IMPROVEMENTS IN FURNACES AND APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF VOLATILE HYDROCARBONS, WHICH IMPROVEMENTS ARE ALSO IN PART APPLICABLE TO FURNACES AND APPA- RATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF ILLUMINATING GAS
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Frederic Page, of Birmingham, in the County of
Warwick, Bank Accountant, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
FURNACES AND APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF VOLATILE HYDROCARBONS,
WHICH IMPROVEMENTS ARE ALSO IN PART APPLICABLE TO FURNACES AND APPA-
RATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF ILLUMINATING GAS."
Scaled the 3rd May 1864, and dated the 27th November 1868.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Frederic Page at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 27th
November 1863.
I, FREDERIC PAGE, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Bank
Accountant, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN FURNACES AND APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF VOLATILE HYDRO-
CARBONS, WHICH IMPROVEMENTS ARE ALSO IN PART APPLICABLE TO FURNACES AND
APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF ILLUMINATING GAS," to be as follows:-
My Invention consists in constructing or arranging in the manner herein-
after described the parts of the furnaces and apparatus used for distilling coal
and other hydrocarbons, in order to produce therefrom either volatile hydro-
carbons or illuminating gas.
For convenience of description I will describe my Invention with reference
to the manufacture of volatile bydrocarbons. I make the retorts or distil-
latory vessels in which the coal or other substance is heated of the figure of a

page_text: tube elliptical in cross section. I set the said retorts crosswise in the furnace,
by which they are heated, that is, I so set then that the current of flame and
heated air of the furnace does not pass from end to end of the said retorts,
but passes in a direction at right angles to the axes of the retorts. The said
retorts are set in an inclined position, so that the end at which they are
charged is higher than that at which they are discharged. The retorts are
further so fixed that their shortest diameter is in a vertical plane. A
perforated false bottom or grating is placed in each retort, on which grating
the coal to be distilled is placed, or the bottom of the retort is made of
a corrugated or undulatory figure, so that the coal placed on the said bottom
touches it only at a few points. In order to moderate the action of the heat
of the furnace on the retorts, I introduce between the fire and the bottoms of
the retorts a screen or lining of iron or fire clay, which said screen has
an undulatory or wave-like figure corresponding very nearly to the figure of
the bottoms of the retorts, and nearly equidistant at all points from the
bottoms of the retorts. The fire of the furnace acts directly upon this screen,
and the beat of the screen is communicated principally by radiation to the
retorts. The screen may either be fixed or made capable of rising or falling
so as to communicate a greater or less heat to the retorts. A series of low
transverse bridges are made on the bed of the furnace, each of the said
bridges being directly under one of the highest parts of the screen, that is,
directly under one of the spaces between the retorts. By the use of these
bridges the flame and heated air are so deflected that their path is nearly
parallel to the screen, and the said screen is thereby effectually and uniformly
heated. The current of flame and heated air, after having passed under the
retorts, returns over the tops of the retorts and from thence to the chimney.
A series of hanging flaps situated immediately over the before described
bridges cause the flame and heated air to travel in an undulatory plane nearly
parallel to the tops of the retorts. These hanging flaps are supported from
the top of the furnace arch, and are capable of being turned more or less out
of a vertical position so as to act as dampers to regulate the furnace. The
improvements described are applicable to the making of coal gas for
illumination as well as to the manufacture of volatile hydrocarbons.
My Invention consists further in constructing, in the manner herein-after
described, the condensers used for collecting and condensing the volatile
hydrocarbons produced by the distillation of coal and other hydrocarbons.
In constructing a condenser according to my Invention, I make it larger at
the end most distant from the retorts than at its other end. I also make the
bottom part of smaller diameter than the upper part and inclined horizontally,

page_text: the lowest part being most distant from the retorts. By this construction the
separation of the condensed products into distinct layers is facilitated. A pipe
or pipes making a circuitous path pass through the condenser, and cold water
may be passed through the said pipe or pipes to promote the condensation; or
air may be allowed to circulate through the said pipe or pipes to promote the
condensation. A pipe passes from the top of the wide end of the condenser
to a small or supplementary condenser of the same general figure as the
condenser described, and situated at a higher level. Any vapor which may
have escaped condensation in the condenser is condensed in the supplementary
condenser. The permanent gases pass from the supplementary condenser by
pipes to be burned or otherwise disposed of.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Frederic Page in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
23rd May 1864.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, FREDERIC
PAGE, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Bank Accountant, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-seventh day of November, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, in the twenty-seventh
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant
unto me, the said Frederic Page, Her special licence that I, the said
Frederic Page, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said Frederic Page, 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 FURNACES AND APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF
VOLATILE HYDROCARBONS, WHICH IMPROVEMENTS ARE ALSO IN PART APPLICABLE
TO FURNACES AND APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF ILLUMINATING GAS,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Frederic Page, my
executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, 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

page_text: within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said
Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Frederic Page, 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 fol-
lowing statement thereof, that is to say:-
My Invention consists in constructing or arranging in the manner herein-
after described, the parts of the furnaces and apparatus used for distilling coal
and other hydrocarbons, in order to produce therefrom either volatile hydro-
carbons or illuminating gas.
For convenience of description I will describe my Invention with reference
to the manufacture of volatile hydrocarbons. I make the retorts or dis-
tillatory vessels in which the coal or other substance is heated of the figure of
a tube elliptical in cross section. I set the said retorts crosswise in the
furnace by which they are heated, that is, I so set them that the current of
flame and heated air of the furnace does not pass from end to end of the said
retorts, but passes in a direction at right angles to the axes of the retorts.
The said retorts are set in an inclined position, so that the end at which they
are charged is higher than that at which they are discharged, or the retorts
may be set horizontally. The retorts are further so fixed that their shortest
diameter is in a vertical plane. A perforated false bottom or grating is placed
in each retort, on which grating the coal to be distilled is placed; or the
bottom of the retort is made of a corrugated or undulatory figure, so that the
coal placed on the said bottom touches it only at a few points. Or the retort
may be made smooth or plain. In order to moderate the action of the heat
of the furnace on the retorts I introduce between the fire and the bottoms of
the retorts a screen or lining of iron or fire-clay, or brickwork, which said
screen has an undulatory or wave-like figure corresponding very nearly to the
figure of the bottoms of the retorts, and nearly equidistant at all points from the
bottoms of the retorts. The fire of the furnace acts directly upon this screen,
and the heat of the screen is communicated principally by radiation to the
retorts. For a small furnace a series of low transverse bridges are made on
the bed of the furnace, each of the said bridges being directly under the
highest part of the screen, that is, directly under one of the spaces between
the retorts. By the use of these bridges the flame and heated air are so
deflected that their path is nearly parallel to the screen, and the said screen
is thereby effectually and uniformly heated. The current of flame and heated
air after having passed under the retorts returns over the tops of the retorts,
and from thence to the chimney. The improvements described are applicable

page_text: to the making of coal gas for illumination, as well as to the manufacture of
volatile hydrocarbons.
My Invention consists further in constructing in the manner herein-after
described, the condensers used for collecting and condensing the volatile
hydrocarbons produced by the distillation of coal and other hydrocarbons.
In constructing a condenser according to my Invention I make it larger at
one end than at the other, that is, I make the condenser of a conical or
wedge shape, the longest diameter of the cone or wedge being situated hori-
zontally. By this construction the separation of the condensed products into
distinct layers is facilitated. A pipe or pipes making a circuitous path pass
through the condenser, and cold water may be passed through the said pipe
or pipes to promote the condensation. Or air may be allowed to circulate
through the said pipe or pipes to promote the condensation. A pipe passes
from the top of the wide end of the condenser to a small or supplementary
condenser of the same general figure as the condenser described, and situated
at a higher level. Any vapour which may have escaped condensation in the
condenser is condensed in the supplementary condenser. The permanent
gases pass from the supplementary condenser by pipes to be burned or other-
wise disposed of.
Having explained the nature of my Invention, I will proceed to describe
with reference to the accompanying Drawing the manner in which the same
is to be performed.
Figure 1 represents in longitudinal vertical section a series of furnaces and
distillatory apparatus for the manufacture of volatile hydrocarbons constructed
according to my Invention, and Figure 2 is a transverse vertical section of
the same. The section, Figure 1, is taken through the line 6 of Figure 2, and
the section, Figure 2, is taken through the line a of Figure 1. The same
letters indicate the same parts in both Figures.
c, c, are the retorts, or distillatory vessels, containing the coal or other sub-
stance to be heated, the said retorts being of an elliptical figure, in cross
section, their shortest diameter being in a vertical plane. The said retorts c, c,
are protected from the direct action of the fire at bottom by the screen d, d*,
and at top by the covering of fire-clay or brick e. f,f, are the furnaces by
which the retorts c, c, are heated, and g, g, are the gratings or fire-bars of the
said furnaces. The retorts c, c, are set crosswise in each of the furnaces f, the
fire-bars carrying the coal or other matter to be burned being situated on one
side of the retort, or between two retorts. The furnaces ƒ open into one
another, and are so constructed that the current of fire and heated air does
not pass from end to end of the retorts c, but passes in a lateral direction, or

page_text: at right angles to the axes of the retorts. The screen or lining d, d, which
moderates the action of the heat and fire of the furnaces on the bottoms of the
retorts, is made of brick, fire-clay, or of iron. It is represented in the Drawing
as being made of fire-clay. The said screen or lining passes from end to end
of the distillatory apparatus, and has an undulatory or wave-like figure, corre-
sponding very nearly to the Figure of the bottoms of the retorts, and is situated
at nearly equidistant points from the bottoms of the retorts, as represented in
the Drawing. The portion d of the said screen is made of a series of arches,
supported on the bed of the furnace, in the manner represented in Figure 2.
The fire from the grates 9, 9, acts directly upon the screen d, d², and the heat
of the screen is communicated principally by radiation to the bottoms of the
retorts c. The current of flame and heated air, after traversing the bottom of
the screen d, d³, and heating the said screen, passes over the tops of the retorts
by the passages h, h. Communication between the passages h, h, is effected
by arches in the upright walls k, k, situated on the summits of the arches d²
of the protecting lower screen d, d². By means of these arches i the current
of flame and heated air is made to follow the Figure of the top of the retorts,
and to give up its heat to the coverings 6. The current of flame and heated
air finally escapes by the flue or chimney l. It will be seen by an examination
of Figure 1 that the distance from the top of the passages h to the coverings
⚫ of the retorts diminishes as the said passages approach the chimney end of
the apparatus. The tops of the retorts are thereby uniformly heated. The
retorts c, c, are set in an inclined position, as represented in Figure 2. The
said retorts being charged with the coal or other matter to be heated at the
higher end c, and the coke removed at the lower end of the retorts, a per-
forated false bottom or grating, or corrugated false bottom, may be placed on
the plain bottom of the retort, on which said grating or false bottom the coal
or other matter to be heated is placed, so that the said coal or charge touches
the retort at a few points only. A corrugated false bottom is represented on
the bottom of one of the retorts in Figure 1, and is marked m. Or, instead
of a corrugated false bottom, or grating, the bottom of the retort itself may
be corrugated, instead of being plain, as represented in the Drawing.
When a few retorts only are used, a fire may be placed underneath one or
more of the retorts, instead of at the sides, as represented in the Drawing,
that is to say, the fire-grates or bars 9 are placed transversely in the furnace,
or in a line at right angles with the axes of the retorts, and may extend under
one or more of the retorts. In this case the heated air is made to follow the
undulations of the screen d, d², by a series of low transverse bridges or lines
of brickwork underneath the rising portions ds of the said screen. By means

page_text: of the bridges or lines of brickwork described, the current of flame and heated
air is so deflected that its path is nearly parallel with the screen, and the
screen is thereby effectually and uniformly heated. Where large numbers of
the retorts are used, the fire-bars or gratings are arranged in the manner
represented in the Drawing, that is, under the undulations caused by the near
junction of two retorts, and where great heat is required a fire is placed on
each of the grates 9, 9.
When, however, a low or moderate heat only is
required, one fire to every two or three furnaces will suffice, in which case the
bridges or lines of brickwork before described will be required. By the con-
struction and arrangement of the furnaces and distillatory apparatus described
and represented, the matter under treatment is very uniformly heated, and a
maximum amount of condensible products produced. The furnaces and dis-
tillatory apparatus described and represented are also applicable to the manu-
facture of illuminating gas from coal. The condensible hydrocarbon vapours
produced in the retorts c, c, when the apparatus is used for the manufacture of
volatile hydrocarbons, are connected and condensed in the following manner :-
The vapours produced in the retorts, c, c, pass by the pipes n, o, into a main p,
which main constitutes the condenser. The said main or condenser is made of
iron, and is larger at one end than at the other end, the end represented in the
Drawing being the narrowest end. The general figure of the condenser is that of
a long cone or wedge, the longest diameter of the cone or wedge being situated
horizontally. By this construction the separation of the condensible products
into distinct layers is facilitated. A pipe or pipes, making a circuitous path,
pass through the condenser, and cold water may be passed through the said
pipe or pipes, to promote the condensation, or air may be allowed to circulate
through the said pipe or pipes to promote the condensation. A pipe passes
from the top of the wide end of the condenser to a small or supplementary
condenser, of the same general figure as the condenser described and situated
at a higher level. Any vapor which may have escaped condensation in the
condenser is condensed in the supplementary condenser. The permanent
gases pass from the supplementary condenser by pipes, to be burned or other-
wise disposed of.
Having now described the nature of my Invention, and the manner in
which the same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that I do not
limit myself to the precise details herein described and represented, as the
same may be varied without departing from the nature of my Invention ; but
I claim as my Invention,--
Firstly, the construction and arrangement or combination of the parts of
furnaces and apparatus for the manufacture of volatile hydrocarbons and

page_text: illuminating gas, herein-before described and illustrated in the accompanying
Drawing.
Secondly, the construction and arrangement or combination of the parts
of condensers herein-before described for condensing the vapors of volatile
bydrocarbons obtained in the distillation of coal and other solid hydrocarbon
used for the manufacture of the said volatile hydrocarbons.
In witness whereof, I, the said Frederic Page, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twentieth day of May, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-four.
Witness,
GEORGE SHAW.
FREDERIC PAGE. (L.S.)