IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR THE MANU- FACTURE OF GAS
Year: 1884

page_text: HENRY JOHN ROGERS Lavington House Watford Engineer do hereby declare
the nature of my invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR THE MANU-
FACTURE OF GAS to be as follows:-
The object of this invention is the manufacture of gas from hydrocarbon oils
and steam by a more simple and economical means than that hitherto adopted.
The apparatus that I use for this purpose consists of a horizontal cylinder lined
with fire brick, gannister or fire clay (which I will hereafter call the retort) at one
end of which I place a furnace similar to the arrangement of a locomotive furnace
with its boiler, the heated products of combustion passing through the retort and
heating the brick or fire clay lining thereof to a bright red heat. In some
convenient part of the furnace or fire box or in some part of the retort itself I place
a boiler which may form part of the shell of the fire box itself or of the shell of the
retort and I lead a pipe from this boiler to hollow fire bars under the furnace by
which means I superheat the steam generated therein before passing it into the
retort or may lead a coil of pipes between an inner and outer lining of brickwork
so that sufficient heat can be obtained from the furnace to superheat the steam in
the coil without the flame from the said furnace directly impinging upon it.
From either of these superheaters I pass a pipe to some convenient position
either in the fire box or the retort itself and I cause to communicate therewith a
second pipe from a tank containing any hydrocarbon or other oil rich in gas-
producing ingredients and I so arrange these pipes at the point of contact that the
steam pipe is the lower of the two the oil pipe being introduced slightly above it,
the oil dropping or falling therefrom being caught by the steam and disintegrated
or distributed thereby so that every particle of it comes in contact with the heated
surfaces of the retort.
The oil or steam should be brought in contact with the heated surfaces of the
retort for as long a period as possible so that an absolutely permanent gas may be
generated.
The gas generated by these means from the steam and oil mixes with the gases
from the coal or coke used in the furnace and form together a very large volume
of gas very rich in illuminating power but necessarily impure, I then pass the
combined gases through a vessel containing water so that they may be thoroughly
washed under-pressure after which they may be purified in the ordinary way,
Prins S77

page_text: I may also place a charge of dried sludge or sewage in my retort and extract
a quantity of gas therefrom or I burn the dried sludge as fuel with the same
result.
After a certain time the retort will become too cool for the proper generation of
gas I then shut off: the oil and steam supplies and pass a blast of steam or air
through the fuel in the furnace and thus reheat the retort.
It is obvious that two or more of these combined furnaces, boilers and retorts
may be used together for the production of gas and that, if, desirable, they may be
vertical instead of horizontal. It is also obvious that the whole apparatus must
be gastight; I therefore so arrange the ash pit door that at the time I am generating
gas I can hermetically seal it and when I am not generating gas but using a blast
of air or steam I can re-open it for a supply of air to the fuel. The fire door also
must be arranged so that it can, when required, be hermetically sealed.
I arrange two outlets from the retort, one to take away the products of
combustion when gas is not being generated and which is in the form of an
ordinary chimney but with a heavy weight in some convenient part thereof so that,
during the process of gas making, this weight can be lowered onto its seat and act
as a stop valve; the other outlet is for the passage of the gas into the washer
during the process of generation.
.
I also arrange one or more sight holes so that the state of the furnace can be
examined even when under pressure.
I can use also for the purpose of generating gas tarry fluids or refuse or residuals
that are too heavy or too impure to be used in other gasworks and thus render my
process one of the most economical in existence.
4

page_text: I HENRY JOHN ROGERS, Lavington House Watford Engineer do hereby declare
the nature of my invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR THE MANU-
FACTURE OF GAS and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement:―
This invention has for its object the design and construction of a special apparatus
(here after described) for the manufacture of heating and illuminating gases by a
simpler and more economical process than that heretofore adopted-My said
apparatus consists of an outer casing A of iron or steel, cylindrical in form and
lined with fire brick ganister or fire clay and having occasional baffles c
arranged on its inner surface for the purpose hereafter described, and com-
municating at one end with a furnace d also contained in a metallic shell and lined
with similar refractory materials. The shape of the cylindrical casing (hereafter
called "the cylinder") and the furnace are shewn in the accompanying drawings
in which Fig. 1. is a sectional elevation and Fig. 2 a front elevation of iny said
apparatus but I do not restrict myself to the horizontal cylinder shewn in Fig. 1
as I may place the said cylinder vertically over the furnace but I prefer the shape
and position herein described.
The furnace d is set in brickwork e and has a double furnace door f g arranged
like a double retort door its upper part f being for obtaining access to the furnace d
and the lower part g for clinkering the bars and for other purposes hereafter
explained. Between the doors ƒ and g I insert a pipe h in communication with a
steam boiler i placed over the furnace d and in this pipe I place a jet similar to a
bunsen jet and at the extremity thereof I place a small pipe perforated with holes.
to correspond with the spaces between the fire-bars, the object of this being to
supply steam and air to the furnace when it is required to revivify the solid fuel
thereupon but I do not claim this as part of my invention.
From the steam-space of the boiler i I pass a pipe K which is in communication
with a coil contained between a cast iron protecting chamber m and the outer
shell of the furnace by which means the steam from the said boiler is superheated
and I continue a pipe n from the coil to a position on the outer shell of the
furnace about central with the circuinference of the cylindrical chamber R. o is an
oil tank to contain any hydro-carbon or other gas-producing oil and I claim as an
essential feature of my invention that, owing to the extreme simplicity of my said
apparatus, and the absence of complicated parts therein; cruder, heavier and
therefore, cheaper oils can be distilled thereby than is the case with other apparatus
constructed for the same or a similar purpose. From the said oil-tank I lead a
pipe p with a stop cock q to a funnel r and beneath this funnel I place a regulating
cock to regulate the flow of oil into the apparatus and to exclude air if I desire to
exclude it, a pipes is thence continued to the point t immediately above the spot
where the said steam-pipe n enters the shell of the furnace.
The steam-pipe n ends inside the furnace in a scoop-shaped orifice along which
the steam from the boiler is continually passing during the process of distillation
and upon this orifice the oil from the pipe t is continually dropping or falling

page_text: during the continuance of the said process so that it meets the steam which carries
it into the centre of the cylinder R in a thoroughly disintegrated condition or in
the form of a spray so that it is dispersed freely over the heated surfaces of the
said cylinder. The gases from the solid fuel in the furnace d mingle with the
gases distilled from the oil and steam entering at tn and form together a large
volume of gas which becomes a fixed and permanent gas during its passage through
the cylinder R and passes out at an opening v to a condenser and purifyer where
it is rendered fit for use either as an illuminant or for heating purposes, for gas
engines or for any other purpose for which gas is now employed.
f
At the side of or in some convenient position relative to the furnace d I form a
shoot w over which I place a valve which, when depressed by the raising of the
weighted lever H, permits of the furnace being fed from the hopper y in which the
fuel is previously placed.
In a convenient position in the front or end of casing A, I place a sight-hole B
made of glass so that it can easily be taken out for cleaning purposes and so that
it can be rendered gas-tight, the object of this sight-hole being to observe the state
of the interior of the furnace and the cylinder to ascertain if the surfaces thereof
are in a fit state to commence, or (having commenced) to continue the process of
gas-making.
At the extremity of the cylinder R I construct a chimney C having a weighted
valve and lever D similar to that already described for feeding the furnace; during
the process of gas-making this valve D is closed but when I require to suspend the
gas making process for the purpose of re-heating the cylinder R, as is occasionally
necessary, I open this said valve and pass a stream, of air and steam through the
solid fuel on the furnace bars, the valve being closed again when the surfaces of the
cylinder R are hot enough to resume the gas making.
The baffles c before mentioned are for the purpose of compelling the gases to
reinain for as long a period as possible in contact with the heated surfaces of the
cylinder R and thus more intimately mix the various gases and convert them into
fixed and permanent gases.
Two or more, combined furnaces and distilling cylinders may be, used simul-
taneously or alternately if required, the arrangements as described for one such
combination applying for a number.
I further cheapen the construction and give greater simplicity by taking the
pipen from the interior of the cylinder R and injecting the oil from the tank o
into the cylinder R by the pressure of the gas generated from the solid fuel on the
furnace d and in that case I use an ordinary form of Bunsen injector but without
the air-holes the oil-supply-pipe taking their place.
;
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is...
A
1st The arrangement or combination of the cylinder R with the furnace d for
the formation of heating or illuminating gases.
2nd The combination of the boiler i with the superheating-chamber m in the
furnace d and the cylinder R for the purpose of simplifying and improving gas-
generators or producers as herein described and specified and manufacturing the
gas and constructing the apparatus therefor at a very small cost comparatively
with all other systeins now in use.