Improvements in the Production of Coke and in the Apparatus employed therefor.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 27th Aug., 1890;
Complete Specification Left, 27th May, 1891-Accepted, 27th June, 1891
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Production of Coke and in the Apparatus
employed therefor.
I, MARTIAL FROMONT of 46 Rue de la Simite Brussels in the Kingdom
of Belgium, Engineer do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:
This invention consists in certain improvements in coke furnaces calculated to
solve in a simple and effective manner the problem as to how to produce coke from
coal containing little or no fatty substance or oil, coal or lignite briquettes and
other fuel. This result is attained by burning upon the walls, practically the whole
of the escaping volatile matters while retaining within the main body of the
furnace, the required number of units of heat.
The chambers or compartments are arranged in juxtaposition alternately and on
different levels and into the lower chambers the coal is conveyed by feeding
channels.
The heat restoring chambers are arranged below the before mentioned chambers
and contain either stationary or movable bridges blocks or partitions of any
suitable shape or material but preferably made of fire-brick or fire-proof or
refractory blocks either natural or artificial.
These bridges may be arranged in any suitable manner according to the space
necessary for the movement of the gases and so as to stop these gases when
required in order to cause them to give off their heat.
There are provided hollow doors or ports, and other orifices through which cold
air is admitted and through which the air intended to assist combustion and heated
already in another channel or conduit enters the heat restoring chamber. The
products of combustion are discharged through conduits or flues into the main flue
or collector leading to the chimney and the apparatus is fitted with rotary, sliding
or other dampers for controlling the draught.
The operation of the apparatus is as follows;-
The first named chambers are first heated to incandescence and then supplied
with coal which should fill them up to a certain height which is done by the
feeding channels. The gases escaping from the mass of coal pass through hollow
doors or ports into the heat restoring chamber where they encounter the air
employed to assist combustion. This air through an orifice enters the conduit or
pipe where it is heated and then through other openings (which decrease in size
towards the interior of the furnace) enters the combustion or heat-restoring
chamber where it meets the gases produced by the distillation and causes them to
burn.
The heat thus generated as well as the heat arising from the furnace itself is
imparted to the lower of the first mentioned chambers through the side walls and to
the upper chambers through the hearth-plate. The fire-proof bridges or partitions
at the same time store up the excess of heat so as, subsequently, when the material
is removed from the furnace, and fresh supplies introduced into the chambers, to
part again with such accumulated heat. Immediately after the introduction of a
fresh supply of coal to be treated the first products of distillation rise in great
abundance and enter the heat restoring chamber where they meet the red-hot
bricks, mix with the air and thereby become ignited, producing as they burn a very
high temperature. This intense heat produced in a comparatively short space of
time enables the duration of the carbonizing process to be materially reduced.
The gases generated by the combustion pass through pipes and are conveyed
thence, through the collecting flue, into the chimney.

page_text: At the junction of the last mentioned pipes with the collecting flue are arranged
rotary or sliding dampers. While the material treated is being removed from the
furnace these dampers are closed 'so as to prevent the heat-restoring-chamber from
being cooled. After a fresh supply of coal or the like has been, provided the doors
of the furnace are closed, while the said dampers are opened to a greater or 'less
extent so as to control the operation' of 'the furnace according to the requirements
of the work.
To effect the discharge, the before-mentioned cold-air admission apertures are
first closed with suitable plugs or the like, then the hollow doors or ports are raised
and closing-plates are applied to the flues of the herein first named chambers.
These plates enable the block of coke pushed outwards by well-known devices to
pass through, while preventing at the same time the cold external air from cooling
the heat-chamber. It will be understood that by slightly altering the construction,
the closing doors may without any difficulty be arranged to descend, instead of
ascend in the discharging operation. In this case the closing plates may be
dispensed with, as the door itself will effect the desired closing.
There may be provided an appropriate number of pipes for the reception of ashes
these pipes being provided with perforated partitions to the top of which are
applied slabs or plates upon which the coal to be treated is placed.
The conversion of the coal into coke may if necessary be promoted by causing
the products of distillation to reach the heat restoring chamber of the adjacent
furnace in the opposite direction and vice versa. It is sufficient for this purpose to
form a connecting channel between two contiguous heat restoring chambers.
The improved heat restoring chambers herein described may obviously be applied
to various well-known forms of coke furnaces (whether horizontal and constructed
in tiers inclined or vertical). All that is necessary to attain this object is to
increase the sectional area of the ports or flues surrounding the coke-furnace
of a well-known construction thus transforming these channels or flues into heat
restoring chambers.
The bridges blocks or partitions intended to store up heat need not necessarily
be arranged in all the passages or channels, as for example, in the case of coal of a
more or less bituminous nature it is sufficient to burn the gases upon those
heat-accumulating partitions to heat the other walls of the furnace at the same
time.
Dated this 27th day of August 1890.
W. P. THOMPSON & BOULT,
Agents for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Production of Coke and in the Apparatus
employed therefor.
I, MARTIAL FROMONT, of 46 rue de la Simite Brussels, in the Kingdom of
Belgium, 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. :-
4
This invention consists in certain improvements in coke furnaces 'calculated' to 4
solve in a simple and effective manner the problem as to how to produce coke "from
coal containing little or no fatty substance or oil, coal or lignite briquettes, and
other fuel. This result is attained by burning upon the walls practically the whole
of the escaping volatile matters while retaining within the main body of the
furnace the required number of units of heat.
55
In the accompanying drawings
Fig. 1 is a vertical section of the furnace on line M N O P of 'Fig. 3.
Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the furnace on lines Q R, ST UV and X'Y'of

page_text: Fig. 3 is a horizontal section on lines E F, G H, IJ, KL of Fig. 2.
Fig. 4 is a section of one of the passages provided underneath the bridges or
partitions for the purpose presently to be explained.
Figs. 5, 6 and 7 are three different sections illustrating the operation of my
improved heat restorer as applied to coke furnaces of the old construction arranged
on the same level.
As shown in Fig. 2 the chambers or compartments A B are arranged in juxta-
position alternately and on different levels. A are the upper chambers and B the
lower chambers into which the coal is conveyed by the feeding openings or channels Z.
CD are the heat restoring chambers arranged below the chambers A B and
containing either stationary or movable bridges blocks or partitions of any suitable
shape or material but preferably made of fire-brick or fire-proof or refractory
blocks either natural or artificial.
These bridges may be arranged in any suitable manner according to the space
necessary for the movement of the gases and so as to stop these gases when required
in order to cause them to give off their heat.
a and b Figs. 1 and 3 are hollow doors or ports.
In Fig. 1, d is the orifice through which cold air is admitted; e are the apertures
through which the air intended to assist combustion and heated already in another
channel or conduit K enters the heat restoring chamber. ffare discharge conduits
or flues through which the products of combustion are discharged into the main
flue or collector leading to the chimney.
hh Figs. 1 and 3 are rotary, sliding or other dampers for controlling the
draught.
In all the figures the arrows i indicate the course of the gases arising from the
fire while the arrows m point to the direction in which the air employed to assist
combustion, moves.
The operation of the apparatus is as follows;-
The chambers A B are first heated to incandescence and then supplied with coal
which should fill them up to a certain height which is done by the feeding
channels Z. The gases escaping from the mass of coal move in the direction indicated
by the arrow and pass through the hollow doors, outlets or ports ab into the heat
restoring chamber C where they encounter the air employed to assist combustion.
This air through the orifice d had previously entered the conduit or pipe K where
it was heated. The openings e e by which the heated air passes into combustion
chamber C are preferably taper that is to say they decrease in size towards the
interior of the furnace. The air thus admitted into C and D meets the gases
produced by the distillation and causes them to burn.
The heat thus generated as well as the heat arising from the furnace itself
is imparted to the chambers B through the side walls and to the chambers A
through the hearth-plate. The fire-proof bridges or partitions at the same time
store up the excess of heat so as subsequently when the material is removed
from the furnace and fresh supplies introduced into the chambers to part again
with such accumulated heat. Immediately after the introduction of a fresh
supply of coal to be treated the first products of distillation rise in great
abundance and enter the heat restoring chamber C where they meet the red-hot
bricks, mix with the air and thereby become ignited producing as they burn a
very high temperature. This intense heat produced in a comparatively short
space of time enables the duration of the carbonizing process to be materially
reduced. The gases generated by the combustion pass through the passages or
pipes and are conveyed thence through the collecting flue into the chimney.
At the conjunction of the pipes with the collecting flue are arranged the
before-mentioned dampers h. While the material treated is being removed from
the furnace these dampers are closed so as to prevent the heat-restoring chamber
from being cooled. After a fresh supply of coal or the like has been provided
the doors of the furnace are closed, while the said dampers are opened to a

page_text: greater or less extent so as to control the operation of the furnace according
to the requirements of the work.
To effect the discharge the apertures d are first closed with suitable plugs or
the like, then the hollow doors or ports a bare raised and closing-plates are
applied to the apertures t t. These plates enable the block of coke, pushed
outwards by well-known devices to pass through while preventing at the same
time the cold external air from cooling the heat-chamber. It will be understood
that by slightly altering the construction the closing doors may without any
difficulty be arranged to descend, instead of ascend in the discharging operation.
In this case the closing-plates may be dispensed with as the door itself will
effect the desired closing.
To facilitate the cleaning of the heat-restoring chambers CD and also to obtain
a stronger structure enabling repairs to be made in the furnaces without
difficulty and the heat to be better distributed to the different walls of the
furnaces, the arrangement shown in Fig. 4 may be adopted. An appropriate
number of pipes for the reception of ashes are shown in this figure. These
pipes are provided with perforated partitions to the top of which are applied
slabs or plates upon which the coal to be treated is placed.
Fig. 4 is a section of one of the pipes or flues arranged below the bridges
or partitions. From this figure any persons skilled in the art will readily realize
the operation.
The conversion of the coal into coke may if necessary, be promoted by causing
the products of distillation to reach the heat restoring chamber of the adjacent
furnace in the opposite direction, and vice versa. It is sufficient for this purpose to
form a connecting channel between two contiguous heat-restoring chambers.
The improved heat restoring chambers herein described may obviously be applied
to various well-known forms of coke furnaces (whether horizontal and constructed
in tiers inclined or vertical). All that is necessary to attain this object is to
increase the sectional area of the ports or flues surrounding the coke-furnace of a
well-known construction, thus transforming these channels or flues into heat-
restoring chambers.
The bridges blocks or partitions intended to store up heat need not necessarily be
arranged in all the passages or channels; as for example in the case of coal of a more
or less bituminous nature it is sufficient to burn the gases upon those heat
accumulating partitions to heat the other walls of the furnace at the same time.
Persons skilled in the industry will readily see by examining Figs. 5 to 7 how the
improvements described above may be applied to coke furnaces of the old construc-
tion arranged on the same level. All that is necessary is to cause the gases to pass
in the direction of the arrows instead of conducting them through the hollow doors.
In this manner the gas producing furnace on the left (of the well-known construction)
or one of the adjacent furnaces on the right will be heated.
Considering the length of the furnaces and the position of the different gas
passages it is desirable that the gases produced by the distillation of coal should be
distributed as evenly as possible as they flow towards the chimney or chimneys.
To attain this result I arrange in the centre of the furnace a stationary or
movable partition reaching down to a point situated a few centimetres above the
layer of coal. Or it may be a slide adapted to be operated from the top of the furnace.
It will be observed that the chimney might be divided into two halves so that
instead of the one chimney shown there may be two, one for each half of the
furnace. Doors are provided for cleaning purposes.
As regards the arrangement shown in Fig. 6 it is pointed out that the position of
the chimney between two adjacent heat restoring conduits (separated by the
partitions or bridges) offers the advantage of allowing the gases to be more uniformly
divided so that as indicated by the arrows they pass twice on different levels in each
of the conduits adjacent to the chimney as they flow to the inner chimney shown
in Figs. 6 and 7. Instead of this one chimney two or more may be arranged say

page_text: along the dot and dash lines in Fig. 6 so that by shortening each of the conduits
the distribution of gas may be made still more uniform.
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. In coke furnaces such as described the arrangement of coking chambers such
as A and B side by side on different levels having combustion chambers such as C
and D correspondingly arranged under the said coking chambers in which chambers C
and D takes place the combustion of the gases arising from the coking process the
chambers C on a higher level imparting their heat both to the coking chambers A
situated above them and to the adjacent coking chambers B substantially as
described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
2. In coking furnaces such as described the arrangement of movable front plates
or doors such as a and b which being provided with an inner channel serve for
establishing a communication as direct as possible between each coking chamber
and the combustion chamber below and also for closing the different chambers to
prevent their cooling at the ends substantially as described and illustrated in the
accompanying drawings.
Dated this 27th day of May 1891.
W. P. THOMPSON & BOULT,
Agents for the Applicant.