IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR DISTILLIng Tar and THE PRODUCTS THEREOF:
Year: 1874

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Joseph Willoughby, of Plymouth, in the County
of Devon, William Arkinstall Southwell, of Palmerston Buildings,
Broad Street, in the City of London, Thomas James Briggs, of
Palmerston Buildings, aforesaid, and Samuel Willoughby, of Ply-
mouth, aforesaid, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS
FOR DISTILLIng Tar and THE PRODUCTS THEREOF:”
-
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Joseph Willoughby,
William Arkinstall Southwell, Thomas James Briggs, and Samuel
Willoughby at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with
their Petition, on the 7th March 1874.
We, JOSEPH WILLOUGHBY, of Plymouth, in the County of Devon,
WILLIAM ARKINSTALL SOUTHWELL, of Palmerston Buildings, Broad
Street, in the City of London, THOMAS JAMES BRIGGS, of Palmerston
Buildings, aforesaid, and SAMUEL WILLOUGHBY, of Plymouth, aforesaid,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS

page_text: IN APPARATUS FOR DISTILLING TAR AND THE PRODUCTS THEREOF," to be as
follows:-
This Invention consists in certain improvements in the construction
and arrangement of apparatus for distilling tar for the purpose of
obtaining useful products therefrom, and which improvements obviate
those disadvantages which have been connected with the apparatus
employed for such purposes as previously constructed and employed.
As is well known it is necessary that in order to obtain the desired
distillates from tar, the latter should be raised to a very high temperature.
This has hitherto been effected by applying heat derived from a furnace
in a direct manner to the exterior of the boiler or receptacle in which
the tar is contained, or where it was desired only to obtain the light oils
by the process of distillation, jets of superheated steam have been passed
into the tar for the purpose of obtaining the desired degree of temperature.
The last-mentioned method is, however, inapplicable to the separation of
the heavy oils, and it has been found that the application of direct fire-
heat for the evolution of the latter is attended with many disadvantages,
one of the most serious of which is the "coking" of the tar in the
interior of the boiler or receptacle, and the consequent necessity for the
removal of the tar so coked, an operation which is attended with injury
to the apparatus as well as great loss of time in carrying on the process
of distillation.
The present Invention consist in so applying the requisite degree of
heat to the tar that the before-mentioned disadvantages are altogether
avoided. A series of metallic pipes of such thickness as to bear a
very great degree of pressure, and arranged either as a coil or in
any other convenient and suitable manner is placed within the boiler or
receptacle which contains the tar. Such series of pipes is connected
with another series of pipes arranged in any convenient manner, and
formed so as to be capable of bearing a great degree of pressure. The
said last-mentioned series of pipes is placed in a suitable furnaço arranged
in any convenient position exterior to the boiler or receptacle. The
pipes are filled with water by any suitable means, such as will be well
understood and are kept perfectly closed during the operation of
distillation, so that the water which is raised to any desired temperature
by means of the furnace continually circulates through the pipes, as well
understood, thereby imparting the requisite degree of heat to the tar,
whilst all possibility of "coking" is entirely obviated.

page_text: The extent of heating surface employed can of course be adjusted by
the arrangement and size of the pipes.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,.
filed by the said Joseph Willoughby, William Arkinstall Southwell,
Thomas James Briggs, and Samuel Willoughby in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 7th September 1874.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, JOSEPH
WILLOUGHBY, of Plymouth, in the County of Devon, WILLIAM
ARKINSTALL SOUTHWELL, of Palmerston Buildings, Broad Street, in the
City of London, THOMAS JAMES BRIGGS, of Palmerston Buildings,
aforesaid, and SAMUEL WILLOUGHBY, of Plymouth, aforesaid, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Seventh day of March, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four, in the
thirty-seventh year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto us, the said Joseph Willoughby, William
Arkinstall Southwell, Thomas James Briggs, and Samuel Willoughby,
Her special licence that we, the said Joseph Willoughby, William
Arkinstall Southwell, Thomas James Briggs, and Samuel Willoughby,
our exccutors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the
said Joseph Willoughby, William Arkinstall Southwell, Thomas James
Briggs, and Samuel Willoughby, our 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 APPARATUS FOR DISTILLING
TAR AND THE PRODUCTS THEREOF," upon the condition (amongst others)
that we, the said Joseph Willoughby, William Arkinstall Southwell,
Thomas James Briggs, and Samuel Willoughby, our exccutors or admini-
strators, by an instrument in writing under our, or their, or one of

page_text: their hands and scals, 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 we, the said Joseph Willoughby, Thomas James
Briggs, and Samuel Willoughby, on behalf of ourselves and the said
William Arkinstall Southwell, do hereby declare the nature of our said
Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following state-
ment, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to
the figures and letters marked thereon, that is to say :—
Our said Invention consists in certain improvements in the construction
and arrangement of apparatus for distilling tar for the purpose of
obtaining useful products therefrom, and which improvements obviate
those disadvantages which have been connected with the apparatus
employed for such purposes as previously constructed and employed.
As is well known it is necessary that in order to obtain the desired
distillatos from tar, the latter should be raised to a very high temperaturc.
This has hitherto been effected by applying heat derived from a furnace
in a direct manner to the exterior of the boiler or receptacle in which
the tar is contained, or where it was desired only to obtain the light oil
by the process of distillation, jets of superheated steam have been passed
into the tar for the purpose of obtaining the desired degree of temperature.
The last-mentioned method is however inapplicable to the separation of
the heavy oils, and it has been found that the application of direct fire
heat for the evolution of the latter is attended with many disadvantages,
one of the most serious of which is the "coking" of the tar in the
interior of the boiler or receptacle, and the consequent necessity for the
removal of the tar so coked, an operation which is attended with injury
to the apparatus, as well as great loss of time in carrying on the process
of distillation.
The present Invention consists in so applying the requisite degree of
heat to the tar that the before-mentioned disadvantages are altogether
avoided. A series of metallic pipes of such thickness as to bear a very
great degree of pressure, and arranged either as a coil or in any other
convenient. and suitable manner, is placed within the boiler or receptacle

page_text: which contains the tar. Such series of pipes is connected with another
series of pipes arranged in any convenient manner and formed so as to
be capable of bearing a great degree of pressure. The said last-mentioned
series of pipes is placed in a suitable furnace arranged in any convenient
position exterior to the boiler or receptacle. The pipes are filled with
water by any suitable means, such as will be well understood, and aro
kept perfectly closed during the operation of distillation, so that the
water which is raised to any desired temperature by means of the furnace
continually circulates through the pipes as well understood, thereby
imparting the requisite degree of heat to the tar, whilst all possibility of
"coking" is entirely obviated.
The extent of heating surface employed can of course be adjusted by
the arrangement and size of the pipes.
Our said Invention is applicable not only to the distillation of crude
tar, but also to the distillation of the products resulting therefrom.
We will now proceed to refer to the annexed Drawings from which
the nature of our said Invention will be more clearly understood.
Figures 1 and 2 represent sectional elevations of a still of the horizontal
form, together with the furnace and arrangement of pipes. Two coils
indicated by the letters A and B are placed in the still, and the ends
thereof are respectively carried through the plate of the still, and
connected by the pipes e, e, e, e, with two coils marked C and D, which
are respectively fixed in the furnace. The furnace is placed at any
convenient distance from the still. Expansion chambers which are
shewn at F, F, are formed in the flow pipes between the furnace and the
still, and a valve is shown at H by which the supply of water is at times
replenished. A pressure guage is fixed at J, and a pyrometer indicated
at K. is attached to the still. The pipes being charged with water, and a
fire placed in the furnace, the requisite degree of heat is imparted to the
O tar or products of tar under distillation. .
It should here be mentioned that inasmuch as various forms of vessels
are used in distilling tar, the arrangement of pipes in the same will
necessarily vary according to the shape and capacity of the still, and in
some cases the pipes instead of being coiled are placed in several distinct
5 lengths sufficient to giving the requisite heating surface, the furnace
being suitably formed to receive the ends of such pipes. The use of

page_text: such modifications and adaptations does not however constitute any
departure from the principles of our said Invention, but are in fact fully
embraced thereby..
Having thus fully described and ascertained the nature of our said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, we
would observe in conclusion that what we consider novel and original,
and therefore claim as constituting the Invention secured to us by the
said herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is, the construction of
apparatus for distilling tar and the products thereof by means of
superheated water contained in a coil or coils, or in a series of pipes kept 1
perfectly closed during the process of distillation, substantially as
herein-before described and set forth, or any mere modification thereof.
In witness whereof, we, the said Joseph Willoughby, Thomas
James Briggs, and Samuel Willoughby, on behalf of ourselves
and the said William Arkinstall Southwell, have hereunto set our 1
hands and seals, this Fourth day of September, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four.
JOSEPH WILLOUGHBY. (L.S.)
T. J. BRIGGS.
(L.S.)
SAMUEL WILLOUGHBY. (L.S.) ·