A NEW AND IMPROVED METHOD OF EXTRACTING TAB AND BITUMEN FROM ALL SUCH MATTERS WHICH CONTAIN THESE SUBSTANCES, OR EITHER OF THEM
Year: 1838

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALEXANDRE
HAPPY, now of No. 6, Bloomsbury Square, in the County of Middlesex, but
late of Basing Lane, in the City of London, Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS, by Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United King-
dom of Great Britain, bearing date at Westminster, on or about the Fourteenth
day of May, in the first year of the reign of Her present Majesty Queen
Victoria, Her said Majesty did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto me, the said Alexandre Happey, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority, that I,
the said Alexandre Happey, my executors, administrators, and assigns, and
every of them, by myself and themselves, or by my and their deputy or deputies,
servants or agents, or such others as I, the said Alexandre Happey, my
executors, administrators, or 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 that part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland called England, the Dominion of Wales, and Town of Berwick-upon-
Tweed, an Invention of "A NEW AND IMPROVED METHOD OF EXTRACTING TAB
AND BITUMEN FROM ALL SUCH MATTERS WHICH CONTAIN THESE SUBSTANCES, OR
EITHER OF THEM," in such manner as to me, the said Alexandre Happey, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or any of them, should in my or their
discretion seem meet; in which said Letters Patent there is contained a
proviso for making void the same if I should not particularly describe and

page_text: ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal,
and cause the same to be inrolled in the High Court of Chancery within
six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said in
part recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same, reference being thereunto
had, will more fully and at large appear.
NOW THEREFORE KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso,
I, the said Alexandre Happey, do hereby declare that the nature of the
said Invention, and the manner in which the same is to be performed,
are described and ascertained in manner following, that is to say:—
The new and improved method of extracting tar and bitumen from all such
matters as contain any or either of them consists of the following general prin-
ciple, namely, the extraction, separation, and precipitation of the tar and bitumen
per descensum, in a liquid state, and not by volatilization or distillation (as in the
processes hitherto adopted, such, for example, as in the manufacture of gas
for the purposes of illumination), and of the increase of the proportionate
quantities of tar and bitumen by pressure, or the action of chemical agents.
The above new and improved method may be performed, and the above
principle rendered available, by the adoption of either of the three following
different processes, each producing the same result.
The first process consists in the extraction, separation, or precipitation of the
tar or bitumen from all such matters or substances as contain any or either of
them, under a pressure not exceeding that of one atmosphere beyond the
ordinary atmospheric pressure, whatever may be the nature and the richness
of those matters or substances.
The second process consists in the use of an oil, and especially of a volatile
oil, which is projected into the vessels or retorts in which the extractions,
separations, or precipitations take place, at the moment when the heat produces
the separation of the component parts of these matters or substances from
which the tar or bitumen is to be extracted; the effect produced by the pro-
jection of the oil being the more rapid and more abundant extraction, separa-
tion, or precipitation of the tar or bitumenous fluid. The oil to be used in
preference will be bitumenous petrole, or the volatile oil produced from the
distillation of tar. The quantity of oil to be projected should be at least equal
to the quantity of tar or bitumenous fluid calculated or expected to be
admitted, and at the maximum it will not exceed three times that quantity
(between these two limits no serious inconvenience can be sustained).
The third process differs from the second only in that the steam of water (if
at hand) may be projected into the vessels or retorts, instead of oil, for greater
economy.

page_text: To obtain a proper precipitation, in employing either of the three pre-
ceding processes, a precaution is used, which consists in preserving the lower
and lateral parts of the vessels or retorts, containing the matters or substances
submitted to the process, against the action of the heat, to facilitate the extrac-
tion, separation, or precipitation of the tar and bitumen, and their flowing away
per descensum, and thereby avoiding their decomposition, which happens to a
great extent in the ordinary manufacture of gas and coke.
To carry the above principle and processes into proper effect, kilns of either
of the two following descriptions, or kilns erected upon similar principles, may
be used, according to the nature of the matters or substances to be acted upon
in these processes, and the differences presented by the places where they are
to take place, having reference to the explanatory Drawings hereunto annexed,
the more distinctly to explain the construction of the said two descriptions of
kilns, and which Drawings are to be considered and taken to form part of this
my Specification, to extract the tar and bitumen in towns and places where pit
coal, lignites, bitumenous rocks, resinous wood, and all other matters and sub-
stances which contain tar and bitumen, are dear,-square kilns, represented
by the Drawings numbered 1, 2, and 8, are to be employed, of which Draw-
ings No. 1 represents a longitudinal section of the kilns, upon a scale of one
fortieth part of its real dimensions; No. 2 represents a transverse section of
the same kiln; and No. 3 a horizontal section of the same kiln, looking down
from above the sections of the brickwork of the kiln, being distinguished in
the three Drawings by the letters A, and the colouring in pink; and the inner
surface of and spaces between the said brickwork being distinguished in the
said three Drawings by the letters B, and the colouring in light brown.
These square kilns inclose two rows of long retorts, constructed of cast iron, or
thin wrought-iron plating, or baked earth, distinguished in the Drawings
Nos. 2 and 3 by the letter C, and which retorts may be constructed in either
the circular or oval transversal form there represented. These retorts; instead
of being horizontally placed, as in the manufacture of gas, must be placed
upright, or on an end, as represented in the Drawing No. 2, and arranged in
two rows, as represented in the Drawing No. 3, one row on each side of the
grating, distinguished by the letter D in the Drawings Nos. 1 and 2. Upon this
grating (and which I call the grate or furnace) the fire will be made. It must
run longitudinally through the interior of the kiln between the two rows of
retorts, and open to the outside at each end above and beneath the level of
the grating above, and by means of thick iron doors, lined with baked earth to
render them impermeable to the heat (see Drawing No. 1, letter G), for the
introduction of fuel, and beneath for the removal of the ashes, and the admis-

page_text: sion of a current of air to the fire, these openings being distinguished in the
three Drawings by the letters E. The two rows of retorts must slightly
incline towards each other at their upper ends over the grate or furnace, as in
the Drawing No. 2, C, C,) the better to receive the action of the heat. Their
bases and lower parts must be let into brickwork, as in the Drawing
No. 2, letters f, to protect them against the action of the fire, as already
mentioned, and to facilitate the separation or precipitation of the tar or
bitumen in a fluid state from the matters or substances submitted to the
process. These retorts may be constructed of moveable cast-iron plates to
facilitate their discharge or being emptied, or, still better, instead, in order
the more to facilitate the extraction, separation, and precipitation of the fluid
substances, and to prevent their burning or being volatilized, and to admit at
the same time of the charging and discharging of these retorts without difficulty,
and to accelerate that operation, the matters or substances to be submitted to
my process may be introduced into each retort by means of a casing or envelope
corresponding to the size and shape of the retort, and made of a thin iron
plate, perforated with a multitude of holes, or of coarse metallic or wire webbing.
The flowing or emission of the fluid matter (that is, the tar or bitumen) must
take place through tubes or conduits for that purpose, commencing at the
cases of the retorts, and terminating in a reservoir or reservoirs, where the sepa-
ration of the heterogenous substances which may be mixed with and accom-
pany the fluid will take place according to their different degrees of weight,
these tubes being represented in the Drawing No. 2, and distinguished by the
letter H. Tubes or conduits must also communicate with the upper end of
the retorts for the introduction of the oils and other matters destined to accele-
rate and augment the precipitation, and to admit of the emission of the gas
produced, and for its conveyance either round the outside of the kiln, and
underneath to the grate or furnace, to increase the volume of the fire and
economize the fuel (as is represented in the Drawing No. 2), or into the gaso-
meter, with which gas the requisite atmospheric pressure may be obtained when
required by the means already known and adopted in the construction of gaso-
meters or gas holders, these tubes or conduits being represented in Drawing
No. 2, and distinguished by the letters J.
To extract the tar and bitumen in places where bitumenous fossils, resinous
woods, or other matters and substances which contain tar and bitumen are
abundant and cheap, or when bitumen is of little value, the processes before
described may be better and more advantageously effected in close conical
kilns, the sides of which slope inclining inwards towards the top, represented
in the Drawings Nos. 4, 5, and 6, of which No. 4 represents a horizontal section,

page_text: looking down from above, and cut in the direction and at the place indicated
by the letters A, B, in the Drawing No. 6. No. 5 represents a transversal
section, cut in the direction marked C, D, in the Drawing No. 4; and No. 6
represents another transversal section, cut in the direction marked E, F, in the
same Drawing No. 4; the sections of the brickwork of the kiln being distin-
guished in the three Drawings by the letter G, and the colouring in pink,
and the inner surface of and spaces between the brickwork being distinguished
in the said three Drawings by the letter H, and the colouring in light brown.
The grating upon which the fire is to be placed, and which forms the grate
or furnace, must be of a circular form; it is distinguished in the said three
Drawings (Nos. 4, 5, and 6) by the letter I, and must occupy the centre of
the kiln's base. An interior conical case or envelope, constructed of cast-iron
plates, the base of which is to surround and inclose the circle of the grate, must
rise to the summit of the kiln, and there join the mouth of the chimney, as
represented in the said three Drawings, this interior conical case or envelope
being there distinguished by the letters K. This chimney must be constructed
of bricks capable of resisting the action of the fire, or of metal, and must
receive the direct action of the fire inclosed in the interior conical case or
envelope beneath. This case (forming the furnace) must be separated from
the inner surface of the outer surrounding brickwork by a space or vacancy,
represented in the Drawings Nos. 5 and 6, and distinguished by the letter L,
the extent of this vacancy depending upon the dimensions of the kilns, and the
bulk of the matters or substances to be acted upon or submitted to the process.
These matters or substances, be they fossils, wood, or otherwise, are to be
deposited in or inserted into the before-mentioned space or vacancy, represented
as aforesaid in the Drawings Nos. 5 and 6, and distinguished by the letters L.
From its summit, which will be furnished with moveable tops or covers, this
space or vacancy must descend lower than the grate or furnace in the centre,
as represented in the Drawings Nos. 5 and 6, from which, immediately around
the grate or furnace only, it is to be further separated by masses of brickwork,
(represented in the Drawings Nos. 5 and 6, and distinguished by the letter 'm)
the better to protect it from the action of the fire. And to facilitate the extrac-
tion, separation, or precipitation of the tar or bitumen from the matters and
substances to be contained in the said space or vacancy, the lower part or
bottom of this space or vacancy will be constructed in the form of a cylindrical
and circular canal to receive the fluid matters produced, and to conduct themi
by means of gratings fixed therein from distance to distance, and tubes or
conduits proceeding therefrom, and descending outside into appropriate reser-
voirs Tubes or conduits must also communicate with the upper end of the

page_text: space or vacancy, for the introduction of the oils and other matters destined to
accelerate and augment the separation or precipitation, and admit of the emis-
sion of the gas produced, and for its conveyance either round underneath, to
assist in the feeding of the fire (as before described in explaining the construc-
tion of the square kilns), or into the gasometer, with which gas the requisite
atmospheric pressure may be obtained when required by the means already
known and adopted in the construction of gasometers or gas holders.
:
In the Drawings Nos. 4, 5, and 6, the arched openings to the space or
vacancy surrounding the furnace, and which are requisite to allow of the
removal of the coke or other refuse of the matters or substances which may
have been submitted to the process, are distinguished by the letters O. The
arched openings to the furnace above and below the level of the grating
which supports the fire, and which are requisite, the one above for the admis-
sion of the fuel, and the one beneath for the removal of the ashes and the
admission of a current of air to the fire, are distinguished in the Drawings
Nos. 4 and 5 by the letters P. The heat, to the action of which (by means
of the furnaces described in the two above-mentioned descriptions of kilns) the
matters and substances from which the tar and bitumen is intended to be
extracted, separated, or precipitated, are to be submitted, must be considerable,
but so moderated as to avoid an intensity which might endanger or occasion
the distillation or volatilization of any considerable portion of the matters con-
tained in the retorts, the object of my processes being to separate as much as
possible of the tar and bitumen in a fluid state with the least consumption,
and the greatest economization of the matters and substances to be submitted
to the process. As, however, the lower part of the retorts and spaces or
vacancies intended to receive the said matters or substances are protected from
the intensity and immediate action of the fire by the masses of brickwork
interposed between them, very little of the tar and bitumen can be volatilized,
even without a very high degree of heat.
By these processes quantities of tar and bitumen will be obtained far superior
in both quantity and quality to those produced by the very imperfect processes
hitherto adopted; and moreover the pit coal, coke, and the charcoal of the
resinous woods will be much better than those obtained through the ordinary
processes.
And whereas I do not claim as any part of my said Invention the said kilns &
herein-before mentioned and described, and delineated and represented in the
several Drawings Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, hereunto annexed, or any parts or
portions of the said ovens. But I do claim the process or method of extract-
ing tar and bitumen in a fluid state from all such matters as contain these

page_text: substances, or either of them, in the manner herein-before described, and the
application of the kilns herein-before mentioned, or any other kilns or ovens
similarly constructed, for the purpose of carrying my said Invention into effect,
such my Invention being, to the best of my knowledge and belief, entirely new,
and never before used in that part of Her Majesty's United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland called England, the Dominion of Wales, and Town of
Berwick-upon-Tweed; and I do hereby declare this to be my Specification of my
said Invention, and that I do verily believe this my said Specification doth
comply in all respects, fully and without disguise, with the proviso in the said
herein-before in part recited Letters Patent contained; wherefore I do
hereby claim to maintain exclusive right and privilege to my said Invention.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alexandre Happey, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, the Seventh day of November, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and thirty-eight.
ALEXANDRE (L.s.) HAPPEY.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the same Seventh day of November,
in the year above mentioned, the aforesaid Alexandre Happey came before
our Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification
aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained, in form above written.
And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according to the tenor of the
Statute in that case made and provided.