Improvements in Means or Apparatus for Utilizing Waste Heat for Producing Motive Power.
Year: 1888

page_text: Improvements in Means or Apparatus for Utilizing Waste Heat for
Producing Motive Power.
I, CHARLES TELLIER, of No. 20, Rue Félicien David, Paris, in the Republic of
France, Civil 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:-
In the Specification of my former Letters Patent No. 9474 dated the 8th August
1885, I have shown how waste heat from any source can be utilized by means of the
apparatus described in the said Specification and how atmospheric heat can be
employed for this purpose.
Amongst the many sources of wasto heat, that which furnishes the most numerous
applications is unquestionably the exhaust steam from steam engines.
My present invention relates to this application and the accompanying drawings
illustrate the arrangement I employ which comprises
1. The necessary surfaces for vaporizing ammonia.
2. The interchanges.
3. The motor employing the ammoniacal gas produced.
4. The absorption vessel for reconstituting the ammoniacal solution employed.
A is a receiver into which by means of a tube a is introduced the exhaust steam
from a condensing or a free exhaust steam engine.
The receiver A is large enough to allow the exhaust to be produced without
abnormal resistance, which if it existed would press uselessly on the motor piston and
would diminish its useful effect. In practice I make this receiver of five or 6 times
the capacity of the motor cylinder.
The receiver A is directly connected to a chamber or condenser B which contains a
number of tubes opening at one end into the receiver A and at the other end into a
collecting chamber b. The exhaust steam can thus pass freely through the said tubes
into the chamber b.
The condenser B is filled with ammoniacal solution up to the line b', 6'. The heat
of the exhaust steam becomes disengaged in the tubes contained in the condenser B

page_text: and the ammoniacal solution is thereby heated and the steam is condensed. The
water produced by this condensation escapes through the tube
e which by means of
a feed
pump conducts it to the boiler.
Having condensed the steam, the caloric thereby disengaged will not only have
heated the ammoniacal solution but will also have produced ammoniacal vapour which
is stored in the upper part of the condenser B and in the vapour chamber C placed
above it.
A surface condenser is thus produced furnishing on the one hand pure water by the
condensation of the steam employed and on the other hand ammoniacal vapour which
is immediately utilized as hereinafter described.
The ammoniacal vapour is not disengaged from the solution without taking with it
a certain quantity of the same solution and it is important that only dry vapour shall
enter the cylinder.
I therefore place over the condenser B the vapour chamber C which communicates
therewith through three tubes d, d, d and through tubes d', d², d, d, serving for the
return of liquid. A sheet of fine wire gauze is fixed in the chamber at the joint e, e
so as to burst the scum-bubbles drawn along and thus allow the ammoniacal gas to
escape in a pure condition through the tube E whilst the liquid runs through the
tubes and thence through the tube e¹, e¹.
This arrangement can be replaced by that indicated in dotted lines at E¹.-It will
be readily understood that the steam chest E¹ is provided with a sort of funnel of wire
gauze e, el acting in a similar manner to the above described wire gauze e, e
to separate the ammoniacal gas from the scum.
The vapour thus produced can be employed directly and conducted to the motor
cylinder since it has acquired its full tension. As however it is produced at a
temperature of 50 to 60 degrees, I can superheat it at a small expense and raise it to
150 degrees or more. For this purpose I cause the vapour to enter the tubes of a
super-heater so as to submit it to the action of heat from any suitable source.
Steam from the boiler can for example advantageously be employed for this purpose.
The steam enters the superheater F at f, heats all the tubes therein and is condensed
and escapes through the tube f1 and is returned directly to the boiler if the said
super-heater F is placed above the boiler. If not, it will be necessary to return the
water of condensation to the said boiler by means of a feed pump.
The ammoniacal vapour passes from the vapour chamber C through the tube g, g
and enters the base Ġ of the superheater F rises through the tubes of the latter
becomes superheated therein and enters a chamber G¹ at the top. Thence by means
of a tube git passes to a motor H (Sheet 2) of suitable construction, which it
actuates, thus producing the required complementary power.
A tube g at the lower part of the base G of the superheater F allows of conducting
into the return pipe el, el any liquid which might be drawn into the tubes of the
superheater F.
The ammoniacal vapour having been thus utilized for work escapes from the motor
cylinder in which it has been employed. For collecting it, I conduct it through a
tube g, into the absorption chamber I (sheet 3) which is made in two parts, one of
which is a vapour chamber J for receiving the vapours coming from the motor
cylinder without offering any resistance to the piston; the other part K more
especially serves for effecting the absorption.
For this purpose I constantly introduce into the absorbing chamber K a current of
ammoniacal solution taken from the condenser B through a tube K at its lower
part.
As this solution is hot and it is necessary for it to arrive in as cold a state as possible
in the absorbing chamber K, I do not lead it direct thereto but to a primary inter-
changer M and then to a second interchanger N which by means of a regulating
chamber and a float valve tank L finally conducts it in a cool state through the
tube to the bottom part of the absorbing chamber K.
The solution is maintained by the float valve at a level indicated by the dotted
line, in the absorbing chamber K.

page_text: The ammoniacal vapours exhausted from the motor cylinder and entering the vapour
chamber J through the tube gt, g* would accumulate therein if the chamber were not
provided with holes P, P, P, P; these holes, through tubes p, p, P, P leading to
horizontal tubes p', p', p², p¹ which are perforated, allow tho aminoniacal gas to
become dissolved in the cold solution contained in the absorbing chamber K. The
absorption is then effected. But it is evident that the caloric produced by the
condensation and the combination of the ammoniacal vapours with the solution must
be removed. With this object I place a number of tubes in the absorbing chamber K.
These tubes arranged in one or more clusters or sets with caps Q, Q1, Qu, allow cold
water arriving through a tube q to cool the apparatus. The cold water runs through
the sets of tubes, takes up the caloric which is disengaged during the absorption
and then leaves through a tube q" thus removing all the said caloric from the absorbing
chamber.
The ammoniacal solution thus becomes cooled and it only remains to return it to
the condenser B by means of the pump R to render the operation continuous.
As the solution which is returned to the condenser B is cold whilst there is a
temperature in the latter of 50 to 60 degrees it is advisable to heat the solution before
it enters the condenser B. Now a hot solution is constantly leaving the condenser
and is required to enter the absorber K in a cold state. There is therefore an
opportunity for an exchange of temperature and by a reference to the drawings it
will be seen that for effecting this exchange the hot solution which leaves the
condenser B through the tube k, k, k, k, is conducted thereby to the upper part m of
the interchanger M. It descends through the tubes enclosed in the interchanger to
the base m' thereof, thence it leaves through a tube m". On the other hand it will be
seen that from the absorber K a current of liquid passes through a tubo t to the
pump R and is forced by the said pump into the lower part of the interchanger M
This liquid which is cold when it leaves the absorber K rises gradually in the
interchanger M until it reaches the hole. In rising it becomes heated by exchange
by means of the caloric taken from the solution coming from the condenser B through
the tube k, k, k, k.-Heated liquid therefore leaves at and passes through the
tube e', e', e', e' to the condenser B while a cool solution arrives at m³.
at t.
This solution which entered at m and which passed through the tubes of the inter-
changer M to the base m' is not sufficiently cooled by this exchange to be introduced
in a good condition into the absorber K.
I therefore conduct the said solution from the base m' of the interchanger M through
the tube m to the upper part n of the interchanger N.
This interchanger does not work with a double ammoniacal solution but merely with
cold water which enters through the tube and escapes through a tube v¹. The
solution, still in a warm condition, entering through the tube m", m" reaches
the base completely cooled and is then in proper condition to be passed to the
absorber K.
As, however, the liquid to be cooled enters the interchangers at the top and as it is
important, in order that the surfaces shall act efficiently to keep the interchanger-tubes
completely full of liquid, I provide the regulating or overflow chamber o' which has
for object to cause the tubes to always remain full of liquid and consequently the
exchange to be effected without hindrance.
From this description it will be easily understood that completely cooled liquid
enters the absorber K and that on the other hand saturated and heated liquid comes
back to the condenser B.
A tube Ss-on the tube W maintains an equilibrium between the float valve
tank I and the absorber K. Two precautions must be observed, one concerning the
vaporizing condenser, and the other the absorbing condenser.
In the first case I attach to the vaporising condenser a pump similar to those
employed in all surface condensers and which has for object to extract not only
the water produced by the condensation of the steam but also the air which
accompanies it.
In the second case it is necessary to separate from the expelled air the ammoniacal

page_text: vapors which it may have brought along with it. For this purpose, instead of
extracting the air and allowing it to pass directly into the atmosphere I cause it to
pass through a bath of water, (preferably acidulated) which will retain the ammonia
and allow the air to pass away.
Another exchanger Z is shown in sheet 2 of the drawings, it should be placed
between the chamber C and the superheater F and is simply provided to show that
I can pass through its tubes, the vapours coming from the motor and that on the other
hand by causing the ammoniacal vapours coming to the superheater F, from the
chamber C to pass around the said tubes I can, by means of the said interchanger Z,
recover a part of the sensible caloric brought by the ammoniacal vapours having
worked in the cylinder H before entering the interchanger M.
my said
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. In apparatus for utilizing waste heat for producing motive power, the receiver A
for diminishing the back pressure on the piston of the main motor cylinder (that from
which comes the steam through the tube a).
2. In apparatus for utilizing waste heat for producing motive power, the
vaporizing condenser B in combination with a wire gauze separating apparatus.
3. In apparatus for utilizing waste heat for producing motive power, the super-
heater F.
4. In apparatus for utilizing waste heat for producing motive power, the absorbing
condenser I, J, K.
5. In apparatus for utilizing waste heat for producing motive power, the com-
bination of the vaporizing condenser B and the absorbing condenser K with the
interchangers M and N,
6. In apparatus for utilizing waste heat for producing motive power, the com-
bination of the vaporizing condenser B, the superheater F, the absorbing condenser K
and the interchangers M and N with a suitable motor such as H.
7. The improved apparatus for utilizing waste heat for producing motive power
substantially as hereinbefore described and illustrated in the accompanying
drawings.
Dated the 26th day of March 1888.