Improvements in the manufacture of Gas.
Year: 1886

page_text: [A Communication from William Parrish Lane, of 49, Wistar Street, German-
town, Pennsylvania, Gas Engineer, and Alexander Matheson Sutherland,
of 159, West Grand Street, Elizabeth, New Jersey, Merchant, both in the
United States of America.]
Improvements in the manufacture of Gas.
I ALFRED JULIUS BOULT of 323 High Holborn in the County of Middlesex,
M.I.M.E. do hereby declare the nature of this invention (a communication from
William Parrish Lane of 49 Wistar Street Germantown Pennsylvania, Gas
Engineer and Alexander Matheson Sutherland of 159 West Grand Street,
Elizabeth, New Jersey, Merchant both in the United States of America,) and
in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement :-
This invention relates to the manufacture of coal gas.
The object is to increase the yield in a simple and inexpensive manner so that
the production of gas will be larger from a given quantity of coal than has been
possible in the practice of processes of producing gas heretofore in use.
With this object in view the invention resides essentially in a process of
producing gas which consists in introducing water or wet steam into a retort
charged with coal and then passing the commingled gas and water or steam
through superheaters in which the two are thoroughly mixed and so thoroughly
cooked as to produce a fixed gas; furthermore the invention resides in the process
of producing gas, which consists in introducing water of any desired temperature
or steam into the retort then passing the.commingled water or steam and gas
through mixers and superheaters or mixers and superheaters combined.
Any desired means for carrying the invention into effect may be used but
preferably I employ a bench of the most ordinary form having in addition suitable
conduits for conveying the water or steam to the retort.
In the accompanying drawings I have shown one form of apparatus by the aid
of which the invention may be carried into effect. It will of course be understood
that I do not limit myself to any particular construction of bench in operating in
accordance with the invention.

page_text: In these drawings the figure represents a front view of an ordinary coal bench
provided with pipes for conducting the water or steam to the retort and discharging
it into the same.
The fronts of the retorts are represented by the letter A and a represents the
conduits through which the gas passes from the retorts to the superheaters C.
•
B represents an inlet pipe or conduit through which water or steam passes and
b represents branch pipes which connect the pipe B with the retort a branch pipe
being supplied for each retort with which the bench is provided. The main
pipe B has a cock 61 and each of the branch pipes have cocks 6' and by these cocks
the inlet of the water or steam may be regulated with perfect accuracy.
The commingled gases and water or steam pass from the retorts A to super-
heaters C which are provided with any desirable means for thoroughly mixing
them and are there conducted back and forth until they are transformed into a
permanently fixed gas which then passes through conduits D to a gasometer.
It has been found in the practical application of the process that the quantity of
gas produced by the introduction of water or steam is very much greater than is
produced in the ordinary methods of making gas and obviously the addition of the
water or steam may be made at very slight expense.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention as communicated to me by my foreign correspondent and in what
manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I claim is :-
1. The process of manufacturing gas which consists in introducing water or
steam into the retorts previously charged with coal then fixing the commingled
gas and water or steam.
2. The process of manufacturing gas which consists in introducing water or
steam into the retort, then mixing and superheating the commingled gas and water
or steam substantially as described.