AN IM- PROVED APPARATUS FOR BURNING PETROLEUM AND OTHER LIQUID HYDRO- CARBONS SUITABLE FOR HEATING PURPOSES.
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to François Alphonse Jacquet, of Boulevard de
Strasbourg, No. 23, Paris, Industrial, for the Invention of "AN IM-
PROVED APPARATUS FOR BURNING PETROLEUM AND OTHER LIQUID HYDRO-
CARBONS SUITABLE FOR HEATING PURPOSES.'
"
Sealed the 6th October 1875, and dated the 15th April 1875.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said François Alphonse
Jacquet at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 15th April 1875.
I, FRANÇOIS ALPHONSE JACQUET, of Boulevard de Strasbourg, No. 23,
Paris, Industrial, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "AN IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR BURNING PETROLEUM AND OTHER LIQUID
HYDROCARBONS SUITABLE FOR HEATING PURPOSES," to be as follows :-
Numerous attempts have already been made unsuccessfully in order
to apply petroleum and hydrocarbons in general to industrial heating.
It is this application which I believe myself to have rendered practicable
by the system which forms the object of my Invention, and which is

page_text: intended to enable the combustion of petroleum to be effected with all
desirable security and economy.
The conception of my new system rests upon the idea of burning the
petroleum upon water in the form of a thin layer fed drop by drop in
proportion to the consumption. The burner I have constructed in order
to realize these conditions consists essentially of a receiver of cylindrical
form, provided interiorly with a horizontal diaphragm. This diaphragm
is pierced with holes traversed freely by the vertical holes open at the
two ends and passing through the bottom of the receiver.
The receiver communicates by two separate conduits with two
reservoirs concentrically arranged, the one containing the petroleum and
the other the feed water. The two liquids are introduced drop by drop
by means of cocks regulated for this purpose. The receiver being
previously filled with water to a level maintained constant by an overflow
pipe, the petroleum or other hydrocarbon liquid is caused to enter, and
in consequence of its lesser density rises through the water and spreads
upon the surface in a layer of great thinness. This layer is covered by the
diaphragm and divided from place to place by the tubes; as soon as it
is lighted it burns, forming a series of flames the combustion of which is
excited by currents of air passing through the tubes, and thus acting in
some manner like blow pipes.
The water fulfils a double purpose; on the one hand it serves as a
support to the petroleum and permits it to arrange itself in the form of
a thin layer, and on the other hand it isolates the petroleum from
contact with the side and bottom of the receiver, and by its cooling
action prevents the destruction of the latter from heat. A portion of
this water evaporates during the combustion but is replaced in propor-
tion by fresh water entering drop by drop like the petroleum at the
bottom of the receiver.
The burner properly so called is composed of a copper receiver pro-
vided with vertical tubes starting from its bottom; these tubes are also
of copper and are 7 in number or with as many more added as the size
of the receiver may require. The diaphragm is in the form of a cap, the
upper part of which is pierced with several circular openings equal in
.number to the tubes, and of somewhat larger diameter in order to allow
a certain amount of play between cach tube, and the opening through
.which it passes.

page_text: The petroleum and the water arrive beneath the burner through tubes,
the petroleum one of which debouches a little above the bottom of the
receiver, whilst the water one is led to the bottom itself. The tubes are
turned upwards vertically and finish by mouth-pieces or funnels directly
beneath the ends of conduits. These conduits lead the petroleum and
water from their respective reservoirs. The petroleum and water pro-
ceeding outwards pass through the distributing cocks, the keys of which
turn upon graduated sectors or notches so as to regulate exactly the
flow of each liquid in relation to the necessity for feeding the burner.
The drops of petroleum fall visibly into the mouth-pieces of the tubes,
which lead them to the receiver in consequence of the difference in level
between these tubes and the burner. The water in the burner should
always remain at a certain interval beneath the diaphragm, which there-
fore covers the layer of petroleum and thus compels the flame to pass
through the spaces in the openings round the tubes. The interior
currents of air which pass through the latter and which aro provoked by
an energetic draught, assist the combination, rendering it as perfect as
possible, and so developing a great amount of heat.
The burner is placed in a socket of iron above a vase to receive the
water delivered through the overflow pipe or the petroleum itself in the
case of accidental upset of the burner. Upon the socket is placed the
boiler or other apparatus which it may be desired to heat by means of
my system. The boiler should be with an inner hearth, and the diameter
of the conduit permitting the passage of the flames proceeding from the
burner ought to be of a diameter double the latter, and of the openings
formed in the socket. The two arrangements indicated below are
constructed upon this principle.
In one arrangement the boiler is vertical; the interior space forming
the fire-place receives a large boiler tube united at the top and bottom
by tubes with the principal body. The cylindrical fire-place is united
with the pipe which leads to the chimney the products of combustion.
This arrangement is suitable for use as a steam generator, or for merely
heating water, being especially suited for heating water in apartments.
Another arrangement suitable for conservatories consists of a horizontal
boiler of the same description as those of locomotives; its front body
envelopes the furnace above the burner. From the summit of the

page_text: furnace there starts a conduit which is united at the end with a second
conduit returning towards the fire, which communicates with a third
conduit proceeding directly towards the chimney.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Latent,
filed by the said François Alphonse Jacquet in the Great Seal!
Patent Office on the 13th October 1875.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, FRANÇOIS
ALPHONSE JACQUET, of Boulevard de Strasbourg, No. 23, Paris,
Industrial, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fifteenth day of April, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, in the
thirty-eighth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said François Alphonso Jacquet,
Her special licence that I, the said François Alphonse Jacquet, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
François Alphonse Jacquet, 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 "AN IMPROVED APPARATUS for BURNING PETROLEUM
AND OTHER LIQUID HYDROCARBONS SUITABLE FOR HEATING PURPOSES," upon
the condition (amongst others) that I, the said François Alphonse
Jacquet, 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 I, the said François Alphonse Jacquet, do
hereby declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer-

page_text: tained in and by the following statement thereof, reference being had
to the Drawings hereunto annexed, that is to say :—
Numerous attempts have already been made unsuccessfully in order to
apply petroleum and hydrocarbons in general to industrial heating. It
is this application which I believe myself to have rendered practicable
by the system which forms the object of my Invention, and which is
intended to enable the combustion of petroleum to be effected with all
desirable security and economy.
The conception of my new system rests upon the idea of burning the
petroleum upon water in the form of a thin layer fed drop by drop in
proportion to the consumption. The burner I have constructed in order
to realize these conditions, consists essentially of a receiver of cylindrical
form provided interiorly with a horizontal diaphragm. This diaphragm
is picrced with holes traversed freely by the vertical tubes open at the
two ends, and passing through the bottom of the receiver.
The receiver communicates by two separate conduits with two
reservoirs concentrically arranged, the one containing the petroleum,
and the other the feed water. The two liquids are introduced drop by
drop by means of cocks regulated for this purpose. The receiver being
previously filled with water to a level maintained constant by an over-
flow pipe, the petroleum or other hydrocarbon liquid is caused to enter,
and in consequence of its lesser density rises through the water and
spreads upon the surface in a layer of great thinness. This layer is
covered by the diaphragm and divided from place to place by the tubes;
as soon as it is lighted it burns, forming a series of flames the com-
bustion of which is excited by currents of air passing through the tubes,
thus acting in some manner like blow pipes.
Instead of dividing the flame by tubes I can employ the action of the
currents of air like blow pipes by another and much more advantageous
arrangement, in which these currents of air separated exteriorly by the
receiver or burner unite and combine at the moment of their action
upon the furnace, which has the result or quickening the combustion.
The water fulfils a double purpose; on the one hand it serves as a
support to the petroleum, and permits it to arrange itself in the form of
a thin layer, and on the other hand it isolates the petroleum from
contact with the sides and bottom of the receiver, and by its cooling
action prevents the destruction of the latter from heat. A portion of

page_text: graduated sectors or notches so as to regulate exactly the flow of each
liquid in relation to the necessity for feeding the burner.
The drops of petroleum and water fall visibly into the mouth-pieces of
the tubes d and f, which lead them to the receiver in consequence of the
difference in level between these tubes and the burner. The water in
the burner should always remain at a certain interval beneath tho
diaphragm, and its level is maintained constant by the overflow pipe i,
which is branched interiorly upon the tube f against the side of the
receiver. The diaphragm therefore covers the layer of petroleum, and
thus compels the flame to pass through the spaces in the openings round
the tubes. The interior currents of air which pass through the latter,
and which as will be seen presently are provoked by an energetic
draught assist the combustion, rendering it as perfectly as possible, and
so developing a great amount of heat.
The burner (see Figure 3) is placed in a socket of cast or sheet iron k
supported by cast iron feet above a vasej to receive the water delivered
through the overflow pipe, or the petroleum itself in the case of
accidental upset of the burner. Upon this socket & is placed the boiler
or other apparatus, which it may be desired to heat by means of my
system. The boiler should be with an inner hearth and the diameter of
the conduit permitting the passage of the flames proceeding from the
burner, ought to be of a diameter double the latter and of the openings
formed in the socket. The two arrangements shewn in Figures
4 and 5 are constructed upon this principle.
In the arrangement shown at Figure 4 the boiler m is vertical; the
interior space forming the fire-place / receives a large boiler tube 1,
united at the top and bottom by tubes p, p, with the principal body.
The cylindrical fire-place is united at with the pipe q, which leads to
the chimney the products of combustion. This arrangement is suitable
for use as a steam generator or for merely heating water, being
especially suited for heating water in apartments, conservatories, and
other like places.
The arrangement for conservatories shown at Figures 5 consists of a
horizontal boiler of the same description as those of locomotives, its front
body envelopes the furnace above the burner. From the summit of
the furnace there starts a conduit & which is united at the end with a

page_text: second conduit ³, returning towards the fire which communicates with a
third conduit proceeding directly towards the chimney.
Second Arrangement.-In this arrangement the burner consists of a
receiver a of cylindro-conical form with a reversed cone, the edges of the
opening of which are slightly curved inwards like a cushion, to avoid
any exterior projection of the liquid in consequence of shocks or other
reasons.
The burner a is always carried in the envelope c of the furnace or
socket of the boiler by water and petroleum feeding pipes, but it is
arranged so as to burn all the mineral oils, even fatty unpurified oils
and others. For this purpose the water and the oil arriving in the
receiver a rise and flow in a sort of funnel o, terminated by a tube
screwing upon a nut at the summit of the cone of the burner, a pipe g in
one piece with this nut proceeds from behind the envelope c, and rises
up to the height of the point of combustion in the burner, the level of
which it regulates. When thick oils are used it often happens that they
form upon the surface of the liquid a sort of foamy crust which hinders
the combustion; in this case by forcing the arrival of the water it falls
in a cascade upon this crust, and draws it to the bottom of the funnel o,
whence it is led off through the pipe 7 and falls with the overflow into
the lower receiver / guided by the funnel tubes i and j. The tubo i is
carried by the tube g, and the tube j is soldered upon the receiver k.
The receiver h of the same form as that indicated in my first arrange-
ment is also covered by a lid, and pierced with a hole at the middle in
order to receive the liquid which may fall from the burner. The
receiver a is not traversed by tubes causing currents of air to aid the
combustion; these currents are obtained in quite another manner; they
form blowpipes and give a much more advantageous result. The
receiver a is enclosed in an envelope or wrapper & connected to it. This
envelope is larger than the receiver in order to leave around this latter
an annular space for the circulation of the air proceeding from beneath
the bottomless pedestal c of the boiler. This pedestal is supported upon
feet of cast iron, and is pierced with a large lateral opening closed by a
door through which the apparatus is introduced.
The wrapper b of the burner is provided with a crown d, which serves
to support it by engaging in a neck slide ƒ carried by a plate k, against
and under which the lid of the wrapper b abuts. This lid partly covers
ს

page_text: the boiler, it is pierced with an opening for the passage of the flame, a
space is left free between the upper part of the receiver a, and the lower
part of this cover for the passage of the first current of air.
The plate forms a sort of crown dividing interiorly the pedestal
c into two parts. This plate is pierced with a row of holes / serving for
the passage of a second current of air coming also from beneath the
pedestal c. This second current of air is turned down upon the point of
combustion by a reversed cone m. The combination of these two
currents uniting at their moment of action forms a blowpipe, quickens
the furnace, and makes the liquid under combustion yield all the caloric
it contains. A sight hole n is made at the top of the pedestal c through
which the fire is lighted and its progress watched.
This second arrangement can like the first, but more advantageously,
be also applied to all sorts of boilers, as well as for all industrial and
domestic heating.
The arrangements which I have just described are only two examples
of the almost unlimited variety of applications of my universal system of
burners. It is evident that this system which for the first time effects
with all desirable guarantees of safety the combustion of petroleum and
in general of inflammable hydrocarbons, will permit the practical and
advantageous utilization of these liquid combustibles for the heating of
industrial furnaces of all kinds in forges, in manufactorics, and for the
heating of all apparatus whatever employed for domestic purposes.
And having now described the nature of my said Invention and in
what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that I claim,—
Firstly. The improved apparatus in which the burning of petroleum
and other liquid hydrocarbons upon water, and in the form of a thin
layer fed drop by drop can be effected, the water serving at the same
time as a support to the petroleum and as a preserver of the burner
receiver against destruction by heat, as herein-before described and
shown in the accompanying Drawings.
Secondly. The employment of the receiver burner realizing this mode
of combustion by means of air tubes dividing the layer of petroleum,
and constituting with an interior diaphragm a series of blowpipes with
natural draught, as described and as shown in Figures 1, 2, and 3, of the
accompanying Drawings.

page_text: Thirdly. The employment of the receiver burner also, and more
advantageously realizing this method of combustion, by means of
currents of air separated exteriorly to the burner, and uniting at the
moment of their action upon the furnace, and the combination of these
currents so as to form blowpipes and the combustion, as described and
as shown in Figure 6, of the accompanying Drawings.
Fourthly. The employment of the arrangement permitting the
burning of thick and unpurified oils in my second arrangement of
burner, as described and as shewn in Figure 6.
Fifthly. The introduction from the bottom towards the top, drop by
drop, of the petroleum and tho water, the regulation and feeding in pro-
portion to the combustion and evaporation by means of graduated cocks
placed upon the distribution conduits, leading the two liquids from their
respective reservoirs, as described and as shown in the accompanying
Drawings.
Sixthly. The installation of the burner in a pedestal beneath a vase to
receive the overflow water, and the narrowing of the section of this
pedestal to the passage of the flames in the conduit which serve the
furnaco, and which should be of a diameter about double that of tho
receiver, as described and shown in the accompanying Drawings.
And Seventhly. The peculiar arrangements of the vertical and hori-
zontal boilers adapted to my new system of heating, as described and as
shown in the accompanying Drawings.
In witness whercof, I, the said François Alphonse Jacquet, have
hercunto set my hand and seal, this Fifth day of October, One
thousand cight hundred and seventy-five.
F. A. JACQUET. (L.S.)
Witness,
CH. ARMENGAUD, J'.,
Civil Engineer,
No. 23, Boulevard de Strasbourg.