Improvements in Gas Purifying Apparatus.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 1st Jan, 1592
Complete Specification Left, 1st Oct., 1892-Accepted, 5th Nov., 1892
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Gas Purifying Apparatus.
I HUGH WILLIAMS of Longacre, Edgeley, Stockport in the County of Chester,
Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
My invention relates to the purification of gas by means of agents which have
an affinity for sulphur as is now well understood. The agents commonly employed
for the purpose are lime and iron oxide but to avoid repetition I will hereinafter
mention lime alone. The object of any invention is to obtain a passing of the
lime through the purifier so as to dispense with the present necessity for
withdrawing the spent lime at intervals and recharging with fresh lime which
operations involve the opening of the purifiers and loss of time and useful effect.
The emptying of the purifiers has to be done by hand labour and the work is
exceedingly disagreeable even if not unhealthy. In my improved apparatus I
employ chambers through which the gas and lime pass in opposite directions and I
pass the line in at one end and out at the other during the working of the apparatus.
The chamber in an apparatus or in an unit of a large apparatus may be of any
suitable form but at the present time I consider the cylindrical or conical form
to be suitable. The gas is admitted at or near one end and is allowed to pass out
at or near the other end. The crushed or comminuted lime is passed into the
cylinder at or near the gas exit end and passes out at or near the gas inlet end.
The lime may be fed into and passed out of the chamber by means of revolving
valves or of reciprocating valves so as to prevent or check the escape of gas.
lime is passed through the chamber by means of a revolving worm or helix or of
propelling blades carried by a revolving shaft and is at the same time stirred up
and kepi in motion so that all the particles of lime are exposed to the gas.
shaft may be provided with stirring forks tines or knives adapted to break up any
aggregations of particles. The quantity of lime within the chamber can be
governed by regulating the feed and discharge. I may provide the shaft wi
lifters to raise the lime and discharge it in showers through the passing gas. The
chamber may be inclined so as to facilitate the onward passage of the lime or
if the chamber be of conical formation the lime may be admitted at the smaller
end. The revoluble shaft or a shaft actuating the same would pass out through
a stuffing box and be revolved by means of a belt and pulley or of gearing. As
the incoming gas meets the spent lime, and the gas before leaving is always
brought into contact with fresh lime there is great economy of material attended
with practical efficiency. An advantage attendant upon the using of my apparatus
would be that at times of pressure when the gas production must be increased the
purifying capacity can be increased by passing the gas and lime through more
quickly.
Dated this 31st day of December 1891
The
The
DUTTON &
ULTON,
1, St. James' Square, Manchester, Agents.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Gas Purifying Apparatus.
I HUGH WILLIAMS of Longacre, Edgeley, Stockport, in the County of Chester,
Civil Engineer, 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 and accompanying drawings :-
:-
My invention relates to the purification of gas by means of agents which have an

page_text: affinity for sulphur as is now well understood. The agents commonly employed for
the purpose are lime and iron oxide but to avoid repetition I will hereinafter mention
lime alone. The object of my invention is to obtain a passing of the lime through the
purifier so as to dispense with the present necessity for withdrawing the spent lime
at intervals and recharging with fresh lime, which operations involve the opening of
the purifiers and loss of time and useful effect. The emptying of the purifiers has to
be done by hand labour and the work is exceedingly disagreeable even if not
unhealthy. In my improved apparatus I employ chambers through which the gas
and the lime pass in opposite directions and I pass the lime in at one end and out
at the other during the working of the apparatus. The chamber in an apparatus
or in an unit of a large apparatus may be of any suitable form but at the present
time I consider the cylindrical or conical form to be suitable. The gas is admitted
at or near one end and is allowed to pass out at or near the other end. The
crushed or comminuted lime is passed into the cylinder at or near the gas éxit
end and passes out at or near the gas inlet end. The lime may be fed into and
passed out of the chamber by means of revolving valves or of reciprocating valves
so as to prevent or check the escape of gas. The lime is passed through the
chamber by means of a revolving worm or helix or of propelling blades carried
by a revolving shaft and is at the same time stirred up and kept in motion so that
all the particles of lime are exposed to the gas. The shaft may be provided with
stirring forks, tines or knives adapted to break up any aggregations of particles.
The quantity of lime within the chamber can be governed by regulating the feed
and discharge. I may provide the shaft with lifters to raise the lime and discharge
it in showers through the passing gas. The chambers may be inclined so as to
facilitate the onward passage of the lime or if the chamber be of conical formation
the lime may be admitted at the smaller end. The revoluble shaft or
a shaft
actuating the same would pass out through a stuffing box and be revolved by
means of a belt and pulley or of gearing. As the incoming gas meets the spent
lime, and the gas before leaving is always brought into contact with fresh lime
there is great economy of material attended with practical efficiency. An advantage
attendant upon the using of my apparatus would be that at times of pressure when
the gas production must be increased, the purifying capacity can be increased by
passing the gas and lime through more quickly.
In order that my invention may be made perfectly clear I will now proceed more
particularly to describe the same with reference to the annexed drawing which is
a vertical section of an apparatus suitable for carrying my. invention into effect.
The body of the purifier consists of a cylindrical casing a which is mounted on
supports 6 or carried in any suitable manner. At that end of the casing which is
marked A, I place the lime feeding hopper c and valve d and at the same end is
situated the gas exit pipe e. At the opposite end of the casing, viz.: at the end
marked B there is the lime ejecting valve f and the pipe for admitting the gas to
be purified. Through the centre of the cylindrical casing a there runs a shaft
carried in bearings at i and j. At; where the shaft passes through the cover I
provide a stuffing box and gland to prevent the escape of gas. The shaft is
revolved by any suitable means for example by a belt passing over the pulley .
The shaft carries a spiral blade which is supported from the shaft by means of
supports m which are bolted to the square shaft as clearly shown in the drawings.
In addition to these supports the shaft might also carry tines or forks to stir up and
throw about the lime while the gas is passing through it. Instead of a helical
blade / as shown the feeding forward of the lime might be effected by propeller
blades or paddles fixed to the shaft and revolving with it. At each end of the
spiral blade there is a perforated plate n and n' which cuts off a space at each end
of the cylinder o.
The entering gas enters this space at the end B and is strained
through the perforated plate n before coming in contact with the lime.
other end A the purified gas passes through the perforated plate n' and makes its
exit by the pipe e.
The perforated plate n¹ prevents lime dust from passing out
When the apparatus is in operation the lime is thrown into
with the purified gas.
At the

page_text: the hopper c and is fed by the revolving valve d into the casing a, along which it
is carried by the revolving spiral l. At the same time gas is admitted by the
pipe g and is forced or drawn through the casing a so as to meet and come in
contact with the advancing lime. The gas is thereby purified and issues from the
casing through the pipe e. The lime becomes spent as it passes along and is finally
thrown out by the revolving valve f. It is an advantage of the apparatus that the
entering unpurified gas first meets the spent or nearly spent lime, and the more the
gas becomes purified the fresher is the lime it meets until just at the port of exit it
passes through the fresh lime as it enters through the valve d.
The cylinder a might be inclined so as to assist the progress of the lime, or it
might be made of a conical shape, the lime being fed into the smaller end.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. The general arrangement and construction of continuous gas purifying
apparatus substantially as described and shown.
2. The improved gas purifying apparatus consisting of a cylinder or case fitted
with means such as a revolving spiral, or propeller blades for advancing a continuous
supply of lime or other purifying agent against a current of gas to be purified
substantially as hereinbefore described and shown.
3. The improved gas purifier consisting of a cylinder or casing having at one
end a lime hopper with revolving admission valve, and a gas outlet pipe; at the
other end a revolving lime ejecting valve and a gas inlet pipe, in combination with
means such as a revolving worm or series of propeller blades for slowly traversing
the lime from end to end of the casing against the current of gas substantially as
hereinbefore described and shown.
Dated this 30th day of September 1892.
E. K. DUTTON & Co.,
5, John Dalton Street, Manchester, Agents.