Improvements in the Application of Liquid Carbonic Acid as a Motive Power.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 3rd July, 1896
Complete Specification Left, 25th Mar., 1897-Accepted, 8th May, 1897
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Application of Liquid Carbonic Acid as a
Motive Power.
I, EUGENE RASSINIER, of 29 Rue Durantin, Paris, France, Engineer, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
For several years it has been sought to use liquid carbonic acid as a motive power,
but unfortunately all experimenters have been confronted by the difficulty of its
freezing owing to the great lowering of the temperature caused by the passage from
the liquid to the gaseous state.
Now, my invention has for its object to prevent this freezing, and it consists in
passing the gaseous acid through a series of capillary tubes placed in a heating
chamber, these tubes being heated to a temperature of 120° C., by petroleum, or by coal
briquettes, or otherwise. This heated gaseous acid is then admitted to the engine
cylinder in which it acts upon the piston, and after expending its dynamic effect in
the said cylinder, is led by, means of an exhaust pipe, into a chamber or jacket
surrounding the cylinders or reservoirs of liquefied carbonic acid. The exhaust
carbonic acid circulates round these cylinders or reservoirs and, being still hot, gives
up to them sufficient heat to replace that which has been absorbed by the passage of
the acid from the liquid to the gaseous state, at 30° C., a pressure of 75 atmospheres
is obtained. The final exhaust of the gas takes place from this jacket or chamber, and
the supply pipe leading from the cylinders or reservoirs to the capillary tubes of the
heater is provided with a suitable safety valve.
The use of a capillary heater interposed between the reservoir of liquid carbonic acid
and the engine, brings about the expansion of the gas while the heating of the
reservoir of liquid carbonic acid by the bot exhaust gases takes place only when the
engine is working.
Dated this 3rd day of July 1896
ERNEST DE PASS,
Chartered Patent Agent,
78, Fleet Street, London, and 5 Market Street, Nottingham,
Agent for the Applicant.
Improvements in the Application of Liquid Carbonic Acid as a
Motive Power.
I, EUGENE RASSINIER, of 29, Rue Durantin, Paris, France, 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, reference being had to the accompanying drawings and to the letters and
figures marked thereon, that is to say:-
Heretofore, attempts have been made to use liquid carbonic acid as a motive power,

page_text: but the acid in passing from the liquid to the gaseous state produces a considerable.
lowering of temperature-30° to 40° C. below freezing-and causes the carbonic acid
to solidify. Attempts have also been made to prevent freezing, by heating the
cylinders or bottles containing the liquefied acid, either by steam, or by hot water, but
this is not safe when used in connection with motor vehicles, seeing that while
the vehicle is stationary, the acid still being heated increases in pressure, and, if there
be no safety valve, an explosion is likely to occur. If, however, there be a safety
valve, this rises, and a dead loss of acid takes place.
Now, my invention obviates these inconveniences, and it consists in first heating the
cylinders or bottles containing the liquid acid which, after being allowed to expand
in an expansion box, is caused to circulate through a series of capillary tubes enclosed
in a reheater wherein it is evaporated and mixed with steam, then admitted into the
motor cylinder so as to act on the piston, and finally exhausts into the chamber
containing the cylinders or bottles of liquid carbonic acid, so as to heat the latter.
The means employed for carrying out my invention prevents the heating of the
acid when the motor is not at work; causes the gaseous acid to expand to three times
its volume at a temperature of 200° C. before admitting it into the motor cylinder;
and allows of a small quantity of stean mixed with the gaseous carbonic acid being
admitted to the motor cylinder, this steam, at the same time, preventing escape and
lubricating the cylinder and piston, while effecting a saving in acid.
In carrying out my invention, I employ means or apparatus, such as shewn, by way
of example, in the drawings, in which:
a are the copper cylinders or bottles containing liquid carbonic acid, and
communicating with each other by means of a pipe b, all these cylinders being
arranged in a chamber c.
d is a valve permitting communication with an expansion box e, and f is a valve for
admitting the gaseous acid to the capillary tubes g. These tubes are heated in the
chamber h, by petroleum, or other suitable medium. The acid, after circulating
through these tubes (in which it becomes heated to a temperature of 200° C.) passes
out through the pipe i, and is admitted to the motor cylinder j.
After it has
acted upon the piston, it passes through the exhaust pipe k back into the chamber c,
and after parting with the heat absorbed by it during evaporation in the cylinders or
bottles a, escapes through the pipe l.
m is a water tank from which a drop of water is allowed to pass at intervals, through
a valve n, into the pipe n¹ leading the gaseous acid to the capillary tubes g. In this
tube the water becomes converted into steam, and mixes with the gaseous acid, before
it enters the motor cylinder to act, together with the acid, on the piston. The water
from the tank is sent into the capillary tubes g, with the gaseous acid, by the pressure
of the acid in the cylinders or bottles a, which is greater than the pressure in the
expansion box e, the pressure in the latter being equal to 10 kilos., whilst the pressure
in the former is from 60 to 80 kilos. A pipe o (with a regulating valve o') connects
the cylinders or bottles with the water tank, and supplies the pressure to force the
water into the pipe n'.
Instead of using a tank containing water under pressure, a pump, driven by
the motor, may be employed to draw water from any reservoir and force it into the
pipe n' cominunicating with the capillary tubes g.
p is a safety valve adapted to lift at 100 kilos.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same may be performed, I declare that what I
claim is:
1. The novel application of liquid carbonic acid to produce motive power,
substantially as described.
2. The general arrangement of apparatus for utilizing liquid carbonic acid as a
motive power, comprising a heating chamber (c) containing the cylinders or bottles (a)
charged with liquid carbonic acid, an expansion box (e), a capillary reheater (g),
means for supplying water under pressure, to be mixed in small quantities with the

page_text: carbonic acid, and a motor cylinder (✓) in communication with the reheater and
exhausting through a pipe (4) back into the chamber (c), substantially as herein.
described and shewn with reference to the annexed drawing.
Dated this 25th day of March 1897
ERNEST DE PASS,
Chartered Patent Agent,
78, Fleet Street, London, and 54, Market Street, Nottingham,
Agent for the Applicant.