Improvements in Drying Air for Blast Furnace and other Purposes, and Apparatus therefor.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 23rd Oct., 1895
Complete Specification Left, 21st July, 1896-Accepted, 12th Sept., 1898
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Drying Air for Blast Furnace and other Purposes,
and Apparatus therefor.
I, WILLIAM MCDONNELL MACKEY of 82 Victoria Chambers, South Parade, Leeds
in the County of York, Analytical Chemist do hereby declaro the nature of this
Invention to be as follows:-
This invention has for its object the drying or partially drying of air used for
purposes of combustion in blast furnaces, or it may be employed for the drying of
air used in furnaces other than blast furnaces; or, for the drying of air used for
purposes other thau combustion.
I employ liquid dessicators such as sulphuric acid or a solution of zinc chloride,
and. to bring the air into contact with the dessicating material 1 employ an
apparatus which I call the absorber; this may be of various forms of construction
but I prefer it to be in the form of an oblong horizontal chamber of glazed brick
work or other suitable material and having inside brick checker work or coke or
putnice stone or any suitable material that will allow of air passing through the
interstices.
When using the apparatus, at or towards the end of the absorber opposite to the
end at which the air enters, the liquid dessicating material is fed in through a
pipe, and the floor preferably sloping towards one side, it runs into the first of a
series of wells through a valve of any well known construction which closos when
pressure is put on the contents of the well. These wells may be conveniently
situated outside the absorber, with the floor of which they communicate by means
of pipes.
At intervals, by air pressure, the dessicating material is forced out of the well
through a pipe to the top of the absorber where it is discharged into the first of
a series of shallow troughs extending across the top of the absorber having holes
in the bottom through which the dessicating material finds its way on to the
brick checker work or other material used to promote contact, down, which it runs
in thin streams, finding its way back into the well to be again blown up to the
top of the absorber and act as before.
The surplus dessicating material collecting on the floor after the first well is full
runs over the first of a series of slight transverse ridges or guides and finds its
way irto the second well, and along with the dessicating material which has
preceded it is forced up into the second shallow trough and acts as in the first.
A series of these wells, pipes and trouglis serves to carry the dessicating
material forward, at any rate depending on the rate of supply, in an opposite
direction to that in which the air is made to travel, the dessicating material
becoming gradually charged with water, and finding its way into the last well of
the series, situated at or near the end at which the air enters the absorber, it is
blown up (as before by air pressure) into any suitable form of evaporating.
apparatus from which, after having been dried to the extent found suitable, it finds
its way through a cooling system into the absorber again by means of the feed
pipe already mentioned; the circulation of the dessicating material being carried on
continuously after the manner described.
1

page_text: Instead of air pressure I may employ pamps to circulate the dessicating
material.
When air pressure is employed the wells must be constructed so as to stand
pressure from within.
If the air is used for combustion in a blast furnace after leaving the absorber
it is led to the blowing oylioder by means of a main connected to the suction
side.
In other instances a fan or chimnoy draught may be employed.
1008
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Drying Air for Blast Furnace and other Purposes,
and Apparatus therefor.
I, WILLIAM MCDONNELI. MACKEY, of 82 Victoria Chambers, South Parade,
Leeds, in the County of York, Analytical and Consulting Chemist, 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 :-
The object of this invention is to construct apparatus whereby large quantities of
air may be effectually brought into contact with sulphuric acid, zinc chloride, or
other dessicating liquid, thereby absorbing the moisture in the said air and effectually
drying same; and apparatas constructed as hereafter described is especially suitable
for drying air supplied to blast and other furnaces.
In the drawings, Fig. 1 is a cross section, Fig. 2 is a soctional plan, Fig. 3 is a
longitudinal section, and Fig. 4 is an end view, of an apparatus constructed according
to my invention, and similar letters refer to like parts in all the figs.
According to my invention, I construct the apparatus in the form of a horizontal
chamber, having an outer wall A, which may be composed of ordinary brick work
provided with an interior glazed lining. The said horizontal chamber is divided into
compartments B, which are formed by the partitions C constructed of brick checker
work. The floor of the chamber is composed of a concrete or other bed D, which,
when sulphuric acid is used, may be covered with a layor of lead or other metal E
which is not affected by the dessicating liquid, and transverse ridges or lips F
are provided at the lower ends of the partitions C, thus forming trays in the
bases of the compartments B. Troughs H are provided on the upper part of the
partitions O, and the said troughs are fitted with perforated floors G and impervious
sides J. K are pipes which load from the bases of the compartiments B to the
lower portions of the wells L, and the said pipes K are provided with non-return
valves K', which prevent the passage of liquid contained in tho said wells to the
lower portions of the compartments B. M are pipes which lead from the lower
ends of the wells L up to the troughs H, and M are float valves which close the
inlets to the pipes M when the wells contain no liquid; and the said wells are
provided with covers which enable them to be hermetically closed to the outside
air when required. N is the outlet for the air passing through the apparatus,
and P is a roof for protecting the structure when it is employed in the open air.
R is a gallery for facilitating the inspection of the troughs H, and steps R' are
provided for giving access to the said gallery R. S is a pipe for supplying fresh
dessicating liquid, and a trough T is employed at the opposite end of the apparatus
for receiving liquid which flows over the lip F of the outside compartment B, an
overflow pipe U being employed for the purpose of removing the liquid received.
in the said trough. V and W are pipes which connect the upper ends of the

page_text: wells L with a suitable compressed air apparatus (not shown in the drawings),.
aud the compressed air may be alternately supplied to alternate wells, by inter
mittently turning the cooks X and Y on and off. Coke or other loose material is
filled into the compartments B, and on the apparatus being required for use,
sulphuric acid or other suitable dessicating liquid, is allowed to flow into the first
tray by way of the pipe 8. The dessicating liquid flows over the first lip Fonto the
tray of the first compartment B, and it then fills the well connected with the-
base of the said first compartment; it then overflows the second lip F and covers.
the base of the second compartment, at the same time filling the well connected
with same, and the flow through the pipe S is allowed to continue until all the wells
are full and the entire floor of the apparatus is covered with dessicating liquid. The-
apparatus is now ready for use.
The cock is now opened to the compressed air supply, thus causing pressure to
be made on the surface of the dessicating liquid contained in the set of wells to which
the pipo V is connected, and the pressure thus given forces the liquid up the pipes M
to the troughs H through which the said liquid flows onto the coke, and down to.
the bases of the compartiments B. The cock X is now turned off, and the cock Y is
opened thus causing the liquid in the other set of wells to be forced up to the
troughs H and to run down in a similar manner. The non-return valves K' prevent the
liquid returning to the bases of the compartments B, and the Boat valves M' close
the pipes M on the liquid being exhausted from the wells, thus offectually preventing
the escape of the pressure from a single well as might be the case when the
dessicating liquid is of varying specific gravity in the different wells I. The cocks X
and may be intermittently opened and closed either by hand or by suitable.
mechanical means, thus causing the dessicating liquid to be continually descending.
in finely divided streams through tho coke in the compartments B, and the continual
supply of fresh dessicating liquid through the pipe S, gradually feeds the said
liquid towards the end of the apparatus where it is received by the trough T and
passes off by the overflow pipe U. The air to be dried, is drawn through the-
apparatus to the outlet N, and in its passage through the compartiments B it is in
continual contact with the finely divided dessicating liquid passing through the coke,.
thus enabling the said liquid to absorb the moisture contained in the air. In this
manner the air to be dried is first brought into contact with the dessicating liquid
which has already travelled through the apparatus, and which is consequently partly
charged with moisture, and as the said air travels along, it comes in contact with
dessicating liquid in a drier state, until finally it comes into contact with the liquid.
which has freshly entered the apparatus, where it becomes completely dried before.
leaving the outlet.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven--
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :
1. A horizontal chamber containing loose material, suitable dessicating liquid
being fed to the contents of the chamber from suitable inlets situated at the upper
surface of same, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.
2. The horizontal chamber divided into compartments B by means of partitions C,.
substantially as and for the purposes set forth.
3. The horizontal chamber having an exterior wall A, the interior of the chamber
being filled with coke or other loose material through which a continual supply of
dessicating liquid is caused to flow, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.
4. The horizontal chamber divided into compartments B by means of partitions.
the trays formed at the bases of the compartments by the lips F, and the troughs H
having perforated floors G, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.
5. The pipes K, non-return valves K', wells L, pipes M, and float valves M³, in
combination with a suitable supply of compressed air, whereby the liquid is inter-
mittently raised from the bases to the troughs of the compartments, substantially as.

page_text: 6. The general arrangement and combination of the various parts forming my
invention, substantially as described with reference to the accompanying drawi: gs.
Dated this 21st day of July 180A
BREWER & SON,
London and Leeds, Agents for the Appli .t.
BREWER & SON,
London and Leeds, Agents for the Appli .t.