AN IMPROVED MODE OF OBTAINING VOLATILE PRODUCTS FROM BITUMINOUS COALS AND OTHER BITUMINOUS SUBSTANCES
Year: 1854

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said William Brown at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition and Declaration, on
the 3rd. March 1854, pursuant to the 9th section of the Patent Law
Amendment Act, 1852.
TO. ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
BROWN, of the City of Glasgow, Merchant, do.hereby declare the nature of my
Invention of "AN IMPROVED MODE OF OBTAINING VOLATILE PRODUCTS FROM
BITUMINOUS COALS AND OTHER BITUMINOUS SUBSTANCES," and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in. and by
the following statement thereof:-
The bituminous coals and other bituminous substances herein referred to are
well known, and do not require to be particularly described. They consist of
bituminous coals, bituminous shales, and other similar infusible bituminous
substances. The volatile products to be obtained from these, consist of vapours
yielding by known processes of condensation a crude tarry matter, from which,
by known processes of refining, paraffine, paraffine oil, and eupione oil may be
obtained. In the methods heretofore employed for this purpose, retorts or
other similar vessels are used, into which the bituminous coals and other
bituminous substances are placed, and the volatile products thereof are dis-
engaged and obtained therefrom by heating the retorts, or other similar vessels,
and their contents; by means of fire, or heat applied outside thereof, with or
without the addition of superheated steam introduced within or by "super-

page_text: heated steam alone so introduced. Now, my Invention consists in dispensing
with retorts and other similar vessels so heated, and in substituting therefor an
air-tight furnace into which the bituminous coals or other bituminous sub-
stances are introduced, and the volatile products thereof are disengaged and
obtained therefrom by means of fire or heat generated and applied inside the
furnace.
Such being the nature of my Invention, I will now describe particularly the
manner in which the same is to be performed.
I construct an air-tight furnace of brick or other suitable material; its size
and form are not of essential importance. I find a furnace of about three feet
diameter inside, and somewhat more than twice that depth, to be a suitable
size; and I find a round or oval form to be preferable to a square form of
furnace. The furnace is furnished below with furnace bars and a furnace door.
At the top of the furnace is placed a hopper, through which the bituminous
coals and bituminous substances are introduced into the furnace, and at the top
of the furnace there is also placed a still-head for receiving the volatile products
when disengaged.
The opening under the hopper is closed by an iron plate or other suitable
covering, for the purpose of preventing the volatile products from escaping into
the air. This iron plate or other suitable covering is temporarily withdrawn
for the introduction of the substances into the furnace.
In order to heat the furnace, at first heated coals or coke are put in as fuel
at the bottom of the furnace door; the bituminous substances, after being
broken into pieces of convenient size, are then introduced into the furnace at
the top in successive charges by means of the hopper. The lower portions of
these charges as they descend in the furnace supply the requisite fuel for feeding
the furnace after it is first heated. The upper portions of the charges are
gradually acted on by the heat evolved from the lower portions thereof, so as
to disengage the volatile products contained in the upper portions before such
upper portions have descended sufficiently low in the furnace to undergo
complete combustion.
The coke or non-volatile combustible constituent of the bituminous sub-
stances, after parting with its volatile products, continues to burn and to evolve
the heat, by which fresh charges of similar substances are in turn converted
into volatile matter and coke. In this way, by means of fire or heat generated
and applied inside the furnace, the volatile products of the bituminous sub-
stances introduced into the furnace are disengaged.
These volatile products, when so disengaged, are removed by a pipe or pipes
connected with the still-head, and are collected in a condenser of any convenient

page_text: kind, whereby there is obtained the crude tarry matter already mentioned, from
which are extracted, by known processes of refining, the paraffine, paraffine oil,
and eupione oil already mentioned.
With a view to the more advantageous removal and distillation of the volatile
products thus disengaged from the bituminous coal and other bituminous sub-
stances, one or more jets of steam may be usefully employed, the steam being
permitted to flow up through the bituminous substances contained in the
furnace whilst the volatile substances are being disengaged, by which means
they are rapidly carried off to the condenser, and the process of distillation
expedited; but such use of steam, though advantageous, is not essential to my
Invention.
One jet of steam may be used with advantage, and the mode of doing so
which I adopt is, to insert into the furnace a tube of strong cast iron, of from
one to two inches diameter, with the end closed, and a few small holes drilled
in the sides at the end. This tube is supplied with a small quantity of water
dropped into it from any convenient source under the pressure of a column of
twelve or fifteen inches of water contained in a syphon, and this water being
converted into steam, on entering the furnace, reduces or regulates the heat.
Having thus described and ascertained the nature of my Invention, and in
what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that I claim as of my
Invention the obtaining the volatile products before mentioned from bituminous
coal and other bituminous substances of an infusible nature, in the manner
herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Brown, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Third day of March, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-four.
WILLIAM BROWN. (L.S.)