IMPROVEMENTS IN THE METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR OBTAINING AMMONIA FROM WASTE PRODUCTS AND OTHER MATTERS
Year: 1874

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Michael Henry, of Fleet Chambers, 68, Fleet
Street, in the City of London, Patent Agent, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR OBTAINING
AMMONIA FROM WASTE PRODUCTS AND OTHER MATTERS."-A communica-
tion from abroad by Joseph Alfred Ferdinand Lair, of 17, Boulevart
Saint Martin, Paris, France.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Michael Henry at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
13th August 1874.
I, MICHAEL HENRY, of Fleet Chambers, 68, Fleet Street, in the City
of London, Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR OBTAIN-
ING AMMONIA FROM WASTE PRODUCTS AND OTHER MATTERS," communicated to
me from abroad by Joseph Alfred Ferdinand Lair, of 17, Boulevart
Saint Martin, Paris, France, to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to the obtaining of ammonia from waste
products and other matters, and it is especially applicable to the

page_text: extraction of ammonia from the refuse products of distillation of
sewage, coal, peat, wood, and such like products containing azotized
matters. Hitherto such refuso has been thrown away as useless, carry-
ing with it heat and deposits heretofore not utilized, and often forming
noxious and offensive waste.
Now according to to this Invention the deposits and the caloric from
such rofuse are utilized and the offensive nature of the products
removed by the employment of the process and apparatus which I
proceed to describe:-In this apparatus pumps, heaters, and one or
more clearing or separating vessels are combined with a distilling
column. A pump forces or drives the liquid to be treated, that is to
say, the liquid whence the ammonia is to be extracted, into a distilling
column containing discs or diaphragms. The liquid on its way to this
column is caused to pass through one or more tubular heaters receiving
heat from the liquid discharged from the distilling column after it has
parted from the matters to be extracted therefrom. The more volatile
portions of the liquid pass off through the top of the distilling column,
while other products condense on the diaphragms, the liquid descending
through the column and giving up its carbonate and other volatile salts,
which are forced upward by steam introduced into such columns.
a regulated part of the descent lime white or lime wash is pumped in
and combines with the products.
At
The liquid when it arrives at the bottom of the column, freed from
the greater portion of its volatile products, and heated by the steam
introduced, passes into a clearing or separating apparatus, which is a
cylindrical or otherwise shaped vessel fitted with a central tube through
which the liquid descends leaving its deposits at the bottom of the
vessel and passing off through the upper part to the heaters in order to
surround and impart heat to the tubes contained therein.
The ammoniacal vapours pass into vessels holding sulphuric acid and
in which they are formed into sulphates. A steam pipe passes through
the tube which conveys these vapours to the sulphuric acid vessel and
maintains sufficient heat to prevent condensation of the volatilizible
matters.
To remove offensive effects the gases are carried under the generator
furnace

page_text: The pumps are regulated in their construction and action in such
manner as to feed suitable quantities of the liquid to be treated and the
lime white or lime wash.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Michael Henry in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 12th February 1875.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, MICHAEL
HENRY, of Fleet Chambers, 68, Fleet Street, in the City of London,
Patent Agent, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Thirteenth day of August, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four, in the thirty-
eighth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Michael Henry, Her special license
that I, the said Michael Henry, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said Michael Henry, 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
METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR OBTAINING AMMONIA FROM WASTE PRODUCTS AND
OTHER MATTERS," communicated to me from abroad by Joseph Alfred
Ferdinand Lair, of 17, Boulevart Saint Martin, Paris, France, upon
the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Michael Henry, my
executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my,
or their, or one of their hands and seals, 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 imme-
diately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Michael Henry, 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

page_text: The liquid when it reaches the bottom of the column freed from the
greater portion of its volatile products and heated by the steam intro-
duced, passes into a clearing, separating, or purifying apparatus fitted
with a central tube, through which the liquid descends, leaving its
deposits at the bottom, and it passes off through the upper part of this
purifier to the heaters in order to surround, bathe, and thereby impart.
heat to the tubes (and their contents) therein.
The ammoniacal vapours pass into vessels holding sulphuric acid, and
in which they are converted into sulphates. A steam pipe passes
through the tube which conveys these vapours to the sulphuric acid
vessels, and thus sufficient heat is maintained to prevent condensation
of the volatilizable matters.
To remove offensive or noxious effects the gases are carried under the
generator furnace.
The pumps are regulated in their construction, arrangement, and
method of action in such manner that they supply suitably regulated
quantities of the liquid to be treated and of the milk of lime, lime white,
or lime wash.
The accompanying Drawings represent apparatus constructed
according to and for carrying out the Invention.
Figure 1 is a vertical clevation of the apparatus. A is a pump which
forces the liquors to be treated into a distrilling column Y in a cold state
from the receptacle containing them through a pipe F into two tubular
heaters or re-heaters X, Z. t is a pipe connecting the interiors of the
heaters X, Z, together, so that the liquors may pass from one to the
other. Thence they pass through a pipe ƒ into the distilling column Y.
These heaters X, Z, are cylindrical sheet-iron vessels, and they com-
municate with each other by pipes as well as by the pipe t. Each
cylinder contains a number of vertical tubes. The tubes in the
cylinder X are marked x and are held between top and bottom
plates a, b. The tubes in the vessel Z are marked z, and are held
between top and bottom plates a* and *. The distilling or evaporating
b*.
column Y contains plates, dises, trays, or diaphragms y, C, D, y*.
.
Figure 2 is a plan, and Figure 3 a vertical section of one of these
plates, discs, trays, or diaphragms y or *. The liquors to be treated,
pumped through the tube Finto the tubes x, z, are heated by contact with

page_text: the heated liquors proceeding from the bottom of the distilling column Y,
such liquids first passing through the pipe Tinto a purifying vessel or
cylinder V, whence they pass into the heaters X, Z, through pipes **,
and they circulate around the tubes x, 2, and pass in the direction
indicated by the arrows a, B, and after they have thus parted with their
heat they pass away through a discharge pipe W.
The ammoniacal liquors having been heated as described are pumped
through the tube finto the distilling or evaporating column Y, at which
they arrive at a temperature exceeding 80° centigrade, say 176°
Fahrenheit, and the volatile products are immediately given off. Some
of these volatile products pass away through the top of the column, and
some are condensed on the upper trays or plates y, together with the other
products proceeding from the evaporation produced on the lower plates
or trays. The heated liquors having thus given off a part of their
volatile products descend to the plate or diaphragm C, and hence from
diaphragm to diaphragm till they arrive at the bottom of the column.
During their descent the carbonate and other volatile ammoniacal salts
pass off through the top of the column, being disengaged by the action
of steam which is admitted through a pipe R at the bottom of the
column,
When the liquors drop on the plate or diaphragm D they come in
contact with regulated quantities of milk of lime, lime white, or lime
wash pumped up from a vat or vessel K by a pump B, and led into the
distilling column Y through a pipe 6º.
The pumps are so constructed as to regulate the relative quantities of
ammoniacal liquors to be treated, and of lime white or milk of lime for
treating them.
In order that the liquors may not rise or effervesce into the upper
diaphragms or plates, the diaphragms or plates C, D, are deeper than
those marked yx and y. Now as the liquors when they have arrived at
the bottom of the evaporating or distilling column Y are separated
from volatile products, they still hold in suspension products resulting
from the decomposition of certain bodies, and their combination with
lime white or milk of lime. The liquors heated by their contact with
the steam in the column pass into the purifier V, U, and therein deposit
the matters held in suspension, so that only the non-fermenting liquors.
pass into the heaters. This purifying apparatus consists of a cylindrical

page_text: vessel V, surmounted by a dome or cylindrical portion U of smaller
diameter, into which the liquors are conveyed through a bent tube T, and
they descend slowly and regularly into the vessel V through a central
pipe S.
There is an orifice closed by a screw plate or cover 8 and which
is used for the removal of the deposits.
The ammoniacal vapours are led through a tube E into vessels M
lined with lead, and containing sulphuric acid which converts them into
sulphate of ammonia. e is an inner concentric steam tube through
which a current of steam is caused to flow continuously so as to main-
tain sufficient heat to prevent condensation of the vapours while they
pass through the tube E, and thus choking of the tube is prevented.
It is best to use three lead chambers or sulphuric acid vessels M so
that one chamber or vessel M may be always ready to receive a supply
of the ammoniacal vapours while a second one is ready for carrying on
therein the process of extracting the sulphates as described, and the
third one is ready for being charged with the sulphuric acid. Hence the
operation may be carried on continuously. The vessels M are so
arranged that noxious emanations or vapours are avoided when the
lower or inferior gases or acriform products are carried under the boiler
furnace.
The mode of supplying the liquors by pumps, as above described,
allows the process to be carried on continuously, and the liquors are
supplied in a manner regulated with the stroke of the pump, so that
when such stroke and the steam supply are in proper relation the
work goes on in a regular and uniform manner.
Having now described the nature of the said Invention and in what
manner the same may be performed, I declare that I claim,-
First. The method of obtaining ammonia, in which method purifying
and heating apparatus are combined with the distilling column, whereby
deposits or matters in suspension are removed and the heat can be
utilized, substantially as herein-before described.
Second. The employment of the purifying apparatus herein-before
described, for the purpose set forth and in the manner herein explained.
Third. The employment of the heaters or reheaters, herein-before set
forth in the manner described.

page_text: Fourth. The employment, method of action, and combined arrange-
ment of pumping apparatus with the apparatus herein explained,
so that the liquors to be heated and the milk of lime or lime white for
treating them are supplied in regulated and relative quantities, in the
manner described and for the purposes set forth.
Fifth. The employment of a steam pipe in the conduit or channel of
the ammoniacal vapours, substantially in the manner and for the purpose
set forth.
E
Sixth. The arrangement and combination of parts constituting the
apparatus herein-before described and represented in the accompanying 1
Drawings for the purposes set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Michael Henry, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twelfth day of February, in the
year One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five.
Witness,
E. DE PASS,
Patent Office,
68, Fleet Street.
M. HENRY. (L.S.)