Improvements relating to the Manufacture of Gas and to Apparatus therefor.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 10th Sept., 1889-Accepted, 7th Dec., 1889
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION,
Improvements relating to the Manufacture of Gas and to Apparatus
therefor.
I, MARCELLUS A. MORSE, of 162 East Washington Street in the City of Chicago,
County of Cook and State of Illinois, United States of America, Manufacturer, 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 the process of manufacturing illuminating and heating gas
in a cupola generator; also to provide a cupola gas-generating furnace of improved
construction adapted for manufacturing both water-gas and illuminating-gas as will
be hereinafter fully described.
The objects of my invention are as follows:-
1. To provide for converting hydrocarbon oil into gas, without waste by destructive
decomposition, by admitting it first into that portion of the combining and fixing
chamber, where the heat is at a comparatively low degree, and at the same time
decomposing steam in contact with a body of incandescent fuel by passing it either
up or down through such fuel and passing the resulting hydrogen and carbonic oxide
into the fixing chamber, at the same part where the oil is admitted, and then gradually
vaporizing the oil and converting it into gas by causing it to flow, together with the
hydrogen and carbonic oxide, to successively hotter portions of the combining and
fixing chamber, till decomposition is effected, thereby causing the hydrogen to combine
with and take up the carbon of the oil, as successively heavier gravities thereof are
vaporized, and thus form a fixed illuminating gas.
(2) To provide for better storing and utilizing the heat or heating properties of
the gaseous products arising from the fuel, at the time it is blasted with air for
heating it to incandescence, by beating with such products both a gas fixing chamber
and a steam superheating chamber.
(3) To provide for conveniently vaporizing hydrocarbon oil in pipes or channels
arranged in a partition wall between the gas fixing and the steam superheating
chambers.
(4) To provide an improved hollow partition wall having a packing of dry sand, or
equivalent material, whereby any cracks, that may occur in the wall, will be automati-
cally filled with the sand, which will be fused, and leakage of gas or steam from one
chamber to the other thereby prevented.
(5) To provide for passing steam either up or down through the bed of incan-
descent fuel and conducting the resulting water-gas into the top of the gas fixing
chamber near to the place where the hydrocarbon oil or vapor is admitted.
(6) To provide for heating air or steam or mixtures of the two and evenly
distributing the same into the fuel.
(7) To provide hollow water-cooled grate bars adapted to be turned for breaking up
clinker and removing it with the ash.
In the manufacture of gas in cupola generating furnaces, it is the practice to admit
the oil for carbureting the water-gas, either directly above the fire, or into the lower
and hottest portion of the fixing chamber; that portion which is adjacent to the fuel
chamber and is subjected first to the hot products of combustion, and is, consequently,
most highly heated. The consequence of this is that much of the oil is burned or
destructively decomposed and converted into lamp black and hard carbon, before it
can be properly vaporized, expanded and combined with the water-gas, thus causing a
very considerable loss and materially increasing the expense of making good gas.
By my invention, I overcome this difficulty and obtain improved results, as will be
DO7

page_text: particularly set forth in the description of the operation in connection with the
accompanying drawings, in which ;-
Figures 1 and 2 represent vertical sections of my cupola gas generator, Figure 2
being a slight modification of Figure 1.
Figure 3 represents a sectional detail view of the combustion chamber in Figure 2.
The cupola generators shown in Figures 1 and 2 have the same general features
of construction, but I will first confine my description particularly to Figure 1 as
follows:-
The cupola A, is built of brick and, is provided with a tight iron jacket in the
usual manner,
and is divided by a brick arch G, into fuel decomposing chamber B,
at the base, and the regenerative portion composed of chambers (and E, containing
refractory brick-work or tile at the top. The fuel chamber is provided with a
grate L, and below this with chambers y and z separated one from the other by
horizontal partition . Chamber y serves as the ordinary ash-pit, and chamber z
as the receiving and distributing chamber for air and steam and outlet chamber
for water-gas. Perforated distributing channels m opening at the bottom through
partitions 6 are arranged transversely in chamber y below the grate and distribute air
or steam through their lateral perforations under the grate; also conduct water-gas
down into chamber z, from which it is passed by pipe F to the top of fixing chamber C.
The fuel charging doors b are placed at the top of chamber B. The upper portion of
the cupola is divided by the hollow vertical partition wall H, into the lower gas fixing
chamber C, and the smaller steam superheating chamber E. Chamber C is provided
near its base with a solid horizontal partition m¹ forming chamber M between it and
arch G, also with perforated arch c¹ forming combustion chamber u. Another
perforated arch c" is placed at about the middle of chamber C and the arches c¹ cl
serve to support the tile or other refractory brick-work. At the top chamber C is
provided with outlet X, having lid x. Chamber E is provided near its base with
a perforated arch or partition e forming below it combustion chamber w, and at
the top with escape opening X, having closing lid x¹. The large arch G is provided
with openings g, g' for conducting gaseous products from fuel chamber B in to
chambers M and w, opening 9 being made the larger so as to conduct a larger
volume of gaseous products up into the larger chamber C. Chambers u and M are
connected by means of pipes D, D₁ and D¹¹; and one of these pipes, as D, is provided
with a valve box and a valve d for controlling the flow of gas. Pipe D", in
practice, leads to a seal-box, (shown in Figure 2), where its end dips into the
scaling liquid as usual. Chambers C, and E are connected at the top by pipe K,
having valve k.
An air blast pipe V, having valve v, connects with chamber z,
and a steam pipe T, having valve t, also connects with chamber z, preferably
through the air pipe as shown. Air supply pipe V₁, having valve v¹, connects
with the combustion chamber w; and air supply pipes V₁ and V₁₁ connect
with chamber respectively below arches c¹ and c as shown. A steam supply
pipe T, having valve t¹, connects with the top of chamber E. Partition wall H is
made hollow so as to form within it a narrow chamber or space h. Within this
space the vaporizing coil P, is arranged horizontally with connections outside of
the furnace walls, not here shown. With this arrangement of the coil the projecting
ends of the tubes which form it are provided with removable screw plugs so that a
cleaning rod may be pushed through the tubes for removing any deposits that may
obstruct them. An oil supply pipe O, having valve o, connects with the lower part of
the vaporizing coil, and a pipe or nozzle p admits vapor from the coil into the
carbureting and fixing chamber C, at any suitable heighth therein, but preferably near
the top as shown. A number of nozzles P may connect the coil at different heights
with chamber C so as to better mingle the oil vapor with the water-gas admitted by
pipe F. The vaporizing coil, having been properly placed in the space h, such space
is entirely filled with fine dry sand, or other dry granular material, so that in case
cracks form in the brick wall the sand will run into them and close them up. In case
of large cracks and a high heat being used the sand would probably be melted

page_text: forming a glaze, which would completely fill and cement the cracks, making all tight
and preventing leakage of gas or steam through the partition wall. Dry sand alone,
however, would sufficiently close the cracks to prevent leakage.
The grate is composed of hollow bars L, extending through packing boxes or glands
in the side walls, and having their outer ends made square, so that a lever having a
square socket may be applied for turning them. The bars are provided with rows of
lateral fingers or projections, preferably four rows projecting at right angles to each
other. By turning the bars the clinker is caught between the fingers and broken up
so that it will pass into the ash-box. In practice, water is circulated through the
hollow bars to keep them cool.
The description above given applies in the main to the cupola generating furnace
shown in figure 2, but in such figure the regenerative portion above the fuel chamber
is constructed with a single chamber C, which is used only as a fixing chamber for
mixed bydrocarbon oil vapor and water-gas. The main steam supply pipe T connects
by branch pipe T", having valve t¹, with the top of the fuel chamber, preferably
through the medium of pipe F¹, chamber M, and opening g, in the arch G, and a
second steam pipe T', having valve t, leads down into chamber z at the base of the cupola.
Above arch G and horizontal partition m' I construct a perforated gas distributing
chamber N, and above such chamber I provide a similar air distributing chamber O.
These chambers are rectangular and arranged transversely across the base of fixing
chamber C; they are separated by a horizontal partition and are provided respectively
with lateral ports n and o, as shown in figure 3, for distributing the gas and air, which
are burned in fixing chamber C. These distributing chambers for gas and air, which
constitute a burner, may also be applied to the cupola shown in figure 1. The pipe F
for conducting water-gas from the base of the cupola to the top of the fixing chamber
has a branch pipe F', provided with valve f¹, connecting with chamber M, just above
the arch, so that water-gas may also be conducted away from the top of the fuel
chamber to the top of the fixing chamber C. By this arrangement steam may be
passed either up or down through the body of fuel for decomposing it to form water-
gas. An oil supply pipe P, having valve p, connects with the top of fixing chamber C.
Chamber C is filled with refractory tile or brick-work c set in the usual manner for
exposing a large heating surface to the passing gas and vapor.
The fuel chamber B is constructed with its walls flaring outward from near the
bottom to the top, so as to project laterally all around at the top beyond the
vertical walls of the fixing chamber. The circumferential top of the projecting
portion joins the arch G, which separates the fuel chamber from the fixing chamber.
At suitable points in the projecting circumferential top I provide fuel openings or
passages b, having tight closing lids. By arranging these openings at two or more
points in the circumferential top, the fuel may be fed to and evenly distributed in
the chamber, and clinkering bars may be conveniently inserted for cleaning the side
walls of clinkers. This construction of flaring walls and projecting circumferential
top with openings down through such top is quite advantageous in practical operation,
In the construction of
and may be applied to the cupola shown in figure 1.
cupola shown in figure 1 I provide the additional chamber E, for superheating
steam, so that when the fixing chamber has been properly heated, the gaseous
products are shut off therefrom and are burned alone in chamber E, which may be
heated to a very high degree without injuring the steam which is to be passed through
it. All the gaseous products arising from the fuel chamber when the air blast is on
are thus utilized to the best advantage.
The operation is conducted as follows:-
Lids and valves d being open (fig. 1), a fire is kindled on the grate, fuel
gradually fed in, and the air blast admitted till a deep bed of incandescent fuel is
formed. The resulting gaseous products containing a valuable percentage of carbonic
oxide are conducted through passages g, g', and the connecting pipes into combustion
chambers and w, where they are burned by the admission of air through the
pipes V, V. A second supply of air may be admitted by the pipe V if neces
sary to complete the combustion in chamber C. Chamber C will be most highly

page_text: heated at the bottom and gradually to a decreasing temperature toward the top.
When the fixing chamber C is heated to the proper temperature, valve d and lid
are closed and all of the gaseous products are then burned in steam superheating
chamber E, till it is very highly heated. The fuel having been heated to the proper
.state of incandescence and the chambers C and E properly heated as above described,
the lid is closed and all the air blast shut off. Valve fin pipe F is now opened
and steam is admitted by pipe T into the top of superheating chamber E, in passing
through which it is highly superheated; it is then passed down into and through the
incandescent fuel in chamber B where it is decomposed with very little loss of heat
to the fuel. The resulting water-gas passes by pipe F into the upper part of
carbureting and fixing chamber C, and at the same time hydro carbon oil is admitted
into the vaporizer P, where it is vaporized and the resulting vapor passes by nozzle p¹
into chamber C. The hydrocarbon vapors immediately diffuse through the water-
gas and combine with the hydrogen thereof, and the resulting illuminating gas is
fixed by passage down through chamber C and finally escapes by pipes D', and D",
to the seal box and washer. In this way a long run and a very large volume of gas
I may be generated before the temperature of the cupola is too much lowered for
successful operation. In the operation of the apparatus, and after steam has been
passed down through the fuel, the direction thereof may be reversed. In this case,
valve fis closed and valve opened, the valve in steam pipe T¹ is closed and the valve
in steam pipe T opened. Steam is now admitted to chamber z and is distributed by
perforated channels m into the base of the bed of fuel; it is decomposed by passage
up through the fuel and the resulting water-gas passes up through chamber E and by
pipe K into the top of chamber C, where it is carbureted, combined and fixed as before
explained. It has been found in practice that a larger yield of gas and better results
are secured by passing the steam, at different periods, both up and down through the
bed of incandescent fuel. When-water-gas is passed down through the grate, it escapes
through the perforated channels m into chamber z, from which it is conducted by
pipe Fas before described.
The operation above described is substantially the same when using the cupola
shown in fig. 2, except that no superheating chamber is used, and the steam is not
superheated before passage down through the fuel. When heating up the cupola,
gaseous products arising from the fuel chamber are conducted into the distributing
chamber N, from which they escape through ports n. Streams of air pass through
ports o and mingle with the streams of gas on each side of the chambers N, and O,
causing uniform and perfect combustion for heating chamber C. When it is desired
to make water-gas by passing steam down through the fuel, the steam is admitted by
pipe T and valve into pipe F, and flows therefrom through opening g, in the arch,
down into the bed of fuel, where it is decomposed, and the resulting water-gas passes
from chamber at the base of the cupola through pipe F into the top of chamber C,
where it is carburetted by the admission of oil through pipe P, and the carburetted
gas is combined and fixed by passage down through chamber C as before explained.
When it is desired to make water-gas by passage of steam up through the fuel, valve f
is closed and valve f¹ in the branch pipe F¹ is opened, and steam is admitted into
chamber at the base as before described. The resulting water-gas then passes through
branch pipes F1 and F into the top of chamber C.
In the operation of enriching or carburetting the water-gas, the oil is admitted into
the top or upper portion of chamber C, where the temperature is the lowest, and is
gradually vaporized by flowing down over the heated tile, so that, as the heavier
gravities of oil reach the more highly heated tile they are broken up into vapor by a
process of fractional distillation at just the right temperature for the purpose. As
the lighter vapors are disengaged in the upper and least heated portions of the
chamber, they immediately diffuse through the water-gas and combine with the
hydrogen thereof and are thereby protected from injury by heat. Then, as the
heavier gravities flow down over the more highly heated tile, the temperature is
lowered by the evaporation, so that, as the lighter vapors and gases pass downward,
they are not injured by the heat. As fast as the vapors are given off, they are taken

page_text: up and combined with the water-gas in the nascent state, so that all the oil is con-
verted into fixed illuminating gas without loss by burning and formation of lamp-
black. This method of operating is particularly well adapted to the treatment of
heavy hydrocarbon oil, such as petroleum, for converting it into illuminating gas,
as thereby, each gravity of the oil is subjected to the particular temperature best
suited for vaporizing it and converting it into gas, and the water-gas being present,
combines with the oil vapor and gas and protects them from injury by heat. The
manufaciure of gas is continued, as above described, till the fuel is reduced below
the proper decomposing temperature for steam, and then the steam and oil are shut
off, valves f, f' are closed, and valve d and lid x are opened, and the fuel and the
fixing chamber are again heated up as above described, preparatory to again
manufacturing gas.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is :
1. The process of manufacturing gas which consists in heating a body of fuel to
incandescence by burning it with air; then burning the gaseous products of this
combustion with air, and heating a body of refractory material to a high degree of
heat at the base, and to a gradually decreasing temperature as it approaches the
top; then suspending the combustion and heating process and introducing liquid
hydrocarbon into the upper portion of the heated refractory material, and causing
it to flow into an increasing temperature as it descends and thus be gradually
vaporized at the same time decomposing, steam by passing it either up or down
through the incandescent fuel into carbonic-oxide and hydrogen gas, and passing
such hot gas as fast as it is generated into the refractory material and downward
together with the hydro-carbons whereby the vapors and the gases mingle, and are
subjected to a gradually increasing temperature until the hydro carbons are finally
converted into fixed illuminating gas.
2. In a cupola gas generator, the combination of the fuel and decomposing chamber,
the gas fixing chamber, and the steam superheating chamber separated one from the
other by a vertical partition and connecting at the bottom with such fuel chamber,
a steam supply pipe connecting with the top of the superheating chamber, supply
pipes for gas and oil vapor, and a gas outlet pipe connecting with the fixing chamber
as and for the purpose described.
3. In combination with the fuel and decomposing chamber placed in the base of
the cupola, the superheating and fixing chambers placed above, the arch at the top of
the fuel chamber having openings for gaseous products leading into such super-
heating and fixing chambers, a valved pipe connecting the chambers at the top, and
an escape pipe leading from the base of the fixing chamber, as and for the purpose
described.
4. In a cupola gas generator, the hollow partition wall for separating the fixing
chamber from the superheating chamber having its space filled with dry sand or
equivalent material for closing cracks which may occur in the wall as described.
5. In combination with the hollow partition wall separating the fixing chamber
from the superheating chamber, an oil vaporizing pipe or coil arranged in the space
of such wall, and a vapor pipe leading therefrom into the fixing chamber for the
purpose described.
6. In combination with the fuel chamber of the cupola the air and steam heating
and distributing channels extending across the ash-pit and provided with lateral per-
forations below their tops and the connected air and steam supply pipes for the purpose
described.
=
7. In combination with the fuel chamber of the cupola, the supply and distributing
chamber arranged below the ash-pit, perforated channels m communicating with
such chamber and extending into the ash-pit, the steam and air supply pipes con-
necting with chamber z, and an escape pipe for water-gas leading from such chamber
to the fixing chamber of the cupola for the purpose described.
8. A cupola gas generator divided by a solid closed partition into a fuel chamber and

page_text: a combining and fixing chamber, in combination with a valved pipe for products of
combustion, connecting the fuel chamber with the base of the fixing chamber, a
valved pipe for water-gas connecting the fuel chamber with the upper portion of the
fixing chamber, an oil supply pipe leading into the top of; and a gas take-off pipe
leading from the bottom of the fixing chamber for the purpose described.
9. In combination with a cupola ga's generating furnace having a fuel chamber at
the base and a fixing chamber above, a valved water-gas pipe leading from the base
of the fuel chamber to the upper portion of the fixing chamber, a valved branch pipe
connecting the top of the fuel chamber with such water-gas pipe, a valved pipe for
gaseous products connecting the top of the fuel chamber with the bottom of the fixing
chamber, and valved steam supply pipes connecting with both the bottom and top of
the fuel chamber, as and for the purpose described.
10. In combination with the fuel chamber and fixing chamber of the cupola, the
gas distributing chamber N, having ports n, air distributing chamber O, having ports o,
and the connecting pipes, as and for the purpose described.
11. In a cupola gas generator the fuel chamber constructed with flaring walls and
projecting at the top beyond the fixing chamber, said projection having one or more
openings passing downward through its top for conveniently charging the chamber
with fuel and cleaning the walls of clinker, the openings being provided with tight
fitting doors as described.
12. In combination with a gas generating furnace, the hollow grate bars for the
circulation of water, having lateral projections or fingers, and arranged to be turned
for breaking up clinker as described.
Dated this 10th day of Santambar 1200
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, Agents for the Applicant.