Improvements in Apparatus used in the Manufacture of Gas from Oil or other Fluids.
Year: 1898

page_text: Improvements in Apparatus used in the Manufacture of Gas from
Oil or other Fluids.
SAMUEL CHANDLER, Jun., and JOSIAH CHANDLER, both Engineers, of the Central
Works, Kennington Oval, London, S.E., do hereby declare the nature of this
invention to be as follows;
Our invention consists of a decomposing chamber which is applicable to the
ordinary horizontal or inclined or vertical retort used in the manufacture of coal,
gas. This decomposing chamber is substantially a tube-having one end closed by
a lid it is made of steel, or any suitable material of any sectional shape, but
of such a determined diameter that when in position in the retort there shall be
sufficient space around the inner side of the retort and the outer side of the
decomposing chamber for the return passage of the gas. Into this chamber is
placed a shallow trough or tray extending the whole length and occupying as
nearly as possible a central position at the same time at such an angle as to give
as much fall as possible when used for and in the ordinary horizontal retort.
When used in either the vertical or inclined retort it will occupy the center
throughout. In either case the oil will travel by gravitation through the cham-
ber and become gasified. The decomposing chamber is placed in the retort sur-
ported upon legs in order to prevent direct contact with the floor of the said
retort and may be just as easily removed or withdrawn if desired for examination
or cleaning purposes. The lid of the decomposing chamber being closed and the
oil delivery pipe being adjusted over the communicating funnel of the said
chamber, the retort lid being shut, the oil or other fluid would be supplied to the
decomposing chamber. As the oil travels through it becomes gasified, and the gas
so made would only leave the open end of the decomposing chamber, the gas
would then be caused to return along the space between the retort and the decom-
posing chamber which it would of course envelope.
D L 1 13
178
" T
1000
S. CHANDLER, JUN.
JOSH.
CHANDLER,
Improvements in Apparatus used in the Manufacture of Gas from
Oil or other Fluids.
We, SAMUEL CHANDLER, Junior, and JOSIAH CHANDLER, both of Central Works,
Kennington Oval, in the County of London, Engineers, do hereby declare the
Price Rd

page_text: 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:-
Our invention relates to apparatus for use in the manufacture of gas from oil
or other fluids.
According to our invention we make use of a decomposing chamber designed
to be used in conjunction with the ordinary vertical, inclined or horizontal gas
retort, the said decomposing chamber being arranged within such retort in such
a manner that a space is formed between its outer surface and the inner surface
of the said retort so that the said decomposing chamber will be heated by radia-
tion and not by conduction and so that the oil or the like volatilized in the
decomposing chamber will after issuing from the said chamber be caused to
traverse through the length of the said retort and in contact with the heated
walls thereof whereby a more permanent gas is obtained than would be the case
if the vapour passed directly from the decomposing chamber away from the
retort. The said decomposing chamber has within it trays or the like down
which the oil or other fluid gravitates.
To enable our invention to be fully understood we will describe the same by
reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:—
Figure 1 is a plan; and,
Figure 2 a vertical section of an upright retort having a decomposing chamber,
constructed according to our invention, applied thereto :
Figure 3 is a longitudinal section shewing the application of our invention to
an inclined retort; and,
Figure 4 is a section on the line 4-4 of Figure 3.
Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several figures.
a is the gas retort, b is the mouth of the said retort and c is the outlet for the
gas, d is our decomposing chamber which is in the form of a tube adapted to be
inserted into the retort a and into which the oil or other liquid to be vaporised
is admitted through a pipe e. ff are the trays or the like down which the oil
passes by gravitation, and g is an outer tube which surrounds the decomposing
chamber d.
As shewn in Figures 1 and 2, which illustrate the application of our invention
to a vertical retort, the trays f,f are in the form of a series of baffles placed on
opposite sides of the decomposing chamber d which is open at the top whilst the
enclosing pipe or tube y is closed at the top by the removable cover h and at the
bottom open to the interior of the retort through an opening i.
jis a foot or stand within the retort upon which the decomposing chamber d
is supported.
The operation of this apparatus is as follows, that is to say, the retort a being
properly heated and the mouth b closed, oil or other suitable fluid is allowed to
enter through the pipe e and to pass into the decomposing chamber whence it
gravitates down the baffles f in a zigzag course and owing to the heat is con-
verted into gas or vapour.
In practice the supply of oil through the pipe should be so regulated that no
free oil will reach the bottom of the decomposing chamber; in case, however, oil
should accumulate at the bottom we provide pipes & for drawing off such oil.
The vapour or gas produced in the decomposing chamber d passes upwards
out of the decomposing chamber d into the tube g and is thence compelled to
traverse downwards between the outer wall of the decomposing chamber and the
inner wall of the said tube g to the opening i whence it again passes upwards in
contact with the wall of the retort a and escapes through the pipe c.
In the arrangement of our invention shewn in Figures 3 and 4 the trays f, f
are arranged on the inclined bottom of the decomposing chamber in such a
manner that the lip of one tray rests upon the rear end of the next tray, the
surfaces of the trays being of only slight inclination so that the oil will gravi-
tate slowly along them. In this arrangement also the decomposing chamber d

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is closed at the top whilst the enclosing pipe g is closed at the bottom and has
connected to it the pipe k for the escape of surplus oil. The vapour or gas pro-
duced in the decomposing chamber d in this case passes down the latter, then
upwards through the space between the said decomposing chamber and the
enclosing tube g, and thence down between the said tube and the heated walls
of the retort to the discharge aperture c.
It is to be understood that although in both of the foregoing arrangements we
have described the use of an enclosing tube g, such enclosing tube may be dis-
pensed with providing that the opening of the decomposing tube is most remote
from the gas discharge pipe so as to ensure the vapour or gas traversing the
length of the retort in contact with the heated walls. In Figures 3 and 4 1, lare
ribs or fect upon which the decomposing chamber is supported in order to hold
it out of contact with the walls of the retort.
When our invention is applied to a horizontal retort we might use a single
shallow tray f extending the whole length of the retort and occupying as nearly
as possible a central position therein, the said tray being placed at such an angle
as to give the requisite fall for the oil.
In some cases we make the trays hollow or jacket them and provide for passing
the oil to be vaporized or water or other liquid through or in contact with the
said trays in order to maintain them at a lower temperature than the decompos-
ing chamber itself, so that the oil will be decomposed by heat radiated from the
wall of the decomposing chamber rather than by contact with heated surfaces as
is the case when no cooling is provided for.
It will be obvious that by removing the cover of the ordinary retort our im-
proved apparatus can be readily removed for cleaning or repairing purposes and
replaced.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is:-
1. The combination with an ordinary gas retort of a decomposing chamber
adapted to be inserted into the said retort and to be supported therein out of
contact with the retort, the said decomposing chamber being provided with
inclined trays or baffles down which the oil or liquid to be vaporised passes by
gravitation, and being closed at one end in such a manner as to ensure that the
gas or vapour issuing from it shall in escaping from the retort have to pass in
contact with the heated walls of the latter, substantially as described.
2. In apparatus for the manufacture of gas from oil or other fluid the com-
bination with a decomposing chamber arranged in a gas retort of a surrounding
or enclosing tube, substantially as described.
3. In apparatus for the manufacture of gas from oil or other fluid and wherein
a decomposing chamber, having a tray or trays within it, is supported in a
retort out of contact with the walls thereof, jacketting or otherwise constructing
the said trays so that a cooling medium can be passed through them, substan-
tially as, and for the purpose, described.
4. The manufacture of decomposing chambers for use in connection with gas
retorts, substantially as hereinbefore described and illustrated in the accompany-
ing drawings.
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicants.