Improvements in Apparatus for Absorbing Gases for Refrigerating or other Purposes.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 3rd Aug., 1893
Complete Specification Left, 21st Apr., 1894-Accepted, 7th July, 1894
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus for Absorbing Gases for Refrigerating
or other Purposes.
I, EMERTON CLAUDE BUIK, of 70, New Kent Road, in the County of London,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows :-
My invention relates to apparatus wherein gases are absorbed by means of liquid
for refrigerating or other purposes.
It is well known that the absorbent liquids used in such apparatus become
heated as the absorption proceeds and that after the temperature reaches a certain
point the absorption does not take place so readily as when the liquid is at a com-
paratively low temperature. Now the object of my invention is to provide means
whereby the absorbent liquid may be cooled and thereby enabled to absorb the
gases to its fullest extent.
In carrying out my invention I provide a tank or vessel which is filled with the
absorbent liquid and in which the gases to be absorbed are led in any suitable manner
and I connect this tank or vessel with a larger tank by flow and return -pipes in
such a manner that as the liquid becomes heated in the smaller tank it will pass
into the larger tank, the cool liquid from the larger tank flowing into the smaller
tank.
In order that the liquid which enters the large tank shall be thoroughly cooled
before it again returns to the small tank I advantageously provide the said larger
tank with a series of tubes through which air or other cooling medium can
circulate.
In order to economise space I sometimes arrange the two tanks one above the
other, or I employ a single tank divided into two compartments.
Instead of causing the liquid as it becomes heated to flow into cooling vessels I
may arrange a coil of pipes in the vessel containing the absorbent, through which
coil a cooling medium is circulated.
In order to allow the escape of any air in the apparatus and to prevent the
generation of pressure I provide a suitable relief pipe or valve.
In some cases I dispense with the cooling vessel and provide the vessel containing
the absorbent with tubes through which the cooling medium can circulate.
In cases where I depend upon the natural circulation of air through the
cooling pipes 1 advantageously arrange a cowl or other device to promote the
draught.
Dated thie 2nd day of August 1892
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicant.
Improvements in Apparatus for Absorbing Gases for Refrigerating
or other Purposes.
I, EMERTON CLAUDE BUIK, of 70, New Kent Road, in the County of
London, 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 :―
My invention relates to apparatus wherein gases used for refrigerating or other
purposes are absorbed by means of liquid.

page_text: It is well known that the absorbent liquids used in such apparatus become heated
as the absorption proceeds and that after the temperature reaches a certain point the
absorption does not take place so readily as when the liquid is at a comparatively
low temperature. Now the object of my invention is to provide means whereby
the absorbent liquid may be cooled and.thereby enabled to absorb the gases to its
fullest extent.
In carrying out my invention I provide a tank or vessel (hereinafter referred to
as the absorption vessel) which is filled with the absorbent liquid and in which the
gases to be absorbed are led in any suitable manner and I connect this tank or
vessel with a larger tank (hereinafter referred to as the cooling tank) by flow and
return pipes in such a manner that as the liquid becomes heated in the absorption
vessel it will pass into the cooling tank, cool liquid from the cooling tank flowing
into the absorption vessel.
In order that the liquid which enters the cooling tank shall be thoroughly
cooled before it again returns to the absorption vessel I advantageously provide
the said cooling tank with a series of tubes through which air or other cooling
medium can circulate.
In order to economise space I sometimes arrange the cooling tank and absorption
vessel one above the other, or I employ a single tank divided into two
compartments.
To allow the escape of any air in the apparatus and to prevent the generation of
pressure I provide a suitable relief pipe or valve.
In cases where I depend upon the natural circulation of air through the cooling
pipes advantageously arrange a cowl or other device to promote the draught.
To enable my invention to be fully understood I will describe the same by
reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
:-
Figure 1 is an elevation of apparatus constructed according to my invention;
and,
Figures 2, 3, 4 and 5 are views hereinafter described illustrating modifications of
my invention.
Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several figures.
a is the absorption vessel into which the gases to be absorbed are led through
the pipe b, and is the cooling tank, the upper part of which is connected with the
upper part of the absorption vessel a by the flow pipe d and the lower part of
which is connected to the lower part of the said absorption vessel by the return
pipe e in such a manner that the liquid as it becomes heated in the absorption
vessel a will rise through the pipe d and enter the cooling tank c whilst cool liquid
from the said.cooling tank c will flow into the absorption vessel a.
is the relief pipe for allowing the escape of any pressure which might be
generated in the apparatus, the said relief pipe being closed at its end by a water
seal in a cup g.
As the water in this cup may in some cases (for instance when ammoniacal gas
is used as the refrigerating agent) give off an unpleasant odour, I provide for
changing the water therein and for this purpose I connect the latter with the
vessel a by the pipe gl so that the water may flow from the cup into the said vessel
and I provide a pipe 2 for introducing fresh water into the cup from any suitable
source. In practice I prefer that the water should flow from the cup g and fresh
water be introduced at the same rate and in order to facilitate the adjustment of
the cock g³ which controls the flow from the cup I arrange a sight glass in the
pipe so that the flow of the water in the said pipe is visible.
is a pipe or nozzle through which the absorbent liquid is introduced into the
apparatus, and is a cock through which the liquid is withdrawn from the apparatus
when saturated.
In the arrangement of my invention shewn in Figure 1 the flow-pipe d is made
in the form of a coil so that the liquid passing therethrough will be cooled as much
as possible by the atmosphere before entering the cooling tank c.
In Figure 2 (which is a sectional elevation of a modified form of apparatus) the

page_text: cooling tank c is provided with a series of vertical tubes j, j through which air can
circulate so as to cool the liquid surrounding the said tubes j, j.
is a cowl which I sometimes employ for permitting the circulation of air
through the tubes j, j.
In Figure 3 I shew in elevation an apparatus in which the cooling tank c is
placed above the absorption vessel a in order to economise space.
In all the forms of apparatus herein before described the circulation takes
place in precisely the same manner as in a hot water heating apparatus, that is to
say, the liquid as it becomes heated in the absorption vessel a rises through the
flow-piped into the cooling tank c whence after cooling it returns to the said
absorption vessel a through the pipe e.
In some cases I dispense with the cooling vessel c and provide the absorption
vessel a with cooling tubes through which air can circulate. Such an arrangement
is represented in vertical section in Figure 4 and it will be understood without
further description. Or instead of cooling the liquid in the absorption vessel by
means of air it may be cooled by means of cold water. In this modification, which
is illustrated in vertical section in Figure 5, the absorption vessel a is provided
with an internal coil through which the cooling medium will circulate, and
I provide for cooling the water which flows through the coil by employing a cooling
vessel m similar to the cooling vessel e described by reference to Figure 2, the
upper and lower ends of the coil being respectively connected to the upper and
lower ends of the said cooling vessel m by pipes n, o as will be readily
understood.
C
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 18:
1. In apparatus for absorbing gases the provision of means whereby as the liquid
absorbent becomes heated it will be cooled either by circulating through a cooling
tank or by the circulation of a cooling medium through it, substantially as
described.
2. In apparatus for absorbing gases the combination with the absorption vessel
of a cooling tank connected with the absorption vessel by flow and return pipes
in such a manner that, as the absorbent liquid becomes heated it will flow into the
cooling vessel, cool liquid from which at the same time enters the absorption vessel,
substantially as described by reference to Figures 1, 2 and 3 of the accompanying
drawings.
3. In apparatus for absorbing gases providing the absorption vessel with pipes
through which a cooling medium can circulate substantially as described by
reference to Figures 4 and of the accompanying drawings.
Dated this 21st day of April 1894
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicant.