Improvements in Carburetting Gases and in the Purification of Hydro-carbons for that Purpose.
Year: 1890

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Carburetting Gases and in the Purification of
Hydro-carbons for that Purpose.
I, Dr. CARL HEYER of Dessau, Germany, Sworn Technical Expert, 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 a process for carburetting gases (such as illuminating gas,
water gas, air &c.) in such manner as to obtain a gaseous mixture, that, while it
possesses a uniform strong illuminating power, it burns without unpleasant odour.
With the known methods for carburetting gases, vapours of either solid or liquid
hydro-carbons are mixed with the gases and the combustion of such mixtures have the
disadvantage of always producing unpleasantly smelling combustion gases.
To obviate this defect, and produce an odorless combustion of the vapours of
unpurified liquid hydro-carbons and the gases in question such hydro-carbons are,
according to my present invention, subjected to a treatment with hydrogen gas
before bringing the gases to be carburetted in contact therewith.
The hydrogen
can for this purpose be produced in any well known manner, either separate from
or in the same vessel with the hydro-carbons, and be made to act upon these either
at atmospheric or at higher pressure.
By this treatment with hydrogen gas the sulphur compounds contained in the
unpurified carburetting hydro-carbons and which also exist in considerable quantities
in the purified and so called pure preparations, are decomposed, under formation of
sulphuretted hydrogen, and hydro-carbons are produced which combine in a very
uniform manner with the gases to be carburetted and which enter into perfect
combustion therewith.
The development of the sulphuretted hydrogen does not generally commence at
once; the hydrogen gas requires rather to act on the carburetting hydro-carbons for
some time before sulphuretted hydrogen appears in the gases developed, and from that
point the quantity given off rapidly increases.
The simplest mode of proceeding is as follows:-zinc and water are first introduced
into a wood vessel lined with lead, and afterwards the carburetting hydro-carbons to
be treated. Sulphuric acid in small quantities is introduced through a lead pipe
passing through the layer of hydro carbon into the water, and the generation of
hydrogen gas is thereby maintained until a test paper moistened with lead solution
held in the gas current is no longer blackened, or only to a small extent, shewing
that no, or exceedingly little sulphuretted hydrogen is being generated.
As the composition of the raw hydro-carbons employed varies considerably, as does
also the percentage of decomposable sulphur compounds therein, no precise rules as to
the quantities of zinc or hydrogen gas to be used and as to the duration of the reaction
can be given; but the object is in every case shewn to be obtained, if the escaping
current of gas shews no more sulphuretted hydrogen, or only traces thereof.
In order to enable the reaction to be stopped more quickly, the zinc may be
suspended in a basket in the acid liquid underneath the layer of hydro-carbon and the
production of hydrogen gas is then stopped by the withdrawal of the basket, as soon
as the test paper shews that the reaction has ceased.
The escaping hydrogen gas mixed with sulphuretted hydrogen gas and hydro-
carbon vapours, can itself be used for illuminating and heating purposes after it has
been freed in the known manner roin sulphuretted hydrogen.
When using very impure hydro-carbons, such as those rich in phenoles, or sulphide
of carbon, it is advisabie, either during the action of the hydrogen gas, or before
or after this operation, to distill the liquid hydro-carbons either over caustic potash,
caustic soda, or caustic lime, or over oxide of lead or carbonate of land or to chaba

page_text: them up together with these substances in form of powder, or to digest them with
aqueous or alcoholic solutions of potash or caustic soda.
If this treatment is to be carried on simultaneously with the reaction of the
hydrogen gas, the latter is generated separately from the vessel containing the hydro-
carbons, or the hydro-carbons are digested with aqueous or alcoholic potash or
soda lye, under the addition of zinc dust. The liquid hydro-carbons treated as above
described, when illuminating gas or other gases to be carburetted are led through or
over the same in suitable apparatus, give a gas of almost constant high illuminating
power, that can be perfectly burnt in ordinary gas or oil-gas burners, whereas the raw
liquid hydro-carbons give, without such treatment, unequally carburetted gas, and
combustion products of very unpleasant odour.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. The process for carburetting gases wherein the liquid hydro-carbons to be used
for the carburetting process are first treated with hydrogen gas or with hydrogen gas
and caustic potash caustic soda, caustic lime, oxide of lead or carbonate of lead, the
gases to be carburetted being then passed through or over such purified hydro-
carbons.
2. The preparation of hydro-carbons for carburetting gases, by treating liquid
hydro-carbons with hydrogen gas, or with hydrogen gas and caustic potash, caustic
soda, caustic lime, oxide of lead or carbonate of lead.
Dated this 31st day of January 1890.
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.