Improve- ments in apparatus for heating and cooling fluids
Year: 1886

page_text: Date of Application, 29th Sept., 1886.
Complete Left, 28th June, 1887.
Complete Accepted, 20th Sept., 1887.
I, ARTHUR GEORGE MEEZE, of Redhill in the County of Surrey, Consulting
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this said invention to be as follows:-
By the simultaneous thermolysis of certain fluid hydrocarbons and superheated
steam it is possible to make a fixed illuminating gas of high candle power. To carry,
however, this thermolytic process into effect continuously, and with sufficient rapidity
for economic results, it is necessary to provide reliable and systematic means for
raising every particle of the mixed hydrocarbon fluid and superheated steam to a
suitably high temperature. In a Provisional Specification for a Patent for "Improve-
ments in apparatus for heating and cooling fluids," filed by me in the Patent Office
on the 28th day of July 1886 and numbered 9733, I have defined the principles on
which, and described apparatus by which such uniform and efficient heating of fluids
may be generally attained and adapted to a variety of practical purposes. The
apparatus forming the fundamental element of my Specification No. 97338 is a
deflecting device by means of which I may cause the constituent parts of a passing
current of fluid to be systematically and repeatedly deflected nearly at right angles,
and with considerable velocity against an extensive deflector surface, and also against
the sides of the pipe, tube, retort or flue, through which the fluid is conducted for the
purpose of being heated or cooled.
My present invention relates to improvements by which the principle of my
deflecting device may be more efficiently and specifically carried into effect in
apparatus for the manufacture of gas from fluid hydro-carbons; and particularly to
improvements whereby existing coal gas plant may, for the purposes of this invention,
be utilized with ease and economy, and new plant erected with the least possible
departure from the standards of construction universally accepted and adopted by
Coal Gas Engineers in the erection of works for the manufacture of gas by the
destructive distillation of coal.
Before explaining the means by which I give practical effect to my present
invention, I will here briefly describe the construction and principle of my deflecting
device one very convenient form of which, as adapted to the purpose in view, I call
a "radial deflector." This "deflector" consists anteriorily of an annular tight-fitting
ring of a form-round, oval or D-shaped as the case may be adapted to the section

page_text: of the retort, and posteriorily of a disc similarly shaped and suitably attached to the
said ring by lugs, or otherwise so placed and held in juxtaposition thereto as to
provide an outer annular space, conveniently near to the heated surface of the retort,
for the escape of the current of gaseous matter. The action of the ring is to arrest
and temporarily divert the peripheral portion of the current of vapours passing
through the retort from its heated sides, and to cause it to intermix with the core or
central parts; which would otherwise pass along and be comparatively unaffected.
After being thus temporarily diverted from the sides of the retort by direct impact
upon the hot ring and caused to blend with the cooler central core, the direct forward
motion of the fluid current is again arrested by the central obstructing disc, against
the heated surface of which the whole further impinges, and then immediately spreads
out radially in a sheet whose particles next strike the hot surface of the retort directly
at right-angles. The current of vapours is thus made to act in the most efficient way
for absorbing from the retort and fittings the heat necessary for the thermolysis and
fixing of the gases.
The annular ring and central disc forming the principle elements of my deflecting
device may be made of any suitable material in separate pieces and of a pattern-
circular, oval or D-shaped-to suit the section of the retort to which it is adapted;
but, generally, I prefer to unite by suitable lugs each annular ring with its succeeding
central disc, and when I speak of a "radial deflector" it is the element of apparatus
thus constructed I in general mean to denote. While, however, making use of the
term "radial deflector "in this specific sense I wish it to be understood that I regard
its connotation as sufficiently general to cover any equivalent arrangements of parts.
For example, I may mount all my deflector discs at suitable points on a central rod or
tube, and arrange them apart at convenient distances alternately with the annular
rings.
By using a considerable number of lugs for connecting each annular ring with its
succeeding central disc, slots or perforations may, if desired, be produced in that part
of the "radial deflector" that runs concentric with the sides of the retort, and, in order
to prevent the apparatus from exerting any choking effect on the fluid current, I may
place studs or their equivalents, to keep the deflectors at suitable distances apart, and
contrive them so that the area of the central or inlet space of the deflector ring, the
area of the escape space between the ring and the disc, and the area of the annular
space between the disc and the retort are all equal.
Having herein above briefly redescribed the nature of my deflecting device as
ascertained by Specification No. 97338 I will now explain the means by which that
invention is adapted to my present improvements in apparatus for the continuous
manufacture of fixed illuminating gas from fluid hydro-carbons and superheated
steam :-
I take an ordinary coal gas retort-preferably one made of fire clay-set in a bench
in any well known way with the usual mouthpiece, standpipe, hydraulic main &c. as
in apparatus for the destructive distillation of gas coal. Instead, however of charging
the retort with coal I fit it up in connection with an arrangement of apparatus
consisting of (1) a steam boiler, (2) a steam superheater, (3) an oil tank, (4) a steam
and oil injector or spraying device, (5) a small internal retort or "ingression pipe,"
and (6) a compliment of "deflectors."
The boiler may either be entirely separate from the retort setting, or mounted so as
to utilize the waste heat therefrom, and by preference should be capable of supplying
steam at 60-70 lbs. pressure.
The superheater I prefer to make in the form of a coil and place it within the
retort and as near the mouthpiece or open end as may be. In some cases however, I
insert the superheater into a separate fire-clay tube or retort arranged in the same
bench as the gas retorts. Steam is supplied from the boiler by suitable pipes, taps,
valves, and connections to the superheater and thence to the injector.
The oil tank or reservoir 1 mount in any convenient position and bring the shale
oil, crude petroleum or other fluid hydrocarbon therefrom by suitable pipes and
fittings also to the Injector.

page_text: The Injector or oil and steam spraying device may be of any known and approved
form, but by preference I use one made on the aspirator principle, so constructed that
the current of high-pressure superheated steam in expanding as it passes from the
injector to the "ingression pipe" carries with it a fine stream of fluid hydrocarbon
in the form of spray or intensely heated vapour.
The "Ingression pipe" or internal retort is a tube of thin wrought iron or other
suitable material of, by preference, about one fourth to one sixth the diameter of the
outer or surrounding retort, and long enough, when the latter is sealed at the rear, to
reach nearly to its closed end. When the outer retort is open throughout I employ
two "ingression pipes" entering at its opposite ends and reaching nearly to its middle.
The front end of the "ingression pipe" is made by a suitable device capable of being
connected with the retort lid or cover when the latter is in position, and is also
arranged in connection with the injector so that when the spray of superheated steam
and hydrocarbon fluid is injected the mixed vapours are forced to travel along the
ingression pipe to its rear end before escaping to the retort, and to return along the
retort before escaping by the ascension or standpipe to the hydraulic main. In
mounting the ingression pipe 1 contrive it so as to occupy as nearly as possible a
central position in the retort, that it may be uniformly heated by radiation from the
surrounding hot surface. In this manner I convert the ingression pipe into a sort of
mixing and vapourizing chamber, which I fill with deflectors; and the outer retort-
preferably made of fire clay that it may be raised to the necessary high temperature-
into a fixing chamber which I likewise fill with deflectors. By this means I can
make not only a perfectly fixed gas, but I can make one of a more manageable
and merchantable density, obtain a larger volume, a greater aggregate candle
power, and assimilate more steam per gallon of oil than has heretofore been
possible. The superiority and economy of my results are in part due to the general
arrangement of injector, ingression pipe, retort and superheater, but are mainly
attributable to the deflecting device by which I have been able to utilize this
arrangement to the utmost extent.
The deflecting device is made use of both in the ingression pipe and in the
surrounding retort. The ingression pipe is suitably filled with "radial deflectors" or
equivalent deflecting device constructed as hereinabove described and made by
preference of cast iron. The outer retort is also fitted with similar deflectors suitably
arranged and constructed with a perforation in the central disc for the passage of the
ingression pipe. These deflectors, which may obviously serve as supports for the
ingression pipe, I prefer to make of fire clay or other suitable refractory material.
My arrangement of ingression pipe and retort might if desired be used but with
less satisfactory results in combination with a known form of deflector consisting of
hollow cone with serrated flanges. The conical deflector is contrived so as to compel
the fluid current to pass in a thin sheet along the heated surface of the retort and is
both theoretically and practically defective. By making the flange narrower, and the
passing sheet of fluid therefore thinner, it is true the heating efficiency may be
increased but only by choking the retort and limiting its capacity. For the most
part fluids, and, particularly gases, are not heated by radiation, however close they are
made to "bug" the surface of a hot retort: nothing is effective but direct impact-
molar or molecular. This I obtain in perfection by my radial deflecting device, while
the older conical contrivance allows the fluid to whistle straight through without
impact and without retardation, and is in effect about equivalent to a device consisting
of two concentric tubes arranged so that the fluid current flows between them. By
the use of my radial deflector in combination with the injector, ingression pipe and
superheater, I thoroughly fix the gases and obtain a higher efficiency than has ever
f
before been possible-particularly when treating the lower-priced mineral oils.
Dated this 20th day of 100

page_text: Hydro-carbons.
I, ARTHUR GEORGE MEEZE of Redhill, in the County of Surrey, Consulting
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:-
By the simultaneous thermolysis of superheated steam and certain fluid hydro-
carbons, such as crude petroleum, shale oils, and allied substances, it is possible to
make a fixed illuminating gas of high candle power, but in order to carry this process
into effect continuously, efficiently, and with sufficient rapidity for economic results, it
is necessary to provide reliable and systematic means for raising every particle of the
mixed hydro-carbon fluid and superheated steam to a suitably high temperature, or
for otherwise facilitating their uniform gaseous thermolysis and chemical decomposition.
In the specification of my application for a patent for "Improvements in apparatus
for heating and cooling fluids," dated the 28th day of July 1886, and numbered 9733,
I have defined the principles on which, and described apparatus by which, the uniform
and efficient heating of fluids may be generally attained and adapted to a variety of
useful purposes.-The fundamental element of my heating and cooling apparatus, is a
deflecting or impact device consisting of a large number of auxiliary surfaces so
disposed and arranged as to suffer continuous molecular bombardment by the particles
of a passing current of fluid, while at the same time these auxiliary surfaces cause the
constituent parts of the fluid current to experience a succession of molar impacts by
systematically and repeatedly deflecting them nearly at right angles, and with
considerable velocity, against an extensive deflector surface, and also against the sides
of the pipe, tube, retort, or flue, through which the fluid is conducted for the purpose
of being heated or cooled.
My present invention relates to improvements by which the principle of my
deflecting devices may be more efficiently and specifically carried into effect in
apparatus for the manufacture of gas from fluid hydro-carbons, and particularly to
improvements whereby existing coal gas plant may, for the purposes of this invention,
be utilized with ease and economy, and new plant erected with the least possible
departure from the standards of construction universally accepted and adopted by coal
gas engineers in the erection of works for the manufacture of gas by the destructive
distillation of coal. To this end, I take an ordinary coal gas retort, preferably one
made of fire-clay, set in a bench in any known and efficient way, with the usual
mouth piece, stand pipe, hydraulic main, and appurtenances, as in apparatus for the
destructive distillation of gas coal. Instead, however, of charging the retort with
coal, I fit it up in connection with an arrangement of apparatus consisting of (1) a
steam boiler, (2) a steam superheater, (3) an oil tank, (4) a steam and oil injector or
spraying device, (5) a small internal retort or "ingression pipe," and (6) a
complement of "deflectors."

page_text: In the accompanying drawings, herein-below described, I have illustrated various
means devised by me for carrying my invention into practical effect.
Like letters refer to similar parts wherever they occur.
Figs. 1 and 2 are respectively a front elevation and longitudinal section of a bench
of three ordinary circular end-stopped gas retorts fitted up in accordance with my
present invention.
Fig. 3 is a sectional view of a through, or double mouthed retort, showing how I
adapt my invention to retorts of this construction.
Figs. 4 and 4 are respectively a detailed section and a side elevation of the
injector.
Figs. 5 and 6 are respectively a sectional elevation and a plan, partly in section, of
one convenient form of deflector, with a central perforation for the passage of the.
"ingression pipe."
S is a steam supply pipe, by which steam is brought from a suitable boiler, and sss
are branch pipes fitted with the usual valves, taps, and connections for conducting and
regulating the supply of steam to the superheating coil c, and thence by the pipe s¹ to
the injector j.-The boiler, (not shown in the drawings) may either be entirely
separate from the retort setting, or mounted so as to utilize the waste heat therefrom,
and by preference should be capable of supplying steam at 60-70 lbs. pressure, though
very much lower pressures suffice.-The superheater c I prefer to make in the form
of a double coil, and to mount it in connection with the lid of the retort
mouthpiece M, as shown in the drawings, so that it may be inserted into the retort or
removed therefrom with facility when required. In some cases, however, I insert the
superheater into a separate fireclay tube or retort arranged in the same bench as the
gas retorts, and sometimes I use a worn out or disused gas retort for the purpose of
enclosing the superheater.
When I employ a separate superheater, the dry steam is conveyed to the injector by
pipes that replace the branches s¹¹¹.-The oil tank or reservoir is not shown in the
drawings. It may be mounted in any convenient position, and the shale oil, crude
petroleum, or other fluid hydro-carbon brought therefrom by suitable pipes and fittings
to the supply branch o. o. o, and thence to the injector j.-This injector may be any
known and approved form of steam and oil spraying device, such as one made on the
aspirator principle, so constructed that the current or jet of high pressure superheated
steam, in expanding as it passes from the injector nozzle to the "ingression pipe,"
creates a partial vacuum, and induces the flow of a fine stream of fluid hydro-carbon,
and projects it forward in the form of spray or intensely heated vapour, but, by
preference I use an injector constructed as shown in sectional elevation in Fig. 4,
where is the body of the injector, to which the oil is supplied by the pipe o, and
union u, and n the steam nozzle piece joined by the union to the steam pipe s'.-
m is the muzzle or mouth piece, which is internally biconical in shape, and made
easy of removal and adjustable by the screw k, so that it may be readily placed in
the most efficient position when changes are made in the oils or in the steam
pressure.
The "ingression pipe" or internal retort, shown at I (Figs. 1, 2 and 3), is a thin
tube of wrought iron or other suitable material of, by preference, about one fourth to
one sixth the diameter of the outer or surrounding retort R, and long enough, when
the latter is sealed at the rear, as shown in the sectional view Fig. 2, to reach nearly
to its closed end.-T is a deflector tile inserted to protect the sealed end of the retort
from the direct action of the vapours. When the outer retort R is open throughout
as in Fig. 3, I employ two "ingression pipes" I, I, entering at its opposite ends and
reaching nearly to its middle. To the front end of the "ingression pipe" is affixed a
suitable device, preferably a flangof shrunk thereon, capable of being connected with
the retort lid or cover l*, when the latter is bolted or otherwise fixed in its position on
the mouthpiece. The injector is also arranged in connection with the "ingression
pipe." and for that purpose is preferably constructed with a wide flange, and bolted
through the lid to the flange f of the "ingression pipe" by nuts and bolts. By this
device, I am able to easily remove the lid, together with the attached superheating

page_text: oils, when necessary, without disturbing the "ingression pipe" and deflectors, and I
Iso ensure that when the spray of superheated steam and hydro-carbon fluid is
injected, the mixed vapours shall travel along the "ingression pipe " to its rear end
before escaping to the surrounding retort R, and then return by way of the space
between the retort R and the "ingression pipe" I, before finally leaving by the
ascension or stand pipe A to the hydraulic main H.
"
In mounting the "ingression pipe," I prefer to make it occupy as nearly as
possible a central position in the retort, that it may be uniformly heated by
radiation from the surrounding hot surface. In this manner I convert the
ingression pipe into a sort of mixing and vapourizing chamber, which 1 fill
with deflectors a' d', a¹ d', a¹ d', hereinafter more particularly described, the
effective elements of which are the annuluses a' a' a¹ and the discs d' d' d¹, and
I convert the outer retort, preferably made of fireclay, that it may stand the
necessary high temperatures, into a fixing chamber, which I likewise fill with
deflectors a d, a d, a d.-By this means I can make not only a perfectly fixed
gas, but I can make one of a more manageable and merchantable density, obtain
a larger volume, a greater aggregate candle-power, and assimilate more steam per
gallon of oil than has heretofore been possible.
The deflecting device is by preference used in the "ingression pipe" I, as well as
in the surrounding or fixing retort R. The "ingression pipe is suitably filled with
"radial deflectors" a' d', a' d', a' d', or with equivalent deflecting devices, and are
preferably made of cast iron.-The outer retort is also fitted with similar
deflectors a d, a d, a d,-which are constructed with a supplementary perforation p in
the central disc, for the passage of the "ingression pipe,". as shown more fully in
Figs. 5 and 6. These deflectors ad, a d, a d, which serve for supporting the
"ingression pipe" in position, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, I prefer to make of fireclay,
or other suitable refractory material.
My arrangement of ingression pipe" and retort might, if desired, be used, but
with less satisfactory results, in combination with a known form of deflector consisting
of a hollow cone with serrated flanges, such as is described in the specification of
Thomas Steven Lindsay No. 693885 The conical deflector therein described is
contrived so as to compel the fluid current to pass in a thin sheet along the heated
surface of the retort, and is both theoretically and practically defective. By making
the flange narrower, and the passing sheet of fluid, therefore, thinner, it is true the
heating efficiency may be increased, but only by choking the retort and limiting its
thermolysing capacity. For the most part, fluids, and particularly gases, are not
effectively heated for dissocuting purposes, by the radiation from contiguous hot
surfaces, however close these are "hugged" by the passing current. Nothing is
effective but direct impact, molar or molecular. This I obtain in perfection by my
deflecting device with its large number of auxiliary surfaces, while the older conical
contrivance allows the fluids to whistle straight through without impact, and without
retardation, and is, in effect, about equivalent to a device consisting of two concentric
tubes of nearly equal diameter arranged so that the fluid current flows through the
narrow space between them.
In operating ny above described apparatus for the manufacture of gas, the retorts
are fired in the ordinary way, and when the usual gas making temperature is attained,
a supply of high pressure steam from the boiler is admitted by the pipes through an
ordinary regulating valve or tap to the superheater c, and thence to the injector. The
oil or hydro-carbon fluid is then admitted by the pipe o to the injector in regulated
quantity from the reservoir, and the mixed oil vapours and steam are driven through
the ingression pipe to the retort, when the production of fixed gas at once
begins. The exact proportions of oil and steam are readily determined by the
operator, and will be found to vary considerably with the character of the hydro-
carbon oils used.
"
Although, in the accompanying drawings, I have illustrated my invention in its
application to circular retorts, it is evident that my improvements are equally
aunticable to retorts of an oval or D-shaped section.

page_text: 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 I do not claim as part
of my improvements the enclosing of a superheater in a retort; neither do I claim the
use of an "ingression pipe" per se, or the same in combination with a superheater
and a retort, for I am aware that these devices were publicly known and used by
others in the year 1874 and earlier, but what I do claim is :-
In apparatus for the manufacture of gas from steam and fluid hydrocarbons
1. The use and employment of an ingression pipe I and a retort R in combination
with deflecting or impact devices substantially as described herein.
2. The combination and arrangement of apparatus substantially as described and
illustrated in Figs. 1, 2, and 3.