IMPROVEMENTS IN COKE OVENS AND IN APPARATUS EMPLOYED IN CONNECTION THEREWITH ALSO APPLICABLE TO HEATING FURNACES
Year: 1883

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Simon of N° 7 Saint Peter's Square Manchester
in the County of Lancaster for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN COKE
OVENS AND IN APPARATUS EMPLOYED IN CONNECTION THEREWITH ALSO
APPLICABLE TO HEATING FURNACES" Communicated to him from abroad
by Francois Carves of St Etienne Loire in the Republic of France.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Simon at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 1st February 1883.
"
"
HENRY SIMON of N° 7 Saint Peter's Square Manchester in the County of
Lancaster. IMPROVEMENTS IN COKE OVENS AND IN APPARATUS EMPLOYED IN
CONNECTION THEREWITH ALSO APPLICABLE TO HEATING FURNACES." [A communi-
cation to him from abroad by François Carves of St Etienne Loire in the Republic
of France]
This invention relates to constructions and arrangements of coke ovens and
apparatus connected therewith whereby the coking of the coal is more completely
and economically effected than in coke ovens of ordinary constructions and the
tar, ammoniacal and other products of the distillation of the coal are collected and
separated in a condition which renders them available for use. A construction of
coke ovens which to a certain extent carries out these objects was Patented by me
as a communication from my said correspondent on the 28th June 1879 N° 2616 and
the present improvements have reference to means whereby a still greater economy
of fuel is effected by the use of the regenerative system for causing the heat of the
gases and products of combustion passing from the furnaces of the coking chambers
to be utilised in being imparted to the air and gas supply for combustion in the
furnaces of the ovens, or to either the gas or the air alone, or the said heated gas
and air may be used for heating retorts for the manufacture of gas, steam boilers,
puddling and reheating furnaces, ovens or furnaces for ceramic ware or for the
manufacture of glass &c &c.
For the purpose of imparting the heat of the gaseous products of combustion to
the combustible gas and air any known description of regenerator may be employed

page_text: such as the Siemens, Bessiges, Kalder, and others, such as are used for hot blast
stoves, and for other heating purposes.
In some cases it may be sufficient to use chimney draught to produce the
necessary currents of air and gas through the regenerative passages and flues, while
in other cases it may be necessary to employ exhaust or blowing fans or other
suitable known apparatus for producing an artificial draught.
The apparatus for heating the gas or air can be raised to the requisite temperature
either by the gaseous products of the furnaces or by the heat produced in the
coking process. The furnaces may be arranged to burn any description of fuel
either solid or gaseous. For utilising the heat produced by the coking process other
apparatus beyond those above mentioned may be used, and which will be herein-
after described.
According to one modification of the coke ovens constructed according to the
present invention there is arranged beneath the flue leading from the fire grate
beneath the bed of the coking chamber, as described in the Specification of my
previous Patent above referred to a second flue, open to the atmosphere at the
front end, where a regulating door or valve is provided, from which point it is led
backwards and forwards beneath the said furnace flue, and issues at the front end
either into the furnace or below the same or into the furnace flue or into the flue
formed in the partition wall of the furnace, in order that the heated air may at
either point enter into combustion with the combustible gases given off from the
firegrate.
According to another arrangement an air supply flue open at the front end
passes as in the previous case, backwards and forwards beneath the furnace flue and
opens either into or below the furnace, or into the flues in the side walls but in
this case the air passing through the flue, in addition to being heated by the
furnace flue at top is also heated at the sides by the flues in the side walls,
extended downwards on each side thereof, and by a flue leading underneath its
bottom from the said side flues into the main flue leading to the chimney.
According to another arrangement, the cold air enters at one end of a long flue
extending at the back of the ovens close along the outer side of the main smoke flue
from the ovens and in returning along the inner side of this flue, it communicates,
by a side opening at each oven with a flue passing underneath the furnace flue of
the ovens, terminating at the front end in the ash pit of the furnace. Thus the
cold air supply in passing along first on one side and then on the other side of the
longitudinal main smoke flue takes up a large quantity of heat therefrom, before
entering the separate flues beneath each oven, and in issuing thence into the ash
pit of the furnace it is led either through or above the fire, or through passages into
any of the before mentioned flues through which the products of combustion are
escaping in order therein to complete the combustion of those products. The
escape flues for the products of combustion from each oven into the main smoke
flue, are arranged intermediate between the before mentioned branch air flues and
pass beneath the inner main longitudinal air flue. The supply of air to the furnace
of each oven is regulated by suitable openings provided with dampers or valves.
After traversing the main longitudinal escape flue the gaseous products of
combustion may be led into flues surrounding a steam boiler, so as to utilise the
heat still contained therein, for raising steam before escaping into the chimney.
According to another modification of the above arrangement, two longitudinal
smoke flues are provided instead of a single one, with a space between them for
an air flue, and each such smoke flue communicates respectively with a chimney
and a steam boiler arranged at each end of the row of ovens, the one half of the
coke ovens being made to communicate with the one smoke flue and the other
half with the second ones (these communications being arranged alternately). The
cold air supply first enters one end of a flue situated along the outer side of the
one smoke flue, and passes at the other end into a second air flue situated between
the two smoke flues, and after traversing the same, passes into a third air flue
arranged on the inner side of the second smoke flue, from which it passes through

page_text: branches into the several ovens, as before described. By these means the amount
of flue surface for the interchange of heat from the products of combustion to the
air is greatly increased and this may be further extended by increasing the number
or the length of the flues. Although the use of two separate chimnies has been
described with the above arrangement yet, the flues may be so arranged as to
dispense with the second chimney.
According to another modification the two sets of alternate air flues and smoke
flues previously described are provided with "filling" such as is employed for the
well known Siemens regenerators, and by means of a series of reversing valves
and passages, also of any well known construction used with the Siemens
regenerators, each set of such flues may be made to communicate alternately either
with the outer air or with the chimney, so that the flames and hot gases from the
furnaces are first made to pass through the one set of regenerator flues to the
chimney, imparting their heat to the "filling," and when the latter has become
sufficiently heated, the said valves are reversed so as to cause the fresh air to pass
through these flues and take up the accumulated heat from the filling before
issuing into a longitudinal channel from which branches communicate with each
furnace. At the same time the gaseous products of combustion are made to pass
from the furnaces through the other set of regenerator flues to the chimney so as to
heat them in like manner. As in the former cases, the hot gases may be led through
the flues of a steam boiler before issuing into the chimney.
It will be seen from the three last above described arrangements that the
heating of the air or of the combustible gases, or both, required for combustion is
effected mainly by the main longitudinal smoke flues of the ovens, so that
comparatively little heat is abstracted from the gaseous products of combustion in
the flues immediately surrounding the coking chambers, this heat being therefore
more or less entirely available for the coking operation.
It will be readily understood that although I have only described the improved
arrangements for heating the air and gas supply as applied to coke ovens, they are
equally applicable to other heating ovens, furnaces or kilns such as those bereiu-
before mentioned.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Henry Simon in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 26th July
1883.
HENRY SIMON, of N° 7 Saint Peter's Square Manchester in the County of
Lancaster "IMPROVEMENTS IN COKE OVENS AND IN APPARATUS EMPLOYED IN
A communi-
CONNECTION THEREWITH, ALSO APPLICABLE TO HEATING FURNACES.
cation to me from abroad by Francois Carves of St Etienne, Loire in the Republic
of France.
This invention relates to constructions and arrangements of coke ovens and
apparatus connected therewith, whereby the coking of coal is more rapidly and
more economically effected than in coke ovens of ordinary construction, and the
tar, ammoniacal and other products of the distillation of the coal are collected and
separated in a condition which renders them available for use. A construction of
coke ovens which to a certain extent carries out these objects was patented by me
on the 28 June 1879 N° 2616 as a communication from my said correspondent,
and the present improvements have reference to means whereby the coking process
is carried through at a greater heat than heretofore, thus ensuring better and
denser coke and accelerating very considerably the operation of coking. This is
effected by causing the heat of the gaseous products of combustion passing from
the beating flues of the coking chambers to be utilised in being imparted to the air
and gas supply for combustion in the furnaces or flues of the ovens, or to either
the gas or the air alone, such heating of the gas and air being effected in flues that
are entirely external to, and as far as possible out of contact with the brickwork of
the oven, and by preference situated between the ovens and the chimney, so that
the abstraction of heat through any of the walls of the ovens, and which is detri-
mental to their working in the most favorable way, is entirely avoided. In many
cases, it is sufficient to use chimney draught to produce the necessary currents of
air and gas through the passages and flues, while in other cases it may be necessary
to employ exhaust or blowing fans or other suitable known apparatus for producing
artificial draught.
Figs. 1 to 5 of the accompanying drawings shew one arrangement of a series of
coke ovens and apparatus for carrying out the said invention. Fig. 1 shows a
longitudinally section through a coking chamber and cross section through the
external air and smoke flues on line 1-1, Fig. 3. Fig. 2 shews a longitudinal
section through the partition wall of the coking chamber on line 2-2 Fig. 3.
Fig. 3 shews a part plan and part sectional plan of the coking chambers and flues,
and Fig. 4 shews a part front elevation and part cross section of the coking
chambers and Fig. 5 shews a sectional plan to a smaller scale of the external smoke
flues and air heating flues.
The coking chambers A A, which, in order to effect the coking process in the
most advantageous manner, are made of small width (from 18 to 20 inches by
preference) have below their floors a fire place B with flue C leading thence under
the floor of the coking chamber to the opposite end, where it passes laterally into
the flue C¹ in the side wall of the chamber, which flue first ascends to the upper
part of the wall and then descends in a zig zag direction as shewn at fig. 2, so as to
cause the combustion gases passing through the same to effect the heating of the
coking chamber in the most uniform manner, as described in my aforesaid former
specification. From the lower part of the flue C¹, the gases pass down the inclined
flue C into the external smoke flues C³ C. These two flues, as will be seen from
the plan Fig. 5, extend along the whole range of coke chambers, each flue being
closed at one end and communicating with the chimney DD' at the other end. The

page_text: flues C¹ of the ovens communicate alternately with the flues C³ C+, as shewn, so
that the combustion gases of one half of the range of ovens are discharged into the
flue C3 and those of the other half into C, and it will be observed that the flow of
such gases towards the Chimnies D D¹ will take place in contrary directions in
the two flues. An air flue E extends firstly along the outer side of the flue C*,
then passes at El along between the two flues, and again returning, passes at E
along the other side of the flue C³. From this part of the air flue, branches Es
pass off to each coking chamber, and extend beneath the flue C to the fire place B
with which they communicate through openings E³ E³.
Thus it will be seen that atmospheric air entering the flue E at E, pases along
the same in contact with the hot wall of the flue C, and through E', where it is in
contact with the hot walls of both C and C³, and lastly, through E' whence it
passes in a highly heated condition through the branch flues E³ to the fire places
of the several ovens, in order there to enter into combustion with the gaseous fuel
employed, which, in some cases, may be kept ignited by a small fire of solid fuel
on the grate shewn at B. It will be seen that in E the air flows in the contrary
direction to the current of the combustion-gases in C, and also, in E¹, it flows in the
contrary direction to that of the gases in C³, so that the coldest air in each case
comes in contact with the cooler part of the smoke flues and thus the heat is taken
up by the air in the most effective manner. It will also be seen that as the air, in
passing through the flues E E¹, becomes heated to a considerable degree, it will, in
passing through the flue E2 (which is to a very slight extent in contact with the
brick work of the oven), not absorb any appreciable amount of heat therefrom; and
even this absorption, small as it, may of course be entirely avoided by arranging
the flues out of all contact with the brickwork of the oven, except where they
enter the same.
The hot air is made to enter the fire place through the openings E* and E³, the
latter being in close proximity to the inlet nozzle F for combustible gas, supplied
through the pipe F', while the opening E* serves to supply air when required to
the before mentioned small fire on the grate. The hot air flue is also by preference
extended up in the front wall of the ovens, as indicated at E', in order to commu-
nicate at E8 or at any other convenient point with the upper part of the flue C¹, so
that a portion of the hot air entering there may effect the combustion of any
unconsumed combustible gases that may have passed away from the fire place.
The combustible gaseous constituents distilled off from the coking chambers escape
through the flue G and are led through suitable pipes or hydraulic mains to any
suitable known apparatus for condensing the tar and removing from the gas other
condensible and useful constituents; and the gas, after such purification, is then by
preference utilised in whole or in part as fuel for heating the coke ovens, for which
purpose, it may either be led directly to the fire-place B, through the pipe F' and
nozzle F, or it may also be previously heated by first passing it through a pipe or
flue situated within or in close contiguity to the smoke flues C+ C³. As, however,
the quantity of gas consumed is small in proportion to the air supply, the
advantage gained in heating it is in most cases not sufficiently great to justify the
additional expenditure and greater complication caused by the provision of
apparatus for heating it.
As shewn at fig. 5, the combustion gases may, before escaping up the chimnies D,
be made to pass through the flues H of steain boilers or of ovens or kilns or
evaporating pans, in order still further to utilise the heat contained in such gases.
Fig. 6 shews a sectional plan of another modification in which there is only one
external smoke flue C³, into which the flues of all the ovens open, and on each side
of which is an air flue E E', so arranged that the external air, entering at E, first
passes along E in the contrary direction to the current of the combustion-gases
in C³, and then passes through the branches E³ to the furnace of each coking
chainber. As in the previous arrangement, the combustion gases may be led
through the flues H of a boiler &c before escaping up the chimney D, or they may
be utilised in any other convenient way, according to local circumstances.

page_text: +
According to another modification, instead of having separate air supply and
smoke flues, as in the previous arrangements, the same flues are made to serve
alternately for taking up the heat from the combustion-gases and imparting such
heat to the air supply, the flues being thus made to serve as regenerators of well
known construction. Fig. 7 shews a sectional plan of such an arrangement. The
smoke flues C' of the ovens all open into the flue K, while the air flues E³, leading to
the fire places, all open into the flue I. Both the flues I and K are made to commu-
nicate at X, by means of reversing valves of known construction, alternately with
'the regenerator flues L M; these flues extend first from the end X to the opposite
end of the range of ovens, and then return again, and are at Y provided with
reversing valves of known construction, whereby they are made alternately to
communicate with the chimney D, and with the outer air. The reversing valves at
X and Y are connected, and are worked simultaneously, so that when those at Y are
moved into position for admitting air into M, and for allowing the products of
combustion to pass from L to the chimney, those at X are brought into position for
making the air flue I communicate with M and the smoke flue K communicate
with L, while when the valves are reversed, the above communications are also
reversed. Assuming the communications to be established as first described, then
the combustion-gases will pass from K through L L, giving off their heat to the
surfaces of these Hues, which surfaces are, by preference, made of considerable extent
either by forming tortuous passages in the flues, or by providing these with "filling"
such as is ordinarily used in furnace regenerators; at the same time, atmospheric
air will enter the flue M M at Y, and in passing along the same, will take up the heat
that has been previously given off to its surface by the passage of the combustion-
gases, these surfaces being increased by "filling" or tortuous passages, as in L. On
the reversal of the valves, the combustion-gases will escape through M M, and the
air will enter through L L.
"
It is found that with the several above described improved constructions of ovens,
special fires in grates, such as are required in the arrangement described in my
former patent, are in most cases no longer necessary and consequently, not only is
the fuel saved, but the attention heretofore required of special stokers or attendants
and the consequent expense is much reduced.
I am aware that it has already been proposed to heat the air supply by leading
it through flues under the bed, or in the front or other walls of the oven itself, so as
to take up heat from the oven itself, but it is found very objectionable to abstract
any heat whatever from any part of the oven itself, and according to this invention,
heat is abstracted only from such parts of the flues which are traversed by the
products of combustion of the gases used for heating the ovens, and after they have
left the whole of the brick-work constituting the oven itself. The reason of the
above objection is that it is desirable to have as elevated a temperature as possible
in the coking process, and I therefore consider it wrong in principle to abstract
through the walls of the oven any heat whatever for elevating the temperature of
the air of combustion.
On the other hand, the using of the waste heat of the products of combustion for
raising the temperature of the air required for the combustion of the gas around the
oven raises the temperature of the latter considerably.
In cases when the heat under the sole of the oven should become too great, I only
admit a reduced quantity of air at that spot and admit the remainder of the air
necessary for complete combustion at any other convenient spot, say in the side
flues, as described, thus more equally dividing the heat over the outside of the
retort or oven.
In cases where the draught through the flues is not sufficient, I employ fans,
pumps, injectors, ejectors and similar apparatus for accelerating it.
The arrangements shewn on the accompanying drawings are intended only to
serve as examples of the manner in which the invention may be carried out, as it
will be evident that the smoke and air flues may be arranged in a great variety of
ways for the above described purpose; thus, the flues might be arranged one above

page_text: the other instead of side by side, care being taken in all cases that, firstly, the
initial heating of the air shall be effected in flues that are practically out of contact
with the brickwork of the coke ovens, and secondly, that there shall be the smallest
possible contact of the hot air flues with the brickwork of the oven up to the point
where the air enters into combustion.
Having thus described the nature of this invention and in what manner the
same is to be performed as communicated to me by my foreign correspondent,
I claim-
:
First Heating the air supply or the supply of combustible gas, or both, to the
combustion chambers or flues of coke ovens, by means of the waste heat of the
gaseous products of combustion, while passing from the ovens to the chimney or
chimnies, the arrangement being such that the initial heating of the air to a
considerable degree is effected in flues that are entirely out of contact with the
brickwork of the ovens, substantially as and for the purposes herein described.
Second The arrangement of coke ovens and their flues substantially as herein
described with reference to Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 of the drawings, wherein the bot
gaseous products of combustion, after passing downwards through the zig-zag flues
C in the side walls of the oven, escape to the chimney through flues C3 C4, external
to the brickwork of the ovens, while the air required for combustion in the
combustion chambers, is caused to pass through flues E E' E' contiguous to the flues
C3 C so as to take up heat therefrom.
Third: The arrangement of coke ovens and their flues substantially as herein
described with reference to fig. 7 of the drawings, wherein two sets of Blues L M
external to the brickwork of the ovens are so arranged in connection with the
combustion flues of the coke oven and the chimney, that, by means of reversing
valves, the air required for combustion is made to pass alternately through the one
or the other set, so as to take up the heat previously imparted thereto by the
passage of the hot gaseous products of combustion, which are, in like manner, made
to escape alternately through the one or the other set.
In Witness whereof, I the said Henry Simon have hereunto set my hand
and seal this Twenty-fifth day of July, in the year of our Lord, one thousand,
eight hundred and eighty-three.
DY CAT
('SWT)
HENRY SIMON.