A MODE or EMPLOYING AND APPLYING WATER AS AN AUXILIARY FUEL to be as follows
Year: 1884

page_text: I ROBERT MUDGE MARCHANT, of 69 Fenchurch Street, in the City of London,
Civil Engineer do hereby declare the nature of my invention for "A MODE or
EMPLOYING AND APPLYING WATER AS AN AUXILIARY FUEL to be as follows:-
"
My invention consists in the employment and application of water as an
auxiliary fuel where coal or other fuel is used.
This employment and application of water as an auxiliary fuel can only be
rendered effective where the heat of the furnace or fire due to the ordinary coal
supply (I use best Welsh coal by preference) is maintained. independently of such
auxiliary fuel at or above the temperature which effects the decomposition of
water.
Into a furnace maintained at such decomposing temperature I inject or otherwise
introduce either a continuous or a regularly intermittent supply of water the
quantity of which is proportioned to the capacity of the furnace; I introduce it
either from below the fire bars and through the fire or into the furnace itself over
the fire so as to obtain the immediate decomposition of the water and so as to
obtain from the decomposed gases of the water itself a fierce forward flame of the
character that would be obtained from a similar injection into the furnace of
a combustible spirit.
If the supply of the water be beyond the capabilities of the furnace the
temperature will be diminished at that point of the operation where the decompo-
sition is effected, although the flame due to the combustion of the decomposed
gases has immediate effect in imparting heat to the surface required to be heated.
But if the overdose of water be sufficiently in excess of the heat capacity of the
furnace to prevent its decomposition, or if the supply of water be continued in any
excess over what the furnace will continuously decompose, the furnace heat will be
so lowered that the effect will be inferior and even injurious; in such case the
supply of water would have to be stopped or diminished until the furnace had
recovered the heat necessary for the decomposition.
Therefore it is important to regulate the supply, whether continuous or regularly
intermittent, so that it is well within the capacity of the furnace heat; the
decomposition of the water is then always effected and a flame is produced from
the combination of the water gas and coal gas which flame is free from smoke and

page_text: is otherwise of a particularly beneficial character in its action on the heating
surface exposed to such action beyond the furnace itself.
One way in which the water may be injected into the furnace as an auxiliary
fuel is by mixing it with air and this may be done by delivering it in a regulated
supply to an air pump which forces it forward with air into the furnace.
Care should be taken to supply coal to the furnace regularly so that there should
be no excessive reduction of the furnace heat by an over supply of coal at one time.
From the foregoing description it will be understood that an essential feature of
my invention is the delivering of a regulated charge of water into a furnace or fire-
place either continuously or intermittently and with or without air so that the
water may be decomposed and the resulting gases may mix with and be consumed
with the gases evolved from the fuel, the combined flame being used for heating
any required surface.
Such application and use of water as an auxiliary fuel renders a small furnace or
stove capable of doing the work for which a much larger one would otherwise be
required.

page_text: A Mode of Employing and Applying Water as an Auxiliary Fuel.
I, ROBERT MUDGE MARCHANT of 69 Fenchurch Street in the City of London,
Civil Engineer do hereby declare the nature of my invention for A MODE OF
EMPLOYING AND APPLYING WATER AS AN AUXILIARY FUEL and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
tlie following statement :-
My invention consists in the employment and application of water as an
auxiliary fuel where coal or other fuel is used.
This employment and application of water as an auxiliary fuel can only be
rendered effective where the heat of the furnace or fire due to the combustion of
the ordinary coal supply (I use best Welsh coal by preference) is maintained
independently of such auxiliary fuel at or above the temperature which effects the
decomposition of water.
Into a furnace maintained at such decomposing temperature I inject or otherwise
introduce either a continuous or a regularly intermittent supply of water the
quantity of which is proportioned to the capacity of the furnace; I introduce it
either from below the fire bars and through the fire or into the furnace itself over
the fire so as to obtain the immediate decomposition of the water and so as to
obtain from the decomposed gases of the water itself a fierce forward flame of the
character that would be obtained from a similar injection into the furnace of
a combustible spirit.
If the supply of the water be beyond the capabilities of the furnace the
temperature will be diminished at that point of the operation where the decompo-
sition is effected although the flame due to the combustion of the decomposed
gases has immediate effect in imparting heat to the surface required to be heated.
But if the overdose of water be sufficiently in excess of the beat capacity of the
furnace to prevent its decomposition, or if the supply of water be continued in any
excess over what the furnace will continuously decompose, the furnace heat will be
so lowered, that the effect will be inferior and even injurious; in such case the
Bupply of water would have to be stopped or diminished until the furnace had
recovered the heat necessary for the decomposition.
Therefore it is important to regulate the supply whether continuous or regularly
intermittent, so that it is well within the capacity of the furnace heat; the
decomposition of the water is then always effected and a flame is produced from
the combination of the water-gas and coal-gas which flame is free from smoke and
is otherwise of a particularly beneficial character in its action on the heating
surface exposed to such action beyond the furnace itself.
One way in which the water may be injected into the furnace as an auxiliary
fuel is by mixing it with air and this may be done by delivering it in a regulated
supply to an air pump which forces it forward with air into the furnace.
Care should be taken to supply coal to the furnace regularly so that there should
be no excessive reduction of the furnace heat by an over supply of coal at one time..
From the foregoing description it will be understood that the essential feature of*
my invention is the delivering of a regulated charge of water into a furnace or fire

page_text: place either continuously or intermittently and with or without air so that the
water may be decomposed and the resulting gases may mix with and be consumed
with the gases evolved from the fuel, the combined flame being used for heating
any required surface.
Such application and use of water as an auxiliary fuel renders a small furnace or
stove capable of doing the work for which a much larger one would otherwise be
required.
The amount of water that can be decomposed in any furnace or fire place
necessarily varies with the character of the coal used and with the particular
construction of the furnace, therefore it is difficult to state the amount which can
be employed with advantage; but under favorable circumstances about 18th of
a pint of water may be applied per minute for each square foot of fire grate.
A good way of introducing it is by means of perforated pipes running below the
spaces between the fire bars; the perforations by preference gradually increase in
area towards the end of the pipe.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said-
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that
what I claim is
The mode hereinbefore described of employing and applying water as
auxiliary fuel.
an