Specification of William White : deodorizing sewage matters.
- White, William
- Date:
- 1855
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: Specification of William White : deodorizing sewage matters. Source: Wellcome Collection.
5/6 page 3
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: Specification of William White : deodorizing sewage matters. Source: Wellcome Collection.
![Specification. A.D. 1854.™N° 1741.. ^ Whites Improvements in Deodorizing the Contents of Cesspools] Privies, (^c, passage of decomposed organic matters, and for arresting their decomposition and neutralizing their obnoxious volatile principles. The combination is a powder consisting of the following materials, videlicit, charcoal prepared from night soil combined with vegetable matter, or prepared 5 from the substantive parts of night soil, with burned clay and sulphate of the protoxide of iron. I am aware that some of these substances have been before used for like purposes, but my Invention consists in the employment of these matters in combination. Having thus stated the nature of my said Invention, I will proceed to describe 10 the manner of performing the same. In preparing compounds according to my Invention for deodorizing the contents of cesspools, privies, sewers, drains, and other places for the retention and passage of foecal matters, and also for arresting organic decomposition in manure heaps and tanks, and further, for neutralizing or destroying the offensive 15 emanations which proceed from accumulations of refuse, animal matters, or which are evolved during the treatment of such matters in various manu¬ factures, I combine charcoal produced by means of burning human foeces in conjunction with an absorbent and carbonized aluminous earth, schist, or other matter, with a due proportion of the sulphate of the protoxide of iron. 20 In the preparation of the foecal charcoal, I first combine a given quantity of . human foeces, the contents of cesspools or privies, with about a third part their bulk of spent tan, sawdust, dried peat, or other absorbent, and expose the mixture to the atmosphere; or I employ artificial desiccating means until the moisture of the mass is reduced to below fifty per cent. I then intimately 25 blend this mixture with about twenty per cent, (by weight) of clay, schist, or other aluminous matter; of these I give the preference to Portland schist or alum shale. The whole is then to be placed into an iron or earthenware retort, and exposed to a degree of heat sufficient to secure the complete and uniform carbonization to the entire mass. 30 The retort must be provided with a. beak, for the exit of the steam, vapour, and ammoniacal and other gases given off during the process, and which are allowed to flow into a condenser, containing a solution of common salt, or of sulphuric acid, or some other matter in solution, to be afterwards employed for the purpose of manure or otherwise; and care must be taken not to remove the .35 cover of the retort, or otherwise to permit its carbonized contents to be exposed to the atmosphere as long as incandescence is maintained. The resultino* charcoal being removed from the retort, it is to be ground fine and incorporated with about a third of its weight of finely-powdered sulphate of protoxide of iron. I would remark that I am aware of the employment of charcoal](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b30756558_0005.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
