IMPROVEMENTS THE MODE OF RAISING BRINE IN OR FROM BORE HOLES OF GREAT DEPTH
Year: 1867

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Carl Friedrich Claus, of Middlesbro'-on-Tees, in
the County of York. Chemist, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
THE MODE OF RAISING BRINE IN OR FROM BORE HOLES OF GREAT DEPTH."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Carl Friedrich Claus
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
7th January 1867.
I, CARL FRIEDRICH CLAUS, of Middlesbro'-on-Tees, in the County of York,
Chemist, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE MODE OF RAISING BRINE IN OR FROM BORE: HOLES OF GREAT DEPTH,"
to be as follows:-
The usual mode of raising brine in bore holes is to lower into the bore hole
a pump, the suction pipe of which is passed to the bottom of the bore hole
and the barrel brought as near as possible to the surface of the brine,
the working to and fro of the bucket is effected by a long rod actuated by a
[Price 6d.]

page_text: crank or eccentric of an engine above ground; in some cases also the surface
level of the brine has been brought as high as possible in the bore hole by
filling the annular space between the pipes and the bore hole with water:
but as the weight of this column of water is not so heavy as the column of
brine in the pipes the brine has still to be raised a considerable height by
pumping.
وو
The object of this Invention is to place the whole of the pumping or raising
tackle, or the parts of it which are liable to derangement, above ground so that
they may easilybe got at for repairs. For this purpose I close over the top of the
bore hole with a cover, through which I insert a pipe reaching to the bottom
of the bore hole and rising up to the point to which it is desired to raise the
brine; I also insert through the cover the end of another pipe leading from
a force pump above ground; by means of this force pump I force into the bore
hole air or water, and since the bore hole is closed at the top by the cover
the brine is forced to rise up the pipe, which passes down to the bottom of
the bore hole and is delivered out of the hole at its upper end; or in place
of this if a lift pump be employed to raise the brine the " cover may be
fixed just above the surface level of the brine in the bore hole, and the barrel
of the pump be placed just above the cover, its suction pipe passing down
through the cover to the bottom of the hole, and the bucket of the pump being
worked by a long rod attached to an engine above ground. In order to bring
the surface level of the brine as high as possible in the bore hole a pipe is led
down from the top of the bore hole and through the cover to supply water to
the annular space between the sides of the bore hole and the suction pipe:
this water need not be forced down the pipe but will flow into it by its own
gravity. By this arrangement it is evident that all the space between the
cover and the mouth of the bore hole is perfectly dry and accessible to work-
men instead of being immersed in water as usual. In order to fix. an air-tight
cover over the bore hole, as above described, I prefer to form the cover in one
piece with or attach it to a tube of cast iron, the exterior surface of which is
rough or jagged in order that it may more readily be fixed in the bore hole and
secured against being lifted up by the pressure beneath it; the bore hole is
widened out from the top downwards until rock or some strata capable of
resisting the pressure required is arrived at; when this is reached the bore is
enlarged to form an undercut circular recess of a height slightly greater than
the height of the tube and cover; the cover is then lowered down to this
undercut recess, and the space between its sides and the sides of the recess is
filled in with strong cement. If it be feared from the nature of the strata

page_text: through which the bore hole passes that the water forced down below the
cover would pass away through these strata I propose to line the bore hole
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Carl Friedrich Claus in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
6th July 1867.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, CARI.
FRIEDRICH CLAUS, of Middlesboro -on-Tees, in the County of York, Chemist,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Seventh day of January, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, in the thirtieth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said Carl Friedrich Claus, Her special licence that I, the said Carl
Friedrich Claus, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said Carl Friedrich Claus, my 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 MODE OF RAISING BRINE IN OR FROM
BORE HOLES OF GREAT DEPTH," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the
said Carl Friedrich Claus, my executors or administrators, by an instrument
in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should par-
ticularly 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 Carl Friedrich Claus, do hereby
declare the nature of the 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:-
The usual method adopted to raise brine in bore holes is to lower into the
bore holes a pump with the suction pipe attached to it, the suction pipe going

page_text: as low into the bed of salt as it is practicable, and the working barrel of the
pump as near to the surface of the brine as possible. The working of the
-barrel is effected by means of a long rod attached to the crank or eccentric of
an engine above ground. In bore holes of great depth, particularly in those
in which no ready formed brine exists it has been usual to run water into the
space between the pipes and the walls or sides of the bore hole, and this is
done for two reasons, firstly, for the water in its descent through the bed of
salt to dissolve some of the salt in order to form brine, which assuming
gradually a greater specific gravity sinks to the bottom of the bore hole to be
pumped from thence as brine ready for boiling down; secondly, for the water
to act as a counterpoise to the column of brine in the suction pipe of the pump
and to cause that liquid to rise as it would in two communicating tubes to a
greater height than it would do unassisted, making it therefore not necessary to
pump the brine the whole of the way from the bottom of the bore hole up to
the mouth of it. If the liquid in the pipes of the pump and that in the space
outside of it were of the same density it would rise to the same level in both,
and thus the brine could be made to ascend to the mouth of the bore hole at
the surface of the ground without any or much pumping; this, however, is not
the case, the brine inside the pipes is much heavier than the water outside,
and the pump is therefore required to raise the brine a distance which is equal
to the difference of the level of the liquids inside and outside of the pipes. In
bore holes of great depth this difference is considerable; thus in a bore hole
1200 feet deep the brine would rise only to about 200 feet from the surface,
whilst the water outside would be level with the ground above. It is therefore
evident that the brine would have to be pumped considerably more than
200 feet, and, further, that the pump itself would be immersed in the water
for nearly 200 feet, and would therefore not be accessible.
Now the pump
and delivery pipe being liable to derangements it is clear that every time
repairs are necessary that the whole of these would have to be hoisted above
ground to be disconnected and repaired, and afterwards joined together again
and lowered down, and to be set in its proper position and fixed upon the
suction pipe; as all this has to be done whilst the whole arrangement is out of
sight and immersed in 200 feet of water, it is evidently connected with much
inconvenience. To obviate this difficulty, and also to place the whole of the
pumping tackle or every thing which is liable to derangement above ground,
or at least above the level of the brine, except the suction and part of the
delivery pipe, is the object of my Invention, the principle of which is this:-
Taking the bore hole to be a tube open on the top and closed on the bottom,
I

page_text: filledwith liquid, if I also close the top byan air-tight cover and insert tightly into
it a small tube open at both ends, but say, 30 or 60 feet longer, as is represented
in Figure 1, there is no escape for the liquid except through the projecting
open end a of the longer and smaller tube b. If I now apply aerostatic or
hydrostatic pressure through a hole e in the cover and between the two tubes
the liquid will be thrown out of the longer tube.
To apply this principle in practice for the purpose of raising brine from
bore holes of great depth I proceed as follows:-I lower into the bore hole
the pipe intended for the delivery of the brine, connecting with it length after
length of piping whilst it is being lowered; the lowering is effected by means
of a rope and winch suitable for the purpose, and two pairs of strong tongs
constructed for the purpose and fastened to the rope end, one pair of tongs
releasing the other from grasping the piping after every fresh length has
been attached. In order not to cause the whole of the dead weight of the
pipes to be supported by the winch and rope I fill the bore hole to within a
short distance from the mouth with water; I plug up the lowermost pipe by
means of a plug of zinc or soft cement, which can either be easily drilled out
or be dissolved out by acid after the pipes are in their places; the lowest two
lengths of piping should be of copper, thus the pipes in descending the bore
hole may be made to float or sink by filling the same with less or more water
from above. The lowermost pipe being perforated by a large number of small
holes up to 10 or 15 feet from the bottom, the plug mentioned should be above
these perforations. The material of the tubes would be best of copper, but
for the sake of cheapness wrought-iron pipes tinned and afterwards covered
and lined outside and in with bituminised paper could be used. The pipe is
also supported from above the surface by means of wire ropes which are
attached to the pipes by means of clips at intervals of every 2 or 300 feet, so
that the weight of the whole of the pipes may not rest on one or two points
only, but be divided. The pipes are by preference socket pipes, the joints
being made with soft solder which adheres well to the pipes, as they are tinned
over. The thin bituminised paper pipes are put on inside and outside in
short lengths before the pipes are put together; they are made to adhere to
the metal by means of a resinous cement of varnish, short pieces being
laid on around each socket after the solder joints are made. When the
jointing and lowering of the pipes is completed, that is, when the lowest length
of piping has reached the bottom of the bore hole, and when the upper end is
raised a sufficient length above ground for the conveyance of the brine, the
next operation may be proceeded with; this is to go down into the bore hole,

page_text: widening it as you proceed (so that a man can go down and work) until you
come to rock or some stratum capable of offering some resistance to pressure;
when this is reached a circular recess of an uneven, jagged, rugged, or
indented face of a circular section is cut on to it to a depth of several, say,
8 or 10 feet; into this recess the cover or lid, mentioned before, is fastened by
being run in with strong Roman cement, which is run into the space between
the lid or cap and the recessed sides of the bore hole, as is represented at
Figure 2. The cover itself is of thick cast iron, the outside being cast rugged
and rough to give better hold to the cement; or in cases where the upper
enlarged part of the bore hole is lined with iron tubes the cap or cover may
be fixed by screw bolts to the tubing which is made firmly to adhere to the
walls of the bore hole by cement or otherwise; this cover or lid is lowered
down into the recessed part of the bore hole after the suction and delivery
pipe has been passed through the flanged opening in the lid, and when in its
place fastened in with cement or otherwise, as stated before; a flange
soldered or otherwise secured on to the suction and delivery pipe m is now
screwed on to the flange of the lid, and the same is done with the pipe o,
which is connected with a force pump above ground. In order that the said
cover or lid. may be better held fast and be better secured against being lifted
up by the pressure to be applied afterwards, as will be described subsequently,
two or four strong iron bars are fastened across the top of it into the rock in
the side of the bore hole. The pipe o of the same diameter as m is now con-
nected by a force pump (either air or water force pump) which stands above
ground, and which is worked by an engine also above ground. If this air or
water force pump be set in motion it is evident that it will raise the brine in the
pipe m and throw the same to any desired height above ground. If brine
should exist ready formed in the bore hole, air alone forced down would raise
the brine above ground, but as the column of brine to be supported by the
pump pressure would then be so much greater than when water is used it is
preferred to pump water into the space between bore hole and pipe and
below the cover instead of air, as it acts as a counterpoise to the brine. If
brine has to be formed by water being brought into contact with the rock
salt below, of course water only can be pumped below. The cap or cover
mentioned above may be fixed in any part of the bore hole between its mouth
and the level of the brine, but it is preferred as near the mouth as possible
if the rock or other strata is sufficiently strong to hold fast the cap without
danger of its being dislodged by pressure. Retaining the above figures given
as an example for depth of bore hole, difference of level of liquids, &c., if the

page_text: first 200 feet of the bore hole were of sufficient width to allow the descent.
and free movement of a man below, and if it was thought desirable for some
reason or other to have the cap near the level of the brine, or if it were pro-
ferred to raise the brine by lift pump rather than by force pump, and to have
the working barrel of the pump set close to the level of the brine, I would
adopt the same plan low down in the bore hole, as described above. I would
fix the cap or cover just above the level of the brine, and place the working
barrel just above the cover connecting it with the suction pipe which passes
through the centre of the cover; the pipe conveying the water into the
annular space between the sides of the bore hole and the suction pipe is fixed
on to the cover by means of flanges, and is carried right out of the bore hole
or its widened upper part to the source of the water, which in this case needs
not to be forced down into the bore hole, but will run into it by its own
gravity. The bucket of the pump is worked by means of a long rod attached
to an engine above ground. It is evident by the above arrangement that all the
space between the cap of the cover and the mouth of the bore hole or pit-like
upper part is perfectly dry and accessible to the workmen instead of being
immersed in water. Though this mode of lifting the brine may be used, the
former plan of forcing water down to raise it is preferable, as all apparatus or
machinery at all liable to derangement are above ground and accessible, and
nothing but the delivery pipe underneath the cover is out of sight.
The two principles or modes of raising brine, described above, may, of
course, be used together or in combination, so that pressure and the lift pump
may divide the work between them. If it were to be feared from the nature
of the subincumbent stratification that the water forced down below the lid
would find its way through these strata above ground instead of reaching the
bed of salt 1 would line the bore hole either wholly with tubes of tinned sheet
iron until they reach the salt, or only so far as there is danger of the water
losing itself below. Instead of tinned sheet-iron tubes I propose also to use
tubes of thin sheet india-rubber, which would lay themselves close on to the
sides of the bore holes, and would hold fast to them by the pressure of the water
and the adhesion to the sides of the holes. To strengthen this rubber tube
and to help to support its weight a few copper wires might be cemented to it
longitudinally.
Having thus described the nature of my said Invention, and the manner of
performing the same, I would have it understood that I do not confine myself
to the exact details described; but what I claim is, the applying a cap or cover
to the bore hole, and forcing water or air into it in such manner as to expel

page_text: the brine by a pipe passing from the bottom of the bore hole to the surface or
to the place to which the brine is required to be raised.
I also claim the closing the bore hole at any convenient distance from the
surface with a cap or cover, and applying a lift pump above such cap or cover,
either to assist the force pump to raise the brine to the surface or place where
it is required, or as a substitute for the said force pump, as above described. .
In witness whereof, I, the said Carl Friedrich Claus, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Third day of July, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven.
C. F. CLAUS. (L.S.)