Water of Steam Boilers.
Year: 1885

page_text: Water of Steam Boilers.
I FREDERICK BERNARD DOERING, of 10 Caledonia Street, in the City of
Liverpool, Civil Engineer do hereby declare the nature of my invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MEANS OR APPARATUS FOR PURIFYING THE WATER OF
STEAM BOILERS to be as follows :—
"
In order to prevent precipitation within steam boilers of the sulphates of lime
and other impurities which are contained in the water, even when such impurities
have been previously removed as far as is practicable by means of high temperature
heaters and filters or otherwise, I keep up a continuous circulation of the water
from one part of the boiler to another part thereof through a filter in which the
sulphates and other impurities will be retained or arrested. In order to keep up
the circulation through this filter I employ a water injector which draws the water
through the filter and discharges it into the boiler. The inlet pipe to the filter
communicates with the water in the boiler preferably at the hottest part thereof
and its entrance is bell-mouthed so that the steam contained in the water may
assist in forcing the water into the filter. The outlet or discharge pipe from the
injector communicates with the water in the boiler preferably at the coldest part
thereof. The top of the filter may be connected by means of a pipe with the steam
space of the boiler or with the top of the injector so as to prevent any accumulation
of steam pressure above the water in the filter. The water, in its circulation as
above described, may be passed through the filter after instead of before it passes
through the injector, as the injector may draw the water from the boiler and force
it through the filter but the arrangement first described is preferable. If the
injector be worked by the boiler feed pump, the feed water may be passed through
the injector and filter together with the water drawn from the boiler. When in
addition to the filter above described a high temperature heater and a filter are
employed to purify the feed water on its way to the boiler the hot water discharged
from this filter into the boiler may be utilized to work the injector.
Instead of employing an injector as explained to keep up the circulation of the
boiler water from one part of the boiler to another through the filter first described
the circulation may be maintained by passing the pipe which leads from the filter
back to the boiler through a cooler through which cold feed water circulates.
Or,

page_text: for keeping up the circulation I may depend entirely upon the steam which will
enter the bell-mouthed inlet of the pipe leading from the hottest part of the boiler
to the filter, the water passing from the filter into the boiler again, through the
outlet pipe. The same filter may in this case be employed to filter the water from
a high temperature heater when such is used.
The filter and the injector or cooler when such is employed are preferably placed
outside the boiler.
J. C. MEWBURN,
169, Fleet Street, London,
Agent.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Means or Apparatus for Purifying the
Water of Steam Boilers.
I, FREDERICK BERNARD DŒRING of 10 Caledonia Street in the City of
Liverpool 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 :-
In order to prevent precipitation within steam boilers of the sulphates of lime
and other impurities which are contained in the water even when such impurities
have been previously removed as far as is practicable by means of high temperature
heaters and filters or otherwise, I keep up a continuous circulation of the water
from one part of the boiler to another part thereof through a filter or depositing
box in which the sulphates and other impurities will be retained or arrested. The
inlet pipe to the filter or depositing box communicates with the water in the boiler
preferably at the hottest part thereof and its entrance is bell-mouthed so that the
steam contained in the water may assist in forcing the water into the filter.
outlet or discharge pipe from the filter or depositing box communicates with the
water in the boiler preferably at the coldest part thereof. The top of the filter or
depositing box may be connected by means of a pipe with the steam space of the
boiler so as to prevent any accumulation of steam pressure above the water in
the filter or box.
The
The same filter or depositing box may be employed to filter out or arrest
impurities in the water from a high temperature heater when such is used to heat
the feed water; in this case the steam and water which leave the boiler enter the
heater; the steam here separates from the circulated water and heats the feed
water which passes through it and therefore comes into direct contact with it, any
steam remaining uncondensed passes from the upper part of the heater by a pipe

page_text: to the steam space of the boiler while the feed water and circulated water pass
together to the filter or depositing box.
The annexed drawings represent a water purifying apparatus in which my
improvements are embodied. Figures 1 and 2 are elevations at right angles to each
other and Figure 3 is a partial plan. The apparatus is shown applied to a Field-
boiler in which however the tubes are not represented and the firebox is of the
down draught description requiring no uptake.
A is the heater wherein the feed water is raised to the temperature of the water
in the boiler by the steam from the boiler. B is a depositing box in which the
lime particles and other impurities are arrested. C is a cone or bell mouth attached
to a pipe G leading to the beater A. D is a pipe connecting A with B. E is a
steam pipe connecting the heater A with the steam space of the boiler and pre-
venting any accumulation of steam pressure above the water in the heater. The
modus operandi of the apparatus is as follows:-
The feed water enters the vessel A at F and becomes there heated to the.
temperature of the steam and water in the boiler.
The steam generated under the cone or bell mouth C drives a continuous stream
of water upwards along the pipe G into the heater A; here the steam will separate
from the water, and what is left uncondensed after heating the feed-water will pass
into the steam space of the boiler through the pipe E. This water ejected from the
boiler and which I call the circulated water, now passes with the feed water
together with all the impurities which they contain into the vessel B. Here the
insoluble matter or a large portion of it is deposited and is precipitated into the
cone K. from which it can be drawn off by a cock at L. The clean water now
passes through the pipe M into the lower portion of the boiler. It disperses
throughout the boiler, a portion is evaporated and in consequence a further amount
of sulphate of lime &c becomes insoluble; these particles in course of time reach
the cone or bell-mouth C and are passed into the vessel A and are deposited in B
as before.
A great part of the impurities are taken out of the feed water in the
first operation by heating it to the temperature of the water in the boiler whereby
a large portion of the carbonates and sulphates are at once rendered insoluble ;
this insoluble matter is deposited in B before the water enters the boiler. The
circulation of the water in the boiler is for the purpose of freeing it of matter
rendered insoluble during the process of evaporation.
When the heater A is not employed the pipe G leads into the vessel B and the
pipe E communicates between the upper part of this vessel and the steam space of
the boiler so that any accumulation of steam pressure above the water in the
vessel B is prevented.
Figure 4 represents a modification of the cone or bell mouth C in which it is
made double, that is to say, with an outer cone C¹ so that the steam and water
passing up the inner cone will cause an induced current up the outer cone which
will tend to draw in any impurities that are at or near the surface of the water.
This figure also shows supplementary cones C any number of which may be
combined with the main cone C so as to increase the surface from which water can
ascend to the pipe G.
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 in respect of means or apparatus for purifying the water of steain
boilers is
1. The bell-mouth or cone communicating with the water in the boiler and
connected by a pipe with a filter or depositing box from which another pipe leads
back to the water in the boiler whereby a continuous circulation of the water from
one part of the boiler to another part thereof is kept up through the said filter or
depositing box substantially as and for the purpose described.
2. The combination substantially as described of a filter or depositing box through
which a continuous circulation of the water from one part of the boiler to another

page_text: part thereof is kept up with a heater in which the feed water is heated by direct
contact with steam from the boiler, the heated feed water passing into and through
the filter or depositing box with the circulated water, as and for the purpose
set forth.
3. Connecting the upper part of a filter or depositing box employed to purify
circulated water of a steam boiler, or the upper part of a feed water heater com-
bined with a so-employed filter or depositing box as set forth, with the steam space
of the boiler as and for the purpose described.
4. The apparatus arranged and acting as hereinbefore described and shown in
the annexed drawings for purifying the water of steam boilers.
J. C. MEWBURN,
169, Fleet Street, London,
Agent.