AN IMPROVED MODE OF AND APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF GAS." AND APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF GAS
Year: 1874

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Francis Robinson, of Leytonstone, in the County
of Essex, Gentleman, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED MODE OF
AND APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF GAS."
AND APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF GAS."
Sealed the 16th March 1875, and dated the 30th September 1874.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Francis Robinson at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
30th September 1874.
I, FRANCIS ROBINSON, of Leytonstone, in the County of Essex,
Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for " AN
IMPROVED MODE OF AND APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF GAs," to be as
follows:-
The object of my Invention of an improved mode of and apparatus for
the manufacture of gas is to produce carburetted hydrogen gas of a
purer quality, higher illuminating power, and at a cheaper cost than by
the processes heretofore employed.
The form of apparatus whereby my Invention may be carried into
effect may vary considerably according to circumstances, but the principle
of construction will always remain the same.

page_text: The basis of the gas is pure hydrogen, obtained by the decomposition
of water. This hydrogen which when in a pure state possesses but feeblo
illuminating power, is carburetted, and rendered a highly illuminating
gas by causing an olefiant gas obtained by the decomposition of the
vapour of a hydrocarbon to mix therewith. To this end I prefer to use
a liquid hydrocarbon, or an oil, fat, or grease, which will liquefy at a
moderately low temperature. This liquid is contained in a tank placed
above the level of the gas-generating apparatus, and is allowed to drop
or fall in regulated quantities into a retort or vaporiser in which the
liquid will be converted into vapour. From this retort it is conducted
by a pipe to a second retort or vessel, which is heated to a bright red heat,
whereby it becomes decomposed, and is converted into a permanent
olefiant gas very rich in carbon. If special burners constructed for
the purpose are used this rich gas may be burned without admixture
with any other gaseous fluid, but I prefer to add pure hydrogen thereto
so as to increase its volume, and this is done by decomposing steam or
the vapour of water in the second retort or vessel, so that the two gases
in a nascent state may be brought into contact, when they will mix and
become chemically combined so as to produce a permanent gas of high
illuminating power. The water is supplied in a regulated quantities, and
by controlling the supply of the two liquids gas of any desired illumi-
nating power may be obtained. The gas when produced is conducted to
a gas holder, from which the burners may be supplied by means of
suitable pipes.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
..
filed by the said Francis Robinson in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 30th March 1875.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, FRANCIS
ROBINSON, of Leytonstone, in the County of Essex, Gentleman, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Thirtieth day of September, in the
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four, in the
thirty-eighth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said Francis Robinson, Her special
year

page_text: drop or fall in regulated quantities. into a retort or vaporizer, in which
the liquid will be converted into vapour.
In the accompanying Drawings Fig. 1, Sheet I., is a vertical section
of the gas generating apparatus; Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the
same.
The apparatus consists mainly of a sheet-iron box a, a, lined with fire-
clay, and having at or near its bottom a fire-place b, b¹. A boot-shaped
retort c, c¹, with a sufficient space all round it for the free circulation of
the flames and heated gases from the fire-place is supported within the
box a.
The two ends of the retort are hermetically closed by ordinary
retort covers d, d. At the upper part of the retort ca pipe e introduces
the water or steam to the interior of the retort, which is filled with scrap
iron, coal, coal brecze, charcoal, or other material, which when in an
incandescent or red hot state is suitable for the decomposition of water.
The steam is here subjected to destructive distillation, and will give off,
according to the material employed, either pure hydrogen or a mixture
of hydrogen with the various compounds of carbon and oxygen. A
small generator fis fixed or set in the front part of the apparatus in
such a way that only a portion of it shall be exposed to the flames from
the furnace. The liquid hydrocarbon (which is contained in a tank at
some distance from the apparatus) is conveyed into the interior of the
generator by a small pipe g. The hydrocarbon oil drops from the
pipe in regulated quantities on to the heated surface of the generator f,
when it immediately becomes vaporized, and passes down the pipe .
into the portion c¹ of the boot-shaped retort, where it is subjected to
destructive distillation, and in combination with the hydrogen given off
from the steam forms a permanent olefiant gas, which passes off through
the pipe into the gas holder, or if necessary the gas may be passed
through condensers and purifiers on its way to the gas holder, from
whence it may be conducted direct to the burners.
Figures 3, 4, shew a modification of the above arrangement of
apparatus, the principal difference being that in this instance the
retort c, c', and the generator f form part of the same casting, instead of
being independent one of the other, as in Figures 1 and 2. The letters
of reference being the same in Figures 3 and 4 as in Figures 1 and 2 it
will not be necessary to give any further explanation of this second
arrangement.
.

page_text: In Sheet II. Figures 5 and 6 represent another modification of the
apparatus. In this apparatus a hydrocarbon gas of good quality may be
made without any admixture of hydrogen obtained by the decomposition
of water or using any material other than the liquid hydrocarbon which
is introduced into the generator f, where it becomes vaporized, and
passes down the pipe into the retort c, in which the vapour is sub-
jected to intense heat, and undergoes destructive distillation, and is
transformed into a permanent gas of high illuminating power.
made in this way will be absolutely free from impurities, and consequently
will not need any purification, but may pass from the retort c by the
pipe i direct to the gas holder.
Gas
Having now described my Invention of "An Improved Mode of and
Apparatus for the Manufacture of Gas," and having explained the
manner of carrying the same into effect, I claim as the Invention secured
to me by the above in part recited Letters Patent,―
.
The combination of the two retorts or generators c, c', and ƒ for the
purpose of decomposing water and liquid hydrocarbons, and converting
them into vapours, which are brought into contact in the chamber c¹,
and are further acted upon therein by means of heat, so as to cause the
vapours to combine and form a permanent gas, as herein set forth.
I also claim the arrangement or combination of parts shewn at Figures
5 and 6, and the mode described in reference thereto, for converting a
liquid hydrocarbon into a permanent gas.
In witness whereof, I, the said Francis Robinson, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, the Twenty-ninth day of March, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five.