IMPROVEMENTS IN THE DESTRUCTIVE DISTILLATION OF SHALE OR OTHER OIL-YIELDING MINERALS, AND IN APPARATUS THEREFOR.
Year: 1873

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Norman McFarlane Henderson, Manager of the
Oakbank Oil Works, Mid Calder, in the County of Mid Lothian,
North Britain, for the Invention for " IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
DESTRUCTIVE DISTILLATION OF SHALE OR OTHER OIL-YIELDING MINERALS, AND
IN APPARATUS THEREFOR.'
"
Sealed the 7th October 1873, and dated the 10th April 1878.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Norman McFarlane
Henderson at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with
his Petition, on the 10th April 1873.
I, NORMAN MOFARLANE HENDERSON, Manager of the Oakbank Oil
Works, Mid Calder, in the County of Mid Lothian, North Britain, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for " "IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE DESTRUCTIVE DISTILLATION OF SHALE OR OTHER OIL-YIELDING MINERALS, AND
IN APPARATUS THEREFOR," to be as follows, that is to say :-

page_text: distillation of shale or other oil-yielding minerals, and it comprises
improved arrangements for the utilisation of the spent shale or mineral
itself as fuel for supplying the heat or a portion thereof.
In carrying out the Invention according to one modification a series
of four vertical retorts are arranged in a furnace or oven, with their
bottom ends at a little distance above a central fire-space or grate. The
bottom ends of the retorts are provided with doors capable of being
closed gas tight, and immediately below each door there is an inclined
valve, which in one "position separates the bottom of the retort from the
central fire-space, whilst it can be turned over outwards to form an
incline down which the spent shale may fall into the fire-space. The
four retorts are by preference to be drawn and recharged at separate
equidistant periods. More or less of the permanent gas formed during
the destructive distillation may be led into the fire-space to aid the
combustion, as is ordinarily practised with coal fires.
The fire-space or grate may be arranged in various ways, but it is
preferred to form it with inclined sides so as to be narrower at the
bottom, such sides being formed with air holes, or consisting of gratings
if required. An opening is formed in the middle of the grate bottom
for the ashes or exhausted earth matter to pass through into a pit
beneath, whence they may be removed either periodically or by
continuously acting apparatus.
Any convenient number of the retorts may be arranged in one
building or oven, and the retorts may be horizontal or inclined if
preferred.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Norman Mc Farlane Henderson in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 9th October 1873.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, NORMAN
MOFARLANE HENDERSON, Manager of the Oakbank Oil Works, Mid 30
Calder, in the County of Mid Lothian, North Britain, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Tenth day of April, in the year of

page_text: 0
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, in the thirty-
sixth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said Norman McFarlane Henderson, Her
special licence that I, the said Norman McFarlane Henderson, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
Norman McFarlane Henderson, 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 herein 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 DESTRUCTIVE
DISTILLATION OF SHALE OR OTHER OIL-YIELDING MINERALS, AND IN APPARATUS
THEREFOR," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Norman
M Farlane Henderson, my executors or administrators, by an instru-
ment in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals,
should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Inven-
tion, and in what manner the same was to be performed, and cause the
samo 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 Norman McFarlane Henderson, 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 in writing, reference being had to the
accompanying Drawings, that is to say :-
My said Invention has for its object the economical and satisfactory
obtainment and application of the heat required for the destructive
distillation of shale, or other oil-yielding minerals, and it comprises
improved arrangements for the utilisation of the spent shale or mineral
itself, as fuel for supplying the heat or a portion thereof.
And in order that my said Invention and the manner of performing
the same may be properly understood, I hereunto append two Sheets of
explanatory Drawings to be herein-after referred to, and representing
what I at present believe to be the best practical arrangements and
apparatus as made with my improvements. In theso Drawings the
5 same reference numerals are used to mark the same or like parts where-
ever they are repeated.

page_text: In carrying out my Invention according to one modification a series
of four vertical retorts 1 are arranged in a furnace chamber or oven 2,
and Figures 1 and 2, on Sheet 1 of the Drawings, are vertical sections
as at right angles to each other of such an arrangement; Figures 3
and 4 being horizontal sections as at the lines A-A and B-B
respectively in Figures 1 and 2. This set of retorts may be one of a
series of contiguously arranged sets, the next set being shown in
elevation and plan in Figures 2 and 4.
Figures 5 and 6, on Sheet 2 of the Drawings, are an enlarged
horizontal section and a vertical section of the bottom end of one of the
retorts 1, and of parts in connection therewith, and Figure 7 is a
corresponding elevation. The oven 2 is constructed in brickwork in
much the usual way, and there is formed in the lower part of the
building a large fire-chamber or fuel space 3, which is divided across its
lower part by a partition 4, which may be of brick, but which I prefer
to consist of an iron casing formed with serpentine or tortuous internal
passages for the conveying and superheating of gas to be used in the
retorts, as herein-after explained. The fire-chamber 3 is surmounted by
an arched roof 5, along the centre of which apertures 6 are formed for
the passage of the fire gases into the oven space 2 above. The fire gases
are led at first towards the upper part of the oven 2 by vertical flue
walls or screens 7, and they finally pass off from the oven by flues 8
leading from the outer bottom parts thereof. The bottom of each
retort 1 is formed with its inner side bevilled, and it is built into and
projects down through the sole or floor 9 of the oven 2. The discharge
opening 10 of the retort is formed at the extreme bottom end, and it
and the cover 11 are slightly inclined from the horizontal, the lower end
being innermost, so that oil falling on the cover may run down it
towards the oil outlet 12 situated at the side of the retort at the angle
where the plane of the discharge opening meets the inner bevil of the
retort bottom. The oil outlet 12 is covered by a grating to prevent the
entrance into it of the shale or mineral. The retort bottom 10 is situated
in a casement or space 13 made with an iron framing fixed in the
building, and with its inner end opening into the fire chamber 3, whilst
it is also open on its outer side. In the casement 13 there is an inclined
valve 14 consisting of an iron frame, lined or fitted with fire-clay, and
arranged to turn on journals at its bottom corners. This valve, when

page_text: in the position in which it is shown in Figure 6, separates the bottom 10
of the retort from the central fire chamber 3, and thus completely
prevents the fire from injuring the cover or door 11, and its fittings.
When, however, the cover 11 is removed, the valve 14 can be turned
over into the position in which it is shown at the right-hand side of
Figure 1, and it then forms an inclined plane or shoot to guide down
the spent shale from the retort 1 into the fire chamber 3. The cover 11
is formed with a groove to receive the edge of the retort opening 10, a
suitable luting, such as a mixture of lime and clay, being put in the
groove to form a gas-tight joint. A horizontal spindle 15 fixed across
the bottom of the cover 11 rests in the forks of a pair of levers 16 cast
in one frame with a horizontal journal bar 17, and this frame 16, 17,
can be turned in bearings 18 formed in the bottom of the casement 13,
so as to remove the cover 11 away from the retort, or so as to lift it into
position, a hand lever 19 being used for turning the frame by. In the
middle of the frame 16, 17, there is a screw spindle 20 with a forked
upper end to bear up against the door spindle 15, and it is screwed up
or down by means of a tapped hand wheel 21 in order to fix the door 11
tightly when in position, or to loosen it prior to its removal. Within
the bottom of the retort there is a grating 22 for keeping up the shale
or mineral until it is to be discharged, and this grating is hinged at its
upper corners to snugs cast for the purpose inside the retort, whilst it is
held up in a position by a strut 23 hinged to one side of it, and which
is drawn away outwards by means of a hook after the door 11 has been
removed and the valve 14 turned over outwards to allow the spent shale
or mineral to be discharged from the retort, and to descend into the
fire chamber 3.
In Figures 8 and 9 which are a sectional plan and side view a
modified arrangement is shown for holding the retort door 11. The

page_text: lever 25 has one end bent vertically and entered into a pair of eyes
formed on the casement frame, and it can be swung round out of the
way when the door 11 is being removed from or replaced on the
bearings 24.
Existing vertical retorts with vertical discharge doors on their outer
sides, close to their bottoms, may be adapted for carrying out my In-
vention by building or forming a chamber in front of each door and with
a lateral passage or opening leading down into the fire chamber and
provided with a valve to close the passage, excepting when the retort is
being discharged. Any convenient number of the retorts may be 1
arranged in one building or oven, and the retorts may be horizontal or
inclined if preferred. Any convenient arrangement of discharge door
may be used provided a valve or equivalent screen is interposed between
it and the fire chamber, excepting when the spent shale or mineral is
being transferred from the retort to the fire chamber.
The arranging of one fire chamber in connection with two or more
retorts, as herein-before described is of great importance in carrying out
my Invention, as is also the discharging of the retorts at different periods
and in regular rotation; as with these arrangements the aggregate heat
acting is rendered more uniform and regular, whilst each fresh charge
of spent shale or mineral becomes more satisfactorily kindled and is
more easily brought into a proper state of combustion in consequence
of mixing with materials already in an advanced state of combustion.
I find the mid-partition 4 to be of advantage in preventing too intimate a
mixture and consequent choking of the materials.
In working the set of four retorts I proceed as follows:-Having got
up a suitable heat in the oven 2 by means of ordinary fuel, or in any
convenient way, one retort is filled in the usual way from the top with
the shale or other oil-yeilding mineral. In five hours' time a second
retort diagonally opposite to the first is filled. At the tenth hour from
the start a third retort is filled, namely, the one on the same side of the
partition 4 as the first one, and at the fifteenth hour the fourth one is
filled. The heat is maintained with ordinary fuel until the twentieth
hour, when the material in the first retort will be exhausted so far as the
distillation is concerned, and it can then be discharged into the fire
chamber and the retort be refilled. Thereafter at each period of five

page_text: hours the retorts are to be discharged and refilled in the order in which
they were first filled. More or less of the permanent gas formed during
the destructive distillation may be led into the fire chamber 3 by
pipes 28 to aid the combustion as is ordinarily practised with coal fires;
and if the heat generated is not otherwise sufficient some coal or other
suitable fuel may be added to the spent shale or mineral in the fire
chamber. Common fire-doors 29 are provided for introducing fuel, or
for inserting instruments for stirring the materials. At the bottom of
the firo chamber 3 there are ordinary grate bars 30, and just above these
at the outer sides there are large doors 31 for the easy removal of the
ashes or exhausted earthy material.
The plan which has been proposed of passing gas, such as the per-
manent gas formed in the destructive distillation itself, through the
materials in the retorts may be very conveniently carried out along with
my improved arrangements and apparatus; but when adopting it I
prefer to superheat such gas Jefore introducing it into the retorts. For
this purpose the gas is led by a pipe 32, first into the partition 4 mado
with tortuous internal passages, as herein-before described, and thence
passes by a pipe 33 (Figures 2, 4) arranged in a series of vertical lengths
in the oven 2 to a horizontal pipe 34 at the top, from which it passes
by branches 35 into the retorts 1, each branch pipe being provided
with a plug valve worked by a rod passing through a pipe and stuffing
box to the outside.
Having thus particularly described my said Invention, and the manner
of performing the same, I have to state that I do not restrict myself to
the precise details herein described or delineated, but that what I believe
to be novel and original and claim as the Invention secured to me by
the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is,—
1
1. The conducting of the destructive distillation of shale or other oil-
yielding minerals substantially according to the system, and by means
of the arrangements and apparatus, herein-before described.
2. The arranging of two or more retorts in one oven, but with a
separate passage or space for the transference of the contents of each
retort directly into a common fire chamber, substantially as herein-before
described.

page_text: 3. The applying of a valve in the passage or space through which
the contents of each retort are transferred to the common fire chamber,
such valve being in addition to the door or cover which closes the
discharge opening of the retort, substantially as and for the purposes.
herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Norman McFarlane Henderson,
have hereunto set my hand and seal, this Seventh day of October,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and
seventy-three.
Witness,
EDMUND HUNT,
Patent Agent,
Glasgow.
N. M. HENDERSON. (L.S.)