Improvements in the Manufacture or Production of Water Gas, and Apparatus therefor.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 29th Jan., 1892
Complete Specification Left, 31st Oct., 1892-Accepted, 3rd Dec., 1892
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Manufacture or Production of Water Gas, and
Apparatus therefor.
I, SAMSON Fox of Leeds Forge, Leeds, in the County of York, Civil Engineer,
do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows :-
--
My invention of improvements in the manufacture or production of water gas and
apparatus therefor has reference to the use in bringing to incandescence the charges
of fuel in a water gas generator of heated air instead of cold air, and to the
utilization of certain gases other than water gas, produced by the process, for the
purpose of heating the said atmospheric air so to be used.
The blast of heated air is conveyed to the generator, and being at a high tempera-
ture when admitted, has the effect of bringing the before mentioned fuel to a state
of incandescence, more rapidly, and consequently causing a larger quantity of water
gas to be produced within a given time, than by the employment of a cold air blast
as heretofore usual.
In carrying my invention into effect, I place, in any convenient position, a
regenerator divided into two parts by a partition or division and provided with a
suitable reversing valve and inlet and outlet passages.
I conduct the heated gases from the generator through one chamber or portion
of the regenerator, until it is raised to a high temperature. I then reverse the
valves and allow the heated gases to pass through the other chamber or portion at
the same time admitting cold air into the chamber or portion already heated; the
air directly after being heated is used as a hot air blast for blowing up the fuel in
the generator.
As the chamber or portion of the regenerator through which the air has passed,
becomes cool, the valve is reversed, and hot gas is again passed through it the air
passing through the other chamber or portion thus keeping up a continuous supply
of heated air for the generator blast.
Dated this 20th day of January 1892
W. LLOYD WISE,
46, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C., Agent for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Manufacture or Production of Water Gas, and
Apparatus therefor.
I, SAMSON Fox of Leeds Forge, Leeds, in the County of York, 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:-
My invention of improvements in the manufacture or production of water gas and
apparatus therefor has reference to the use in bringing to incandescence the charges
of fuel in a water gas generator, of heated air instead of cold air, and to the
utilization of certain gases other than water gas, produced by the process, for the
purpose of heating the said atmospheric air so to be used.
The blast of heated air is conveyed to the generator, and being at a high
temperature when admitted, has the effect of bringing the before mentioned fuel to
a state of incandescence, more rapidly, and consequently causing a larger quantity
of water gas to be produced within a given time, than by the employment of a cold
air blast as heretofore usual.

page_text: In carrying my invention into effect, place, in any convenient position, a
regenerator divided into two parts by a partition or division and provided with
suitable reversing valves and inlet and outlet passages or two separate regenerators
may be used.
I conduct the heated gases from the generator through one chamber or portion
of the regenerator until it is raised to a high temperature. I then reverse the
valves and allow the heated gases to pass through the other chamber or portion, at
the same time admitting cold air into the chamber or portion already heated. The
air directly after being heated is used as a hot air blast for blowing up the fuel in
the generator.
As the chamber or portion of the regenerator through which the air has passed
becomes cool, the valve is reversed, and heated gases are again passed through it,
the air then passing through the other chamber or portion which has been heated,
thus keeping up a continuous supply of heated air for the generator blast.
In the accompanying drawings
Fig. is a sectional elevation on the line. Fig. 3;
Fig. 2 is a cross section on the lines y y Figs. 1 & 3; and
Fig. 3 is a sectional plan of apparatus for the manufacture or production of
water gas according to this invention.
1 and 2 are air regenerators containing brickwork arranged chequer-wise as well
understood. 3 is the water gas generator. The upper end of each regenerator is
in communication by a passage 4 with a valve box 5 provided with a reversing
valve 6 by means of which the upper end of the regenerator can at will be placed
in connection with a cold air supply pipe 7 into which air is forced by a blower 8,
or with a chimney 9 by way of a flue 10. The lower end of each regenerator is in
communication by a passage 11 with another valve box 12 provided with a
reversing valve 13 by means of which the said lower end of the regenerator can at
will be placed either in connection with a hot air passage 14 leading to the lower
end of the generator 3 and controlled by a valve 15 or with a pipe or flue 16 that
is in connection with the upper end of the generator. The valve 15, may
advantageously be a water cooled valve of ordinary construction, and be made
reversible so that in one position it will permit heated air to flow into the bottom
of the generator and in its reversed position will enable the water gas to flow from
the bottom of the generator into the gas pipe 3. The reversing valve 6 is
provided with a hand lever 6° and with an arm 6 that is connected to a corre-
sponding arm 13 on the reversing valve 13 by a rod 17. 18 is an auxiliary exit
pipe connected with the pipe 16 and provided with a valve 19. The operation of the
apparatus is as follows:-
:-
Assuming the valves to be in the positions illustrated in Fig. 2 and that the
regenerator 1 has been previously heated by the passage through it of heated gases
from the generator 3, then the blower 8 being in action, cold air will flow downward
through the generator 1 wherein it will become highly heated and will thence flow
as indicated by the arrows a through the passage 11 valve box 12, passage 14 and
valve 15 to the lower end of the generator 3 the fuel in which will consequently be
raised to a state of incandescence. Heated gases produced by the action of the
heated air blast on the fuel will simultaneously pass through the pipe or flue 16,
valve box 12 and passage 11 to the regenerator 2 through which it will ascend,
heating the brickwork therein, and finally escaping from the top thereof to the
chimney by way of the passage 4, valve box 5 and flue 10 as indicated by the
arrows b. After a short time say about twenty minutes, the positions of the valves 6
and 13 are reversed so that the cold air will now flow downward through the now
heated regenerator 2 to the generator, the heated gases from which will flow upward
through the partially cooled regenerator 1 and thence to the chimney. These
operations are repeated until the fuel in the gas generator is raised to a suitable
degree of incandescence, when the supply of heated air is stopped, the valve 15
reversed, and steam is introduced through a pipe 17 and valve 17 into the top of
the generator wherein it is decomposed by contact with the incandescent fuel, the

page_text: resulting water gas escaping by the pipe 3. During this time a valve 18 on the
pipe 16 is kept closed to prevent water gas escaping through the pipe. After a
time the supply of steam is cut off and the heated air blast again admitted to the
bottom of the generator, these operations being repeated from time to time as well
understood.
The generator or generators may be placed in any convenient position the
drawing showing one that may be advantageously adopted.
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 hereinabove described improvement in the manufacture or production of
water gas, using an air blast heated to a high temperature by passing through a
regenerator previously heated by hot gases escaping from the water gas generator,
for raising the fuel in the said water gas generator to a suitable degree of
incandescence to produce water gas by contact therewith of steam, whereby the
said fuel is raised to the desired state of incandescence more rapidly, so that a
larger quantity of water gas can be produced in a given time, than by the
employment of a cold air blast.
2. For the production of the heated air blast referred to in the preceding claim
the combination with a water gas generator, of air regenerators, passages for
connecting the top of each generator alternately with an air supply pipe and with
a chimney passage for placing the lower end of each regenerator alternately in
communication with the top and bottom of the generator, and reversing valves,
these parts being combined and arranged to operate substantially in the manner
hereinbefore described with reference to the drawings annexed.
Dated this 31st day of October 1892.
W. LLOYD WISE,
Per F. J. Brougham,
46, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C., Agent for the Applicant.