IMPROVEMENTS IN PRODUCING AND COMBINING GASES TO BE USED FOR HEATING PURPOSES, AND IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF RETORTS FOR PRODUCING AND COMBINING SUCH GASES
Year: 1865

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Silas Covell Salisbury, Civil Engineer, of the City
& State of New York, United States of America, for the Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN PRODUCING AND COMBINING GASES TO BE USED FOR
HEATING PURPOSES, AND IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF RETORTS FOR PRODUCING AND
COMBINING SUCH GASES."
Sealed the 29th March 1866, and dated the 2nd October 1865.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Silas Covell Salisbury at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 2nd
October 1865.
1, SILAS COVELL SALISBURY, Civil Engineer, of the City & State of New
York. United States of America. do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN PRODUCING AND COMBINING GASES TO BE USED FOR
HEATING PURPOSES, AND IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF RETORTS FOR PRODUCING AND
COMBINING BUCH GASES," to be as follows:-
My Invention relates, first, to the production of gases from petroleum or
other hydrocarbon oil, water, and air, and with such proportions of carbon,
hydrogen and oxygen that such gases when combined and when brought in
contact with the gases ordinarily produced from the fuel and heated air of or
generated in any furnace will combine therewith, and produce a combination
Price 8d.1

page_text: which gives a much more intense heat than can be obtained from any ordinary
combustion of coal or fuel, and which can be used successfully in generating
steam for engines and other purposes.
Secondly, to the construction and arrangement of retorts for producing and
combining such gases of oil, water, and air, and applying them to use. The
relative or proportionate quantities of oil, water, and air used should be such
as to ensure a combination of the different gases obtained therefrom, which
will not be explosive as it comes in contact with the gases obtained from the
fuel and heated air of the furnace with which they are to combine. A pro-
portion of one cubic inch of petroleum with two and a half cubic feet of water
and five cubic feet of air has been found suitable for the purposes mentioned.
but such proportion may be considerably varied. Such combined gas com-
posed of the different gases of the oil, water, and air when brought into con-
tact with the ordinary gases of the furnace combines therewith in a greatly
increased volume, and burned in combination therewith produces a heat many
times more intense than can be derived from the combustion of coal, and such
combination is so light that it immediately shoots through the tubes of and
around any boiler in the form of a delicate flame.
This Invention may be applied to existing engines, boilers, locomotives.
and other apparatus by means of retorts constructed substantially as follows:-
Such retorts should be a few inches shorter than the ordinary grate bars.
and are placed thereon distant from the sides of the fire-box and from each
other a few inches, so that between and around them there may be sufficient
coal to keep the retorts highly heated. These retorts may be from three to
six inches wide at the bottom by about the same height, the sides inclining
towards each other at the top, but not meeting, leaving an aperture from half
an inch to an inch wide the whole length of the retort; in this is placed a
fluted or corrugated valve or plate extending the whole length of the retort,
to which plate or valve is fastened a cover shaped like an inverted U, which
rests on the top of the retort and extends downwards on its sides, and is
sufficiently heavy to keep its place by its own weight. The lower part of such
retorts is fitted to receive vapourizing pans or perforated tubes, to which are
supplied the oil and water to be vapourized. Air is also supplied to such
retorts as required. The supplies are regulated by suitable gauge cocks.
Above such vapourizing pans or tubes the retorts are fitted with small iron
rods or tubes running lengthwise. The gases produced in the retort by passing
over the red hot rods or pipes become fixed gases, and as the combined gases
pass upward out of the aperture at the top of the retort they are deflected
downward by the cover, and are thus brought in contact with the gases of the

page_text: furnace. To prevent the intense heat generated by the combustion of these
gases from burning out the grate bars rapidly, hollow pipes may be substituted
for the ordinary grate bars, and kept filled with water, and from which steam
or water vapour is supplied to the retort instead of water as above set forth.
A tubular retort, which may be used in place of the ordinary grate bars, may
be constructed of two hollow tubes, .one placed within the other and secured
together. Along the upper surface of the inner tube are a series of small
holes, from a quarter to half an inch apart. furnishing communication between
such tube and the tube which encloses it. On each side of and near the top
of the enclosing or outer tube similar holes are also made, opening communi-
A series of such
cation between such tube and the fire about or over it.
retorts are placed side by side in the form of any grate required, and take the
place of the ordinary grate bars. The inner tubes of such retorts are sup-
plied with petroleum, which is vapourized therein, and passes through the
perforations mentioned into the outer tube. To such outer tubes are supplied
water and air in proper quantities, these change into gases and mix with the
gas obtained from the oil; these gases thus mixed then pass out through the
perforations in the outer tube, and combine with the gases produced from the
coal and heated air of the furnace as before described. Such tubular retorts
may also be supported on cross pipes or tubes kept filled with water, the
vapour or steam from which may be admitted into the outer or water tubes of
the retort, so as to increase the quantity of hydrogen. An increased effect or
more intense heat can be produced by supplying to the water tubes of the
retorts the combined gases of the vapourized oil and water (which may have
been previously prepared and mixed in suitable vessels). instead of water
only, as before described. Such water tubes should, however, -be kept partially
filled with water, so as to continually increase the quantity of hydrogen to be
supplied to the fire.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Silas Covell Salisbury in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
2nd April 1866.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I. SILAS
COVELL SALISBURY, Civil Engineer, of the City and State of New York, United
States of America, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Second day of October, in the year of our Lord

page_text: One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, in the twenty-ninth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Silas Covell Salisbury, Her special licence that I, the said Silas
Covell Salisbury, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
I, the said Silas Covell Salisbury, 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 Invention for "Im-
PROVEMENTS IN PRODUCING AND COMBINING GABES TO BE USED FOR HEATING
PURPOSES, AND IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF RETORTS FOR PRODUCING AND COMBINING
SUCH GABES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Silas
Covell Salisbury, my executors or administrators, by an instrument 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 1, the said Silas Covell Salisbury, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the fol-
lowing statement thereof (that is to say):-
:-
My Invention or discovery has relation, firstly, to the production of gases
from petroleum or other hydrocarbon, water, and air, and their combination
in such proportions of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen that such combined gases
when brought in contact with the gases produced from the fuel and heated air
of or generated in any ordinary furnace will unite therewith, producing a new
combination which will give when burned a much more intense heat than can
be obtained from any ordinary combustion of coal or fuel, and which can be
used with great economy and effect in generating steam for engines, heaters,
&c., and also for heating purposes.
And, secondly, to the construction and arrangement of retorts for producing
and combining such gases of oil, water, and air, and applying them to use. The
relative or proportionate quantities of oil, water, and air used for the pro-
duction of the gases therefrom should be such that the gas combined or made
np of the several gases derived from these substances will have such propor-
tions of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen that it will not be explosive as it comes
in contact with the gases produced or derived from the fuel or heated air of
the furnace. Experiment has proved that a porportion of one cubic inch of

page_text: petroleum to two and a half cubic feet of water and five cubic feet of air is
suitable for the purposes desired, but such proportion may be con-
siderably varied with safety and satisfactory results still be secured. Such
gases of the oil, water, and air when so combined in proper proportions unite
or mix with the ordinary gases produced from the coal and heated air of or
generated in furnaces when brought in contact therewith in a greatly increased
volume, and burned in combination therewith then produce a heat or flame much
inore intense than can be produced or obtained from any ordinary combustion
of fuel. Such mixture or combination is also so light that it passes up
around and shoots through the tubes and flues of the boiler in the form of a
delicate flame, but of great intensity, and thus heats effectually every portion
of the boiler.
Such Invention, or the use of such combined gases of oil, water, and air,
may be applied to existing engines, boilers, locomotives, &c., at small expense
and with but little, if any, change of construction or arrangement.
Fig. is a representation of a retort suitable for producing and com-
bining such gases, and adapted to be used in connection with an ordinary
furnace; Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view of the same; Figure 3 is a
representation of the cover of such retort. The retort A should be made
a few inches shorter than the grate bars on which it is to be placed, and one
or a number of them may be used in any furnace. They should be placed on
the grate bars, distant from the sides of the fire-box and from each other a
few inches, say from six to eight or ten, so that there may be room between
and around them for sufficient coal to keep such retorts highly heated.
I prefer to make such retorts, to insure greater stability, broadest on the
bottom, say from three to six inches broad, according to the capacity of the
fire-box in which they are to be used. and in height they are about equal
to their breadth. The sides of such retort converge towards each other
at the top of the retort, but do not however come together, an opening a,
from half an inch to an inch wide, extending the whole length of the retort.
In such opening is placed or fits a corrugated or fluted valve or plate b',
secured to and making a part of the cover B, which is shaped like an
inverted U. substantially as represented in the Drawings, extending down
a little distance on each side of the retort. Such cover should be heavy
enough to retain its position on the retort by its own weight, and not be
liable to be displaced by the action of the gases escaping from underneath.
The corrugated or fluted valve b fills the space between the sides of the retort,
but not so closely as to occasion any inconvenience in placing or removing the
same, or to impede the free access of the gases from the retort. In the bottom,

page_text: or lower part of such retort are placed hollow tubes C and D, or evaporating
pans, one of which is supplied with petroleum or other hydrocarbon from a
reservoir E, and the other of which is supplied with water from a reservoir F,
the quantity of oil and water supplied being regulated and governed by suitable
gauge cocks. The upper sides of such tubes are perforated with small holes to
permit the gases generated therein to pass freely into the retort A. The tube
designed to receive and vaporize the oil may be considerably smaller than the
one designed for the water, as the quantity of oil required being less than that
of water. To such retort A a suitable proportion of air is supplied from a
blower G, which should be so arranged as to furnish a continuous blast with
uniform pressure.
In the upper part of the retort, above the evaporating
tubes or pans, and below the reach of the corrugated valves or plate before
mentioned, are placed a number of iron rods c, c, Fig. 2, of about an eighth
of an inch in diameter, or smaller tubes will be preferable extending lengthwise
of the retort. As soon as the retort becomes heated the oil and water in the
tubes and D are vaporized, the vapor of the oil being converted into a fixed
gas. These gases then pass out through the perforations in such tubes into
the retort A, where they meet and are mixed with the air supplied from the
blast G. Such combined gases then pass upward through and amongst the
rods or tubes c, c, by which a portion of the oxygen is abstracted, and on each
side of the corrugated plate b, when they are deflected downward by the
cover B, and discharged upon and in direct contact with the fire of the furnace
and the gases produced therein, thus ensuring the most complete and perfect
combustion, and with the most satisfactory results. The use of the gases of oil
and water alone will be found very advantageous, but the effect will not be as
great or satisfactory as when a proper quantity of air is combined with them.
By the use of such gases of oil, water, and air the required consumption of
coal is mainly to heat the retorts, and the quantity required for that purpose
is estimated to be only about one-tenth of that ordinarily consumed in a like
furnace. The retorts also, when heated, become themselves a source of heat,
the same as the fuel consumed. With the use of such gases also but little
artificial draught is required, thus retaining almost all the heat under the
boilers and flues, and thereby effecting a great saving. The advantage of
this at sea at times of gales and storms is believed to be fully equal to one-
fifth of the combustion produced. A great saving is also effected in the berth
room required for the storage of coal, thereby securing so much more room
for freight. As before mentioned this retort is more particularly designed to
be placed upon and used in connection with the ordinary grate bars of furnaces.
The particular form or shape of the retort is not, however, material so long as

page_text: they are adapted for such use. The intense heat produced from the combustion
of such gases, together with the condensed steam or water trickling down upon
the grate bars., is liable, however. to destroy the grate bars, particularly when
made of cast iron; wrought iron will be found more serviceable. Hollow pipes
filled with water may also be substituted in the place of such grate bars, and
from these steam may be supplied to the retort instead of water.
Another kind of retort for the production and combination of such gases,
and which may be used in the place of the ordinary grate bar, is shown in
Figures 4 and 5. Fig. 4 is a representation of one of such retorts, and giving
also an end sectional view showing the relative position of the tubes of such
retort: Figure 5 shows a series of such retorts arranged as a grate. Each
retort is composed of two hollow tubes d and e, one placed within the other.
and properly secured. In the upper side of the inner tube are made a series
of small holes I, from a quarter to half an inch apart, and furnishing commu-
nication between such tube and the one enclosing it, and through each side of
and near the top of the outer tube are similar holes 2, 2, furnishing commu-
nication between such tube and the fire of the furnace. The inner tubes
connect with and open into one of the cross or end tubes J, to which is
supplied petroleum or other hydrocarbon oil from a reservoir, the quantity of
oil so supplied being regulated and governed by a stop-cock. The outer tubes
connect with the cross or end tube K, to which water is supplied from a
reservoir, the supply being also regulated by a suitable stop-cock. The water
in the outer tubes should not, however, be above but somewhat below the
orifices 2, 2. To the outer tube also a suitable quantity of air should be
supplied. The particular manner of supplying the oil and water and air to
the tubes of the retort is not material, nor is the relative size of the several
tubes or their shape, whether round or square. The tubes to receive the oil
may also be smallest in size, and the air may also be admitted to the oil
tubes as well as to those receiving the water. As soon as the retorts become
heated the oil and water are converted into vapors, and that of the former is
combined with the hydrogen and oxygen of the water and air, as in the retort
firstly described, and such combined gas then passes into the furnace through
the perforations in the outer tube, and combining with the gases of the furnace
is consumed or burned with them. The use of such tubular retorts,
particularly when round or oval in shape, in the place of ordinary grate bars,
tend also to prevent the fire choking or clogging, as the form of the tubes
naturally causes the ashes to drop down between the tubes, and such action is
materially assisted by the constant passing of the gas through the holes in the
outer tube, frequent raking of the fires is thus rendered unnecessary, thereby

page_text: effecting a saving in the combustion of fuel. Such tubular retorts may also
be supported on hollow pipes in the same manner as in the case of the retorts
before described, such pipes being filled with water, and from such pipes steam
or water vapor may be supplied to the tubes b instead of water.
Such an
arrangement of water pipes to support the tubular retorts is shown in Figure 6.
Such Figure 6 also illustrates the combination of the tubular retort grate
with the retort. first herein described placed upon it. Such a combination
secures an increased supply of gases for consumption with a corresponding
increase in heat. An increased effect or a more intense heat can be produced
by supplying to the tubes before described as water tubes the combined gases
derived from the oil and water (which have been produced and combined in
suitable vessels), instead of supplying water only to such tubes. In such case,
however, such water tubes should be kept partially filled with water, so as to
continually increase the quantity of hydrogen for combustion.
Figure 7 also illustrates another mode of applying such gases for combustion.
In the fire-box above the retort A is placed and secured a bent retort L,
into one end of which at petroleum is admitted, water being also admitted into
the end of one leg of such retort. The vapors and gases of these substances
are first submitted to the action of such heated retort I. and pass from thence
by the pipe K to one of the cross or end tibes of the tubular retorts forming
the grate. Instead, however, of having such gases from the retort L conveyed
to one of the cross tubes of the grate retorts, they may be conducted to a
perforated pipe placed behind the bridge wall of the fire-box, and there burned
as they are discharged from such pipe. To secure the most complete effect
from the use of such gases and secure their entire combustion in the furnace
or around the boilers, the passage into the smoke stack may be so arranged
that it can be closed, and return flues be made to extend from the back end
of the boilers to and opening under the grate bars or into the fire chamber.
By means of a blower or suitable device to create a vacuum in such return
flues the gases with the products of combustion will thus be returned to and
passed through the fire chamber until they are wholly consumed.
What I claim as new and which is desired to be protected is.-
I. The application and use of the gases of the oil, water, and air, or of
oil and water combined in proportions substantially as described for combustion,
in combination with the gases produced from the fire of any ordinary furnace,
substantially as and for the purposes set forth.
II. The arrangement and construction of the retort A substantially as
described for generating and combining the gases of oil, water, and air for the
purposes set forth.
i

page_text: III. The combination of a retort for generating and combining the gases
of oil, water, and air, or of oil and water, with the furnace er fire-box in which
such gases are to be burned when such retort is placed in and heated by such
furnace.
IV. The construction and arrangement of the tubular retort as described.
composed of an inner and outer perforated tube, substantially as and for
the purposes set forth.
V. The application and use of a series of retorts so constructed for and in
the place of the ordinary grate of a furnace.
VI. The combination with a grate composed of a series of such tubular
retorts of the retort A, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.
VII. The application and use of a retort L, substantially as shewn in
Fig. 7, for producing the combined gases of oil and water for the purpose
of supplying them to the tubular retort as described, or burning them behind
the bridge wall as set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Silas Covell Salisbury, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Eighth day of March. A.D. One thousand
eight hundred and sixty-six.
SILAS C. SALISBURY. (L.S.)