A Process of and Apparatus for Manufacturing Gas.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 7th Mar., 1898-Accepted, 3rd Dec.,
1898
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
A Process of and Apparatus for Manufacturing Gas.
I, GEORGE FREDERICK DINSMORE, of No. 7, Water Street, in the City of Boston,
County of Suffolk, State of Massachusetts, and United States of America, Chemist,
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 follow-
ing statement:
This invention relates to the manufacture of illuminating gas and is in the
nature of an addition to or new application of my process of transmitting heat for
industrial purposes, which was described in my Complete Specification filed on
the 17th day of January, 1898, and numbered 1310.
This invention relates to the application of my new process of heat transmission
to the production of an illuminating water gas.
Heretofore, it has been the practice in making water gas to raise a mass of
coal or coke to incandescence by means of an air blast. After the coal has been
raised to the necessary temperature, the air blast was shut off and the superheated
steam was injected into the gasogene containing the incandescent coal. The
result was that steam was dissociated by the intense heat, the oxygen uniting
with a plus quantity of carbon, and thus free hydrogen and carbon monoxide were
produced.
reduced the
temperature of the coal below incandescence so that the action soon ceased. It
was, therefore, necessary to shut off the steam and apply the air blast again.
Thus the process was intermittent and involved a great waste of the coal by
blasting.
The defect in this process was that the steam very quickly
It has been proposed to superheat the steam to the temperature of dissociation
before introducing the steam into the gasogene, but no one has been able to
suggest a practicable method of doing this.
However, by employing my process for transmitting heat, described and claimed
in my patent before referred to, I am able to inject steam at such a velocity that
the impact of the steam against the mass of coal evolves sufficient sensible heat
to decompose the steam, without reducing the temperature of the coal below incan-
descence. Indeed, I have operated the process continuously for more than fifteen
consecutive hours, without the admission of air, and at the end of that time have
found that the mass of coal in the gasogene was even hotter than it was at the
beginning of the run.
In the drawings-
Figure 1 represents a view in sectional elevation of a form of apparatus in

page_text: Fig. 2 represents an apparatus in which oil is used instead of coal or coke.
Referring now to Fig. 1,
1 designates a steam boiler or generator of any suitable type. 2 designates a
coil furnace, the coil, 3, of which has substantially the dimensions pointed out in
my patent above referred to.
A steam pipe, 4, leads to the gasogene, 5, which latter is lined with refractory
material and is provided with a suitable feed chute, 6, which is provided with
two slides or gates, 7 and 8, by means of which fresh coal or coke may be supplied
as needed, without admitting any considerable quantity of air. The gasogene
may be provided with a suitable water seal, as shown at 9. An offtake pipe, 10,
carries off the gas to the scrubber or carburretter. Said pipe may be provided
with a pressure regulating damper, 11.
A hot fire is maintained in the superheater and after the gasogene has been
supplied with sufficient carbonaceous material, steam at about a pressure of
100 lbs. per square inch is admitted into the coil. The fuel in the superheater
and that in the gasogene is renewed from time to time as needed. As I explained
in my Complete Specification of January 17th, 1898, owing to the length, diameter,
and form of the coil, and to the high pressure, most of the heat applied to the
coil will be expended in expanding the steam and greatly accelerating its velocity,
so that by its impact against the coal in the gasogene sufficient heat is evolved
to decompose the steam and maintain the coal continuously at incandescence.
The apparatus shown in Fig. 2 employs the same boiler and superheater coil
as that shown in Fig. 1 and in my former Complete Specification of January 17th,
1898. The gasogene, 20, shown therein, is, however, of somewhat different con-
struction to accommodate it to the use of oil instead of solid carbonaceous material.
It is provided with an offtake pipe, 21, and pressure regulating device, 22, and
with a clean out door, 23.
I provide a suitable oil tank, 24, having a connecting pipe, 25, leading to the
interior of the gasogene. The interior of the gasogene I partly fill with loosely
arranged blocks of any suitable refractory material, fire-brick, for example.
In this case the oil or hydrocarbon fluid is allowed to run down into the gasogene,
where the intense heat evolved by the impact of the steam against the obstructing
fire brick decomposes both the steam and oil, thus producing free hydrogen,
carbon monoxide, and some of the lighter hydrocarbon vapors or gases.
Of course, many changes may be made in the details of my apparatus, the
particular forms shown being intended merely to illustrate the application of my
principle of heat transmission to the manufacture of water gas.
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 process of manufacturing water gas, which consists in injecting into
a closed gasogene containing carbonaceous material a stream of steam under such
conditions of velocity and temperature that the impact of the steam against
the carbonaceous mass maintains the same continuously at incandescence and
decomposes the steam, whereby basic water gas is produced continuously without
the admission of air.
2. The process of manufacturing water gas, which consists in injecting into a
closed gasogene a stream of superheated steam maintained at such velocity that
when it is impinged against an obstruction in the gasogene sufficient heat is
evolved to maintain the interior of the gasogene at a temperature at which the
steam is decomposed and simultaneously supplying oil to the gasogene and by
the intense heat decomposing the oil also, thus continuously producing a water gas
directly from oil.
3. An apparatus for making water gas, comprising a high pressure boiler, a
steam superheater provided with a long narrow coil free from obstructions and

page_text: communicating with a gasogene constructed to prevent the admission of any air,
an oil reservoir also communicating with said gasogene and obstructions arranged
in said gasogene to arrest the movement of the steam, as described.
Dated this 8th day of March 1898.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.