IMPROVEMENTS IN BALLS, BRICKS, OR BLOCKS TO BE USED AS FUEL
Year: 1873

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Granville Hamilton Forbes, of Broughton Rectory,
in the County of Northampton, Clerk, for the Invention of "Im-
Scaled the 10th June 1873, and dated the 31st March 1873.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Granville Hamilton
Forbes at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 31st March 1873.
I, GRANVILLE HAMILTON FORBES, of Broughton Rectory, in the
County of Northampton, Clerk, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN BALLS, BRICKS, OR BLOCKS TO BE USED
AS FUEL," to be as follows: —
According to my Invention I utilize the heat ordinarily wasted in the
burning of cements and the finer kind of plasters by mixing with the
substances usually employed to make these articles enough combustible
matter and carbonate of lime to form a good fire-ball or brick for fuel,
which after being thoroughly burned and then reduced to a fine powder
by crushing is capable of making a good cement or plaster.

page_text: In practising the said Invention I proceed as follows:-I mix chalk
or limestone with tar, pitch, asphalt, or other bituminious matter or a
compound of the same. I prefer that in this mixture the proportion of
the pitch or bituminous matter should be from one-fourth to one-fifth
by weight of the chalk or limestone with or without a small quantity of
naphtha or mineral oil, and a small quantity of vegetable or animal oil
or fat. To these ingredients I add any of the substances used in making
Portland, Roman, or parian cement, or other good cement or plaster of
Paris with or without a small quantity of charcoal, or instead of charcoal
or in combination therewith I may use wood or vegetable substance in
the form of fibre, dust, or pulp. In some cases I use soot in the pro-
portion of about one-third by weight of the entire mass; and I may add
to the above ingredients silica or silicious rock with manganese and a
small quantity of alumina and magnesia. These substances are added
in such proportions as to make the mass when its ingredients are kneeded
and pressed together a solid cohesive substance which will burn freely,
and after it has ceased to blaze will remain in an incandescent state for
many hours in a fire. I mould or otherwise form this substance into
balls, bricks, or blocks of such a size as will allow them to be con-
veniently used as fuel. After the complete combustion of these balls
or blocks the residue thereof will be very useful for many purposes, such
as making cement, making clay to be used in the manufacture of
pottery or ceramic ware, polishing powder for marble, and the like.
I make an improved cement as follows:-First, I mix the chalk or
limestone with the tar or other bituminous matter in or about in the
proportions above specified, and either with or without a small quantity
of black oxide of manganese, and with a small quantity of naphtha and
vegetable or animal oil or fat; second, I make a cement by adding to
the last described mixture a small quantity of spent tan and fire-wood
dust in the proportion of about one-third of the same by weight of the
whole mass; third, a coarser cement may be made by adding to the first
cement one-sixth by weight of pulverized silicious rock with or without
a small quantity of naphtha and vegetable oil or fat.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Granville Hamilton Forbes in the Great Seal Patent
HOTE
med by thе зали стануте панто
Office on the 30th September 1873.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, Granville
HAMILTON FORBES, of Broughton Rectory, in the County of North-
ampton, Clerk, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Thirty-first day of March, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, in the
thirty-sixth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said Granville Hamilton Forbes,
Her special licence that I, the said Granville Hamilton Forbes, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
Granville Hamilton Forbes, 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 BALLS, BRICKS, OR BLOCKS
TO BE USED AS FUEL," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the
said Granville Hamilton Forbes, 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 Granville Hamilton Forbes, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement:—
By my Invention I utilize the heat ordinarily wasted in the burning
of cements and the finer kind of plasters by mixing with the substances
usually employed to make these articles enough combustible matter and
carbonate of lime to form a good ball or brick for fuel, which after being

page_text: thoroughly burned and then reduced to a fine powder by crushing is
capable of making a good cement or plaster.
In carrying my Invention into practice I proceed as follows :-I mix
peat and coal tar, wood tar, peat tar, or mineral tar or pitch, or other
similar bituminous substance with the substances usually employed to
make Portland, Roman, parian, and other cements and plaster in such
proportions as to make several kinds of artificial fuel, which when
burned will yield a valuable residue capable of being used for cements or
plaster.
In some cases I combine with the above-named substances naphtha,
or petroleum, or other similar oil with vegetable or animal oil or fat, or
fatty matter.
According to the first part of my Invention, namely, that which relates
to the combination of the substances usually employed to make Portland
cement with peat and the tar or pitch or similar bituminous substance.
I take from twenty to fifty-five per cent. of chalk and twenty to thirty
per cent. of any clay containing the necessary quantity of silica and
alumina and alkali for my purpose, with from twenty-five to fifty per
cent. of peat. I grind the chalk and clay and peat together in a mortar
mill, and add sufficient water to mix the whole thoroughly. After being
taken from the mill the compound is allowed to dry sufficiently to be
formed into blocks or pieces, which are then baked in an oven (or in any
other convenient manner) at a high temperature. It is afterwards
ground again and thoroughly mixed in the mill with about one-third of
its weight of coal tar, wood tar, peat tar, mineral tar, pitch, or similar
bituminous matter. It is then taken from the mill and pressed either
by hand or machinery into blocks or balls of any convenient size and
shape, or it may be pressed by the mill and cut out of the pan in pieces;
but I prefer to use a press for this purpose. I prefer to use in this
instance that description of peat which contains the largest amount of a
carbonate and sulphate of lime with other compounds of lime; using
either more or less peat in proportion to the other ingredients according
to the purity of the peat when tested by this standard.
Instead of grinding the compound a second time as above described
I sometimes adopt the following method of combining it with the tar
or pitch or similar bituminous matter. After the blocks or pieces have
been sufficiently dried I heat them to the highest temperature short of

page_text: ignition; they are then put at once into the tar, pitch, or other bituminous
matter and allowed to remain in it until they have absorbed enough of
the liquid for my purpose. I sometimes heat the blocks or pieces red
hot and put them in the tar or similar bituminous substance in that
state.
Sometimes I use instead of the chalk and clay any natural clay or
rock which contains all or nearly all of the constituents of the chalk and
clay combined, such as the clay obtained from one of the layers of the
Kimmeridge clay found at Boulogne in France, used for making natural
Portland cement or any natural clay, or rock of a similar or nearly
similar analytical value, such as the best blue lias varieties of limestone
found in England. In this case the proportions would be from fifty to
seventy-five per cent. of this clay or rock with from twenty-five to fifty
per cent. of the peat, with the same proportion of tar or other bitu-
minous substances as before specified.
In some cases I omit the peat and combine the compound of chalk
and clay (or the clay or stone) after baking with the tar either by
making it red hot and plunging it at once into the tar or other similar
bituminous substance where I allow it to remain until it has absorbed
enough of the liquid for my purpose; or I grind the baked compound
(or the clay or stone) up with the tar or other similar bituminous
substance in the mill and afterwards form it into blocks or balls as
before described.
According to the second part of my Invention I use instead of the
aforesaid chalk and "clay (or clay or stone) any of the clays or natural
cement stones employed in England and America and elsewhere to make
Roman cement. I proceed in the same manner as before described
combining the clay or stone with the peat and the tar or pitch or
similar bituminous substance (or a combination of any or all of them)
by either of the methods herein-before specified, namely, by grinding
the peat and clay or stone together with water in a mortar mill, and
afterwards drying and baking the compound and then grinding it again
with the tar or pitch or similar bituminous matter, or by putting it into
the tar, or other similar bituminous substance while hot after baking.
The proportions of clay or stone and peat in this instance are from fifty
to seventy-five per cent. of clay or stone with from twenty-five to fifty
per cent. of peat, and the same proportion of the tar or similar bituminous
substance as herein-before described.

page_text: In some cases I omit the peat and mix the clay or stone with about
one-third of its weight of tar or other bituminous substance in the mill ;
or I make the clay or stone red hot without previously grinding it and
put it into the tar or other similar bituminous substance and leave
it there until it has absorbed sufficient of the liquid for my purpose.
According to the third part of my Invention I use any one of such
natural clays as are usually employed in making artificial puzzolana.
With this clay I mix (by either of the methods herein-before described)
chalk or limestone, and peat and tar, or pitch, or similar bituminous sub-
stances, or a combination of any or all of them. The proportion of
chalk is such as to give (after the thorough combustion of the whole
compound) from one to two parts of lime or a sulphate of lime to three
parts of artificial puzzolana. The proportion of peat used will vary from
a quarter to half the weight of the chalk. The proportion of the tar,
pitch, or bitumen is the same as above described. Instead of the clay I
may use natural puzzolana or any similar volcanic product, such as
gneiss, or santorin earth, or trass, or trachyt, or trachytic porphyry, or
any volcanic rock or product which contains the necessary quantity of
silica and alumina. But in selecting these volcanic products it is
necessary to choose those which gain in cementitious value by being
burned.
According to the fourth part of my Invention I make use of sulphate
of lime in combination with chalk and the tar, pitch, or other similar
bituminous substance (or a combination of any or all of them), and in
some cases with peat also. I take from ten to twenty per cent. of
sulphate of lime, and from eighty to ninety per cent. of chalk or lime-
stone. I mix these intimately by grinding them together with water in
a mortar mill, and afterwards dry and bake them in the manner herein-
before described. The blocks or balls are then mixed with tar, pitch, or
other similar bituminous substance, or a combination of any or all of
them by either of the methods before described, the proportion of the
tar or other bituminous substance or substances being the same as above
described. In some cases I use peat in addition to the above specified
substances, mixing it in the first instance in the mortar mill with the
other substances as described. The proportion of peat used in this case
one-half the weight of the chalk and
will vary from one-fourth to
sulphate of lime together.

page_text: According to the fifth part of my Invention I combine with the
materials last specified a small quantity of alum and borax in the pro-
portion commonly used to make parian cement and proceed in the
manner above described.
Sixth. In some cases I use a small quantity of naphtha or petroleum
or other similar oil, or vegetable or animal oil, or fat or fatty matter, or
a combination of naphtha and vegetable or animal oil, or fat or fatty
matter, with petroleum or other similar oil to improve each of the com-
pounds described under the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th heads of this
Specification. These oils are mixed with the tar and the like before it is
combined with the other ingredients, the proportions being from half a
pint to two pints of the oil or oils to one hundredweight of any of the
compounds.
Seventh. Instead of the peat or in combination with it I sometimes
use peat charcoal in the compounds described under the above described
heads of this Specification, taking care to select the charcoal made from
that description of peat which is most suited for my purpose. The pro-
portion of the charcoal used should be an equivalent in cach case for
the proportions of the peat already specified, one part of charcoal being
equal to from three to four parts of peat.
Eighth. I make an improved cement by combining (in either manner
herein-before specified) chalk or limestone with one-sixth of its weight
of siliceous rock or stone, and the tar or pitch or similar bituminous
substances before specified, together with vegetable or animal oil, or fat
or fatty matter, or a combination of them. The proportion of tar, or
other similar bituminous substances used is about one-third of the
weight of the chalk (or limestone) and rock together. The proportion
of oil (or oils) is from half a pint to two pints to the hundredweight of
the whole compound.
In some cases I add peat to the above-named ingredients, or instead
of peat or in combination with it I use peat charcoal. The proportion
of peat in this compound varies from one-fourth to one-half the weight
of the other ingredients together. When charcoal is used the proportion
of the charcoal should be an equivalent for the peat, that is to say,
one part of charcoal for four parts of peat; this compound will make a
good fuel.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and the manner

page_text: GRANVILLE HAMILTON FORBES. (L.S.)
Witnesses,
HY. J. NOONE,
8, Southampton Buildings,
London.
FRANCES DAWKINS,
Servant,
Broughton Rectory,
Northamptonshire.