IMPROVEMENTS IN TRAVELLING COMBUSTION FURNACES, AND IN THEIR APPLICATION TO THE MANU- FACTURE OF SODA ASH AND TO OTHER PURPOSES
Year: 1875

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by John Riley at the Office of the
Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 30th December
1875.
I, JOHN RILEY, of Saint Helen's, in the County of Lancaster, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
TRAVELLING COMBUSTION FURNACES, AND IN THEIR APPLICATION TO THE MANU-
FACTURE OF SODA ASH AND TO OTHER PURPOSES," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object the better regulation of heat in soda
ash furnaces, known as black ash, salt cake, white ash, or finishing
furnaces, or for other purposes.
I have found that a continuous heat entering at one part is prejudicial
to the working of a soda ash furnace, part of the material being over-
done before the conversion of the more distant material, whereas if the
greatest heat could be directed alternately on each part of the furnace:
the manufactured article would be much more uniform, and far superior

page_text: in color to that made under existing arrangements. I can thus obtain
a greater per centage of caustic alkali in the product, which will ba
stronger and of more commercial value than is customary.
I carry out my Invention in the following manner:-Along the side
of the soda ash furnaces I construct numerous door holes, and in front
of these I usually place a tramway; on this I run a portable furnace.
This furnace can be of any suitable shape, but I prefer it round, square,
or rectangular in plan, and surmounted with a dome. It is so arranged
that air can be forced in from below by a fan. The upper part or dome
is of cast or wrought iron, but preferably of sheet iron lined with fire-
brick. From the back of the upper part of the furnace I bring a short
flue or gas conduit down to a point at a level with the doors of aforesaid
soda furnace, nearly on a level with the furnace bed, and directly facing
the said doors. I usually put a line of air admission pipes, entering the
portable furnace a little below the exit flue or conduit, so as to thoroughly
burn the smoke or any carbonic oxide that may be present while it is in
an intensely heated state. Occasionally I place a ring of air nozzles
pointing outwards in the exit pipe itself. These are in lieu of the
previously described air pipes, and are for the same purposes.
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Instead of arranging the furnace to run on rails any other mode of
making it travel could be used; but I prefer the former.
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The doors covering the above-described door holes of the soda furnaces
are so arranged that as the combustion furnace is brought up to them a
cam on the exit flue of the portable furnace raises the door, leaving the
hole fully exposed to the furnace gases from the exit flue or mouth, said
mouth and the door hole of the soda furnace exactly coinciding. When
the portable furnace is taken away, the same or another cam causes the
door to close. Long sliding plates attached to the exit flue could 'be
made to do instead of this arrangement, in which case doors would not
be required, but I prefer the arrangement as first described:
."3;
As in firing the portable furnace the smoke would be apt to fly out
into the fireman's face, I bring a tube from the space above the grate to
that below, usually closed with a damper. In firing the damper is
raised.
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1.4.

page_text: I also put a small air door or damper above the fire-door, and occa-
sionally place a revolving vane or fan in the upper part of the furnace
to mix the gases. I usually however rely on the air admission tubes, or
even a steam jet for this purpose. A damper is placed in the flue to
5 close it when desired.