Improvements in or Pertaining to the Disposal of Refuse of Towns and the like by Burning, Utilizing Heat Generated therefrom, and Apparatus therefor.
Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 22nd Dec., 1887
Complete Specification Left, 22nd Sept., 1888
Complete Specification Accepted, 26th Oct., 1888
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or Pertaining to the Disposal of Refuse of Towns
and the like by Burning, Utilizing Heat Generated therefrom,
and Apparatus therefor.
I, JAMES BINGHAM ALLIOTT, of No. 50 Queen Victoria Street, in the City of
London, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
My invention has for its object the elevation of the temperature of the products
of the combustion of refuse of towns or the like with the objects; 1st, of more
thoroughly and certainly than heretofore has been usual destroying all noxious or
unpleasant fumes given off in the process of burning, and, 2nd, of utilizing, more
advantageously than heretofore has been usual, a portion of the heat generated."
My invention may be applied in connexion with furnaces of various kinds; but in
describing its nature I will adopt as an example its application in conjunction with a
Destructor, furnace such as described in the specification of Letters Patent granted to
Alfred Fryer on 11th February 1876, and numbered 550, and it is therefore to be
understood that when hereinafter I use the words "Destructor furnace" they are to
be taken as including any other refuse furnace to which my invention is applicable.
I lead the products of combustion from a "Destructor" furnace, on their way to the
chimney or other outlet through an air heater or through a regenerative stove or
oven similar in principle to those employed for producing the hot blast for blast
furnaces, or it may be such as is described in the specification of Letters Patent
granted to me the 20th February 1884 and numbered 3656.
The products of combustion from the "Destructor" furnace may, if desired, he
passed through an apparatus such as described in the specification of Letters Patent
No. 8690 dated July 18th 1885, or may be utilized for heating a steam boiler or both
or they may be used for other purposes.
In the air heater or regenerative stove or oven the air on its way to the
"Destructor" furnace to effect the combustion of the refuse is heated.
When the temperature of the products of combustion is so far reduced in passing
through the air heater or the regenerative stove or oven before the said products
reach the chimney as to render it difficult or impossible to obtain a sufficiently good
027

page_text: draught by means of a chimney of convenient height I provide a fan exhauster or
other apparatus in order to produce an artificial draught and in so doing prefer to
draw the air and gases through the furnaces, air heater and other apparatus by
exhausting rather than to force them through.
Where a chimney is used it may in some cases be found advantageous to provide
in connexion therewith a fire place or stove to be used for starting and when needful
to aid in maintaining the necessary draught.
In some cases the products of combustion from the "Destructor" furnaces contain
a quantity of carbonic oxide which it is possible to burn with advantage into carbonic
acid and in such cases I admit a suitable supply of fresh air preferably that which has
been heated by means of the air heater, or the regenerative stove or oven, to mingle
with these partially burnt products and when necessary I provide a small fire at
which these products mingled with the fresh supply of air may be rekindled. It is
obvious that the products of combustion, before they are cooled by passing into the
air heater or into the regenerative stove or oven, will be hotter on account of the air
supplied to support the combustion of the refuse having been heated before it passed
into the "Destructor" furnace and also on account of the burning of the carbonic
oxide mixed with a suitable amount of fresh air-into carbonic acid. This increase
of temperature both more perfectly destroys any empyreumatic or other noxious gases
or fumes and also renders it more easy to make use of these products of combustion
for heating steam boilers or doing other useful work.
The air used for supporting combustion in these refuse furnaces may be heated to a
considerable extent without altering the general construction of the furnaces except
by closing the ashpits or space under the furnace bars and connecting them with
suitable closed channels bringing the heated unburnt air from the air heaters, or the
regenerative stoves or ovens or such other arrangements as may be necessary to
confine the heated air and force it to pass through the furnaces instead of escaping
uselessly but when the unburnt air is rendered so hot as to cause the fire-bars
ordinarily used rapidly to burn or bend or to melt away special arrangements must be
made to overcome the difficulty thus created. This may be effected in any suitable
manner it may be for example by making use of water tube fire bars, or by blowing
the hot air into the refuse through water tuyeres, or introducing it through openings
in the fire brick sides of the furnace, or by making the grate surface of the furnace
of slotted fire brick, the slots communicating with spaces below so arranged that
ashes or other material which may tend to choke the slots or the air space can readily
be removed, or provision may be made for introducing to the hot air such a proportion
of cold or less heated air as to effect the required reduction in temperature.
Dated thie 22nd dox of Decemben A D 1007

page_text: Improvements in or Pertaining to the Disposal of Refuse of Towns
and the like by Burning, Utilising Heat Generated therefrom,
and Apparatus therefor.
I, JAMES BINGHAM ALLIOTT of No. 50 Queen Victoria Street, in the City of
London, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement :-
My invention has for its object the elevation of the temperature of the products of
the combustion of refuse of towns or the like with the view 1st of more thoroughly
and certainly than heretofore has been usual destroying all noxious or unpleasant
fumes given off in the process of burning and 2nd of utilising more advantageously
than heretofore has been usual a portion of the heat generated. My invention may be
applied in connection with furnaces of various kinds but in describing its nature, I
will adopt as an example its application in conjunction with destructor furnaces or a
destructor furnace such as described in the Specification of letters patent granted to
Alfred Fryer on the 11th day of February 1876 and Numbered 550, and it is there-
fore to be understood that when hereinafter I use the words "destructor furnace
they are to be taken as including any other refuse furnace to which my invention is
applicable.
27
I lead the products of combustion from the "destructor" furnaces or furnace on
their way to the chimney or other outlet through an air heater or through a
regenerative stove or oven similar in principle to those employed for producing the
hot blast for blast furnaces or it may be such as is described in the Specification of
letters patent granted to me the 20th day of February 1884 and numbered 3656.
The products of combustion from the destructor furnace may if desired be passed
through an apparatus such as described in the Specification of Letters Patent No. 8690
dated July 18th 1885, or may be utilised for heating a steam boiler or both or they
may be used for other purposes. In the air heater or regenerative stove or oven the
air on its way to the destructor furnace to effect the combustion of the refuse is
heated. When the temperature of the products of 'combustion is so far reduced in
passing through the air heater or the regenerative stove or oven before the said
products reach the chimney as to render it difficult or impossible to obtain a sufficiently
good draught by means of a chimney of convenient height, I provide a fan exhauster
or other suitable apparatus in order to produce an artificial draught and in so doing
prefer to draw the air and gases through the furnaces air heater and other apparatus
by exhausting, rather than to force them through. Where a chimney is used it may
in some cases be found advantageous to provide in connection therewith a fire place or

page_text: stove to be used for starting and when needful to aid in maintaining the necessary
draught..
In some cases the products of combustion from the destructor furnaces contain a
quantity of carbonic oxide which it is possible to burn with advantage into carbonic
acid and in such cases I admit a suitable supply of fresh air, preferably that which has
been heated by means of the air heater or the regenerative Stove or oven, to mingle
with these partially burnt products, and when necessary I provide a small fire at which
these products mingled with the fresh supply of air may be rekindled. It is obvious
that the products of combustion, before they are cooled by passing into the air heater
or into the regenerative stove or oven, will be hotter on account of the air supplied to
support the combustion of the refuse having been heated before it passed into the
destructor furnace, and also on account of the burning of the carbonic oxide (mixed
with a suitable amount of fresh air) into carbonic acid. This increase of temperature
both more perfectly destroys any empyreumatic or other noxious gases or fumes and
also renders it more easy to make use of these products of combustion for heating
steam boilers or doing other useful work. The air used for supporting combustion in
these refuse furnaces may be heated to a considerable extent without altering the
general construction of the furnaces except by closing the ashpits or spaces under the
furnace bars and connecting them with suitable closed channels bringing the heated
unburnt air from the air heaters, or the regenerative stoves or ovens, or such other
arrangements as may be necessary to confine the heated air and force it to pass through
the furnaces instead of escaping uselessly-but when the unburnt air is rendered so
hot as to cause the fire bars ordinarily used rapidly to burn or bend, or to melt away,
special arrangements must be provided to overcome the difficulty thus created. This
may be effected in any suitable manner; it may be for example by making use of
water tube fire bars, or by blowing the hot air into the refuse through water tuyeres
or introducing it through openings in the fire brick sides of the furnace; or by making
the grate surface of the furnace of slotted fire bricks, the slots communicating with
air spaces below so arranged that ashes or other material which may tend to choke the
slots or the air spaces can readily be removed, or provision may be made for intro-
ducing to the hot air such a proportion of cold or less heated air as to effect the
required reduction in temperature.
In the accompanying sheet of illustrative drawings Figure 1 represents in plan an
arrangement of apparatus suitable for carrying my invention into practical effect.
Figure 2 is an elevation, partly in section, on the line A, A, Figure 1: Figure 3 is a
side elevation, at right angles to Figure 2, and partly in section, on the line B, B,
Figure 1 and Figure 4 is a sectional elevation of the destructor furnaces or furnace
on the line C, C, Figure 1.
The same letters of reference indicate the same parts of the apparatus in all the
figures.
In these drawings a a represent destructor furnaces arranged in the ordinary way
except that the ash pits are closed by doors to facilitate the use of hot air for supporting
the combustion in the furnaces, whilst by opening the doors cold air or a mixture of
hot and cold air may be used if desired; is an apparatus such as is described in
the specification of Letters Patent No. 8690 A.D. 1885, hereinbefore mentioned and
which I term a cremator; c is a steam boiler; da bye-pass through which the
products of combustion may pass to the chimney when the boiler is not being used;
e el are regenerative stoves or ovens; fan exhauster or blower; and g a chimney.
In working this apparatus the products of combustion from the destructor furnaces a a
pass through the additional furnace or cremator b in connection with which, arrange-
ments for the supply of fresh unburnt air (preferably that which has been heated) may
be made, such air being used to mingle with the gases passing away from the
destructor furnaces, when these gases have only been partially burnt this supply of
unburnt air provides in such cases a fresh supply of oxygen which enables the gases
to rekindle in the cremator and to complete their combustion. From the cremator
the products of combustion pass either through the flue controlled by the damper b
and beneath and through the boiler c, or direct through the flue controlled by the

page_text: damper 2, thus avoiding the boiler, to the regenerative stoves or ovens e e². • It is
obvious that either the boiler c, or the cremator, or both, may be omitted from the
combination of the apparatus without affecting the working of the other portions of
it. If the cremator were omitted it would in most cases be desirable to provide a
small fire at which partially burnt gases issuing from the destructor furnaces after
being mingled with unburnt air might be rekindled and completely burnt. These
regenerative stoves or ovens are worked alternately; thus when the heated gases are
passing through the passage controlled by the damper d'into the oven e the damper d²
controlling the passage leading into the oven el is closed, the damper placed in the
exit from the oven e is open and the damper e placed in the exit from the oven e¹ to
the chimney is closed. In the drawings the heated gases are shown passing through
the regenerative oven e to the chimney while the regenerative oven e¹ is being used
to heat air which afterwards passes below the fire bars of the destructor furnaces a
where it is used for sustaining combustion in these furnaces.
The course of the gases
and air is indicated by the arrows
When the dampers are thus arranged the heated gases pass freely through the
regenerative stove or oven e toward the chimney and are prevented from passing
through the regenerative stove or oven e¹. When the position of the dampers is
reversed the heated gases will pass through the stove or oven el and will be excluded
from the stove or oven e. The stove or oven e is provided with a door at e' for
opening and closing communication between the stove or oven and the external
atmosphere and with a damper situated at e o arranged as to open and close
communication between this stove or oven and the flue or channel e which passes
across the upper part of the regenerative stoves or ovens e and e¹ and then passes
downwards and branches into channels al a a³ and a³ (Fig. 3) which communicate
with the space beneath the fire bars of the destructor furnaces a. The flue e also
communicates with channels provided with dampers 63 and 4 by means of which
heated unburnt air may be caused to mingle with the gases leaving the destructor
furnaces. The regenerative stove or oven e¹ is furnished with a similar door e for
controlling communication with the outer air, and with a damper e³ for controlling
communication, with the flue or channel e. In the drawings the door e and the
damper are shown open while the dampers and d³ are closed; thus while the
heated gases and products of combustion on their way to the chimney are excluded
from the oven e¹ outside air is drawn through this oven, passing through the openings
controlled by the door e and the damper e into the flue or channel e. The oven
having previously been heated by the passage of heated gases and products of
combustion through it on their way to the chimney, the air thus drawn through it in
the reverse direction becomes heated and is thus supplied in a heated state to the
destructor furnaces a. When the heated gases and products of combustion from the
furnaces are so cooled on their way to the chimney that the chimney cannot without
assistance produce a sufficient draught, the exhauster or blower may be used either
to take the whole of the gases, exhausting them from the flues and forcing them into
the chimney, or to take a portion of them or even air from the external atmosphere,
and deliver them or it under pressure, in the form of a jet, into the chimney in such
a manner as to assist the natural draught of the chimney in a manner well known.
I do not confine myself to the use of the form of blower or exhauster shown, but may
use any other convenient apparatus for this purpose, and though it is usually desirable
to draw the air and products of combustion through the apparatus yet 1 do not confine
myself to this, as the air may if desired be forced through the apparatus instead of
being drawn through, or they may be partly drawn and partly forced through the
apparatus. The ash-pits of the destructor furnaces a are closed by doors a so
that the whole of the air supporting combustion in these furnaces may if desired be
drawn from the regenerative stoves or ovens e or e through the flue e and the
passages a a² a³ and a which may if desired be furnished with doors as indicated
at as and a (Fig. 1); or the ash-pit doors as may be partially opened so that the air
supporting combustion may consist partly of heated air from the regenerative stoves
or ovens and parily of unheated air.

page_text: A continuous air-heater may if desired be substituted for the regenerative stoves or
ovens e and e¹ working alternately. As various heaters of this description are well
known it is considered unnecessary here to describe one particularly. It is obvious
that where regenerative stoves or ovens are made use of and an exhauster or blower is
not used for the purpose of creating an artificial draught, there may be difficulty in
starting an apparatus such as berein before described arising from the thorough cooling
of the gases before they enter the chimney, and when necessary in order to overcome
this difficulty I place a small furnace at the bottom of the chimney (not shown on the
drawings) for the purpose of heating it. In some cases this furnace may be used
continuously for the purpose of increasing the chimney draught.
In some cases instead of placing a furnace at the bottom of the chimney I arrange
a bye-pass, by means of which a portion of the hot gases may pass direct to the
chimney without going through the regenerative stove or oven while another portion
passes through the regenerative stove or oven as herein above described; or in some
cases, especially on first starting the apparatus, it may be found convenient to pass the
whole of the products of combustion through this bye-pass direct to the chimney.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what 1
claim is
1. In the process of disposing of town refuse and the like by burning in a destructor
furnace having combined with it a cremator or other like furnace, causing heated air
to be delivered from an air heater or regenerative stove or oven into the said destructor
furnace for the purpose of raising the temperature of combustion therein and heated
air to be delivered to the cremator or similar furnace to ensure complete combustion
of the gases passing into it from the destructor furnace, and the said air heater or
regenerative stove or oven to be itself heated by the waste heated air and products
of combustion from the destructor and cremator furnaces all substantially as herein-
before described.
2. The combination or arrangement with the destructor furnaces or furnace, of a
cremator or like furnace, a steam boiler, regenerative ovens or equivalent air heating
apparatus (supplying heated air for the support of combustion in the destructor
furnaces or furnace), an exhauster or blower, and a chimney the arrangement being
substantially such as described above for the purposes set forth.
3. The combination or arrangement with the destructor furnaces or furnace a of
a cremator b, a steam boiler c, regenerative stoves or ovens e e¹, and a chimney g
substantially as described.
4. The combination or arrangement with the destructor furnaces or furnace a, of a
cremator b, a steam boiler, regenerative stoves or ovens e e¹, a chimney g and a
furnace for heating the said chimney and producing a draught in it substantially as
described.
5. The combination or arrangement with the destructor furnaces or furnace a of a
cremator b, a steam boiler, regenerative stoves or ovens e e¹, and a chimney g, a bye
pass being provided to the chimney, substantially as described.
6. The combination or arrangement in connection with destructor furnaces or a
destructor furnace of a cremator or like furnace a steam boiler and regenerative
stoves or ovens or like air heating apparatus substantially as and for the purposes set
forth.
7. The combination or arrangement in connection with destructor furnaces or a
destructor furnace, of a cremator or like furnace, provision for admission of air to the
products of combustion passing thereto from the destructor furnaces or furnace, and
regenerative stoves or ovens or like air heating apparatus there being provided also
either a chimney with a special fire place for raising the temperature of the gases in it
to produce a draught therein or a blower or an exhauster or other means such as a
bye pass for producing the required draught substantially as and for the purposes set
forth.

page_text: 8. The combination or arrangement in connection with destructor furnaces or a
destructor furnace of a steam boiler, and regenerative stoves or ovens or like air
heating apparatus there being provided also either a chimney with a special fire
place for raising the temperature of the gases in it to produce a draught therein or a
blower or an exhauster or other means such as a bye-pass for producing the required
draught substantially as and for the purposes set forth.
9. My combination and arrangement of apparatus as shown in and described with
reference to the drawings annexed for the purposes set forth.
Dalhin 1 h. 1000
JAMES BINGHAM ALLIOTT,
W. Lloyd Wise,
Per J. G. S.,
Applicant's Agent.