Improvements in the Production of Water and Illuminating Gas and Apparatus for that purpose.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 23rd Jan., 1890
Complete Specification Left, 24th Nov., 1890-Accepted, 23rd Feb., 1891
Improvements in the Production of Water and Illuminating Gas and
Apparatus for that purpose.
I, REINHARD MANNESMANN, of Landore, R.S.O., South Wales, Engineer, do
hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
My invention relates to the production of water gas by decomposing steam by
its repeated passage through incandescent fuel, and to the production in a similar
manner of illuminating gas by its repeated passage through heated coals.
For this purpose, for producing water gas, I provide a producer, being a chamber
supplied with fuel, and two regenerators communicating with the producer by passages
furnished with suitable valves for alternate working.
I will assume that the producer is charged with fuel in a state of incandescence,
that one of the regenerators has been highly heated, and that the other is being
heated by the combustion of a portion of the gas produced. By means of a steam
injector jet in one of the passages, I cause a circulation through the hot
regenerator and the producer and thus a portion of the products of the producer
consisting of water gas and steam still undecomposed is highly heated in passing
through the regenerator, and thus heated it passes again through the producer
whereby farther decomposition is effected. While a portion of the products are
thus made to circulate, another portion is drawn off from the producer, for extraneous
heating purposes, one part thereof being applied to heat up the other regenerator.
When the one regenerator becomes cooled and the other heated they are alternated
and worked in the manner described.
Air may be passed through the coolest part of the heated regenerator so as to
become heated and to supply the flame for heating the other.
For producing illuminating gas, similar apparatus is employed in a similar manner,
but in this case the producer is charged with bituminous coal, and instead of effecting
the circulation by a steam jet, a fan or blower is employed.
Dated this 23rd day of January 1890.
ABEL & IMKA1,
Agents for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Production of Water and Illuminating Gas and
Apparatus for that purpose.
I, REINHARD MANNESMANN, of Landore, R.S.O., South Wales, 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:—
This invention relates to a process for the production of water gas by the repeated
passage of a mixture of water gas and steam alternately through a store of heat and
through the carbonaceous matter to be converted into water gas.
In a similar manner illuminating gas can be produced by the repeated passage
of part of the illuminating gas produced through a store of heat to the fresh
fuel.
For this purpose, for the production of water gas a gas producer is filled with fuel
and two regenerators are placed at the side thereof which communicate with the
same, and which are provided with suitable valves, so as to be made to communicate
alternately with the producer. Assuming the charge of the producer to have been
TD 077

page_text: ignited and the one regenerator heated to a high degree while the other is in the
course of being heated by the combustion of a portion of the gas produced, then a
circulation of the gas produced is set up from the top to the bottom of the producer
through the highly heated regenerator by means of a steam injector blast acting in
a circulating channel, by which means a portion of the products of the producer,
consisting of a mixture of water gas and still undecomposed steam will be highly
heated. Thus heated, the mixture passes into the lower part of the producer where
on the one hand it gives off a portion of the heat taken up in the regenerator, while
on the other hand it takes up heat from the producer by the decomposition of a
further portion of the steam carried with it.
While a portion of the water gas is thus employed for transferring by its circula-
tion, a portion of the heat of the regenerator to the fuel, another portion is drawn
off, preferably from the upper end of the producer, and is employed for any
purposes required, while a third portion can be utilised for heating a second
regenerator.
This heating of the second regenerator can also be effected by another source
of heat.
When the one regenerator has become cooled down and the other has at the same
time become heated their connection with the producer is reversed, and the above
described operation is repeated, and so on alternately.
By this means therefore a continuous current of water gas is produced, the small
percentage of steam is condensed and the entire fuel is converted into water gas, if
coke is employed as the fuel.
If on the other hand coal is used, the product is a mixture of illuminating gas and
water gas.
In the described process, by the repeated circulation of the gas through the hot
regenerator there will be used each time a certain number of calories for the
reduction of the hydrogen corresponding to the difference between the temperature
of the gases as they leave the regenerator and the lowest temperature of conversion
of the steam in the fuel.
The hotter the regenerator is, the hotter will be the steam, and the richer in
hydrogen will be the gas produced, consequently if a portion of these gases is used
for heating the regenerator the more highly will the regenerator be heated, so that
at last, if a certain proportion of the gas produced is used for combustion and
for heating the regenerator, no further supply of oxygen need be introduced into
the generator, and the coal will be converted by the steam entirely into
water gas.
While all existing methods of producing water gas suffered from the defect that
only a small portion of the steam, though highly superheated, was decomposed, in
the present case, by the repeated passage of the steam either alone or mixed with
water gas, the heat absorbed by the decomposition of the steam is conveyed back to
the producer, so that any admission of air to the solid fuel for effecting the
combustion will be unnecessary.
In this way any fuel even of low value, such as liquite can be converted into pure
water gas mixed with illuminating gas.
The water contained in the liquite is in this case used directly for the production
of water gas, but in this case it is preferable to employ, in place of a steam jet for
effecting the circulation of the gas, a fan or blower.
As by the circulation an excess of gas is produced, the discharge gas valve may
be loaded so as to produce a pressure in the gas main above that of the atmosphere,
and consequently the main can be of a less sectional area, and at the place of com-
bustion the jet of such gas under pressure can itself be made to draw in the
requisite air supply by injector action.
If the gas outlet channel is placed at the lower part of the generator or at the
end of the regenerator a supply of hot water gas can be taken off.
If in addition the outlet valve be loaded by a spring or weight, compressed
heated water gas can be supplied directly in a constant current.

page_text: The accompanying drawing represents a vertical section of a producer with two
regenerators arranged to operate according to my invention.
From the upper part of the producer A a passage with injector or other pro-
peller B leads to a valve chamber C, from which by means of valve D' a portion
of the produced gas is directed into one of the two regenerators R¹ R². The gas
heated in passing through R' is directed by a valve El into a passage F leading to
the ashpit G of the producer. While the gas is passing through the regenerator R¹
abstracting heat from it, the other regenerator R2 is being heated by the com-
bustion of a portion of the produced gas, valves D2 and E' being set so as to direct
a current of flame or hot products of combustion through R2. When R¹ is more
or less cooled and R2 heated, the valves D' D² are inverted in position so as to
direct the portion of produced gas through R2, and F to G, and the valves E' E2
are inverted so that flame or hot products of combustion can be directed through R¹
to heat it again.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. The production of water gas or a mixture of illuminating gas and water gas
by means of the repeated passage of a mixture of water gas and steam first through
a heated regenerator and then through the fuel to be converted, substantially as
described.
2. The production of water gas or a mixture of water gas and illuminating gas, by
the direct conversion of the fuel by means of superheated steam without bringing
atmospheric air in contact with the fuel, the supply of heat to the gas producer
being increased by causing a portion of the water gas produced to pass together
with the steam through the regenerator.
3. Apparatus for the production of water gas consisting of a gas producer, a
regenerator, and passages leading from the top of the producer to the regenerator
and from the regenerator to the bottom of the producer, means being provided for
effecting the circulation of water gas and steam from the top of the producer
through such passages and regenerator to the bottom of the producer, substantially
as described.
4. The herein described mode of producing a supply of water gas at a higher
pressure than the atmosphere.
Dated this 2nd dor of November 1800
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.