Improvements in and connected with Refuse Consuming Furnaces, and in Utilizing the Waste Heat therefrom for Generating Steam.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 16th July, 1894
Complete Spec fication Left, 3rd Apr., 1895-Accepted, 18th May, 1895
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and connected with Refuse Consuming Furnaces,
and in Utilizing the Waste Heat therefrom for Generating
Steam.
I, TOM WILLIAM BAKER of 6 Broad Street House London E.C. Engineer
do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
The object of this invention is to generate steam from low class fuels or refuse, to
render innocuous the fumes therefrom by the use of the ordinary generator
furnaces, as supplementary to raise the temperatures irrespective of the class of
fuel used in the refuse furnaces beneath, to store the heat generated during a light
demand for steam, ready for any emergency and demand for the full capacity of
the plant, and to provide distilled or purified feed water to the generators.
In carrying out my invention I use one or more, but preferable three in series of
what are commonly known as refuse furnaces or destructors having feeding doors
at their upper ends and cleaning doors at their lower ends, and covered by fire brick
arches with apertures for the escape of the waste gases, fumes, etc. therein, and
in combination with and situated immediately over these arches so forming a
cover to each refuse furnace, I fix a steam generator of any known type or
what are commonly known as marine, Lancashire, Cornish, water tube or
multitubular in which the waste gases may be conducted into the ordinary and
upper furnaces thereof, or into their combustion chambers in such a manner that
these waste gases or fumes from the refuse furnaces beneath may be destroyed by
the higher temperatures therein and the heat absorbed by the ordinary heating
surfaces of these steam generators.
In order to store the heat during the period of light demand for steam, the
refuse furnaces are kept in continual use, and by suitable flues connecting the
furnaces to each other immediately over the refuse fires and under the generators,
any number of furnaces may be thereby brought into communication with each
generator, dampers being provided to close the direct flues through the generators
to the chimney, thus compelling all the fumes and gases to pass into one or more
of the generator furnaces necessary to maintain the required steam pressure, and
as the demand increases more generators may be brought into use, with the refuse
gases passing through them together with those from their upper furnaces, which
would be the full capacity of the plant.
It will be seen that those generators having no fires in their ordinary or
upper furnaces will be maintained at the working pressure by the refuse burning
beneath them.
As a further storage of heat I provide tanks or reservoirs in close proximity and
connected to the generators in which I insert a coil of pipes as a condenser or
alternately by the use of free steam directly into the water, so that when more
steam is generated than is required for immediate use it is condensed by this tank
having in it a certain supply of cold water, and the condensed water is retained in
it, so that after a short use a reservoir of distilled and heated or purified water is
provided for use in the generators when required.
In some instances with non-condensing engines I prefer to use a system of steam
flow to this coil of pipes and a condensed water return to the generators so avoiding
the use of so much fresh and impure water in them, the heat being taken up by

page_text: the storage, reservoirs without wasting the feed water in the generators, but
where condensing engines are in use, the filtered water from the air pumps could
be used as feed water and the water condensed in the coils make up any
deficiencies.
Improvements in and connected with Refuse Consuming Furnaces,
and in Utilizing the Waste Heat therefrom for Generating
Steam.
I, TOM WILLIAM BAKER of Broad Street House, London, E.C. 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 :--
The object of this invention is to generate steam from low class fuels or refuse,
to render innocuous the fumes therefrom by the use of the ordinary generator
furnaces as supplementary to raise the temperatures irrespective of the class of fuel
used in the refuse furnaces beneath, to store the heat generated during a light
demand for steam, ready for any emergency and demand for the full capacity of the
plant and to provide distilled or purified feed water to the generators.
In carrying out my invention I use one or more, but preferably three in series
of what are commonly know as refuse furnaces or destructors having feeding doors
at their upper ends and cleaning doors at their lower ends and covered by fire
brick arches with apertures for the escape of the waste gases, fumes etc. therein,
and in combination with and situated immediately over these arches so forming a
cover to each refuse furnace, I fix a steam generator of any known type or what
are commonly known as marine, Lancashire, Cornish, water tube, or multitubular
in which the waste gases may be conducted into the ordinary and upper furnace
thereof, or into their combustion chambers in such a manner that these waste
gases or fumes from the refuse furnaces beneath may be destroyed by the higher
temperatures therein and the heat absorbed by the ordinary heating surfaces of
these steam generators.
In order to store the heat during the period of light demand for steam; the
refuse furnaces are kept in continual use, and by suitable flues connecting the
furnaces to each other immediately over the refuse fires and under the generators,
any number of furnace may be thereby brought into conmunication with each
generator, dampers being provided to close the direct flues through the generators
to the chimney, thus compelling all the fumes and gases to pass into one or more of
the generator furnaces necessary to maintain the required steam pressure, and as
the demand increases, more generators may be brought into use, with the refuse
gases passing through them together with those from their upper furnaces which
would be the full capacity of the plant.
It will be seen that those generators having no fires in their ordinary or upper
furnaces will be maintained at the working pressure by the refuse buruing
beneath them.
As a further storage of heat I provide tanks or reservoirs, in close proximity and
connected to the generators, in which I insert a coil of pipes as a condenser or
alternately by the use of free steam directly into the water, so that when more
steam is generated than is required for immediate use it is condensed by this tank
having in it a certain supply of cold water, and the condensed water is retained in
it so that after a short use a reservoir of distilled and heated or purified water is
provided for use in the generators when required.

page_text: In some instances with non-condensing engine I prefer to use a system of steam
flow to this coil of pipes and a condensed water return to the generators so avoiding
the use of so much fresh water in them, the heat being taken up by the storage
reservoirs without wasting the feed water in the generators but where condensing
engines are in use, the filtered water from the air pumps could be usel as feed water
and the water condensed in the coils make up any deficiencies.
In the accompanying drawings I have shown how my sail invention may be most
conveniently carried into practice although I do not show all the combinations, and
types of refuse furnaces.
Figure I is a vertical central section of a cylindrical. dry back marine type of
steam generator o, superposed and forming a part of a refuse furnace A beneath;
with a feeding hopper B and discharging doors for clinkers at C. The arch D is
perforated to allow the gases and fumes to pass under the steam generator to the
combustion chamber E where they meet and are cremated by the hot gases from
the ordinary or supplementary furnaces F F¹, the fire-brick arch N being thereby
at a high temperature. The fumes and gases from the combustion chamber then
pass through the smoke tubes H, H, H, to the front and are there divided to each
side of the generator returning thence to the main flue G and so to the chimney.
Any number of steam generators may be connected together by the flues K K',
which are also shown in Figure II, which is a vertical end section on the line
in Figure showing the connecting flues K, K' with the dampers L, L'; these
flues conduct the gases from any refuse furnace to either steam generator at game
time these gases will be keeping those generators it passes under at the working
temperature and pressure to the one that has the ordinary fires in use to cremate
the fumes during the times of light demand for steam, and by closing the
dampers L, L', opening those to the main flue G, each set of furnaces and steam
generators may be worked independently.
x
Figure 1 is a vertical section of a water tube steam generator with one series
of tubes H, H, H, and container M situated over a refuse furnace A with feeding
hopper B and discharging doors C. The ordinary or supplementary furnace at F
cremating the fumes and gases from the refuse furnace A, which pass up at the
back of the furnace F, are deflected over the fire by the perforated arch D.
dividing tiles N direct the gases amongst the tubes H, H, H, to the main flue G.
Figure IV is a vertical section on the line Figure III showing the connecting
Alues K K as before described.
The
Figure V is a vertical section of a multitubular steam generator superposed and
forming part of a refuse furnace A; B is the feeding hopper, C discharging
doors, the arch D is perforated to allow the gases & fumes to pass up under the
generator where they meet with the hot gases from the ordinary or supplementary
furnace F, and pass together into the combustion chamber through the smoke
tubes H, H, H, to the front and are there divided returning along each side of the
generator to main flue G.
Figure VI is a vertical section on the line a a¹ Figure V, showing the connecting
flues K K as before described.
Figure VII is a side elevation of the storage system; A is the generator; H is
the steam maiu supply pipe connecting the generators to the engines, B is an
automatic balanced steam valve allowing the escape of any excess steam over that
required for the engines and is connected to a coil or series of condenser tubes o
at the bottom of tank D, the out-let from this coil e is down the pipe E, which is
connected again to the steam generator through the return valve F. The operation
of the apparatus is as follows:-Any excess of steam from the generators forces
the valve B open and passes into the coil or coils of tubes c, is there condensed
and by gravitation the water flows down the tube E to valve F; when the
pressure becomes greater than the boiler pressure it opens the valve and feeds
5 itself in. Any number of storage tanks may be used in combination with any
number of steam generators and refuse furnaces and in some instances where the
demand for steam is regular no thermal storage tanks are necessary.

page_text: It must be clearly understood that I do not claim the use of any steam
generator with a refuse furnace, but only those that have an ordinary coal furnace
therein or attached.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. The combination, use, and employment of any steam generator having its
ordinary and supplementary coal, gas, or oil burning furnace or furnaces, and being
situated over and forming a part of a refuse furnace so that the gases therefrom
shall be conducted into the combustion chamber of the steam generator, and there
destroyed and utilized in generating steam, substantially as set forth and for the
purposes described.
--
2. The combination, use, and employment of a dry-back marine steam generator
with its ordinary furnaces, situated over and forming a part of a refuse furnace,
the gases therefrom being destroyed particularly by the regenerative heat from the
arch N in the combustion chamber and utilized in and around the said steam
generator substantially as set forth and described in Figures I and II of the
accompanying drawings.
3. The combination use and employment of a water tube steam generator also
situated over the refuse furnace having also a perforated arch with its regenerative
heat over the ordinary or supplemental furnace, substantially as set forth and
described in Figures III and IV of the accompanying drawings.
4. The combination, use, and employment of a multitubular steam generator
with its ordinary furnace also situated and forming a part of a refuse furnace,
substantially as set forth and described in Figures V and VI of the accompanying
drawings.
5. The use and employment of a connecting flue passing under the steam
generators, and from each refuse furnace with the controlling dampers, substan-
tially as set forth and described in Figures II, IV, VI of the accompanying
drawings.
6. The combination use and employment of a feed water and thermal storage
system with the return to the steam generator whereby the water is purified and
heated together with any combination of steam generator and refuse furnace
attached substantially as set forth and described in Figure VII of the accompanying
drawings.
Dated L