IMPROVEMENTS IN THE DISTILLATION OR DESTRUCTIVE DISTILLATION OF SOLID MATTERS OF SEMI- SOLID MATTERS CAPABLE OF YIELDING FLUIDS, OR GASEOUS HYDROCARBONS, OR OTHER PRODUCTS, SUCH AS PIT COAL, BOGHEAD, OR OTHER BITUMINOUS COAL, OR SHALE, PEAT WOOD, ASPHALTS, TALLOW, LARD, FATS, OR OTHER SOLID OR SEMI-SOLID MATTERS, AND IN THE MACHINERY OR APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN
Year: 1864

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Cormack, of 15, Little Moorfields, in the
County of Middlesex, Chemist, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
THE DISTILLATION OR DESTRUCTIVE DISTILLATION OF SOLID MATTERS OF SEMI-
SOLID MATTERS CAPABLE OF YIELDING FLUIDS, OR GASEOUS HYDROCARBONS, OR
OTHER PRODUCTS, SUCH AS PIT COAL, BOGHEAD, OR OTHER BITUMINOUS COAL, OR
SHALE, PEAT WOOD, ASPHALTS, TALLOW, LARD, FATS, OR OTHER SOLID OR
SEMI-SOLID MATTERS, AND IN THE MACHINERY OR APPARATUS EMPLOYED
THEREIN."
Sealed the 25th April 1865, and dated the 28th October 1864.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Cormack at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 28th
October 1864.
I, WILLIAM CORMACK, of 15, Little Moorfields, in the County of Middlesex,
Chemist, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE DISTILLATION OR DESTRUCTIVE DISTILLATION OF SOLID MATTERS OR
SEMI-SOLID MATTERS CAPABLE OF YIELDING FLUIDS, OR GASEOUS HYDROCARBONS, OR
OTHER PRODUCTS, SUCH AS PIT COAL, BOGHEAD, OR OTHER BITUMINOUS COAL, OR
SHALE, PEAT WOOD, ASPHALTS, TALLOW, LARD, FATS, OR OTHER SOLID OR SEMI-SOLID
MATTERS, AND IN THE MACHINERY OR APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN," to be as
follows:-
Firstly, the object of this Invention is to improve and obtain by distillation
liquid hydrocarbons at a considerably lower temperature than hitherto

page_text: employed from solid or semi-solid matters as above described, which I accomplish
by introducing a jet, stream, or current of any atmospheric air, steam, or
other vapour, gas or gases into the retorts, ovens, or other vessels, such as are
usually employed in their distillation. The aforesaid vapours or gases I conduct
either above or near the surface of such solid or semi-solid matters to be
distilled, and by the force or expansion of such air, steam, or other vapour,
gas or gases, the products of distillation are produced at a lower temperature
than hitherto employed. Air, steam, or gases, may be used singly or combined,
superbeated or otherwise.
Secondly, my Invention relates to improved machinery or apparatus for the
distillation of coals or bituminous bodies, by which means I am enabled to
obtain a much larger product of liquid bydrocarbons and of better quality than
heretofore obtained. To accomplish this I introduce coal or other solid bydro-
carbon into a retort, oven, or other vessel, such retort, oven, or other vessel to
be constructed so that the products of liquid bydrocarbons shall descend by
gravitation either alone or assisted by any well-known means of exhaustion or
propulsion. For this purpose I introduce into the retort, oven; .or other
vessel, and through the body of the coal, perforated tubes or pipes placed
either in a perpendicular, horizontal, or other position to enable-the oil or
other products to descend. or be conveyed either by gravitation alone or
assisted by exhaustion or propulsion, by which means oils and liquid hydro-
carbons are produced at a temperature not exceeding a higher heat than is
necessary for their formation..
For the formation of oils or fluid hydrocarbons as now practised, a con-
siderable and much higher temperature is employed to carry off the oils or
fluid hydrocarbons in the vapourized state; now to avoid the vapourization of
the fluid hydrocarbons when so formed I have recourse to a distillation
downwards as a descending and gravitating process of distillation alone, or
assisted by exhaustion or propulsion, thereby reducing the temperature to
nearly one-half that hitherto employed, which will yield a much larger
quantity and better quality of the products obtained, and in carrying out, this
part of my Invention I introduce coal or other bituminous body into an
upright cylinder, retort, oven, or other vessel of a cone shape or other suitable
form. At the bottom of the cylinder is placed a door, and above is another
door with perforations therein, on which the coal or other bituminous body
rests. The oil dropping through the perforated holes of the upper door on to
the lower door is conveyed away by a pipe into an air-tight vessel or receiver.
On the upper surface, of this perforated door is an upright tube or tubes, also
perforated with holes, and extends upwards through the body of the coal, and

page_text: in the centre of the cylinder up to the top of the same. This tube being per-.
forated from the top to the bottom of the cylinder easily admits of the products
from all parts of the body of the coal either by its own gravitation in a down-
ward direction or assisted by exhaustion or propulsion; .if by propulsion the
propelling agents such as air, steam, gas, or gases, superheated or otherwise,
may be employed. The tube (in the cylinder must be air-tight at the upper
end so that the products shall descend to the lower end. The charge of coal
or other bituminous body enters at the top and the coke is discharged at the
bottom. I also employ pipes connected to the bottom of each tube in
the cylinder for conveying the products into suitable receivers, which must
also be air-right to enable the exhauster to keep up a partial vacuum.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of. the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Cormack in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
28th April 1865.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
CORMACK, of 15, Little Moorfields, in the County of Middlesex, Chemist,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-eighth day of October, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, in the twenty-eighth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me; the said William Cormack, Her special licence that I, the said William
Cormack, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said William Cormack, 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, au Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE DISTILLATION OR DESTRUCTIVE DISTILLATION OF SOLID MATTERS OR
SEMI-SOLID MATTERS CAPABLE OF YIELDING FLUIDS OR GASEOUS HYDROCARBONS OR
OTHER PRODUCTS, SUCH AS PIT COAL, BOGHEAD, OR OTHER BITUMINOUS COAL OR
SHALE, PEAT WOOD, ASPHALTS, TALLOW, LARD, FATS, OR OTHER SOLID OR SEMI-SOLID
MATTERS, AND IN THE MACHINERY OR APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN," upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said William Cormack, 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

page_text: 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 calenda
months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent...
.
"
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Cormack, do hereby declare
the nature of my 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, that. is to say :-
.
The object of this Invention is to obtain liquid hydrocarbons and other
matters in an improved condition by means of the improved apparatus herein-
after described, which facilitates the process of manufacture and enables a
considerably lower temperature to be used than has been hitherto employed.
For this purpose I place the solid or semi-solid matters to be distilled into
retorts, ovens, or other vessels usually employed in their distillation, and
heated externally in the usual manner; but instead of employing one heat for
the separation of the oil and another higher heat for its vapourization and
expulsion, I use the lower heat only for the separation of the oil, and then
expel the oil from the retort or other vessel by the introduction' of a jet,
stream, or current of atmospheric air, or gasses, or steam, singularly or com-
bined, superheated or otherwise, either above or near the surface of such solid
or semi-solid matters to be distilled, which system prevents the oil from being
charred or deteriorated, and thereby enables an increased quantity and
superior quality to be obtained. I do not employ nor do I wish to convey the
idea that I conduct the aftesaid air, gasses, or steam into the retorts or other
vessels for the purpose of conveying heat to effect the distillation, as the heat
for that purpose is solely and namely obtained by fuel-heat externally applied,
the air, gases, or steam being only employed for the purpose of mechanically
forcing at the last stage the liquid hydrocarbons or other matters when
formed from the retort. I place a perforated pipe or pipes in the interior of
the retort or other vessels, which is afterwards hermetically sealed at the top,
and the gasses formed during the distillation propel the liquid hydrocarbon or
other products downwards into suitable receivers, and thus the products of
distillation being confined within the retorts, ovens, or other vessels become
mainly the propelling agents of the oils or other products by the downward
distillation, or instead of one or more perforated pipes, I may employ circular
grids formed of iron rods or gas tubing extending from the top to the bottom
of the retort.
This Invention will be clearly understood by the following more particular
description thereof, reference being had to the figures and letters on the
accompanying three Sheets of Drawings.

page_text: Figure 1 is an elevation, and Figure 2, a section of a vertical retort to be
employed for downward distillation. The retort is formed of a metal shell a,
Figure 2, surrounded internally and externally by casings b, c, composed of
fire-bricks, fire-clay, or other suitable composition, and between the casing a
and the outer brickwork d there are three flues c, f, g, which gradually dimi
nish towards the top. At the bottom of the retort there is a perforated metal
plate h, a plan of which is shewn in Figure 3, and to this plate is connected
an outside door i, Figures 1 and 2, which is hinged on one side to the axle j,
having wheels k adapted to a tramway 1. Between the plate and door there
are uprights or tubes m for determining the space between the two, and the
combind plate and door are connected by chains n passing over pullies o, and
counterbalance by weights p, and when the retort is to be closed at the
bottom a lute of clay is placed on the parts q, r, Figure 2, and the weights p
pressed down until the two parts are in contact, which are then firmly held
together by a number of clamps, one of which is shewn at s; or instead of
the pullies and weights a windlass may be employed as shewn at a³. At the
centre of the bottom door i there is a pipe t leading to the receptical of the
products of distillation, to which pipe is connected another pipe u, the bottom
of which is submerged in a suitable depth of water or other fluid, which acts
as a safety apparatus; for if there should be any obstruction between the
retort and the receiver the distilled matters would escape through the fluid
and prevent any damage to the retort. In the interior of the retort there is
a perforated pipe v held in its place by a stud won the perforated plate and
by a cross bar. The retort is hermetically sealed at the top by the cover y
and man-hole lid z, provided with the necessary lutes, there being in the
centre of the lid a hole for the reception of a thermometer a³. When the
bottom of the retort is closed by the combined plate and door, and the retort
charged with the coal or other substance to be treated, heat is then circu-
lated through the flues e, f, g, and the gas which is evolved forces the oil or
liquid hydrocarbons or other matters through the body of the coal or other
substance, and through the tube and perforated plate and pipe into the
receiver. After the volatile and liquid products are withdrawn, the clamps
are loosened and the combined plate and door lowered, which are then
wheeled on the tramway on one side for enabling the coke, charcoal, or other
matters to be withdrawn.
When I employ atmospheric air, gases, or steam to assist in the expulsion
of the oil or liquid hydrocarbons or other matters, I connect a pipe 6' to 'the
man-hole lid, and force the said air, gases, or steam through the body of the
matter operated upon, and after the oil or liquid bydrocarbons or other

page_text: matters are discharged, if it be desired to produce a superior quality of coke,
I remove the central tube and admit atmospheric air, steam, gas or gases,
singly or combined, superheated or otherwise, for a sufficient length of time to
carbonize and purify the contents, by which process the hydrosulphurous acid
gas and other impurities are driven off, and pass away through the man-hole,
the lid of which has been removed, or they may be conducted to suitable
chambers to be condensed:
"
Figures 4, 5; 6, and 7 are vertical and transverse sections, and Figures 8
and 9, outside views of a retort, the furnace being shewn at c¹, and the
damper, at d¹.
Figure 10 is an elevation, and Figure 11 a section of the receiver, which is
connected to the bottom of the retort for receiving the heavier liquid products,
and the lighter products are carried onwards into a second vessel or condenser
shewn in Figures 12, 13, 14, and 15; this vessel contains two compartments
or chambers, divided by a partition which extends from the top to within a
short distance from the bottom, and the said partition at the bottom is
submerged in water, so as to seal it. By the gaseous bydrocarbons having to
pass through this column of water in the second vessel, nearly the whole of
the liquid hydrocarbons are arrested and detained, the more molatile hydro-
carbons being propelled or carried forward by the elastic force of the gases or
vapours, and such.
h. gases or vapours are further conducted into upright or
other suitable condensers, such as are in ordinary use for obtaining still more
liquid hydrocarbons or other matters, the surplus gaseous hydrocarbons being
allowed to escape or may be used for heating, lighting, or other purposes, or
returned from the gasometer to the retort.
In Figures 16 and 17 I shew an elevation and plan of a number of retorts
combined with their receivers and condensers, there being an exhaust pipe e,
when required, connected to an exhaust pump or pumps for the purpose of
drawing off the oil or liquid hydrocarbons first through the condensers, then
through the receivers, and, lastly, through the retorts. Thus it will be seen
that the generation of the gases from the matters operated upon is effected at
the lowest possible temperature, and these gases immediately and directly act
upon the substances contained in the retort, oven, or other vessel, and by the
natural expansion of the gaseous bodies they are driven from the top of the
retort or wherever they are generated through the body of the coal or other
matter, and through the perforated tubes or grids, and in their progress form
and carry off liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons or other matter. Also the
ammoniacal gases generated and regenerated at the same time acting on and
through the body of the matter in their downward desent, further carry off
.

page_text: the impurities, such as sulphur and its compounds, whereby a superior. quality
of coko is obtained. I also use the same hydro-sulphuretted ammonia after it
has been deprived of its sulphur by any well known process to be conducted
into the retorts or other vessels in a vapourized state to be used over. again
to receive a proper charge of sulphur and its compounds..
In some cases I use fire-brick retorts, formed of fire-bricks or band built,
and as they are porous bodies I connect exhaust, pumps or fans with the
interior of the retort to insure the proper quantity and quality of liquid
products. In the distillation of shale or other bodies containing bituminous
matter, but in which calcareous earths, silica, or aluminous or other metallic or
earthy matters are predominant, I form the retort with a fixed bottom; on
which rests a perforated plate or false bottom, there being at the sides and
bottom of the retort apertures for the egress of the products of distillation,
and doors for the removal of the residue and refuse. In this case I can
dispense with the perforated tubes or grids so long as the products of
distillation are conducted downwards by gravitation or assisted by their own
gases or vapours of generations and propulsion, and the said retorts or ovens
may be constructed of brick alone, or iron alone," or iron encased with brick.
If of brick alone, exhaustion should be resorted to; but if of iron or iron
encased with brick the gases of expansion and propulsion will be found
sufficient for the object without danger to the retorts. And I wish it to be
understood that it is only in those matters that have for their base a large
amount of calcareous or other earthy matters that the perforated' tubes or
grids may be dispensed with, as those bodies, by their earthy mechanical
structures enable the liquid products to be propelled downwards by their own
expansion force, or allow them to be assisted by exhaustion or propulsion,
as before described.
Having now described the nature and particulars of my said Invention,
I claim,-
Firstly, the use of air, steam, gas or gases, superheated or otherwise, as the
propelling agents of the liquid hydrocarbons or other matters, as herein-before
described.
Secondly, the propulsion of the liquid bydrocarbons or other matters
generated within the retort by the downward descent of their own gases of
expansion and propulsion.
Thirdly, the use of ammoniacal gases generated within the retort and before
leaving which they became the propelling agents, chymically and otherwise,
by carrying off the sulphur and other impurities from the coke.
Fourthly, the use and combination of air, steam, gas or gases, when

page_text: combined (not singly) superheated or otherwise, for freeing the coke of its
impurities during the distillation, as herein-before described.
And, fifthly, the use and construction of the apparatus applied and con-
structed as herein-before described, and shewn in the accompanying three
Sheets of Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Cormack, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-eighth day of April, One thousand eight
hundred and sixty-five.