Specification of James Alexander Manning : collecting and treating night soil.

  • James Alexander Manning
Date:
1865
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Specification of James Alexander Manning : collecting and treating night soil. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    5/10 page 3
    Specification. A.D. 1864.—N° 2788. 3 Manning's Improvements in the Collection and Treatment of Night Soil. temperature. These vapours are drawn from the cylinder into a straight pipe (passing a bend at its extremity) by means of a fanner situate at the bottom of the pipe, which fanner revolves with great rapidity through the agency of steam power, and forces the vapours into a condenser or absorber. 5 The condenser or absorber consists of a wrought-iron perpendicular cylinder (or it might be made of brick cemented with earth) resting on the ground, the upper part of which is furnished with a sufficient number of jets for con¬ veying water into it in such direction and with such force that their various streams will meet or come into collision with each other in the centre of the 10 condenser, whence a shower of fine rain will descend, and be disseminated over and through the whole interior space below the line of jets, absorbing all the gases which are brought over from the evaporating pans, which gases pass from the condenser by an exit or discharge pipe at the bottom, and are conveyed perfectly free from smell into the earth or into a water tank at such 15 a depth in the earth as may be advisable, or into canals or any other channel of safety. When the liquid of the mixed solid and fluid excreta is nearly evaporated, or the bulk is greatly reduced, but whilst still in a state of fluidity after boiling two or three hours, the contents of the evaporating pans are draw off by taps 20 opening into one or more drying rooms, and are spread thinly over the floors thereof, where they are speedily deprived of their remaining moisture, the floors of the drying rooms being heated by the waste heat from the furnaces or by steam if preferred. The vapours still rising from the manure whilst drying are drawn off into another and separate condensor or absorber similar 25 to that before described, except as regards the top or cover thereof, which, instead of being hermetically closed, with a manhole in the centre, has the cover of the manhole entirely removed, so as to allow a free passage for the air which is drawn into the condenser from the drying room, and which from the necessity existing for opening the doors occasionally to withdraw the dried 30 manure admits its full compliment of atmospheric air, which must all be subsequently drawn off by the action of the fanner into the condensor, causing a pressure, which if unrelieved would greatly retard the progress of the operation. To remedy this, the cover of the manhole is removed, and the air which passes through the shower of water has a free passage into a globe or 35 cylinder of copper, tin, or any light or thin metal where it can circulate freely * until it passes from the cylinder into a short air shaft, in which are placed at distances of a foot or two from each other, trays or sieves of copper wire netting each charged to the depth of two or three inches with pieces of box¬ wood charcoal broken to about the size of horse beans, and furnished with a
    digitised image 1
    digitised image 2
    digitised image 3