IMPROVE- MENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF PEAT
Year: 1861

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Clark, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, Engineer & Patent Agent, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF PEAT."-A communication from abroad
by Auguste Marcelin Manrique Comte de Lara et du Ren, Engineer,
of 29, Boulevart St. Martin, Paris.
Sealed the 21st March 1862, and dated the 26th September 1861.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Clark at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 26th
September 1861.
I, WILLIAM CLARK, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex,
Engineer & Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF PEAT," to be as follows:-
After many years of study & experience I have found that certain defined
combinations, however varied in their proportions, which are determined
either by the slow but progressive decomposition of peat in water, or by the
much more energetic & rapid action of the atmosphere when the water is
expelled, and the body reaches the last stage of decomposition, are the real
causes of the inferiority of peat as a fuel. One result of these combinations,
viz., that produced by water, constitutes to a certain point the essence of the
body, and determines its nature; hence these natural combinations can only
be neutralized by decomposing them, or by forming new equivalent chemical
combinations. In a commercial point of view, nothing practical would result
from such a mode of improving the peat as a fuel; and after minutely study-
ing the question in all its respects, during which I have made many very
curious & interesting discoveries of a purely scientific nature, I have been led

page_text: to conclude that the above combinations should be allowed to remain as
they are, as together they count but little among the causes of the inferiority
of the peat as a fuel. When searching for other combinations forming the
real cause of the inferiority, which involved a long and arduous course of
study, I have found that these various combinations (the number of which was
sufficient to appal one at first sight) are formed some simultaneously & others
gradually, and are determined the one by the other in such manner, that if
one combination be wanting, or if one of the constituent parts of one or other
should disappear or be disturbed, the nature of the whole will be radically
changed, or will cease to exist. Thus it can almost be asserted that it is one
single combination only whose elements are rapidly and progressively modified
in proportion as the hydration of the body becomes more or less modified.
In this manner it will be easily understood that the object to be attained is to
find a method of arresting the formation of any one of said combinations.
The distinctive feature of this Invention thus consists in destroying, so to
speak, the constituents of the primary combination to prevent its forming, as
far as possible, or of so changing its nature that it shall no longer produce
the same effects; this result is obtained without the aid of any new combi-
nations. As in the present Invention it is only the purely chemical treatment
of the product which is considered apart from the general treatment necessary
for ensuring its success, it will not be thought unnecessary for more perfectly
comprehending the process to mention that peat. is found in two different
states, namely, one when decomposition is produced by the action of water,
and the other when deprived of water, & it is exposed to the action of the
atmosphere. The decomposition in water gradually produces several chemical
combinations, the first deriving their origin from the phenomena of the
decomposition of organic bodies in general when in a wet state, which is
arrested at a certain moment of new combinations peculiar to this body, and
determining its nature. By exposing peat to the action of the atmosphere, a
considerable number of combinations are determined almost instantaneously
with great rapidity, which result in lessening the caloric power of the peat by
modifying the primitive combinations of carbon, ammonia, & hydrogen. The
latter combinations are all produced by the simple action of what I term
"contact," as the agent which determines the effects of the action of the
atmosphere does not form any real combination with the constitutive bodies,
as, for instance, when producing fermentation, or in other cases the agent
employed-produces-energetic-action-without-combining therewith. These_
effects have been attributed to the action of total decomposition in the peat,
but it is beyond doubt that this neither changes nor modifies the constituent

page_text: parts. The progressive modifications in the state of hydration which accom-
panies & determines the progress of total decomposition produce no combi-
nation of any kind, as it only involves a loss of water which changes by the
effect of displacement the proportions of the constituent parts, but does not
alter their nature. A physical agent, like the action of the atmosphere, is the
organ of the whole series of combinations produced during this latter period;
as, however, any definition of these combinations would require too lengthy a
description, I will simply give a general idea of their nature, as also the con-
clusions to which I have arrived.
In order to neutralize the effect of the combinations above mentioned, I
employ various weak solutions, not for the purpose of producing any definite
chemical action, but simply for effecting the action of contact. The results
obtained, after several years of regular work on a large scale, induce me to
place a practical value on the process adopted, which I will now proceed to
describe. 1st, the peat, after its extraction, is placed in a subdividing
apparatus; 2nd, water is added during such subdivision, containing quick-
lime in the proportion of from 3 to 5lbs. for every 250 gallons of peat;
3rd, the subdivided peat unground is passed out of the reservoir in a liquid
state into a special reservoir, into which is poured, while the peat is being
deposited therein, a solution in the proportions indicated, viz.,—

page_text: sensibly modified, care being also taken to prevent the production of any
definite chemical combination. I have also succeeded in dispensing entirely
with mechanical agents by suitably modifying the solutions, the result on a
small scale being most satisfactory, the quality of the product being superior,
while the increased expense caused by the modifications in the solutions was
more than compensated by dispensing with the subdividing & other apparatus.
But when working on a large scale, I found that this mode of treatment
could not be rendered practical, as the action of the solutions, although prompt
enough on a small scale, becomes slower in proportion as the mass to be treated
is augmented, and that this is notably increased beyond the proportion the
material is augmented.
It will be sufficient here to describe one arrangement of apparatus, and
method of working which I have employed on a large scale. The two
essential points for ensuring the proper execution of the process, are, 1st,
the subdivision of the peat; 2ndly, the application of the solutions in the
material while in motion. A suitable apparatus is employed for effecting
the subdivision of the matters, and by means of a pump of great power, the
material is raised to the required height for passing off through the channels,
which pump is kept constantly in motion for facilitating the action of the
solutions, as it will be easily understood that the effect of the solutions would
be less were the subdivided material to be left at rest, in which case the
material would accumulate at the bottom of the reservoirs, while the solutions
would only slightly penetrate the mass, & their action would be necessarily
less efficacious. The compression of the material is effected by the application
of steam to screw presses.
It will here be necessary to. mention certain rules which may serve as a
guide for ascertaining with exactness whether the treatment has been properly
applied or not. 1st, when the alkaline water has been poured into the sub-
dividing apparatus, it produces a viscous action and a red color in the mass;
2ndly, the jet of solution which is passed into the reservoir of the subdividing
apparatus first changes the color of the mass to a dark or black tint sometimes
immediately; symptoms of fermentation also appear if the mass is allowed
to rest for a moment. 3rdly, the application of the last mentioned solution
when the liquid mass is at rest produces perfectly white flakes in all parts of
the mass both in the interior and exterior. These flakes remain for some
time, after which they rise to the surface, become soluble, and then entirely
disappear; the water then acquires great limpidity. Such are the signs of a
successful treatment at the different stages of the operation.
The peat thus treated is of a perfect black color for the first three days,

page_text: & on the fourth day the black changes to a reddish hue. In about a fortnight
the peat will be brown on the exterior similar to the color of tobacco, & a
clear yellow in the interior; three weeks after the black color returns, and,
finally, the interior becomes of a permanent black color with bright cracks,
and the exterior assumes a chocolate hue. The mean density should be from
one ton to a ton and a quarter per cubic yard.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed.
by the said William Clark in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
25th March 1862.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
CLARK, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Engineer and
Patent Agent, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-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 William Clark, Her special licence that I, the said William Clark,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William.
Clark, 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 MANUFACTURE OF PEAT," a communication to him from abroad by Auguste
Marcelin Manrique Comte de Lara et du Ren, of 29, Boulevart St. Martin,
Paris, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William Clark,
my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or
their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascer-
tain 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 Clark, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be

page_text: performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the fol-
lowing statement (that is to say):-
-
After many years of study and experience I have found that certain defined
combinations, however varied in their proportions, (which are determined
either by the slow but progressive decomposition of peat in water or by the
much more energetic and rapid action of the atmosphere when the water is
expelled and the body reaches the last stage of decomposition) are the real
causes of the inferiority of peat as a fuel. One result of these combinations,
viz., that produced by water, constitutes to a certain point the essence of the
body, and determines its nature; hence, the natural combinations can only
be neutralized by decomposing them, and by forming new equivalent chemical
combinations. In a commercial point of view nothing practical would result
from such a mode of improving the peat as a fuel, & after having minutely
studied the question in all its aspects, during which I have made many very
curious and interesting discoveries of a purely scientific nature, I have been
led to conclude that the above-mentioned combinations should be allowed to
remain as they are, as together they count but little among the causes of the
inferiority of the peat as a fuel. When searching for other combinations
forming the real cause of the inferority which involved a long and arduous
course of study I have found that these various combinations, the number of
which was sufficient to appal one at first sight are formed some instantaneously,
and others gradually, and are determined the one by the other in such manner
that if one combination be wanting, or if one of the constituent parts of the
one or other should disappear or be disturbed, the nature of the whole will be
radically changed. Thus it can almost be asserted that it is one single combi-
nation only, whose elements are rapidly and progressively modified in proportion
as the hydration of the body becomes more or less modified. In this manner
it will be easily understood that the object to be attained is to find a method
of arresting the formation of any one of said combinations.
The distinctive feature of this Invention thus consists in destroying, so to
speak the constituents of the primary combination to prevent its forming as
far as possible or of so changing its nature that it shall no longer produce the
same effects. This result is obtained without the aid of any new chemical
combinations, as in the present Invention it is only the purely chemical
treatment of the product which is considered apart from the general treatment
necessary for ensuring its success, it will not be thought unnecessary for more
perfectly comprehending the process, to mention that peat is found in two
different states, one when decomposition is produced by the action of water;

page_text: and the other when deprived of water, & it is exposed to the action of the
atmosphere. The decomposition in water gradually produces several chemical
combinations, the first deriving their origin from the phenomena of the decom-
position of organic bodies in general when in a wet state, which is arrested at
a certain moment by new combinations peculiar to this body, and determining
its nature. By exposing peat to the action of the atmosphere a considerable
number of combinations are determined almost instantaneously with great
rapidity, which result in lessening the caloric power of the peat by modifying
the primitive. combinations of carbon, ammonia, and hydrogen. The latter
combinations are all produced by the simple action of what I term "contact,"
as the agent which determines the effect of the action of the atmosphere
does not form any real combination with the constitutive bodies, as, for
instance, when producing fermentation, or in other cases the agent employed
produces energetic action without combining therewith. These effects have
been attributed to the action of the total decomposition of the peat, but it is
beyond doubt that this neither changes nor modifies the constituent parts.
The progressive modifications in the state of the hydrogen which accompanies
and determines the progress of the constituent parts, but does not alter
their nature; a physical agent like the action of the atmosphere is the origin
of the whole series of combinations produced during this latter period. As,
however, any definition of these combinations would require too lengthy a
description, I will simply give a general idea of their nature, as also the
conclusions at which I have arrived.
.
In order to neutralize the effect of the combinations above mentioned
I employ various weak solutions, not for the purpose of producing any chemical
action, but simply for effecting the action of contact. The results obtained
after several years of regular work on a large scale induces me to place a
practical value on the process adapted, which I will now proceed to describe.
1st, the peat, after its extraction is placed in a subdividing apparatus; 2ndly,
water is added during such subdivision, containing quicklime in the proportion
of from three to five pounds for every two hundred and fifty gallons of
the peat; 3rdly, the subdivided peat unground is passed out of the apparatus
in a liquid state into a special reservoir, into which is poured while
the peat is being deposited therein, a solution in the proportion indicated,
viz.,―

page_text: posed of
seaving the channels the quid peat was add to it at soution com-
Alum of commerce
Water
1 part
200 parts.
1 part
52 parts.
The bisulphite of lime is employed in the following proportions viz.,-
Bisulphite of lime
Water
The effect is much more active than when using bisulphite of soda, but the
high price of the former has decided my employing it very rarely. When the
peat is required to be compressed I add in the reservoirs above mentioned
for receiving the subdivided material, a small quantity of a weak solution
of sulphate of strontian. It will be understood that when working on a large
scale sufficient motive power is required, as also suitable apparatus for
facilitating operations, and capable of acting on large quantities of the
material at one time. The subdivision of the peat is necessary, otherwise
the action of the solutions would be too slow, and they would also require to
be sensibly modified, care being also taken to prevent the production of a
definite chemical combination. I have also succeeded in dispensing entirely with
mechanical agents by suitably modifying the solutions, the result on a small
scale being most satisfactory, the quality of the product being superior, while
the increased expense caused by the modifications in the solutions was more
than compensated by dispensing with the subdividing or other apparatus.
But when working on a large scale I found that this mode of treatment could
not be rendered practical as the action of the solutions, although prompt enough
on a small scale, becomes slower in proportion as the mass to be treated is
augmented, and that this is notably increased beyond the proportion in which
the material is augmented.
.
It will be sufficient here to describe one arrangement of the apparatus and
method of working which I have long employed on a large scale. The two
essential points for ensuring the proper execution of the process are, 1st, the
subdivision of the peat, 2ndly, the application of the solutions in the material
while in motion. A suitable apparatus is employed for effecting the sub-
division of the matters, and by means of a pump of great power the material
is then raised to the required height for passing of through the channels,
which pump is kept constantly in motion for facilitating the action of the
solutions. It will be easily understood that the effect of the solutions would
be less were the subdivided material to be left at rest, in which case the
material would accumulate at the bottom of the reservoirs while the solutions
would only slightly penetrate the mass, and the action would be necessarily less

page_text: efficacious. The compression of the material is effected by the application of
steam to screw presses.
It will be here necessary to mention certain rules which may serve as a
guide for ascertaining with exactness whether the treatment has been properly
applied or not. 1st, when the alkaline water has been poured into subdividing
apparatus it produces a viscous action and a red color in the mass; 2ndly, the
jet of solution which is passed into the reservoir of the subdividing apparatus
first changes the colors of the mass to a dark or black tint sometimes imme-
diately. Symptoms of fermentation also appear if the mass is allowed to rest
for a moment; 3rdly, the application of the last solution when the liquid mass is
at rest produces perfectly white flakes in all parts of the mass, both interior and
exterior. These flakes remain for some time, after which they rise to the
surface, become soluble, and then entirely disappear; the water then acquires
great limpidity. Such are the signs of a successful treatment at the different
stages of the operation.
The peat thus treated is of a perfect black color for the first three days, and
on the fourth day the black changes to a reddish hue, while in about a
fortnight the peat will be brown on the exterior similar to the color of tobacco,
and a clear yellow in the interior. Three weeks after the black color returns
and finally the interior becomes of a permanent black color with bright cracks,
and the exterior assumes a chocolate hue. The mean density should be from
one ton to a ton and a quarter per cubic yard.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Clark, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-fifth day of March, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two.
ATLDR
W.
CLARK. (..)