Improvements in and appertaining to Gas Producers.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 19th Nov., 1892
Complete Specification Left, 17th Aug., 1893-Accepted, 23rd Sept., 1893
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and appertaining to Gas Producers.
I, WILLIAM SIDDON SUTHERLAND, of 40 Bearwood Road, Edgbaston, in the
City of Birmingham, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to
be as follows:-
My invention relates to gas producers and is more particularly intended for
application to such apparatus of the type known as water-gas producers.
My object is to dispense with the steam boilers at present required to generate
steam to be passed through the incandescent fuel in order to produce the mixture
of hydrogen, carbonic oxide and other gases known as water-gas.
My invention consists in a water evaporating chamber or attachment which is so
combined with a gas producer that the waste heat from the said producer heats
evaporating surfaces in the interior of the chamber or attachment, and when the
steam current is required water or water and steam placed on these surfaces is
evaporated and passes to the gas producer under slight pressure.
وو
In carrying the invention into effect as applied to a water-gas apparatus I pass
the gases leaving the regenerator during the "blowing up process through the
interior of a chamber containing a number of metallic troughs or shallow trays
arranged one above the other and in such manner as to cause the gases to pursue a
tortuous or zig zag path before passing out of the chamber.
The gases after leaving the regenerator are still at a comparatively high
temperature and so heat the interior of the chamber together with the metallic
troughs, trays or other surfaces before discharging through a valve of any suitable
known construction.
When the blowing proces is complete the air blast is stopped and the discharge
valve from the evaporating chamber is closed; water is then pumped upon the
upper trough or surface within the said chamber and it partly evaporates to form
steam and the excess water drains from the first to the second trough and from the
second to the third and so on through the series. Suitable perforations are placed
in the troughs to cause the water to drain over as much surface as possible before
passing to the next plate, and in this manner steam is quickly formed and super-
heated to some extent before it leaves the evaporating chamber. From the
evaporating chamber the steam passes through the regenerator and thence to
the producer where it is decomposed after being highly heated by the regenerator
surfaces.
The interior of the evaporating chamber may be brick lined or it may be entirely
metallic. In the event of using brick lining the trough baffle plates are so arranged
as to prevent water from coming into contact with the brick.
Instead of using baffle plates or troughs, perforated plates may be adopted or
other means may be applied to obtain large surfaces preferably metallic for
absorbing heat from the gases and giving it up to form steam.
The water may be injected as spray or sprayed by an injector or other means.
The temperature of the chamber is so regulated as to prevent any large proportion
of the water from assuming the spheroidal state.
Dated this 18th day of November 1892.
MARKS & CLERK,
13, Temple Street, Birmingham, Agents for the Applicant.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and appertaining to Gas Producers.
I, WILLIAM SIDDON SUTHERLAND, of 40 Bearwood Road, Edgbaston, in the
City of Birmingham, 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 :-
My invention relates to gas producers and is more particularly intended for
application to such apparatus of the type known as water-gas producers.
My object is to dispense with the steam boilers at present required to generate
steam to be passed through the incandescent fuel in order to produce the mixture
of hydrogen, carbonic oxide and other gases known as water-gas.
Referring to the accompanying sheet of drawings-
Figure 1 is a vertical section through my improved apparatus.
Figure 2 is a transverse section.
My invention consists in a water evaporating chamber or attachment A preferably
of boiler plate with a fire brick lining A' which is so combined with a gas producer
indicated at E that the waste heat from the said producer heats evaporating
surfaces in the interior of the chamber or attachment A, and when the steam
current is required water or water and steam placed on these surfaces is evaporated
and passes to the gas producer under slight pressure.
In carrying the invention into effect as applied to a water-gas apparatus, I pass
the gases leaving the regenerator during the "blowing up" process by way of the
passage F through the interior of a chamber A containing a number of metallic
troughs or shallow trays as B B B² B³ B* B* B* B' B³ Bº B¹º B arranged one
above the other, and in such manner as to cause the gases to pursue a tortuous or
zig zag path before passing out of the chamber A.
The gases after leaving the regenerator are still at a comparatively high
temperature and so heat the interior of the chamber A together with the metallic
troughs, trays or other surfaces before discharging through a valve such as D of
any suitable known construction.
When the blowing process is complete the air blast is stopped and the discharge
valve D from the evaporating chamber A is closed; water is then pumped upon
the upper trough or surface B within the said chamber and it partly evaporates to
form steam and the excess water drains from the first to the second trough and
from the second to the third and so on through the series. Suitable perforations
are placed in the troughs to cause the water to drain over as much surface as
possible before passing to the next plate, and in this manner steam is quickly formed
and superheated to some extent before it leaves the evaporating chamber. From
the evaporating chamber the steam passes by way of the passage F through the
regenerator E and thence to the producer where it is decomposed after being
highly heated by the regenerator surfaces.
The interior of the evaporating chamber may be brick-lined as shown in the
drawings or it may be entirely metallic. In the event of using brick-lining
the trough baffle plates are so arranged as to prevent water from coming into
contact with the brick. This is accomplished by the ledges I as shown in the
drawings.
Instead of using baffle plates or troughs, perforated plates may be adopted or
other means may be applied to obtain large surfaces preferably metallic for
absorbing heat from the gases and giving it up to form steam.
The water may be injected as spray or sprayed by an injector or other means.
The temperature of the chamber is so regulated as to prevent any large proportion
of the water from assuming the spheroidal state.
I sometimes pump water on each plate or trough in order to hasten the
evaporating action of the apparatus and this arrangement is shown at Figure 1

page_text: where C C C C³ C* _C³ Cª C³ C8 C° C C" are water pipes leading from a
common supply pipe and controlled by cocks.
The apertures H are sight holes, and they have doors not shown.
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 gas producing apparatus, evaporating water to provide the steam required
for the production of gas by means of a chamber provided with evaporating
surfaces the said surfaces being heated by the hot gases passing away from the
producer during the "blowing up" process, substantially as herein before
described.
2. The apparatus hereinbefore described as and for the purposes described with
reference to the accompanying drawings.
Dated this 16th day of August 1893.
MARKS & CLERK,
13, Temple Street, Birmingham, Agents for the Applicant.