Improvements in Evaporating Apparatus.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 6th Dec., 1899-Accepted, 10th Feb., 1900.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
[Communicated from abroad by The Firm of NiCOLO ODERO FU ALESSANDRO, of
Sestri-Ponente, near Genoa, in the Kingdom of Italy.]
Improvements in Evaporating Apparatus.
I, HENRY HARRIS LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake & Co., Patent Agents,
45, Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex, 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 apparatus for evaporating sea water for use in
steam boilers or for drinking, cooking and other purposes and the said inven-
tion consists of a heater for the water to be evaporated, an evaporating apparatus
proper, a condenser, a filter and an aerator.
According to the invention water is drawn from the sea and discharged upon
the heated surfaces of the evaporator whereby a part of the water is converted
into steam which passes into the condenser and is re-converted into water by
contact with cooling surfaces.
The heat for heating the salt water before it is introduced into the evaporator
is obtained, partly from the exhaust steam from the evaporator, and partly
from the water saturated with sea-salt which passes through the heater.
The object of the filter is to extract from the water thus obtained, the foreign
substances retained therein during evaporation, and the aerator is designed to
furnish the air for the water when used for drinking purposes.
When it is desired to produce water for steam generating purposes only, the
exhaust steam after passing through the heater is introduced directly into the
condenser of the main engine. The filter and aerator may in this case be
omitted.
In the accompanying drawings.
Figure 1 is a vertical section of an apparatus constructed according to the
present invention and adapted for the production of water for steam generating
purposes.
Figure 2 is a similar view of an apparatus adapted for producing water for
drinking, cooking and other purposes, and
Figures 3, 4, 5 and 6 are detail views of the evaporating coils.
The evaporator as shown in Figure 1 comprises a tank 1 for the reception
of the salt water to be evaporated and a dome 2, for collecting the steam or
vapour rising from the said tank.
The tank may be of cylindrical or other suitable shape and is furnished
with a steam jacket 3 which permits the water in the evaporating tank to be
kept at a suitable high temperature with a minimum amount of steam which
may be admitted into the said jacket through a suitable cock 30. The steam
dome 2 is preferably made of the shape of a truncated cone and is connected
to the top of the tank by means of eye bolts. The said dome is provided at its
upper end with perforated diaphragms or partitions 26 and 29 of iron or copper
secured in place by angle-pieces 27 and 28 the object of the said diaphragms
being to prevent priming. A steam pipe 6 is arranged in the dome and is
adapted to collect the steam arising from the evaporator and convey it to the
coils hereinafter described. Upon that portion of the steam pipe 6 which extends
outside the dome is arranged a safety valve 31 by which the pressure existing
within the dome is contrc.led. Suitable packing rings 4 and 5 are provided

page_text: in the flanges of the dome and tank for the purpose of forming a steam tight
joint.
Within the tank 1 is arranged a series of steam pipes or coils 13, 14, 15, 16,
17 and 18 which are connected by means of a box or header 19 with a steam
inlet nozzle or socket 21 to which latter is connected the steam collecting
pipe 6 and the steam inlet pipe 32. The opposite ends of the steam pipes or
coils are in like manner connected by means of a box or header 20 to the steam
outlet nozzle or socket 21 which communicates with the water heater by means
of a pipe 22. The sockets or nozzles 21 are provided with nuts 23 and 24 for
securely holding the parts together and for facilitating the removal of the coils
from the evaporating tank for cleaning or repairing purposes.
The steam pipes or coils in the evaporator are of special form as shown in
Figures 3 to 6 in which Figure 3 shows two sets of semi-circular coils connected
together at or near the centre while Figure 4 shows two sets of coils the con-
volutions of which are bent one upon another and connected together at their
outer ends, the transverse section of these coils being either circular as shown
in Figure 5 or elliptical as indicated in Figure 6. This special shape of the
pipes or coils combined with their transverse section has the effect of auto-
matically loosening any incrustation or salt deposit formed during the evapora-
tion of the salt water, this effect being produced by the deformation of the coil,
when suddenly subjected to a considerable internal pressure. Owing to this
action duplicate pipes or coils are rendered unnecessary.
The pipes or coils when constructed as above described can be removed with-
out the use of spanners by opening the steam dome and loosening the two winged
nuts 23 and 24 of the sockets 21, whereupon the said coils can be lifted bodily
from the tank.
A feed or inlet valve 10 arranged in the suction-pipe of a feed-pump is
attached to the exterior of the evaporating tank so that it will not be affected
by incrustations or by variation in the pressure or temperature within the tank.
The said valve is automatically regulated by means of a float 25 arranged in
the interior of the evaporator and connected by a lever arrangement with the
spindle of the said valve 10, so that the effective opening of the valve will be
regulated by the level of the water in the evaporator. Thus without altering
the speed of the pump a perfectly regular feed can be maintained in accordance
with requirements. There will be no necessity, as is often the case, to intro-
duce a large quantity of cold water suddenly which entails an increase in the
consumption of steam, renders the action of the apparatus irregular and neces-
sitates very close attention.
A feed pump 7 is connected by means of a pipe with the feed or inlet-
valve 10 and is operated by any of the auxiliary engines in ships. The pump
draws in the salt-water through the pipes 8 and 9 and valve 10, the flow being
regulated by the float 25 as above described. This water is forced through the
pipe 11 into a water-heater from which it passes into the evaporator through
a pipe 12.
The water heater consists of a cylindrical vessel 44 in the interior of which
is arranged another vessel 45 of similar shape containing a coil 46 through
which the steam from the evaporator passes on its way to the main condenser
or hot well.
The brine from the bottom of the evaporating tank is forced through the
pipe 33 by the pressure within the evaporator, to the space between the two
vessels 44 and 45 and is discharged through the pipe 48. The salt water to
be evaporated which is in contact with the serpentine is heated by the steam
from the evaporator passing through the coils 46 and also by the heated brine
from the said evaporator as it circulates through the jacket formed by the
vessels 44 and 45.
In the modified form of apparatus shown in Figure 2 a condenser is arranged
below the evaporating tank for the purpose of producing water for drinking

page_text: and like purposes.
In this case the operation of the evaporator and heating
apparatus is precisely the same as that described in connection with Figure I,
but instead of the steam passing from the heater direct to the condenser of the
engines it is caused to pass to the special condenser of the improved apparatus
through the two way cock 30. The condenser shown in Figure 2 is made of the
shape of a parallelopipedon and is provided with refrigerating or cooling
boxes 35, 36, 37, 38, 39 and 40 into which the steam evolved is discharged.
These cooling boxes are composed of metal frames, on the upper and lower
faces of which are fixed thin metal plates y which form the cooling surfaces
proper. The boxes thus constituted are attached in any suitable manner to the
condenser door, in which apertures are provided, so establishing communication
between the boxes or chambers and allowing the steam to be condensed to pass
through them. By opening the condenser door the boxes can be readily removed
for the purpose of cleaning or repair. These boxes are surrounded on all sides
with water which is caused to circulate around the said boxes by means of a
suitable pump, the condenser being provided with a suitable inlet and outlet
not shown, for the circulating water.
The water resulting from the condensation of the steam in the cooling boxes
is collected in a separate chamber 41 situated at the front of the condenser from
which it is drawn off through a pipe 42 by the action of the pump 43 operated
by a steam-engine attached to the apparatus and forced through a pipe 51 into
a filter.
The filter, which may be of any suitable form is by preference cylindrical
and divided by a vertical partition into two compartments 49 and 50. The
compartment 49 is designed to contain animal black while the compartment 50
contains calcarous stone or other suitable substance for purifying the water,
access being had to the said compartments through a suitable cover 52.
The water after being filtered passes to the aerator 53 through a pipe 54
provided with a rose or spraying head adapted to cause the water delivered by
the pump 43 to enter the aerator in the form of a fine spray. The acrator is
provided with a perforated partition or hood 55 which divides the said aerator
into two parts and causes the water, as it falls thereupon, to be divided and
to enter the lower part of the apparatus in the form of shower so as to be thereby
charged with air to render it fit for drinking purposes. The aerator is provided
with a jacket 56 to permit of the circulation of water for the purpose of keeping
the temperature thereof in the interior of the aerator as low as possible. The
cooling current enters at 57 and is discharged at 58 while the drinking water
passes through the pipe 59 to suitable storage tanks.
The operation of the improved apparatus is as follows:
Steam is admitted into the coils of the evaporator through the pipe 32 and
passes into the coils of the heater through the pipe 22. The water to be
evaporated is drawn by means of the pump 7 through the suction pipe 8 valve 10
and pipe 9 and is forced through the pipe 11 into the heater 44 where it is
heated partly by contact with the heating coils 46 and partly by the heated
brine from the evaporator as hereinafter described. From the heater the water
passes through the pipe 12 to the evaporator where it is vaporised by contact
with the heating coils. The steam or vapour rising in the dome 2 and passing
through the diaphragms 26 and 29 is collected in the upper chamber
by the pipe 6 which conducts it through the coils in the evaporator
and thence through the pipe 22 to the coils of the heater. The steam
or vapour then passes either to the main condenser when the apparatus is
used for producing water for steam generating purposes as in Figure 1, or to
the special condenser through the two way cock when the water produced is
to be used for drinking purposes as shown in Figure 2. In the latter case the
steam after being condensed in the cooling boxes or chambers is collected in
the chamber 41 from which it is forced by means of a pump 43 into the filter
from which it passes to the aerator and thence to the storage tanks.

page_text: .
The brine which collects in the bottom of the evaporating tank is forced,
by means of the pressure in the evaporator, through a pipe 33 into the heater 44
where it assists in heating the salt water before it is fed into the evaporator.
Should the pump 7 supply salt water to the evaporator faster than is required
the level of the water will rise in the said evaporator and will cause the float 25
to rise, which by means of the lever and valve rod will act upon the valve so
as to partially close the same and thus reduce the quantity of water introduced
into the evaporator. By this means an automatic regulation of the feed is
obtained without reducing the speed of the pump.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to me
by my foreign correspondents, declare that what I claim is:-
1. An apparatus for evaporating sea water, comprising an evaporator proper
consisting of a steam jacketted tank provided interiorly with heating or evap-
orating coils and with a steam dome having a pipe for conveying the steam
therefrom to the said coils, an apparatus for heating the salt water, before its
introduction into the evaporator, a pump for forcing the salt water into the
said heater and a water admission lift valve attached to the evaporator and
adapted to be automatically regulated by the level of the liquid therein, the
evaporator and heater being connected by a suitable pipe for conveying the
steam from the evaporating coils to the heater and with another pipe for con-
veying the heated water from the heater to the evaporator all arranged and
combined substantially as described with reference to Figure 1 of the drawings.
2. In combination with the apparatus for evaporating sea water as described
in Claim 1 a condenser consisting of a chamber adapted to receive the steam
or vapour from the heating apparatus, a series of cooling boxes to receive the
said steam or vapour to be condensed a water collecting chamber and a suitable
inlet and outlet for the circulating water, means for withdrawing the water
from the collecting chamber of the said condenser and means or apparatus for
filtering and aerating the water substantially as hereinbefore described with
reference to Figure 2 of the drawings.
3. In an apparatus for condensing sea water as described in Claims 1 and 2
a series of evaporating coils formed as shown in Figure 3, or as shown in
Figure 4, the inlet ends being attached to the steam inlet nozzle, or socket
for the admission of steam to the coils and the opposite ends to the outlet
nozzle in such a manner as to admit of the coils being readily removed for
cleaning or repairs, substantially as described with reference to the drawings.
4. In evaporating apparatus as claimed in Claims 1 and 2 the employment
of a heater for the water to be evaporated, consisting of an inner water chamber
and an outer chamber or jacket through which the heated brine from the
evaporator is caused to circulate in such a manner as to assist in heating the
water which is to be evaporated substantially as hereinbefore described.
...
5. In an apparatus for evaporating sea water as described in Claims 1 and 2
the employment of an aerator consisting of an inner vessel provided with a
hood or perforated partition for dividing the water to be aerated and an outer
vessel or cooling jacket for the circulation of cold water substantially as described
with reference to the drawings and for the purpose specified.
6. An apparatus for evaporating sea water, combined, arranged, and operating
substantially as described with reference to Figure 1 or with reference to
Figure 2 of the drawings.
1
1000
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicant.