Improvements in and connected with the Production of Acetylene Gas.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 10th Oct., 1896. -
ad fir
Complete Specification Left, 12th July, 1897-Accepted, 14th Aug., 1897-
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION...
De
“Improvements in and connected with the Production of
Acetylene Gas.
sutst
I, LOUIS THEOBALD FITZGIBBON, of 94 Piccadilly, in the County of London,
Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:
This invention relates to improvements in the production of acetylene gas on a
commercial scale and whereby the chemical purification of the gas produced in
the generators is effected, the gas is dried as it leaves the gasometer, and wherein
I employ the calcium carbide in the form of agglomerate which enables me
to regulate the re-action on it of the water by using a constant weight for a given
volume of gas to be generated all as hereinafter more particularly described. "
In carrying out my invention I provide an apparatus having an opening for
easily charging it with carbide and at the same time adapted to be closed
sufficiently tight to prevent any escape of gas..
.
This tight joint is obtained by the difference of the level of the liquid contained
in the producing chamber and in the feeding tube.
05
The apparatus is formed of a sheet metal chamber or vessel closed at its upper
end by a cover which forms a perfectly tight joint with the same. It is provided
laterally with a feed tube arranged at an inclination and continues with another
tube which projects, above the cover.
It
This tube is connected to the chamber by a bracket and an angle iron.
projects into t
o the interior of the chamber to a distance equal to about a fifth or
a quarter of the diameter of the chamber, and its end is cut obliquely. The
cover is provided with a pressure gauge to indicate the pressure and a cock for the
escape of the gas.
On the side of the vessel
opposite the feed tube a gauge glass is provided which
enables the.action in the interior of the apparatus, to be observed. The chamber
is immersed in a vessel containing water designed to cool it and which is provided
with a draw off cock.
•
The action of the apparatus is as follows. The vessel is filled with water up to
the middle level, 'the cock which connects it to the gasometer is opened,
nd, the
quantity of carbide necessary for the production of the volume of gas which it is
desired to generate is introduced through the feed tube.
wl of
The carbide falls into the water to the bottom of the chamber, gas is produced
and accumulates, above the level of the water at the upper end of the chamber
and escapes into the gasometer. The pressure forces the water into the feed tube
up to a level above the water as this tube is opened to the air and this difference
of level is sufficient to prevent the escape of the gas through the feed tube. I
may also sometimes increase the tightness of the joint of the feed tube by pouring
petroleum into its upper part or by providing it with a cover having a hydraulic
joint containing mercury or any other liquid as shewn.
In some cases I arrange the feed tube vertically in the upper part of the
chamber. A cone is arranged under-the lower end of the tube for spreading out

page_text: the carbide the said cone forming a float to close the lower end of the tube to
prevent the escape of the gas.
Careful analyses shew that acetylene contains ammonia. To get rid of this
ammonia I have found that the most effective agent is hydrochloric acid and I
employ this acid as a very dilute solution for eliminating the ammonia either by
causing the gas to pass through it by bubbling, or by utilizing it for producing
acetylene itself. Or the gas can be also passed into a column filled with coke
through which the hydrochloric acid is caused to drop, or which has been saturated
with this acid.
In order to completely dry the gas I pass it through a series of baskets containing
carbide of calcium. These baskets, the number of which can be varied, are fixed
to a rod so as to be movable together. They are placed in a tube closed at its two
ends by covers forming tight joints. The upper cover is provided with an attach-
ment for the escape of gas and the lower cover is provided with an attachment,
for the inflow of the gas, which is provided with a conical cap for avoiding the
passage of carbide or lime into the tube.
It is well known that the difficulty of practically utilising the chemical reaction
of carbide of calcium on water consists in the too great rapidity with which this
reaction takes place.
In the apparatus hitherto in use and acting either by the immersion of the car-
bide in the water or by the pouring of the water over the carbide, this difficulty
has not been overcome.
According to my invention I pulverize and mix the carbide with a suitable form
of agglutinant, preferably paraffin, heated and liquefied in the proportion of from
about 8 to 10 per cent, in such a manner as to form agglomerated blocks or sticks
which are compressed by means of a press or of a squirt or nozzle as in the
manufacture of compressed fuel, of emery, or of carbons for electric arc lamps.
It will be readily understood that, the carbide of calcium being thus distributed
throughout a homogeneous mass and mixed with one or more inert bodies, its
action on water will be regular and not precipitate whereby acetylene gas can be
slowly produced.
Dated the 10th day of October 1996
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicant.
Improvements in and connected with the Production of
Acetylene Gas.
I, LOUIS THEOBALD FITZGIBBON, of 94, Piccadilly, in the County of London,
Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and.
by the following statement:-
This invention relates to improvements in the production of acetylene gas on a
commercial scale and whereby the chemical purification of the gas produced in
the generators is effected, the gas is dried as it leaves the gasometer, and wherein
I employ the calcium carbide in the form of agglomerate which enables me
to regulate the re-action on it of the water by using a constant weight for a given
volume of gas to be generated all as hereinafter more particularly described.
In carrying out my invention I provide an apparatus having an opening for
easily charging it with carbide and at the same time adapted to be closed
sufficiently tight to prevent any escape of gas,

page_text: This tight joint is obtained by the difference of the level of the liquid contained
in the producing chamber and in the feeding tube.
The apparatus is formed of a sheet metal chamber or vessel closed at its upper
end by a cover which forms a perfectly tight joint with the same. It is provided
laterally with a feed tube arranged at an inclination and continuous with another
tube which projects above the cover.
This tube is connected to the chamber by a bracket and an angle iron. It.
projects into the interior of the chamber to a distance equal to about a fifth or
a quarter of the diameter of the chamber, and its end is cut obliquely. The
cover is provided with a pressure gauge to indicate the pressure and a cock for the
escape of the gas.
On the side of the vessel opposite the feed tube a gauge glass is provided which
enables the action in the interior of the apparatus to be observed. The chamber
is immersed in a vessel containing water designed to cool it and which is provided
with a draw off cock.
In some cases I arrange the feed tube vertically in the upper part of the chamber.
A cone is arranged under the lower end of the tube for spreading out the carbide
the said cone forming a float to close the lower end of the tube to prevent the
escape of the gas.
In order to completely dry the gas I pass it through a series of baskets con-
taining carbide of calcium. These baskets, the number of which can be varied,
are fixed to a rod so as to be movable together. They are placed in a tube closed
at its two ends by covers forming tight joints. The upper cover is provided with
an attachment for the escape of gas and the lower cover is provided with an
attachment for the inflow of the gas the said attachment having in connection with
it a conical cap for preventing the entrance of carbide or lime into the tube.
To enable my invention to be fully understood I will describe it by reference
to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Figure 1 is a vertical section of apparatus constructed according to
invention:
Figure 2 is a section on the line 2-2 Figure 1:
Figure 3 is a vertical section shewing the cap and joint of the feed tube:
t. Figure 4 is a vertical section of the modified form of my apparatus; and,
... Figure 5 is a vertical section of my drier..
a is the sheet-metal chamber or vessel and b the cover which closes the upper
end of the same the joint between the said cover b and sheet-metal vessel a being
made tight by an india-rubber packing ring. d is the feed tube arranged, as
shewn clearly in Figure 1, at an inclination and d¹ is the tube continuous with the
tube d and which projects above the cover b. e is the bracket and e' the angle
iron by which the said tubes d, dare secured to the sheet-metal vessel a.. As
hereinbefore described the tube d projects to a distance equal to about a fifth or
a.quarter of the diameter of the chamber a into the said chamber and has its end
cut obliquely as clearly shewn in Figure 1.
f is the pressure gange and the cock for the escape of the gas generated, both
of which are fitted upon the cover b. h is a gauge glass fitted laterally on the
vessel a by means of which the level of water in the vessel can be ascertained. i is
the vessel containing water into which the lower part of the vessel a is immersed
and is the cock fitted to the said vessel i and in connection with the interior of
the vessel a.
i
As above stated the gas generated in the vessel a is prevented from escaping
through the feed tube d, by the difference of level of the water in the vessel
and tube. In some cases, however, as an additional security I provide the upper
end of the said feed tube d¹ with a cap de Figure 3, the said cap dipping into
mercury contained in a channel or gutter d³ formed around the upper end of the
said feed tube.
The operation of the apparatus is as follows:-
The vessel a is filled, with water up to the level indicated by the middle dotted.

page_text: line in Figure 1, the cock 7 is opened and the quantity of carbide necessary for
the production of the volume of gas, which it is desired to generate, is introduced
through the feed tube d, d.
The carbide falls into the water to the bottom of the vessel a and gas is pro-
duced and accumulates above, the level, of the water at the upper end of the said
vessel and escapes through the cuck y into, the gasometer. The pressure of the
generated gas forces the water, contained in, the vessel a into the feed tube d up
to the level above that of the water in the said vessel as the tube is open to the
atmosphere and this difference of level of, the water in the feed pipe and, the
vessel is sufficient to prevent the escape of the gas through the said feed tube., As
above described I sometimes employ a cover for further security.
In the modification shewn in Figure 42 the feed tube d is arranged vertically in
the upper part of the chamber a. jis the cone arranged under the lower end of
the tube d for spreading out the carbide the said cone being attached to a rod j₁
mounted in a support secured to the bottom of the vessel a so that it acts as a
float and normally closes the lower enil of the tube in order to prevent the escape
through the said 'tube of the gas generated.
Figure 5 is a vertical section of the drying apparatus for the gas. k, kare the
baskets which are perforated as shewn and is the rod to which they are fixed so
that they can be moved together in the tube m. n, n are the covers tightly closing
the ends of the said tube by means of the packing rings and the pivoted bolts n².
o is the outlet for the dried gas fitted to the upper cover n, p is the attachment
or nozzle through which the gas flows into the apparatus and is the cone which
is fitted in the interior of the apparatus in connection with the nozzle ? the
said cone being designed as above described to prevent the entrance of carbide or
of lime into the tube.
It is well known that the difficulty of practically utilizing the chemical reaction
of carbide of calcium on water consists in the too great rapidity with which this
reaction takes place.
In the apparatus hitherto in use and acting either by the immersion of the
carbide in the water or by the pouring of the water over the carbide, this difficulty
has not been overcome.
According to my invention I pulverize and mix the carbide with a suitable form
of agglutinant, preferably paraffin, heated and liquefied in the proportion of from
about 8 to 10 per cent, in such a manner as to form agglomerated blocks or sticks
which are compressed by means of a press or of a squirt or nozzle as in the
manufacture of compressed fuel, of emery, or of carbons for electric are lamps.
It will be readily understood that the carbide of calcium being thus distributed
throughout a homogeneous mass and mixed with one or more inert bodies its
action on water will be regular and not precipitate whereby acetylene gas can the
slowly produced.
Careful analyses shew that acetylene contains ammonia. To get rid of this
ammonia I have found that the most effective agent is hydrochloric acid and I
employ this acid as a very dilute solution for eliminating the ammonia either by
.causing the gas to pass through it by bubbling, or by utilizing it for producing
acetylene itself. Or the gas can be also passed into a column filled with coko
through which the hydrochloric acid is caused to drop, or which has been saturated
with this acid.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said in-
vention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is:-
1. Apparatus for the production of acetylene gas from calcium carbide and
water consisting of a closest vessel adapted to contain water and having an outlet
for the gas generated and of a feed tube for the water and the calcium carbide,
the said feed tube passing obliquely into and opening near the bottom of the
vessel below the level of the' water 'in the same and having its outer portion

page_text: extended upwards above the level of the water in the vessel, substantially as and
for the purpose, herein before described and illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 of the
accompanying drawings.
2. In apparatus of the kind described in claim 1 providing the upper open end
of the feed tube with a cap dipping into a liquid contained in a gutter formed
around the said upper end of the feed tube substantially as, and for the purpose,
hereiniefore described and illustrated in Figure 3 of the accompanying drawings.
3. Apparatus for the production of acetylene gas from calcium carbide and
water consisting of a closed vessel having an outlet for the gas generated and
designed to contain water, of a vertical feed tube which enters the vessel and
passes below the level of the water and of a conical float designed to close the
inner end of the said tube, substantially as described and illustrated in Figure 4
of the accompanying drawings.
4. In apparatus for the production of acetylene gas and of the kind described
in claims 1 and 2 providing the lower end of the vessel with a trough for containing
water, substantially as, and for the purpose, hereinbefore described.
5. In the manufacture of acetylene gas the employment of hydrochloric acid for
the purification of the said gas, substantially in the manner hereinbefore described.
6. In the manufacture of acetylene gas the employment for drying the said gas
of a series of baskets containing calcium carbide and designed to be hermetically
enclosed in a tube having an inlet and outlet for the gas to be dried, substantially
as hereinbefore described and illustrated in Figure 5 of the accompanying
drawings.
7. In the manufacture of acetylene gas from calcium carbide and water pul-
verizing the carbide, mixing it with a suitable agglutinant, such as paraffin, and
compressing the mixture by suitable means so as to form blocks or sticks,
substantially as, and for the purpose, hereinbefore described.
8. The combination and arrangement of parts forming the improved apparatus,
for the production of acetylene gas, hereinbefore described and illustrated in
Figures 1, 2, 3 and 5 and in Figures 4 and 5 respectively of the accompanying
drawings.
100
100x
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicant.