IMPROVEMENTS IN OBTAINING MANURE PROM SEWERAGE AND IN THE APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN."
Year: 1861

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Charles Felton Kirkman, of Palace New Road,
Lambeth, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN OBTAINING MANURE PROM
SEWERAGE AND IN THE APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Charles Felton Kirkman
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 6th September 1861.
I, CHARLES FELTON KIRKMAN, of Palace New Road, Lambeth, do hereby
declare the nature of the Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN OBTAINING MANURE
FROM SEWERAGE, AND IN THE APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in obtaining manure from
sewerage, and in the apparatus employed therein; for these purposes the
sewerage coming from a sewer is caused to flow or spread over an extended
surface, so that the depth shall be comparatively small and the flow sluggish.
The surface over which the waters from the sewer are caused to spread is
divided into several sections, and each section is formed with longitudinal
gutters, along which the waters from the sewer flow, and deposit any grit or
heavy matters in the gutters; provision is made for changing the section or
sections from time to time, in order that the section or sections which have
become charged with sand, grit, or heavy matters may be cleansed or emptied
previous to being again used. The waters flow from the section or sections
into one of a series of tanks or reservoirs where any deodorizing materials

page_text: which are employed are applied to them. From this reservoir or tank the
waters flow by a syphon into another and deeper tank or reservoir. The first-
mentioned tanks are used in succession, and the waters flow into them in
succession, and do not flow therefrom till the water level rises above the bend
of the syphon, and then they flow therefrom into the deeper tank till the first-
mentioned are empty. The waters are then raised or pumped out of the
deeper tank or reservoir, and distributed over a series of trays or shallow
vessels, the flow of the waters in these trays being very slow or sluggish. In
theso trays the valuable matters are deposited from the waters. The bottoms
of these trays are of sandstone or of other suitable porous or permeable matter,
so that filtration may take place through them. The deposited matters, after
the flow of the waters has been diverted into and over other similar trays, is
allowed to dry, and the drying is facilitated by dusting over them boghead
coke or burned clay or gypsum, or other dryers which are suitable to be thrown
on to land; and in order to prevent the matters deposited from the waters
adhering to the trays, they are first dusted over with dry burned clay or gypsum,
or other matters suitable for making manure. The deposited matters in the tray
after a time are to be cut or divided into pieces, which are to be turned over or
raised on edge to facilitate their being well dried. The waters passing over
the trays then flow into filter beds of burned clay or gypsum, or other matters
suitable for producing manure by absorbing the fertilizing matter in solution
in the waters. It is preferred that these filters should be so formed as to
cause the waters alternately to descend through and then to rise up through
the filtering materials used.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Charles Felton Kirkman in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 6th March 1862.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, CHARLES
FELTON KIRKMAN, of Palace Now Road, Lambeth, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters 3
Patent, bearing date the Sixth day of September, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, in the twenty-fifth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Charles Felton Kirkman, Her special licence that I, the said Charles
Felton Kirkman, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, 9
the said Charles Felton Kirkman, my executors, administrators, and assigns,

page_text: 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 OBTAINING MANURE FROM SEWERAGE, AND IN THE APPARATUS
EMPLOYED THEREIN," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
Charles Felton Kirkman, my executors or administrators, by an instrument
in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should par-
ticularly 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 Charles Felton Kirkman, 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 thereof, that is to say:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in obtaining manure from
sewerage, and in the apparatus employed therein.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 shows a plan of apparatus arranged according to the Invention;
Figure 2 shows a longitudinal section; Figure 3, a transverse section taken
at A, B, in Figure 1; and Figure 4, a transverse section taken at C, D, in
Figure 1. In these Figures the same letters of reference are used to indicate
the same parts.
For these purposes, the sewerage or sewage coming from a sewer is caused
to flow or spread over an extended surface, so that the depth shall be com-
paratively small and the flow sluggish. The sewerage or sewage is first
received into the gutter e, e, out of which there are openings at f,f, each
capable of being closed by a slide or gate g, so that the waters coming from a
sewer may be divided into several streams, as will readily be understood by
reference to the Drawings. The surface over which the waters from the sewer
are caused to spread is divided into several sections h, h, h, and each section is
formed with longitudinal gutters i, i, i, along which the waters from the sewer
flow, and deposit any grit or heavy matters in the gutters. Provision is made
as before mentioned, by means of the slides or gates g, g, for changing the
section or sections from time to time in order that the section or sections which
have become charged with sand, grit, or heavy matters may be cleansed
emptied previous to being again used. The waters flow from the section or

page_text: sections composed of longitudinal gutters i, i, into one of a series of tanks or
reservoirs h, k, by means of the descending passages j,j, at the ends of the first
sections i, i, into a transverse pipe j' below, and thence through branch pipes ja
into one of the tanks or reservoirs k, k, where any deodorizing materials which
are employed are applied to them, such deodorizing materials being prepared
in one of the tubs 1, or other suitable vessel, and from thence supplied to the
tanks or reservoirs &, into which it is allowed to flow, and such deodorizing
matters are well stirred into the waters received into the reservoirs or tanks k, k.
From one of these reservoirs or tanks k, the waters flow by a syphon m into
another and deeper tank or reservoir n. The first-mentioned tanks k, k, are
used in succession, and the waters flow into them in succession, and do not
flow therefrom till the water level risos above the bend of the syphon, and then
they flow therefrom into tho deeper tank », till the first-mentioned reservoirs k
are empty. The waters are then raised or pumped out of the deeper tank or
reservoir, and distributed over a series of trays or shallow vats o, o, the flow of
the waters in these trays being very slow or sluggish. In order that these
shallow vessels may be used separately, the waters from the tank n are pumped
into a gutter or trough o', from which there are separate passages of with slides
or gates o³. In these trays, and in the similar trays p, p, the valuable matters
are deposited from the waters. The bottoms of these trays are of sandstone
or of other suitable porous or permeable matters, so that filtration may tako
place through them.
In the Drawings, the bottoms of the shallow trays or vessels o, o, and p, p,
are shewn to be covered with porous tiles resting on uprights o, o, at their
angles, leaving a space o' below the tiles, and tho water from below the tiles is
collected by a pipe o, from whence it passes by a pipe or pipes to the drain q,
which also receives the filtered water from under the trays p, p, the drain q
conducts such filtered water to any place where it may be required.
I would state, that the mode of forming the bottoms of these and the other
similar trays may be varied, but it is desirable that they should be porous.
The deposited matters, after the flow of the waters has been diverted into and
over trays o, o, and p, p, is allowed to dry, and the drying is facilitated-by
dusting over the deposited matters in them boghead coko or burned clay or
gypsum, or other dryers which are suitable to be thrown on to land. And in
order to prevent the matters deposited from the waters adhering to the trays
they are first dusted over with dry burned clay or gypsum, or other matters
suitable for making manure. The deposited matters in the trays after a time
are to be cut or divided into pieces, which are to be turned over or raised on.
edge to facilitate their being well dried. The waters passing over the trays o, o,

page_text: and p, p, then flow into filter beds r, r, of burned clay or gypsum, or other
matters suitable for producing manure by absorbing the fertilizing matter in
solution in the waters. It is preferred that these filters should be so formed
as to cause the waters alternately to descend through and then to rise up
through the filtering materials used. It is preferred that these filter beds
should be formed in tanks or vessels divided by partitions 1 and 2, so arranged
that when filled up with burned clay or gypsum or other matters, the sewerage
waters shall be caused to pass through such materials, and alternately under
the partitions, and over the partitions, by which the sewage after having
deposited in the trays o, o, and p, p, much or all of the matters held in suspen-
sion will, by being filtered through the materials in the filter beds r, be deprived
of the remaining manuring or fertilizing matters held in solution. The
apparatus above described is shewn to be arranged to suit land where there is
not a sufficient fall between the successive parts of the apparatus to avoid the
necessity of pumping the sewage after being mixed with the deodorizing matters;
but it will be evident, that where the land falls, as on the side of a hill or
otherwise, and the depositing trays can be arranged with convenience to flow.
into the trays o, o, from the tanks or reservoirs, the expence of pumping may
be dispensed with.
Javing thus described the nature of my Invention, and the manner of
performing the same, I would have it understood that what I claim is the
apparatus and process herein described for obtaining manure from sewage or
waters coming from sewerage works of cities, towns, and other places.
In witness whereof, I, the said Charles Felton Kirkman, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Fifth day of March, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two.
CHARLES F. KIRKMAN. (L.S.)