A Retort and Apparatus connected therewith for the Purpose of Converting Coal Tar into Gas for Illumination and other Purposes.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 14th Apr., 1893
Complete Specification Left, 15th Jan., 1894-Accepted, 7th Apr., 1894
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
A Retort and Apparatus connected therewith for the Purpose
of Converting Coal Tar into Gas for Illumination and other
Purposes.
JOHN SMITH 5 Summer Hill Terrace, Upper Bangor, North Wales, Gas
Engineer, and Manager of Gas Works, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention to be as follows:-
This invention is intended to convert coal tar into a permanent gas; the heat
employed is but little more than that required to vapourise the tar, the solid
matters are left in the retort, and are drawn off as pitch, or converted into coke,
as may be desired. The vapours are conducted to a condenser, where such as are
condensable will be run into tanks provided in different parts of the plant, where
the fluid oils are separated from the more solid matters, the oils will then be
conducted to the supply tank, and thence back to the retort, to be revapourised.
At each operation, or revolution of the liquid there is a quantity of permanent
gas produced, which will pass through the condensers, and may be allowed to mix
with the ordinary gas (if made at a gas works) before it enters the scrubbers;
or if intended to be used by itself, it must be scrubbed and purified, as though it
were gas made direct from coal.
Dated this Thirteenth day of April 1893.
JOHN SMITH.
"
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
A Retort and Apparatus connected therewith for the Purpose
of Converting Coal Tar into Gas for Illumination and other
Purposes.
I, JOHN SMITH, of 5 Summerhill Terrace, Upper Bangor, in the County of
Carnarvonshire, North Wales, Manager of Gas Works, 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 :-
My invention relates to a retort and apparatus connected therewith, for the
purpose of converting coal tar into gas, for illumination, and other purposes.
This invention is intended to convert coal tar into a permanent gas; the heat
employed is but little more than that required to vapourise the tar, the solid
matters are left in the retort, and are drawn off as pitch, or converted into coke,
as may be desired. The vapours are conducted to a condenser, where such as are
condensable will be run into tanks provided in different parts of the plant, where
the fluid oils will then be conducted to the supply tank, and thence back to the
retort, to be revapourised. At each operation or revolution of the liquid there is
a quantity of permanent gas produced, which will pass through the condensers,
and may be allowed to mix with the ordinary gas (if made at a gas works) before
it enters the scrubbers, or if intended to be used by itself, it must be scrubbed and
purified, as though it were gas made direct from coal.
The novelty of this arrangement, or invention, is in the form of the retort used,
and the introduction at certain parts of the apparatus, tanks, or other receptacles,
for the purpose of receiving some of the matters, which are to be taken from

page_text: ichsta vile, amowing my the ngnter and more mund ons to be returned
the retorts.
And in order that my invention may be thoroughly understood, I now proceed
to describe the accompanying drawings thereof, reference being had to letters and
figures marked thereon.
Fig. 1, is a front elevation of the tar-gas retorts and a part of the ordinary coal
gas plant.
Fig. 2, is a detail section of regulating tube.
Fig. 3, is a plan on line A. A.
Fig. 4, is a detail of revolving cylinder on line B B.
Fig. 5, is a longitudinal section of retort.
Parts of the figures are broken off for convenience.
The following is a description of a plant for the manufacture of gas from
ordinary coal tar, and consists of a retort for the vapourizing of the fluid
hydrocarbons contained therein; also a set of tanks to receive and separate the
condensable matters, such as anthracene and napthalinė; and dead oil or creosote ;
or by introducing a tank between the bydraulic and foul main, these may be
collected there, and by being kept hot, can be used as fuel by adopting a spray
burner. There will be left in the retort a quantity of pitch which may be run off
into barrels, or by continuing the distillation to dryness, there will be a quantity of
good hard coke, amounting to 6 or 7 cwt. per ton of tar, the quantity of gas
produced being from 10000 to 14000 cubic feet per ton according to the quality of
tar used.
The construction of the plant is as follows; viz. :—
A tank a of such a size as may be necessary to contain one charge for the retort,
that is, sufficient to cover the bottom of the retort c with a depth of about three
inches of tar; this tank must be supplied by a ball cock d so that the supply will
be cut off when the tank a contains sufficient tar for a charge. From the bottom
of the tank a one inch pipe must be connected to the ascension pipe e by a
syphon bend g. In this pipe there should be a cock h to be worked by a lever,
and from this a rod coming down in front of the retort, to be hooked to the
crossbar, when the cock is open; this rod should also be connected by a second
lever, or other device, to the ball cock, in such a way that no tar shall run into the
tank at the same time that it is running into the retort; and as a charge can be
run into the retort in half an hour, and it will take three hours to carbonize one
charge one tank may be made to serve three retorts. The tar entering the
ascension pipe at the highest point convenient will become heated in its descent,
and will carry down with it the gas; and so prevent choking of the pipe.
The retorte may be D or oval, or what is known as a round cornered D. This
gives the largest surface for carbonizing the pitch, and will take the largest charge.
The retort e is made with the bottom flange inside instead of outside as usual, so
that it will take a mouthpiece three inches less in height than the retort e itself,
and the mouthpiece being tapered from the retort, will cause any tar dripping into
it, to flow to the retort c.
In setting the retort, the front or mouth should be about three inches higher
than the back, this will cause the pitch to flow away from the mouthpiece, and
collect at the back, where it will be converted into coke, or if so desired could (by
attaching a pipe to the back, and carried through the brickwork,) be drawn off
as pitch.
P 3
The vapours passing up the ascension pipe e, will be largely condensed in the
hydraulic main, and in a short length of foul main j with draining stop cock
these may be collected in a tank close to the hydraulic main, and if kept hot, may
by the use of a spray burner, be used as fuel to heat the retorts, or if preferred, to
separate the anthracene and napthaline from the oil, they may be conducted as
shewn on the drawings, to the round tank, this tank is so fixed that it can revolve
round from one tank k to the other, to discharge the oil as it comes from the
hydraulic main, the two tanks in connection with this, must be of such a size that

page_text: the contents of one will become cold by the time the other is about half full; when
the cock shewn on the drain pipe under the tank must be opened to allow the
oil to drain through a strainer g off into the bottom tank m, where it is allowed
further time to deposit the napthaline, the upper tanks k will contain the anthracene
mixed with some napthaline.
9
The oil may be pumped up to the store tank by means of a steam pump o, and
mixed with the fresh tar, and sent back to the retort; but as this will yield only a
very small quantity of gas, it will be more profitable to use it as fuel; and in most
cases it will be found most profitable to use the whole residual as fuel as indicated
above.
There will be a large quantity of naptha vapours carried off with the gas, these
will be condensed in passing through the ordinary condensers, from which they will
find their way to the tar well, and thence back to the retort with the tar; or by passing
the gas through an independant condenser, they may be collected and returned to
the retort direct, or otherwise disposed of.
An overflow pipe s is fixed to the store tank n which passes into the bottom
tank m, an overflow pipe t is also fixed to the bottom tank m.
The steam pump
o is provided with the usual steam pipe u valve v exhaust & and
suction pipe y; also a circulating pipe w connects the pump o and store tank n
together.
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. In a retort and apparatus connected therewith for the purpose of converting
coal tar into gas for illumination and other purposes, the combination of the body
of the retorts being nearly level, substantially as herein described and according
to the accompanying drawings.
2. In a retort and apparatus connected therewith for the purpose of converting
coal tar into gas by the introduction of tanks, to collect the more condensable
matters, choking of pipes, in foul main, condensers &c., by deposits will be
prevented, substantially as herein described and according to the accompanying
drawings.
3. In a retort and apparatus connected therewith for the purpose of converting
coal tar into gas, as hereinbefore described and illustrated in the accompanying
drawings.
Dated this 15th day of January 1894
J. P. BAYLY,
18, Fulham Place, W., Agent for the Applicant.