IMPROVEMENTS IN THE TREATMENT OF SEWAGE
Year: 1885

page_text: I SAMUEL HUBBARD JAMES of 8 Willoughby Terrace Tottenham in the County
of Middlesex Civil Engineer do hereby declare the nature of my Invention for
IMPROVEMENTS IN THE TREATMENT OF SEWAGE to be as follows:-
Object To Deodorize the Sewage.
The invention is applicable first to the treatment of raw or natural Sewage as it
flows in ordinary course, secondly to the abnoxious effluent discharged from
Sewage works where precipitating processes are employed & thirdly to the sludge.
The same principle is applied to all viz Air or steam is mechanically forced
through or mixed with the matter to be dealt with.
At the outfall works or other suitable places I construct tanks or receptacles
through which the matter to be treated is made to pass At the bottom thereof a
number of perforated pipes or other convenient distributors are placed through
which air (or steam) is forced by pressure from a blowing engine or drawn by an
exhaust engine or by a combination of the two.
These tanks or receptacles are covered in & connected with a chimney of suffi-
cient height in order to allow the air vitiated by the deprivation of its oxigen to
be carried off with other gaseous products.
Where desired I place boards or flaps at different angles in the tanks so that
the whole mass of liquid may become well mixed in its passage & all portions be
brought under the action of, or in contact with the rising air bubbles as the fluid
passes in a continuous flow through the tanks thus becoming Oxidized by the time
it reaches the outlet. If desired the perforated pipes or air distributors can be laid
at the bottom of the sewers themselves which will obviate the necessity of building
special tanks when dealing with raw sewage only.
The especial feature of novelty & very essence of this invention consists in
mechanically forcing or mixing a sufficient quantity of air or steam with the
abnoxious compounds in order that they may become Oxidized & thus purified
before their escape into the open spaces, watercourses rivers or foreshores.

page_text: I SAMUEL HUBBARD JAMES of 8 Willoughby Terrace, Tottenham, in the County
of Middlesex Civil Engineer do hereby declare the nature of my Invention for
IMPROVEMENTS IN THE TREATMENT OF SEWAGE and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement :—
The same principle is applied to raw or natural sewage as it flows along the
Sewers or to the noxious effluent discharged from Sewerage Works where preci-
pitating processes are employed & also to the treatment of the sludge viz Air is
mechanically forced through or mixed with the matter to be dealt with & the foul
& vitiated air & gases are by means of suitable contrivances disposed of in the
upper regions of the Atmosphere above the highest houses in the neigbourhood.
By reference to the Drawing it will be seen that a sectional view of a part of a
Sewer itself or of a "covered in" tank or receptacle is shewn through or along which
the matter to be dealt with is made to pass, The two hinged floats one at the
inlet & the other at the outlet are constructed to prevent the escape of foul gas in
either direction except by the shaft or chimney specially intended for the escape
of the foul gases These floats are so arranged that they adapt themselves auto-
matically to the height of the flowing Sewage which is allowed to pass over the
whole space occupied by the network of perforated pipes, tubes or other convenient
air distributers shewn at the bottom of the "covered in " tank.
These perforated pipes or air distributers are connected to some kind of air
blowing or compressing Engine machine or reservoir able to maintain a pressure
capable of forcing the air in sufficient quantity through the Sewage Matter fluid
or semifluid.
To allow for, the escape of this air (which in its passage upward through the
Sewage becomes itself thoroughly vitiated & foul) I construct openings in the top
of the covered in receptacles or tanks which by means of one or more shafts, pipes
or openings are connected to a high chimney whose top is sufficiently elevated
above the surrounding district, that the most offensive & foul & vitiated gases
may be discharged without any inconvenience being felt.
I not limit myself to the arrangements as shewn on the Drawing as different
cases will of course require special adaptation according to the positions & require-
ments of the locality & while in one place the Sewers alone can be used as
Oxidizing tanks, yet in other places special tanks will be requisite, Where
necessary I pass the Sewage through successive tanks where it can be subjected to
the same air process for a longer period and become more perfectly Oxidized and
purified to such an extent that the whole can be safely discharged into Rivers
without any injurious effects.
The essential feature of novelty consists in blowing air through the abnoxious
matter to oxidize it & providing an escape for the resultant gases up a high
chimney.
Where desired I can utilize any waste Steam from the Engine by turning it
into the lower part of the escape chimney so that it may partly mix with the
foul gases & help to deodorize the same as well as create a draught up the chimney

page_text: & where desired I can inject into the chimney a spray of carbolic acid or other
disinfectant & in certain other cases where it may be practicable I can pass the
foul gases through a furnace or Lime previous to their discharge into the high
chimney in which latter events the height of the chimney might be reduced but
although slight advantages might be gained in one direction yet practical as well
as financial difficulties would in most cases more than counterbalance any advantage
& except where special requirements necessitate other arrangements I prefer the
simple plan of "blowing out the Stink" letting it go free above, at an elevation
where it interferes with nothing & harms no one.
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
The Mechanical pumping or forcing of Air through Sewage Matter (whether
precipitated or not) for the purpose of deodorizing and purifying the same, and
the disposal of the vitiated air and noxious gases evolved in the process by means
of pipes or chimnies discharging the same at a sufficiently high elevation to be
unobjectionable, substantially as described herewith.
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