sulphur and ammonia and convert into gas certain
resulting products heretoforo treated as residues by causing the whole
of the crude gases, vapours, or products, as they arise or issue from the 1
coal or carbonaceous substance in the coking retort or chamber to páss
with superheated or other steam, or with water, into a separate retort
or chamber charged with chalk or analogous material in a highly.
heated state, which highly heated chalk or analogous material will
retain the sulphur and ammonia; the aqueous products, tar, and 1
ammonical liquor deposited on the chalk or its substitute being taken
up by and combined with the superhcated or other steam, thus forming
gases. The gases from this retort or chamber I cause to pass into
another or "final" retort or chamber charged with coke or other
suitable carbonaceous material in a highly heated state for amalga- 2
mating such gases and rendering them one homogeneous and permanent
gas.
:
•
I use three or more retorts in a suitable setting, as usual, but instead
of connecting each retort directly with the hydraulic main by a separate
ascension pipe I- connect the retorts together by special connexions in 2
sets or series, in such manner that the several operations above
mentioned may be performed systematically or in their turn, and I so
construct the setting that a portion of the heat from the retort furnace
may if so desired, be utilized for generating in a suitable generator, and
when required superheating the necessary steam, which is conveyed 8
through pipes into the intermediate retort, into which also the steam
flows in close proximity to the products entering from the coking or first
carbonizing retort. I may sometimes pass air, water, or superheated
or other steam, through the retort or chamber containing highly heated
chalk or analogous material or materials, and pass the resulting gases 8
through the retort charged with highly heated coke or analogous
substance, as aforesaid, and thenco whilst in a highly heated state.
⚫ through the retort charged with Cannel.coal, bitumen, or other
I

page_text: analogous substances, after which the gases may be passed through
vessels or tanks containing tar, tallow, petroleum, or other suitablo
oleaginous substance, taking care to excludo air from the tanks or
vessels during the process.
Illuminating gas may be made by this process dispensing with the
uso of the retort charged with Cannel coal, bitumen, or analogous
substances, and passing the heated gases directly from the retort charged
with coke or analogous material through the tanks or vossals containing
the tar, tallow, petroleum, or other olcaginous substancos.
Fig. 1 shows, in front clevation, my plan of arranging the retorts
when two benches or beds of 7 retorts cach are placed side by side, ono
bench being shown with the front wall and rotort mouth picces removed,
and the other bench being shown complete. Fig. 2 is a vertical section
at right angles to Fig. 1, and taken in the line a, b, of that Figure.
A, A', A', A', A, A, A, are retorts, which may be made of iron, clay, or
other suitable materials, and set in the usual manner. They are
provided with mouth picces B furnished with lids secured by ordinary
cross bars and screws. D are pipes between the mouth picces
connecting the retorts together. W is a valve which is opened when
the whole of the soven retorts are worked, the retorts A, A¹, A², being
shut off from the others when the valve is closed. The upper or final
retort of each bench or bed is connected to the retorts beneath it by
a pipo D'; D³ are the ascension pipes from the upper or final retorts
and dip into the hydraulio scaling vessels E, which are connected by
pipes E¹ to the gas main F; but the pipes D³ may, if preferred, be
arranged to dip into a hydraulic main of the ordinary kind; G are the
fire-bars, resting upon bearing bars II, and having ash pans I below them;
L is a steam generator formed with a man hole M, and provided with
a safety valve N and steam gauge U. From this generator to cach
O bench or bed of retorts is a steam pipe O, which after passing to and
fro within the bed of the final retort Aº terminates within the
intermediato retort A'. The flues P are arranged so that the products
of combustion from either of the furnaces Q after acting upon the retorts
may be brought into contact with the steam generator L, besides super-
5 heating the steam contained in the pipes O within the beds of tho final
retorts. The products from each furnace travel up between its two rows
of retorts, striking against the under part of the final rotort, thence they

page_text: divide and descend on the outer sides of the retorts, after which they
enter near the front a couple of flues which pass under the two lower
retorts to the back of the setting, and which conduct the products to
the back flue P¹, whence they travel in a horizontal direction around
the lower part of the steam generator to the chimney, suitable dampers
being used for regulating the draught, as will be readily understood;
V are the blockings; J, the sight boxes; K, the cleaning doors; and
Tare the dampers.
The retorts A, A³, A³, A³, A², in the arrangement shewn are
carbonizing or coking retorts, but to make my process clearly under-:
stood I will suppose only the three retorts or chambers Aª, Aº, Aº, to be
in use. The retort A' is charged with cannel, or coal, or bitumen, or peat,
„wood, and paraffine, or with other analogous material, the crude gas, vapour,
or rising products from which will pass up by the pipe or connexion D
into the intermediate.retort or chamber A', which is charged with chalk
or analogous material, preferring chalk in small lumps so as to present to
the gas as much highly heated porous surface as practicable. This highly
heated chalk or porous material will absorb the sulphur and ammonia,
the aqueous products, tar, and ammoniacal liquor, being taken up by
'the steam flowing in by the pipe O, or it may be by steam formed
within the retort A" by introducing water into it. By this admixture of
steam with the aqueous products, tar, and ammoniacal liquor, in the
retort A', charged with highly heated chalk or analogous material, as
aforesaid, gas is formed. From the retort or chamber A³ the gases pass
by the pipe D¹ to the upper or final retort or chamber A* containing ?
coke, brick, ironstone, furnace slag, or analogous material or materials,
which will render the gas homogeneous and permanent. From this
final retort A⚫ the gases may be conducted to the condenser, purifier,
and holder, in the usual way.
◉
✓ In some cases I may reverse the process, that is to say, instead of a
passing the products from the coking or carbonizing retort A through
the chalk or analogous substance in the retort Aº, I may simply pass
air superheated or other steam or water through the chalk or analogous
material in the retort A, and through the coke or analogous substance
.in the retort Aº, and the resulting gases may afterwards be caused to 8
pass while in a highly heated state through the highly heated retort A*.
charged with Cannel coal or analogous material, and if it be desired to
still further enrich the gas it may be passed from the retort. A through

page_text: tar, tallow, petroleum, or analogous oleaginous substances in suitablo
tanks or vessels.
In carrying out that part of my Invention which has reference to the
manufacture or production of illuminating gas from tar, tallow,
petroleum, or analogous oleaginous substances, the gases produced by
passing air, wator, or superheated or other steam through the highly
heated chalk or analogous substance, and thence through the final
retort, as herein-boforo described, on leaving the final retort instead of
being conducted to a condenser are caused to pass in their heated state
O through the tar, tallow, petroleum, or analogous material, which for
this purpose may be placed within the hydraulic main, the gas pipo
dipping into them; or special tanks or- vessels may be provided taking
care to exclude atmospheric air.
Having described my said Invention and having explained the
5 manner of. carrying the same into practical effect, I would have it
understood that I do not confine myself to the precise form or arrange-
ment of the retorts shewn in the Drawing so long as the distinctive
character of this part of my Invention be retained; I would also romark
that I am aware it has before been proposed in the manufacture or
0 production of gas to employ superheated steam and to illuminato it by
means of Cannel or petroleum spirit, to which I lay no claim, nor do I
claim the use of the several substances herein-before mentioned or
referred to, except when the same are used in and for the purposes of
my Invention, which I hereby declare to consist in,—
First. Treating the crude gases, vapours, or products arising from the
coking or first carbonization of Cannel coal and analogous substances
by introducing such products with superheated or other steam or with
water into retorts or chambers charged with chalk or analogous material
in a highly heated state, as above described.
Secondly. The amalgamating of the gases, as described, in retorts or
chambers charged with coke or analogous substances in a highly heated
state.
Thirdly. The above described process of manufacturing or producing
gas for illuminating or heating purposes by coking or carbonizing Cannel
5 coal or analogous substancos in coking retorts or chambers treating the
resulting gases, vapours, or rising products with 'superheated or other
steam or with wator in other or intermediate retorts or chambers

page_text: containing chalk or analogous material for absorbing the sulphurous
compounds and ammonia and amalgamating the gases in final retorts or
chambers charged with coko or analogous substance.
i Fourthly. The arrangement of the apparatus with the retorts in
connexion with each other, in the manner and for the purposes above 5
specified.
Fifthly. The process of manufacturing or producing gas by passing
air or superheated or other steam through a retort or chamber charged
with highly heated chalk or analogous material, thence through a retort
or chamber charged with highly heated coke or analogous substance, 10
and afterwards through a highly heated retort charged with Cannel
coal or analogous substance, as above explained.
-
Lastly. The passing of the heated gases through tanks or vessels
charged with -tar, tallow, petroleum, or other oleaginous substances,
substantially as described.
1
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry Skoines, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Eighth day of September, in the year of
: 16
substantially as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry Skoines, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Eighth day of September, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three.
: 16