IMPROVEMENTS IN PRODUCING HEAT AND LIGHT
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Cromwell Fleetwood Varley, of Beckenham,<in
the County of Kent, and Theodore Anthony Rochussen, of Abchurch
Lane, in the City of London, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
PRODUCING HEAT AND LIGHT."
Sealed the 12th July 1870, and dated the 25th January 1870.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left: by the said Cromwell Fleetwood
Varley and Theodore Anthony Rochussen at the Office of the
Commissioners of Patents, with their Petition, on the 25th January
11870.
•
We, CROMWELL FLEETWOOD VARLEY, of Beckenham, in the County
of Kent, and THEODORE ANTHONY ROCHUSSEN, of Abchurch Lane, in the
City of London, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN PRODUCING HEAT AND LIGHT," to be as follows:
This. Invention has for its object improvements in producing heat and
light

page_text: Our Invention consists of the following parts :—
The first part refers principally to steam boilers so placed or applied
that the weight of the fuel is an important item. The fuel which we use
is zinc or other suitable metal; we shall confine ourselves to zinc in the
following description.
The furnace which we combine with the steam boiler consists of
several parts. a, the grate in which the zinc is burned; b, the chamber
in which the oxide of zinc is collected; c, the ash-pit or receptacle for
removing the oxide as produced.
5
The grate has no fire-bars; it is made of refractory clay, and if designed 1
for a steam ship it is divided into cells in order that the rolling of the
vessel shall not throw out the molten zinc. Air is admitted through jets.
so as to inflame the zinc. In some cases the air is admitted so as to
play direct upon the surface of the zinc, in other cases the vapour of the
zinc is made to pass from the zinc before it meets the air. The products 1
of combustion are received in the chamber b, which is constructed
something like the fire-box of a locomotive engine, that it to say, it is
surrounded by a water casing. The products of combustion are chiefly
oxide of zinc, nitrogen, and heated atmospheric air. The latter gases
after passing the chamber b.go through the tubes of the boiler, and there
give up the greater part of their heat; finally they escape through the
chimney. The chamber 6 is provided with trays or false bottoms c,
which when filled with oxide of zinc are replaced with empty ones, or
other suitable provision is made for removing the oxide of zinc from time
to time. These trays are provided with a number of tubes for the
passage of atmospheric air; the air in passing through these pipes
becomes heated and the oxide cooled at the same time. This heated air
is conducted either to the furnace a or is passed through the boiler tubes.
The oxide of zinc is a valuable commercial article. To light the furnace
we melt zinc in a crucible in a small furnace until it begins to boil; it is
then poured into the grate, where it catches fire, producing very intense
heat. A small hopper may be used to supply the zinc (broken into
small pieces) at a uniform rate. A door is placed before the grate to
enable the fireman from time to time to clear the surface of the grate
when this becomes necessary.
'
The next part of our Invention consists in producing steady light from

page_text: The following is the manner in which we prefer to operate :-A retort
of refractory clay or other suitable material is constructed as follows:-
The neck of the retort is placed inside the lamp where the light is to be
produced. The retort is heated until the zinc distils over; it catches
fire immediately it comes in contact with the air. In some cases we
admit a current of hydrogen, carbide of hydrogen, or other suitable
vapour to mix with the zinc vapour prior to its being ignited. Molten
zinc is supplied to the crucible from time to time through a U tube.
A chimney placed over the zinc flame carries off the products of com-
bustion. The oxide of zinc is deposited in very light fine powder when
vapour has been properly diluted prior to being burned.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Cromwell Fleetwood Varley and Theodore Anthony
Rochussen in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 25th July 1870.
TJ ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, CROMWELL
FLEETWOOD VARLEY, of Beckenham, in the County of Kent, and
THEODORE ANTHONY ROCHUSSEN, of Abchurch Lane, in the City of
London, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fifth day of January, 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 Cromwell Fleetwood Varley and Theodore
Anthony Rochussen, Her special licence that we, the said Cromwell
Fleetwood Varley and Theodore Anthony Rochussen, our executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said Cromwell
Fleetwood Varley and Theodore Anthony Rochussen, our exccutors,
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 PRODUCING
HEAT AND LIGHT," upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the said
Cromwell Fleetwood Varley and Theodore Anthony Rochussen, our

page_text: executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under our or
their hands and seals, or under the hand and seal of one of us or
them, 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 Theodore Anthony Rochussen, on
behalf of myself and the said Cromwell Fleetwood Varley, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the 1
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement thereof, that is to say :-
In
2
The object of the first part of our Invention is to obtain a larger
amount of steam from a given quantity of fuel. When coal is burnt
the solid coal is turned into gas, a largo portion of heat becomes latent 1
and is wasted by volatilizing the solid. The oxygen of the atmosphere
is a gas by reason of the large amount of heat combined with it.
When zinc, iron, or manganese are burnt the resulting oxide is a dense
solid; little or no heat is wasted as it is not turned into vapour.
addition to this we also obtain the cosmical heat latent in the
oxygen
of the atmosphere, and the result is that one pound of zinc will evaporate
more than four times as much water as one pound of coal, the advantage
of which on long sea voyages is obvious. The zinc or other metal thus
becomes a vehicle of power much larger than can be obtained from
the same weight or bulk of coal, and the oxide of the metal may sub-1
sequently be economically reduced at any convenient place where coal
is accessible.
The following is the manner in which we prefer to carry out our
Invention:
-
..
The furnace of the boiler we divide into two or more parts.
a, the
hearth or grate on which the metal is burnt (in this description wo
will confine ourselves to the metal zine). b, a chamber behind the hearth
to collect the oxide. In the case of tubular boilers the heated gas
from this chamber is made to circulate through the tubes. The furnace
has the bottom and sides and sometimes the top also of brick, fire-clay,
or any other refractory substance. The air is admitted over the com-
bustible metal or by a blast through the same, in the latter case pipes

page_text: .
In
or tuyeres are built in the bottom or sides of the furnace.
marine boilers or locomotives to prevent the molten metal from running
from side to side the bottom of the furnace is provided with recesses
or hollows which retain the metal. Behind the furnace in which the
metal is burnt there is as above stated a chamber to receive the oxide.
Air is made to pass into this chamber to complete the combustion
and carry off the beat. This heated air passes through the tubes of
the boiler. In some cases we find it advisable to heat the air' which
passes through the furnace pipes or tuycres to render the combustion
moro intenso, and to cause the oxide to travel beyond the hearth we
prefer to propel the heated air by means of a fan or any other blowing
machine. At the bottom of the chamber there are iron hoppers or
receptacles of any suitable form to collect the oxide. The bunkers in
which the oxide is stored are surrounded by water which is used to feed
the boiler.
The following mode of lighting the furnace is a convenient one :-A
coke or coal fire is first made in the furnace, as soon as it is white. hot
the metal is thrown on, it quickly ignites and gives out a much more
intense heat, no further coal being required to keep the furnace going.
The metal is thrown in as fast as consumed: A hopper may be used to
supply the metal (previously broken or reduced to convenient size or
shape.)
A door is placed in front of the grate to enable the fireman
when necessary to clear the hearth. If the blast is properly regulated
the whole of the oxide is carried over and into the chamber b. .
The second part of our Invention relates to the production of light
superior to the lime light, and scarcely if all inferior to the electric,
and this we effect by burning a continuous jet of metal either in a molten
or gaseous state.
We will describe our Invention as applied to a lighthouse.
In a convenient place near the lamp' a furnace of small-dimensions
is erected. In this furnace is placed a crucible, by preference of clay
and blacklead, from the bottom of which projects a tube of fire-clay
at the end of which there is a porcelain nozzle. The tube is constructed
of several layers and is bound together by means of wire inserted in
5 the clay while soft. A thimble cup is around the nozzle and projecting
underneath is to prevent the contact between the atmosphere and the
molten metal in the vicinity of the jet. The rate at which the metal
÷

page_text: flows through the nozzle is determined by the height of the metal in
the crucible. This is regulated by drawing the molten metal from a
larger vessel or crucible by means of a valve floating on the lower
vessel or crucible. The falling stream of red hot zinc is ignited the
moment it comes in contact with the air. Immediately below the
stream is an iron pipe leading to a chamber in which the oxide is
collected. A chimney from this chamber produces a powerful down-
ward draught in the iron tube, which prevents the oxide from soiling
the lenses or lantern. When the molten zinc has to be conveyed a
long distance the pipe containing it is kept hot by Bunsen's burners.
When a continuous jet of metal in a gascous in place of in a molten
state is employed we prefer to proceed as follows:-The neck of a retort
of refractory clay or other suitable material is placed inside the lamp
where the light is to be produced. The retort is heated until the zinc
distils over, it catches fire immediately it comes in contact with the
air. In some cases we admit a current of hydrogen, carbide of hydrogen,
or other suitable vapour to mix with the zinc vapour prior to its being
ignited. Molten zinc is supplied to the crucible from time to time
through a tube. A chimney placed over the zinc flame carries off
the products of combustion. The oxide of zinc is deposited in very
fine light powder when the vapour has been properly diluted prior to
being burned

page_text: Sixth. The production of light by the ignition of a jet of metal
vapour mixed with hydrogen or other suitable gas or vapour, as herein
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Theodore. Anthony. Rochussen, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-fifth day of July,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and
seventy.