IMPROVEMENTS IN THE COM BUSTION OF FUEL FOR GENERATING, STEAM AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
Year: 1861

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Henry Phillips, of Nunhead, in the County
of Surrey, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE COM
BUSTION OF FUEL FOR GENERATING, STEAM AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES."
Sealed the 3rd October 1861, and dated the 9th April 1861.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Henry Phillips
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
9th April 1861:
I, WILLIAM HENRY PHILLIPS, of Nunhead, in the County of Surrey, Engi-
neer, do hereby declare the nature of the Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
THE COMBUSTION OF FUEL FOR GENERATING STEAM, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES," to be
as follows
This Invention relates to improved means of supporting the combustion of
fuel in suitably constructed furnaces or fire-places, so that the heat and gases
generated therein may be more advantageously and economically employed for
generating steam or for applying heat to other purposes, and I would in the
outset remark that I do not confine myself to any particular arrangement of
apparatus for carrying out my Invention, as the method of doing so may be
greatly varied according to the particular purpose to which it is applied, with-
out departing from the peculiar character of the Invention, which consists in
employing steam in place of atmospheric air or other gases for the purpose of
supporting the combustion of fuel, and generating heat in furnaces or fire-
places of suitable construction.
And in order the better to explain the nature of my improvements in the
combustion of fuel; I will proceed to describe one arrangement of apparatus

page_text: constructed according to my Invention, and suitable for generating steam in
steam boilers, or for applying the heat so evolved to other purposes.
The apparatus consists, first, of a furnace of any convenient form, constructed
of or lined with fire-clay, fire-bricks, "lumps," or other suitable material,
leaving numerous apertures therein for the admission of steam to the interior
of the furnace, and I prefer to surround the whole with a chamber to prevent
undue radiation of heat. The ash-pit is capable of being closed to prevent the
admission of air, and there is a suitable door or passage for charging the
furnace with coal, coke, or other fuel when required. The fuel contained in
the furnace when first lighted, has air admitted thereto from the ash-pit, and
when the fuel has been thus raised to a high state of combustion by a blast
or otherwise, and the fire-clay lining rendered red hot, the air passage is
closed up or luted, and a regulated supply of steam at a moderate pressure is
admitted into the chamber surrounding the furnace, where it is highly heated,
and from which it passes through the fire-bars as well as through the nume-
rous apertures in the fire-clay into the interior of the furnace, and through
the incandescent fuel, so as to maintain and support the combustion thereof.
The highly heated steam in passing through the furnace is decomposed by
the highly heated fuel, and its hydrogen is liberated, which with the heat and
gases from the burning fuel are conducted through a suitable flue or passage,
and are caused to circulate under, around, or through the tubes or flues of a
steam boiler, and after a portion of the heat has been thus abstracted, the
gases are further ignited and consumed by the introduction and admixture
of atmospheric air at any convenient part of the circuit, so as to ensure the
complete combustion of the hydrogen and other gases generated in the fur-
nace, by which a large amount of additional heat is developed, which may be
applied to increase the generation of steam in other flues of the same boiler,
or in the fire-chamber or flues of an additional or supplementary boiler or
other apparatus for which heat is required.
From the previous description it will be readily understood that the arrange-
ment of the apparatus to produce the combustion of the fuel by means of steam
according to my Invention may be greatly varied, and that the heat so deve
loped may be applied to the smelting, fusing, or otherwise treating metals for
heating gas or other retorts, glass furnaces, pottery kilns, ovens, drying
chambers, and for various other purposes.
In carrying out my Invention it may be desirable in some cases to admit
atmospheric air in combination with the admission ofsteam to the furnace, or
to admit air or steam alternately.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Henry Phillips in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 9th October 1861.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
HENRY PHILLIPS, of Nunhead, in the County of Surrey, Engineer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Ninth day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, in the twenty-fourth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said William Henry Phillips, Her special licence that I, the said
William Henry Phillips, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said William Henry Phillips, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time
and at all times thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and
lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom. of
Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Inven-
tion for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE COMBUSTION OF FUEL FOR GENERATING STEAM
AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the
said William Henry Phillips, my executors or administrators, by an instru-
ment in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should
particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and
in what manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same to be
filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and
immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Henry Phillips, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following.
statement thereof, that is to say:-
This Invention relates to improved means of supporting the combustion of
fuel in suitably constructed furnaces or fire-places, so that the heat and gases
generated therein may be more advantageouslyand economicallyemployeḍfor
generating steam, or for applying heat to other purposes, and I would in the
outset remark that I do not confine myself to any particular arrangement of
apparatus for carrying out my Invention, as the method of doing so may be
greatly varied according to the particalar purpose to which it is applied,
without departing from the peculiar character of the Invention, which consists
in employing steam in place of atmospheric air or other gases, for the purpose

page_text: of supporting the combustion of fuel, and generating heat in furnaces or fire-
places of suitable construction.
And in order the better to explain the nature of my improvements in the
combustion of fuel, I will proceed to describe one arrangement of apparatus
constructed according to my Invention, and suitable for generating steam in
steam boilers, or for applying the heat so evolved to other purposes.
The apparatus consists, first, of a furnace of anyconvenient form, constructed
of or lined with fire-clay, fire-bricks, "lumps," or other suitable material,
leaving numerous apertures therein for the admission of steam to the interior
of the furnace, and I prefer to surround the whole with a chamber to prevent
undue radiation of heat. The ash-pit is capable of being closed to prevent the
admission of air, and there is a suitable door or passage for charging the
furnace with coal, coke, or other fuel when required. The fuel contained in
the furnace when first lighted has air admitted thereto from the ash-pit, and
when the fuel has been thus raised to a high state of combustion by a blast or
otherwise, and the fire-clay lining rendered red hot, the air-supply passage is
closed up or luted, and a regulated supply of steam at a moderate pressure is
admitted into the chamber surrounding the furnace, where it is highly heated
and from which it passes through the fire-bars as well as through the numerous
apertures in the fire-clay into the interior of the furnace and through the
incandescent fuel, so as to maintain and support the combustion thereof. The
highly-heated steam in passing through the furnace is decomposed by the
highly-heated fuel, and its hydrogen is liberated, which with the heat and
gases from the burning fuel are conducted through a suitable flue or passage,
and are caused to circulate under, around, or through the tubes or flues of a
steam boiler,and after a portion of the heat has been thus abstracted the gases
are further ignited and consumed by the introduction and admixture of atmo-
spheric air at any convenient part of the circuit, so as to ensure the complete
combustion of the hydrogen and other gases generated in the furnace, by
which a large amount of additional heat is developed, which may be applied to
increase the generation of steam in other flues of the same boiler,or in the fire
chamber or flues of an additional or supplementary boiler, or other apparatus
for which heat is required.
From the previous description itwill be readily understood that the arrange-
ment of the apparatus to produce the combustion of the fuel by means of
steam according to my Invention may be greatly varied, and that the heat so
developed maybe applied to the smelting, fusing, or otherwise treating metal,
for heating gas or other retorts, glass furnaces, pottery kilns. ovens, drying
chambers, and for various other purposes.

page_text: In carrying out my Invention it may be desirable in some cases to admit
atmospheric air in combination with the admission of steam to the furnace,or
to admit air or steam alternately.
And in order that my Invention may be most fully understood, and readily
carried into practice, I will proceed to describe the Drawing hereunto
onpaved
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.
Figurelshews a longitudinal section of a furnace and boiler for generating
steam, so arranged as to illustrate in a simple and intelligible manner the
nature and character of my improvement in the combustion of fuel, by which
a large volume of hydrogen, carbonic oxide, and other gases are constantly
evolved, which in their passage through the flues and tubes of the furnace and
boiler, are mixed with atmospheric air, so as to fully effect their combustion,
andthus develope a large additional amount of heat, which may be applied for
generating steam in the same boiler, or the gases may be conducted away by
suitable flues,and ignited in a supplementary furnace,or the heat produced by
the combustion of the gases may be applied to any other purpose for which
heat is required.
Before entering into a detailed description of the Drawing, I would remark
that I amawarethatithas before been proposed to introduce steam into furnaces
in various ways, chiefly for the prevention of smoke; it has also been introduced
into puddling and other furnaces employed in the manufacture of iron, but to
the best of my knowledge and belief it has never been employed exclusively
for the purpose of supporting combustion unmixed with atmospheric air, or
with oxygen or other gases, and it may be desirable to state here that it was
proposed in the Provisional Specification of a Patent recently granted tothe
Honorable William Edward Fitz Maurice, bearing date the 12th of January
1861, No. 92, "to mix water or steam with oxygen gas, or with atmospheric
"air, or with these combined, and then passing such mixture through heated
CE or ignited carbonaceous matter,and applying the gaseous products obtained
"therefrom as fuel to boilers or furnaces by any convenient method." Now it
is well known that the means of obtaining free oxygen gas are too costly to
render its use at all advantageous for the combustion of fuel, or for gene-
rating heat for evaporating or other purposes,thus rendering such a proposition
practically useless, and prior to the date of the present Letters Patent granted
to me, the use of highly-heated steam as a supporter of combustion alone had
never been practised.
In Figure 1 the combustion chamber a containing the carbonaceous fuel is

page_text: shown for convenience separate, or at a short distance from the boiler to
which the heat is applied for generating steam, but I do not confine myself to
any particular arrangement of furnace for the purpose of carrying out my
Invention, as the form and arrangement may be greatly varied without
departing from the principle of my Invention, and, for the sake of example, at
Figure 2,I have shewn my improvements applied to the fire-box of a locomo-
tive boiler, the arrangement of which I will hereafter describe.
The combustion chamber a or furnace shewn in Figurel, is formed of fire-
brick or lumps of fire-clay, and is surrounded by a narrow chamber b, also
lined with fire-brick enclosed within an iron casing; openings are formed in
the fire-brick which form passages for the steam or air to pass from the
chamber into the interior of the furnace a, the bottom of which is formed of
perforated fire-clay or fire-brick supported upon perforatediron plates or bars;
coal, coke, or other carbonaceous fuel is introduced into the furnace a from
time to time as required through the hopper and passage a', which is closed
by the door or platea³, as shewn. When the fire is first lighted atmospheric
air is forced or drawn into the furnace through the passage and ash-pit c, and
through the ignited fuel until the fuel has acquired a high degree of heat, and
the steam in the boiler is raised to a suitable pressure to admit of its being
employed in the place of air to support combustion in the furnace. The air
supply passage cis then closed and steam is admitted from the boiler d by the
pipe d' into the chamber b, where it becomes highly heated in its passage to
the interior of the furnace. The heat and gases thus generated in the furnacea
are conducted by the flue a³ into and through the upper series of tubes d²
of the boiler d, from which they issue into the fluo e, then passing through the
lower set of tubes d³, and from thence to a flue under the boiler; and as the
gases thus passing away are composed chiefly of hydrogen gas, carburetted
hydrogen, and carbonic oxide, a large amount of additional heat may be
derived from their combustion, which is accomplished by admitting atmo-
spheric air so as to combine therewith at any convenient part of their circuit;
for instance, if it is desired to apply the whole of the heat which the fuel and
the combustion of the gases therefrom are capable of developing to the
generation of steam in the boiler, as shewn, then atmospheric air should be
admitted so as to combine with the gases at any one of the points marked
(1), (2), (3), but should it be desired to apply the additional heat obtained
from the combustion of the gases evolved in the furnace to the generation of
steam in an additional boiler or for other heating purposes, then the gases so
evolved are to be conducted to the point where such heat is required, atmo-
spheric air being combined therewith, and the gaseous mixture being ignited, a

page_text: profitable application of the heat derived from such ignited gases may be
obtained.
The bottom of the furnace or fire-box a, shewn at Figure 2, is formed of
perforated fire-brick or fire-clay supported upon a perforated iron plate or
bars, and air is first forced or drawn through the passage 6 to thoroughly
b
ignite the fuel, and raise the steam to the requisite pressure to support the
combustion of the fuel when the supply of air is cut off. The steam in its
passage from the boiler to support the combustion of the fuel in the furnace a,
is conducted by the pipe c into the steam chest d, and by contact with the fire
tubes or flues of the boiler it becomes highly heated, and passes along the
steam pipe e enclosed in the pipe f containing hot water, in connection with
and at the same temperature as that in the boiler. The pipe e conducts the
highly-heated steam into the closed ash-pit g, from which it passes up through
the perforated bottom of the furnace a and through the fuel, the heat and
gases passing through and along the lower set of tubes or flues h into the
smoke box i, at which point atmospheric air is admitted at j to ignite the
gases, and thus develop a large additional amount of heat in their passage
through the upper set of tubes or flues k of the boiler and in the chamber 7,
leading to the chimney; fuel is supplied to the furnace as required through
the passage m, which is closed by the cover or plate m¹, as shewn, the steam
being cut off just previous to charging the furnace with fresh fuel. The
intensity of the combustion in furnaces, such as before described, according to
my Invention, may be regulated from time to time as desired by varying the
quantity of steam admitted thereto, or by admitting atmospheric air alternately
or in combination with the steam, all which will be readily ascertained and
determined to suit the particular state of circumstances under which each
furnace working according to my Invention may require.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Henry Phillips, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Ninth day of October, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one
Witness,
WILLIAM HENRY PHILLIPS. (L.s.)
J. G. TONGUE, Patent Agent,
34, Southampton Buildings,
Chancery Lane, W.C.