Improvements in Destructor Furnaces.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 15th Nov., 1894
Complete Specification Le!t, 8th Aug., 1895-Accepted, 12th Oct., 1895
Improvements in Destructor Furnaces.
WILLIAM PRICE ABELL, Whitworth Scholar, Assoc. M. Inst. C.E., of Tooley
Park, Hinckley, England, and L'Union House, Essequebo, British Guiana; do
hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:--
The object of this invention is-
1st. To perfectly destroy town, and similar refuse bagasse, vegetable, and animal
refuse, saw-dust, tan, and other waste products.
2nd. To effect a more perfect combustion of these waste products thereby
enabling them to become valuable as fuel for the production of power.
3rd. To prevent unburnt, or partly burnt, light refuse and heavy gases finding
their way into the chimney flue before all the fuel & organic matters therein have
been exhausted, thereby preventing the nuisance that generally occurs from the
smoke of a destructor chimney.
4th. To dry, prepare, and deliver the refuse in a suitable state and condition on
to the fire-grate.
5th. To facilitate the removal of the clinker, ashes, and dust from the furnace
without cooling down the said furnace and without interfering with the complete
combustion of the old and new charges.
6th. To facilitate the feeding of the refuse into the furnaces.
To accomplish the aforementioned objects 1 pass the refuse to be burnt and
utilized down a hopper or retort through which it falls from a spreader pyramidi-
cally on to the grate, the flames of combustion heat this retort and dry the refuse..
Sometimes instead of surrounding this retort entirely with the flames of combustion,
I build the said retort on one side of the furnace and deliver the refuse on to a
drying plane fixed above the grate this said drying plane being exposed both at the
bottom & at the top to the flames-I furthermore dry the refuse by a novel
arrangement of reverberatory walls and arches.
The flames and light and heavy gases together with the light bits of paper,
carbon flecks, and other material floated off by the draft are all carried along with the
flames tangentially into a circular combustion chamber; this chamber is fitted with
an outlet near the centre, this said chamber forming a whirling or centrifugal
chamber which at once separates the heavy unburnt particles & heavy gases, from
the light gases; the sparks & carbon flecks flying off to the circumference, the
heavy unburnable parts & dust flying farthest from the centre are there
collected in suitable pocket receptacles; the burnable parts remaining in motion
until consumed. The steam and heavier gases of combustion not completely burnt
are also by the same cause retained in the centrifugal combustion chamber in the
periphery of which there are a few tangential inlets through which air is admitted
to complete their combustion, the light Hames of perfect combustion find their way
through the centre of the chamber into the flue to the boiler or other receptacle
for heat, then on to the chimney. The dust is collected by scrapers in pockets in.
the periphery of the centrifugal combustion chamber into which they gradually
fall by gravity, or are conducted there by the tapering sides of the said centrifugal
chamber. These pockets are preferably emptied by a conveyor so arranged that
the dust is removed without the admittance of air.

page_text: The fire-bars are all threaded on to one or more shafts preferably two, and
made to act either side up; these shafts are carried outside the furnace and on
each of their ends is fitted a long handle or lever; by pushing either of these
handles the attendant can turn all the grate bars thereon upside down. The
furnace sides recede immediately above the grate to facilitate the removal of the
clinker and present it obstructing the revolving of the fire-bars. By this
arrangement clinker & refuse are all dropped into the ashpit where it is allowed to
remain and heat the inflowing air for the new charge until the said ash is cooled
for removal. To facilitate the cleaning of these furnaces a plate is arranged in
and over the feed hopper in such a way that two-thirds of the hopper is closed up
and the refuse passes down the other third and is directed by a plate inside the
hopper on to one side of the furnace grate, the attendant loosens what clinker
may be clinging to the walls and then turns or revolves the grate on the empty
side, upside down by means of the aforementioned lever. This being completed
the cover plate on the feed hopper is reversed so that the other side of the grate
becomes empty, this is then turned upside down, thus presenting a new clean
surface without stopping the firing or allowing the furnace to cool down; or I may
revolve the drying plane for this purpose.
-
To reduce the labour and facilitate the feeding of refuse into the furnaces, I
arrange a revolving shaft at a convenient position on the tip platform; this shaft
is used as a capstan throughout its whole length. To explain the method of
working this arrangement we will suppose a load of refuse has just been tipped on
the platform and it is necessary to move it nearer the furnace mouth, so as to make
room for another load. A rope or chain having a band or hammock at one end is
thrown over this heap and the other end wrapped round the shaft once, twice, or as
often as is necessary to make the revolving shaft pull the heap nearer to it. If
the furnace requires feeding, the heap is pulled over the furnace mouth into which
it descends. Snatch pulleys & hooks are fixed in various positions on the platform
so that the heaps of refuse can be hauled in any desirable direction by means of
the rope or chain.
Improvements in Destructor Furnaces.
WILLIAM PRICE ABELL, Whitworth Scholar, Associate Member of the
Institute of Civil Engineers, of Tooley Park, Hinckley, England, and L'Union
House, Essequebo, British Guiana, 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 :-
The object of my invention is,
1st. To more perfectly utilise as fuel, town & similar refuse, vegetables, saw-dust,
tan, inferior coal slack, and other waste products.
2nd. To effect a more perfect combustion of these waste products thereby enabling
them to become valuable as fuel for the production of power.
3rd. To prevent unburnt, or partly burnt light refuse, and heavy gases finding
their way into the chimney flue before all the fuel & organic matters therein have

page_text: been exhausted, thereby preventing waste of fuel & the nuisance that generally
accrues from the gases of a destructor chimney.
With these objects in view this invention consists in certain novel features of
construction, combination and arrangement of parts herein after set forth & pointed
out in the claims.
In the accompanying drawings, Fig. 1 is a sectional elevation of the furnace..
Fig. 2 is a sectional plan of the same showing one furnace & part of another
arranged in battery on the line O P.
Similar letters & figures refer to similar parts throughout the several views.
To accomplish the aforementioned objects I feed the refuse & carcasses to he
burnt & utilized as fuel down a hopper or retort A of ordinary construction through
which it is conducted on to the grate C by gravity in the usual way.
The light & heavy gases together with the light bits of paper, carbon flecks, and
other material floated off by the draught, are all carried along with the flames
through the channel Q tangentially into the circular combustion chamber F, this
chamber is fitted with an outlet G near the centre, this said chamber F forming
whirling or centrifugal chamber which brings the effect of momentum into play &
at once separates the heavy unburnt particles & heavy gases from the light gases;
the sparks & carbon flecks flying off to the circumference H along with the other
heavy unburnable parts & dust, these are there collected when melted through the
tangential opening J in the receptical I; the burnable parts remaining in motion
& continually travel round the chamber F until consumed.
The steam & heavier gases of combustion not completely burnt are also by the
same cause retained in the centrifugal combustion chamber F, in the periphery of
this chamber F there are one or more tangential air inlets J, Ji previously
mentioned through these openings air is admitted & regulated by doors R', & R
to complete the combustion of the unburnt gases. The light flames of perfect
combustion find their way through the centre G of the chamber F into the
flues K K down to the main flue L'in the said flues K K' are arranged dampers
for shutting out any furnace from a battery of furnaces; this said main flue L
conducts the hot flames & gases to a boiler or other receptical for heat not shown
in the drawing but which can be fixed at L'; after passing through this said boiler
the gases are conducted by the flue L' underneath the ash pits N of the furnace,
the top of this said flue being covered with corrugated iron sheets L³, so that the
heat of the gases in the flue L', may be transferred to heat the air on its passage
between the furnace walls & in the ash pit N; from underneath the furnace the
flue L conducts the gases to the chimney. The air for combustion is further.
heated on its way to the ash pit N, by entering at K2, on the top of the furnace, &
down between air walls encircling the furnaces, then over the hot corrugated iron
flue cover L³, & the clinker deposited thereon in the ash pit N. The air also
admitted to the centrifugal combustion chamber through the door R', is also heated
by passing it over the hot clinker in I.
Ordinary rocking firebars C are used, hence they are not now described,
these are moved by revolving the shaft Y by either hand or gearing in the usual
way.
The fine dust from the firebars is collected in the ash pit N, & the coarse fused
clinker is collected in the chamber I. from which they are withdrawn through the
doors R & R into trucks or other suitable recepticals.
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 I
claim is :-
1st. In combination with a furnace, a combustion chamber having a tangential
entrance & a central outlet, substantially as & for the purpose described.
2nd. In combination with a furnace for burning refuse, a flue arranged below the
firebars for carrying away the products of combustion, said flue being covered

page_text: under the firebars-with corrugated plates so arranged that they convey heat from
the flue gases passing underneath. to the air for combustion as the said air..passes
over the said corrugated plates on its way into the furnace.
Signed this 10th day of July 1895.
Witnesses :-
:-
ALFRED CUVILJE,
NATHANIEL GREEN.
WILLIAM PRICE ABELL.