Improvements in Valves and Apparatus employed in the Manufacture of Illuminating and Heating Gas.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 30th Nov., 1892-Accepted, 14th Jan., 1893
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Valves and Apparatus employed in the
Manufacture of Illuminating and Heating Gas.
I HENRY FOURNESS Managing Director of The Fourness Gas Process Syndicate
Limited, of Chapel Chambers, 28 Chapel Street, Liverpool, in the County of
Lancaster, 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 and accompanying drawings:
:―
My present invention relates chiefly to improvements upon a prior invention
for which I have obtained Her Majesty's Letters Patent No. 15469 of the
year 1891. The said prior invention related to improvements in the manufacture
of illuminating and heating gas composed of water gas and oil gas, the carburetted
gas being evolved in a producer and then passed to closed retorts and therein fixed,
a further enriching supply of oil being sometimes fed into the retorts. In carrying
my said former invention into practice I have found it convenient to duplicate the
producers, this arrangement being provided for in the Specification of my said first
Patent, so as to work the process continuously and therefore more economically.
In carrying this duplication or it might be multiplication of the producers into
effect and working them alternately, I have been led to design special forms of
shunting and diverting and stop valves and arrangements of mechanism for
automatically cutting off and admitting air to the producers. It will be easily
understood that ordinary two-way or shunting valves would not serve my purposes
in dealing with hot currents of gases and products of combustion and the
automatic management of the air admitting orifices is of vital importance for the
prevention of accidents from explosions in the producers. My present invention
therefore refers to a novel construction of the said valves and to the air regulating
mechanism.
The invention will be most easily understood by referring to the annexed sheet
of drawings in which
Fig. 1 is an elevation partly in section of a pair of gas producers having above
and between them a water valve or hot current shunting arrangement of my
improved construction.
Fig. 2 is a plan of the gearing arrangement for automatically shutting off the air
from one producer and admitting it to the other.
Fig. 3 is a horizontal section of the improved water valve.
Fig. 4 is a vertical section showing the outlet to the retorts from the water valve
and the sealed valve in connection therewith for preventing any back flash from
the retorts while the water valve is being operated.
Referring to the drawings generally the producers are lettered A. and A¹ and
the improved water sealed valve B. The producers are of the ordinary con-
struction and consist as shown of cylindrical casings of metal lined with fire-brick
or refractory material. Although the operation of such producers is well known I
may remind readers that the producers are filled with coke or with suitable
material as shown, which is fired from beneath and blown up into a state of
incandescence after which steam is passed through the coke and decomposed into
water gas which is mixed with oil gas also evolved in the producers as set forth in
my said former Patent.
Under the arrangement now described the air is forced in at the foot of the
producers by steam jets a a' supplied with steam through a pipe b. The steam jets
blow into hollow stands c c and air is drawn in through valves d d'. In the
xample illustrated each producer has two blast apertures but this is not essential.
The air thus drawn in is forced through the hollow feet e e' into the producers and
beneath the coke which is thus raised to a state of incandescence.

page_text: '
While this blowing up is going on, in the producer A for example, the products
of combustion, escape through the pipe in the direction of the arrows to the water
sealed diverting valve B. This valve consists of a cylindrical vessel or tub g with
a hole in the centre composed by a cylindrical wall rising to the same height as the
top of the cylinder. The two pipes ff and also the pipes i project upwards
through the bottom of the vessel g and support it by means of flanges projecting
from the pipes. Next I arrange an inverted annular bell or vessel h, the annular
space ' of which contains the upwardly projecting pipes ffThe inverted vessel h
has a water tray at the top. A partition extends across the annular space h¹ as
clearly shown in Fig. 3, this partition dividing the pipes f; i from the pipes fi
and . Thus the annular space ¹ is divided into two chambers each containing
two pipe mouths. The said pipes i project into the annular space similarly to
the pipes ff.
1
The vessel is filled with water to the indicated level the water thus surrounding
the four pipes. The tray at the top of the bell his also filled with water. The
parts comprising the valve are thus kept cool and unaffected by the hot currents.
The pipe leads to the chimney stack or to the furnace by which the retorts are
heated. The pipe leads to the interior of the retorts. In connection-with this
pipe I place a water valve C which is clearly shown in section in Fig. 4. This
valve C consists of a vessel j into which the branch i discharges. Another pipe i
projects upward from the bottom of the vessel; and is surrounded by water as
shown.
An inverted bell or vessel k is placed over this pipe and is attached to and
worked by a packed rod and chain passing over the pulley so that when desired
the bell can be raised to allow free passage of the gas through the vessel to the
pipe and thence to the retorts. In Fig. 4 the valve C-is shown closed as it
would appear when the valve B is to be operated. To keep the water in both of
these valves fresh and at a constant level I feed the vessel of the valve B with a
constant stream and let it overflow into the valve C, an overflow pipe being also
provided for the valve C to keep the water at a fixed level.
According to the position of the parts shown in Fig. 1 the coke in the
producer A is being fired up, the products of combustion being led through the
pipe finto the partitioned-off chamber of the annular space h. So long, therefore
as the bell h remains as in Fig. 3 the products of combustion will pass into the pipe i
and so to the smoke stack or to the retort furnace. When the coke in the
producer A has been made incandescent and is in a fit state to produce water gas,
prepare to shunt the current proceeding from the pipe finto the pipe i instead of
into the pipe . With this object I first of all lower the bell k of the valve C
to the position shown in Fig. 4 so as to cut off communication with the retorts.
I then turn the loose hand wheel m the boss of which constitutes a nut on the
screwed portion of the upright shaft n. This upright shaft n is surrounded by a
sleeve o projecting downward from the bell and secured to the tray, by a flange as
shown.
By turning the hand wheel nut m I raise the sleeve o and thus lift the bellih until
the lower edge of the partition h2 clears the top of the pipes ff¹i. I then seize
the handle and give the upright shaft n a quarter, of a turn. The cottar:
projecting from the shaft n through slots in the sleeve o compels the sleeve to
partake of the motion of the shaft and so turns the bell through a quarter of a
turn. It will be seen that the shaft n is connected by gearing rrrr to the plugs
of the air valves d so that the same motion of the shaft n shuts the air valves d
leading to the producer A and opens the air valves d' leading to the producer 'A
The bell h is now quickly lowered thereby connecting the pipe with the pipe..
The bell of the valve C is also raised and as the steam continues to blow into the
foot of the producer A and to rise through the incandescent, coke the manufacture
of water gas commences. At the same time oil is admitted to the upper part of
the producer A so as to carburet the water gas in the producer. The mixture then
passes along the pipe finto the chamber B and thence through the pipe to the
fixing retorts. In the meantime the same operations which have had the results
4

page_text: indicated with regard to the producer A have also opened the air valves d¹ of the
producer A so that whether the coke in the latter producer is fresh or has
become dulled down by the admission of steam alone it is again blown into
incandescence by the admission of air so that while one producer is making gas
the other is being blown up into incandescence. This making of gas in one
producer and blowing up in the other goes on alternately and uninterruptedly so
that no time is lost and the production of gas practically continuous.
The suspended plug stoppers s may be used to ease pressure in the producers
or to test the quality of the gas being made or to allow of the escape of fumes
during the changing of the shunting valves. The shunt valve apparatus is
practically sealed and immersed in water so that it cannot be injured or prevented
from working by the influence of heat or deposits.
The automatic connection between the main shunt valve B and the air valves
prevent all possibility of air being mixed with the gas sent to the fixing retorts
which might be a source of danger.
Although the apparatus in connection with the aforesaid shunting valves has been
described and shown as intended to be used the manufacture of carburetted water
gas, it will be evident that such valves would be useful in apparatus different in
design and purpose.
For example these valves could be used in the manufacture of water gas alone or
in the manufacture of coal or other gases.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. In apparatus for the manufacture of heating and illuminating gas the employ-
ment of water sealed shunting valves similar in construction to the valves B for the
indicated purposes alone or in combination with mechanism for automatically
opening and closing the air valves leading to the foot of the producers substantially
as described and as illustrated.
2. The general arrangement construction and combination of parts composing the
complete apparatus shown and described said combination consisting of the
producers A A' valves B and C together with the means for operating the valve
and the gearing for communicating with the air valves substantially as described
and illustrated.
Dated this 29th day of November 1892
E. K. DUTTON & Co.,
5, John Dalton Street, Manchester, Agents.