Improvements in the Manufacture of Illuminating Gas.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 20th July, 1889
Complete Specification Loft, 20th May, 1890-Accepted, 16th Aug., 1890
Improvements in the Manufacture of Illuminating Gas.
I FREDERICK JOSIAH JONES of Godmersham House, Fish Pool Street, St. Albans
in the County of Herts, Engineer do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be
as follows:
My invention relates to the production of illuminating gas from coal and it consists
in distilling the gases from the coal by causing superheated steam, or by causing the
hot gases which result from the passage of superheated steam through incandescent
coke or charcoal, to traverse or pass through a charge of coal, the charge of coal being
preferably in the form of a continuous or intermittent downwardly moving vertical
column and the steam or gases resulting therefrom being thus brought into direct
contact with and directly heating the coal by being passed through the column
transversely the steam or gases resulting therefrom mixing with the gases distilled
off and the resultant mixture of gases and tarry and other vapours as they come from
the charge of coal being then at once passed through a superheater containing limed
coke or charcoal in order to decompose the tarry vapours and convert their volatile
constituents into permanent gas.
Dated this 20th day of July 1889.
F. J. JONES.
By A. M. & Wm. Clark,
53, Chancery Lane, London, Patent Agents.
Improvements in the Manufacture of Illuminating Gas.
1 FREDERICK JOSIAH JONES of Godmersham House. Fish Pool Street, St. Albans.
in the County of Herts, Engineer, 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:---
This Invention consists of a continuous process of manufacturing illuminating gas
by causing the heated gases resulting from the decomposition of steam and commonly
known as water gas, to pass through the column of coal undergoing distillation so
that the water gas will mix with the gases and tarry and other vapors as they are
distilled off from the coal and then (without allowing them to cool) at once super-
heating the resultant mixed gases and vapors in order to decompose the vapors and
convert their condensable constituents into permanent gas.
The object of the invention is to produce from a given amount of coal a yield of
good illuminating gas considerably greater than that obtainable by the ordinary
process of gas manufacture.
The
The operations of decomposing, distilling, and superheating, are performed in a
continuous manner and by means of an appartaus, forming the subject of another
application for Letters Patent dated the 7th day of December 1889, No. 19721.
said apparatus is so arranged that the retorts are heated under the most efficient and
economical conditions, and so that they may be charged and drawn continuously
without interrupting their operation.
I will describe the process in detail and with reference to the accompanying
drawings, which illustrate the apparatus forming the subject of my other application
for Letters Patent above referred to; figure 1 being a cross-sectional, and figure 2 a
front, elevation of the apparatus.
A is a water gas generator, B B B are the retorts, C and D are superheaters, F is
DOJ 7

page_text: the furnace, and G a regenerator for heating the air supplied to the combustion
chamber. The retorts A, B, C, and D are fireclay tubes set in a vertical or an inclined
position such that the charge will fill them nearly up to the top and will descend
herein by gravity. The preferred arrangement is shewn in the drawings, E being:
brick setting through the front wall of which the lower ends of the several retorts
project. The water gas retort or generator A and the several retorts B are all in con-
nection with a main H and their lower ends have tubular prolongations which are
open and are sealed by dipping into a water-tank 1 wherein they terminate just above
an ash-supporting slab which prevents the too-rapid descent of the superincumbent
charge in the retorts and from which the ash is removed continuously or in such
manner as to allow of the gradual and practically uninterrupted descent of the charge.
The ash or residue may be removed from the slab either by jets of water playing on
the heap of uaterial resting on the slab, as shewn in the drawings, or otherwise.
The water gas generator A is provided with a charging hopper closed by a cone.
It is charged with anthracite coal, or other carbonaceous material, and steam at a
sufficient pressure to force it through the coke (and preferably superheated to say
600° Fahrenheit or upwards) is introduced by a pipe at a. The water gas generated
in A passes off at once through the main Hand euters in a heated state into the
several retorts B at their lower part and ascends through the column or charge of
coal contained in said retorts, whence it passes off at the top together with the gases
and vapors distilled from the coal through pipe to the superheaters.
The retorts B communicate at the upper end with a charging throat K preferably
common to all the retorts, the throat Krising above the setting E and being sur-
mounted by a charging hopper closed by a cone. A winged drum L is mounted to
rotate on a horizontal axis in the throat whereby the coal fed in through the hopper
is to a certain extent distributed to the several retorts. This drum is rotated after a
fresh portion of the charge has been introduced by the hopper and cone, and its main
object is to break up such large pieces of coal as would be liable to choke the throat K,
the diameter of the drum being so much less than the width of the throat as to allow
the bulk of the coal so introduced to fall at once on to the charge undergoing distil-
lation and so give it an impeius which may be necessary to start it in its descent in the
retort. The throat K is connected by pipe J at a point below the drum L with the
upper end of the first superheater (which is provided with a charging hopper and
cone and is charged with coke or with broken brick according as the gas is, or is not,
to be curiched as liereafter mentioned. The lower end of this superheater C is.
like the retorts A and B, sealed by dipping into the water tank I and it is con-
nected by a main M with the lower end of the second superheater D. The latter is
filled with broken bricks; is closed at the lower end; and communicates, by a pipe
at its upper end, with the ordinary gas purifier, or the gas holder, as the case may be.
The whole of these retorts, etc., are heated by the furnace F in which fuel
(preferably the breeze or residue drawn from retorts B) is burnt with sufficient
oxygen to produce carbonic oxide, the draught being so regulated to produce this
result. The furnace is partially separated from the combustion chamber N in which
the generator, retorts, and superheaters A, B, C, D, are placed and wherein they are
externally-heated by the combustion of the carbonic oxide generated in the furnace in
admixture with hot air supplied above the furnace arch. By heating the retorts in
this way, they may be constantly maintained at an equable and suitable temperature
for the purpose by careful regulation of the draught. The air to support combustion
in chamber N is heated by passing through the regenerator G which is itself heated
by the products of combustion passing through it after circulating around the retorts,
cte.. to the chimney.
Thus the water gas generated in A passes at once in a heated state through the
columns of coal contained in the retorts B wherein it mixes with the gaseous products
of distillation, the resulting mixture passing thence at once through the superheater C
(where it may be enriched, if necessary, by the injection therein of petroleum, far, or
other liquid hydrocarbon) after which it passes out through the second superheater D
to the ordinary purifier.

page_text: The coal suited for distillation by this process should not be of a too-highly
bituminous character. If a coal of poor quality be used it would usually be necessary
to enrich the gas, as above described so as to bring the gas up to standard quality.
If the gas is to be enriched it is preferable to use coke in the first superheater C and
it is necessary in order to prevent choking by the deposit of carbon therein, that the
coke should be renewed from time to time which is done by charging in fresh coke
at intervals at the top and withdrawing a portion of the contents at the bottom.
The production of water gas is continuous without the employment of more than
one generator, and proceeds simultaneously with the distillation of gas in the retorts,
a fresh charge being introduced from time to time as required into the upper end of
The charging of the
the generator A and the residue withdrawn at the bottom.
retorts B is likewise practically continuous, the coal being fed in at intervals at the
upper end and the residue withdrawn at the lower end so that the charge will
gradually descend in the retorts until it finally passes beyond the region of distillation.
Thus the whole operation of generating the water-gas, distilling the coal, and super-
heating the mixed gases is carried on without interruption in the one set of apparatus.
Each retort may be provided with an opening at y closed by a tightly-fitting cover to
admit of the insertion of a rod from below to relieve the retort in case it may be
choked owing to the swelling of the coal or in the case of the first superheater, by the
deposit from the hydrocarbon used for enriching the gas. As, however, the heated
residue of the charge descends into the water tank some steam will thereby be
generated which rising through the lower part of the charge will be converted into
water gas in the retorts and by freeing the charge assist its descent. Some steam
might be injected directly into the lower part of the retort for the same object, if
found necessary.
I am aware that it has already been proposed to mix water gas with the gaseous
products of distillation of coal, but no process of generating the water gas, passing
it through the coal undergoing distillation, and superheating the resultant mixture
of gases and vapors to fix the condensable constituents, in the manner herein described;
has ever been proposed.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inveu-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is:-
The herein described continuous process of manufacturing illuminating gas, which
consists essentially in generating water gas and passing it in a heated state through
a descending column of coal simultaneously undergoing distillation and superheating
the resulting mixture of water gas and gaseous products of distillation, the several
retorts in which these operations are performed being so arranged that the contained
charge will descend therein by gravity, substantially as specified.
Dated this 20th day of May 1890.
By A. M. & Wm. Clark,
53, Chancery Lane, Loudon, Patent Agents.