IMPROVEMENTS IN EFFECTING THE COMBUSTION OF SUB- STANCES IN A PULVERULENT STATE
Year: 1866

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Edward Newton, of the Office for Patents,
66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, for
the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN EFFECTING THE COMBUSTION OF SUB-
STANCES IN A PULVERULENT STATE."-A communication from abroad by
Aimé Victor Olivier, of Rue St. Sebastien, Paris, in the Empire of
France.
Sealed the 31st May 1867, and dated the 20th December 1866.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Edward Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
20th December 1866.
I, WILLIAM EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery
Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN EFFECTING THE COMBUSTION
OF SUBSTANCES IN A PULVERULENT STATE," to be as follows:-
When for manufacturing purposes it is required to burn pulverulent
substances of a more or less combustible nature a great difficulty arises in
consequence of the substance to be burnt being in a pulverulent state.
Various processes have been employed for the purpose of overcoming this
difficulty, but they have not hitherto proved perfectly satisfactory, since
experiments having this object in view are now being almost daily under-
taken.
In order to explain the nature of the present Invention, whereby this object

page_text: is effected, suppose the substance to be burnt to be iron pyrites, by the com-
bustion of which sulphurous acid is produced; if this pulverulent matter be
introduced into an ordinary furnace for burning pyrites in pieces or lumps the
fire will be put out like all fires when covered by dust or fine ashes because
the current of air passing upward through it will be intercepted by the dost;
if air be introduced from below with pressure,
it may
then pass through the
mass, but combustion will not take place, as the air blown in will force for
itself passages through the pulverulent matter which arrested it, and will
escape through these vents without being diffused through the mass, which
being thus deprived of air combustion cannot take place. Now if instead of
blowing the air in from below it be introduced above, and be caused to escape
below, it will (instead of boring itself passages) be disseminated and supply
its oxygen throughout the mass, and combustion will thus be promoted.; it is
this mode of feeding in the air to support combustion which forms the subject
of the present Invention.
In carrying out this Invention the masonry or body of the furnace employed
must be impermeable to the air, which is to be introduced at a low pressure,
and the furnace is provided with flues or openings above for the introduction
of the compressed air. In setting the furnace to work it is to be charged
with the pulverized material which is to be ignited below, the compressed
air is then to be introduced through the openings above, and it will be forced
down through the combustible material, and escape through openings below.
The fire will thus be caused gradually to burn upwards in a contrary direction
to the current of air until it reaches the upper stratum of matter; the partially
burnt matter is then drawn off below, and a fresh layer is fed in above, and
the operation is continued as before. The pressure of the air will of course
vary according to the thickness or volume of the charge to be operated upon.
The ordinary furnaces employed for burning pyrites may be adapted to the
purposes of this Invention by modifying the air passages, and charge and
discharge apertures as above mentioned, and these must of course be luted
during the operation. Instead of dust or powder alone being operated upon
it may be mixed with pieces or lumps. Instead of introducing compressed
air the same effect might be produced by rarefying the air below, and any
other gas than atmospheric air (chlorine, for example) might be introduced,
supposing the substance were intended to be burnt in any other gas than
oxygen.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Edward Newton in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 20th June 1867.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twentieth day of December, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six, in the thirtieth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said William Edward Newton, Her special licence that I, the said William
Edward Newton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
I, the said William Edward Newton, 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 "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN EFFECTING THE COMBUSTION OF SUBSTANCES IN A PULVERULENT STATE,"
being a communication to me from abroad by Aimé Victor Olivier, of
Rue Saint Sebastien, Paris, in the Empire of France, upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said William Edward Newton, 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 immediately after the date of the said Letters
Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Edward Newton, 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 the
following statement, reference being had to the Drawing hereunto annexed,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say) :-
--
When for manufacturing purposes it is required to burn pulverulent
substances of a more or less combustible nature a great difficulty arises in
consequence of the substance to be burnt being in a pulverulent state.
Various processes have been employed for the purpose of overcoming this
difficulty, but they have not hitherto proved perfectly satisfactory, since

page_text: experiments having this object in view are now being almost any under
taken.
In order to explain the nature of the present Invention, whereby this object
is effected, suppose the substance to be burnt to be iron pyrites, by the com-
bustion of which sulphurous acid is produced; if this pulverulent matter be
introduced into an ordinary furnace for burning pyrites in pieces or lumps the
fire will be put out like all fires when covered by dust or fine ashes, because
the current of air passing upward through it will be intercepted by the dust;
if air be introduced from below with pressure it may then pass through the
mass, but combustion will not take place, as the air blown in will force for
itself passages through the pulverulent matter which arrested it, and will
escape through the vents without being diffused through the mass, which being
thus deprived of air, combustion cannot take place. Now if instead of
blowing the air in from below it be introduced from above, and be caused to
escape below, it will (instead of boring itself passages) be disseminated, and
supply its oxygen throughout the mass, and combustion will thus be promoted;
it is this mode of feeding in the air to support combustion which forms the
subject of the present Invention.
In carrying out this Invention the masonry or body of the furnace employed
must be impermeable to the air, which is to be introduced at a low pressure,
and the furnace is provided with flues or openings above for the introduction
of the compressed air. In setting the furnace to work it is to be charged
with the pulverized material, which is to be ignited at bottom; the com-
pressed air is then to be introduced through the openings above, and it will be
forced down through the combustible material, and escape through openings
below. The fire will thus be caused gradually to burn upwards in a contrary
direction to the current of air until it reaches the upper stratum of matter;
the partially burnt matter is then drawn off below, and a fresh layer is fed in
above, and the operation is continued as before. The pressure of the air will
of course vary according to the thickness or volume of the charge to be
operated upon. Instead of introducing compressed air the same effect might
be produced by rarefying the air below and any other gas than atmospheric
air (chlorine, for example) might be introduced, supposing the substance were
intended to be burnt in any other gas than oxygen.
The Figures in the accompanying Drawing represent an arrangement of
apparatus which will be found suitable for the purpose of carrying out this
Invention, Fig. 1 being a longitudinal vertical section of the furnace, Fig. 2
a horizontal section of the same, taken in the line 1, 2, of Fig. 1, and Fig. 3
a transverse vertical section in the line 3, 4, of Fig. 1.

page_text: The furnace, which is of a rectangular form, is to be so constructed as to be
impervious to air at a low pressure. In order to set it to work it is first
charged with the pyrites or other matters to be burnt, the lower stratum of
which is to be well ignited. A current or blast of air is then introduced into
the furnace through the flue or passage A; and thence into the openings a, of
which there may be any suitable number. The air or gas passes down through
the charge, at the lower or ignited part of which it serves to support com-
bustion, and escapes in a modified form through the openings 6 and along the
exit passage B. The fire is thus caused to burn upwards in a direction
contrary to that of the current of air until it reaches its upper surface; the
charge of burnt dust is then partly drawn out below, so as to bring the ignited
surface within a distance of from seventy to eighty centimetres from the bed
of the furnace; a fresh charge is then fed in through the openings D, and the
operation is continued. The seventy or eighty centimetres of burnt dust left
during two operations in the furnace are intended to prevent the ignited mass
from cooling, but this may vary according to circumstances, such as the
duration of the operation, the temperature developed, the height of the furnace,
and other circumstances. The height or depth of the charge may vary from
a few centimetres up to several metres. The pressure of the air employed
must of course be increased with the height of the charge.
The ordinary furnaces employed for burning pyrites in lumps may readily
be made to serve for burning the pulverulent matters by having the exit flue
below and introducing the air from above. A mixture of lumps and grains
or dust may also be burnt by the same means, but lumps of too large size
between which there is too much space would burn too quickly.
In case it should not be possible to obtain brickwork or masonry impervious
to compressed air, metal or close-grained wood would have to be employed.
The charging and discharging doors must of course be luted during the
operation.
Gratings or fire-bars may or may not be employed, but a suitable form
would consist of the square rotating fire-bars E, shewn in section in Fig. 3.
During the operation two of the angles of the bars would be vertical, and the
others horizontal; but when drawing out the charge the bars would be turned
round about forty-five degrees, so as to bring two of their sides into a horizontal
position; the space between the bars would thus be increased, and the
pulverulent matter may then be discharged. The exit apertures 6 for the air
would be of less height than for a furnace without fire-bars.
It will of course be understood that I do not limit myself either to the forms
or dimensions shewn in the Drawing, as they may be varied according to the

page_text: nature or quantity of the matters to be operated upon; but I claim as the
Invention secured to me by Letters Patent, as aforesaid, effecting the com-
bustion of substances in a pulverulent state by causing the air to support
combustion to pass from above through the mass and escape through exit
apertures below, as herein set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Edward Newton, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, the Nineteenth day of June, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven.
Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane.
W. E. NEWTON. (L.S.)