IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF ARTIFICIAL FUEL
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Bannehr, of Great Queen Street, West-
minster, and Henry Matthews, of Gower Street, in the County of
Middlesex, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE
OF ARTIFICIAL FUEL."
Sealed the 12th August 1870, and dated the 16th February 1870.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Bannehr and
Henry Matthews at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with
their Petition, on the 16th February 1870.
We, JAMES BANNEHR, of Great Queen Street, Westminster, and
HENRY MATTHEWS, of Gower Street, in the County of Middlesex, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
THE MANUFACTURe of Artificial FUEL," to be as follows:-
We prepare artificial fuel by mixing "breeze" obtained from gasworks
or other places with various proportions of small bituminous coal and
with a mucilage or cement prepared from seaweed, or other vegetable or
animal substances. If desired the carbonaceous dust or coke produced

page_text: in the manufacture of gas by the processes patented by Messieurs Upward,
Bannehr, and Dale, dated December 28th, 1869, Number 3756, may be
employed instead of "breezc," as before mentioned, in combination with
bituminous coal or with pitch. This mixture of breeze, bituminous coal
or pitch, and mucilage is compressed in moulds of any convenient size
and form by any suitable power. The blocks so formed are dried either in
the air or by artificial heat, and if desired may be converted into coke in
the usual manner.
We also prepare coke by mixing anthracite or other non-bituminous
coal with various proportions of the small of bituminous coal or with
pitch, and with mucilage or cement, as above. This mixture-is-
compressed into form and coked, as above mentioned. If desired various
proportions of « breeze" may be introduced into this last-mentioned
mixture.
We produce charcoal by mixing charcoal dust or charcoal produced
from waste or spent bark or tan, from waste or spent dye woods, from
seaweed, or from any carbonaceous substance with various proportions of
pitch or bituminous coal, and with mucilage or cement, as before
mentioned. This mixture is compressed into blocks, and may be coked,
as before described.
The materials used in the above processes should if not already in a
sufficiently fine state of division, be reduced to the fineness desired by
grinding or otherwise.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said James Bannehr and Henry Matthews in the Great 2
Seal Patent Office on the 16th August 1870.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, JAMES
BANNEHR, of Great Queen Street, Westminster, and HENRY MATTILEWSs,
of Gower Street, in the County of Middlesex, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her. most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her 3
Letters Patent, bearing date the Sixteenth day of February, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy, in the thirty-
third year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto us, the said James Bannehr and Henry Matthews, Her
special licence that we, the said James Bannehr and Henry Matthews, 3

page_text: our executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the
said James Bannehr and Henry Matthews, 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 THE MANUFACTURE OF
ARTIFICIAL FUEL," upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the said
James Bannehr and Henry Matthews, our executors or administrators,
by an instrument in writing under our, or their, or one of their hands
and seals, 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 I, the said James Bannehr, on behalf of
myself and the said Henry Matthews, 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
statement thereof, that is to say :-
We prepare artificial fuel by mixing "breeze" obtained from gasworks
or other places with various proportions of small bituminous coal or
pitch, and with a mucilage or cement prepared from seaweed by
preference, but mucilage or cement prepared from other vegetable or
animal substances may be employed. If desired the carbonaceous dust
or coke produced in the manufacture of gas by the processes patented
by Messrs. Upward, Bannehr, and Dale, dated December 28, 1869,
No. 3756, may be employed instead of "breeze," as before mentioned,
in combination with bituminous coal or with pitch. The proportions
which we have found to answer well are from about 85 to 90 per cent.
of "breeze or carbonaceous dust or coke to about 10 to 15 per cent. of
bituminous coal or pitch. The seaweed which we prefer to employ in
the preparation of the mucilage or cement for combining the above
materials is that commonly known as Irish moss, but any other suitable
seaweed may be employed for this purpose. This mixture of breeze,
or carbonaceous dust or coke, and of bituminous coal or pitch and
mucilage is compressed in moulds of any convenient size and form by
any suitable power. The blocks so formed are dried either in the air or .
"

page_text: by artificial heat, and if desired may be converted into coke in the usual
When converting into coke we first mould the material into,
form, and then remove it from the moulds previous to coking..
manner.
We also prepare coke by mixing anthracite or other non-bituminous
coal with various proportions of the small of bituminous coal, or with
pitch, and with mucilage or cement, as above.. The proportions which
we have found to answer are from about 60 to 7.5 per cent. by weight of
anthracite or culm to from about 25 to 40 per cent. of bituminous coal
or pitch. This mixture is compressed into form, and if desired is coked,
-as-above-mentioned. If-desired-various-proportions-of-breeze-may-be-
introduced into this last-mentioned mixture:
We produce charcoal by mixing charcoal dust or charcoal produced.
from waste or spent bark or tan,, from waste or spent dye woods, from
seaweed, or from peat, or any carbonaceous substance with various
proportions of pitch or bituminous. coal, and with mucilage or cement, as
before mentioned. The proportions which we have found to answer for
this mixture are from 85 to 90 per cent. of charcoal to from about
10 to 15 per cent. of bituminous coal or pitch. This mixture is com-
pressed into blocks, and may be coked or charred, as before described..
The materials used in the above processes should if not already in a
sufficiently fine state of division be reduced to the fineness desired by
grinding or otherwise.
When the carbonaceous substances employed are of a bituminous or
coking nature it will be unnecessary to convert them into charcoal before
pressing the compound into the moulds. The mucilage or cement
employed serves to bind the materials together, and to retain them in
form after they are removed from the moulds and during the process of
coking. The amount of mucilage employed is only just sufficient to
bind the materials together.
We would here remark that although we prefer the proportions
herein-before mentioned, we do not confine ourselves thereto, as other
proportions of the ingredients may be employed if desired.
Having thus described the nature of our said Invention, and the mode
in which we carry the same into effect, we would have it understood that
what we claim is, the preparation of artificial fuel by the combination of
the various carbonaceous and bituminous materials herein named with
mucilage or cement, and compressing such materials in moulds as

page_text: described, after which the material is removed from the moulds and
dried, and then coked or charred if required.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Bannehr, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twelfth day of August, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy.
J. BANNEHR. (L.S.)