Improvements in Gas Making Apparatus.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 15th June, 1897-Accepted, 14th Aug.,
1897.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Gas Making Apparatus.
I, HENRY ANWYL JONES, of No. 202 Park Place, Brooklyn, County of Kings, State
of New York, United States of America, Steel Manufacturer, 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 apparatus generates coal-gas and water-gas from soft or hard coal or coke and
steam, and also produces oil-gas from oil, as, for example, from gas-naphtha. These
gases are combined to form an illuminating gas. When soft coal is used, it is
charged at the upper end of zigzag gas-retorts, through which it descends, and is
converted into coke, while the coal-gas is driven off and collected in a holder. This
coke feeds automatically from the lower ends of the retorts in the main chamber,
where it is alternately brought into an incandescent heat and acted on by super-
heated steam to generate water-gas. The water-gas is driven off from the main
chamber through a boiler, which it helps to heat, into the same holder with the
coal-gas. The naphtha is vaporized in an oil-vaporizing chainber, heated by specially
formed zigzag steam-pipes, and from this it is conducted into and collected in a
separate holder from that used for the coal and water-gas. The gases are conducted
from the two holders, through metres in the desired proportion required to secure
the desired candlepower, to a mixing and fixing retort, where they are brought
together and rendered permanent by heating. From this they leave the apparatus
herein shown, and are conducted through a scrubber and purifier to the distributing
holder.
My improvements in this apparatus consist in the use of a zigzag coal-gas retort,
in combination with various elements of a gas-producing apparatus, in various
combination of the several elements by which they are economically heated from a
single source of heat, in an oil-evaporating apparatus of special construction, and in
various other details, all as hereafter described and claimed.
In the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification,
Figure 1 shows a vertical section of the main chamber and the oil-evaporating
chamber of my apparatus.
Fig. 2 shows the pipe connections of the oil-evaporating chamber, the chamber
being in section.
Fig. 3 is a top view of a section taken on the line x-x of Fig. 1, and
Fig. 4 is an elevation of the apparatus on a smaller scale, showing the gas
holders and all the connections for conveying gas, but for clearness, omitting the
steam connections.
That part of my apparatus which I term the cupola consists of a main chamber 1,
which is of cylindrical form. When constructed as shown, it is about five feet in
diameter and ten feet high, and may be of various diameters and heights. Around
the sides of the chamber, and forming a part of its lining, are zigzag coal-gas
retorts 2. Each of these retorts, as shown, consists of two angularly connected
inclined sections, but if the height of the cupola is increased, the other proportions

page_text: A
should be enlarged and the sections in each retort should be more numerous.
charging device and valve, shown as one apparatus is at the top of each retort for
charging. It consists of a cylindrical chamber 3, open on one side, which fits in a
cylindrical opening across the upper protruding end of the retort. When this chamber
is rotated to bring its opening upward it is filled with soft coal through the hopper 4,
and the coal is discharged into the retort by rotating the chamber so as to bring its
opening on the under side. In all positions the valves seal the retorts and prevent
the escape into the air of the coal-gas, and as the gas is generated it finds its way
through the outlets 5 of the retorts, which lead from just below the valves into a
pipe 6 encircling the cupola.
As the soft coal descends through the zigzag retorts, it is converted into coke,
while the coal-gas is driven off. The coal receives support from the lower. inclined
sides of each section, so that when near the bottom of the retorts it will not be unduly
packed by that which is above, and as the sections are angularly connected, the
direction of the descending column is changed at each bend, and the column broken
up so as to keep it open and free for the disengagement of gas. There is a flaring
downward to prevent any wedging of the descending coal.
The retorts open downward at the bottom and discharge the fuel from them over
the inclined sides of the boshes 7 of the main chamber. As these openings have no
valves, the top of the bed of fuel in the main chamber must be as high as the bottom
of the retorts, in order that they may retain their charge. As the fuel in the main
chamber is burned or used up in the production of water-gas, it is automatically
replenished from the retorts and the fuel line maintained even with their discharging
ends.
The air for combustion passes through a valve 8. into a pipe 9 encircling the cupola,
from this it passes into and down flues 10 around the interior of the main chamber,
and into tuyeres 11 which discharge it under the grate-bars 12. In descending
through the flues the air takes up the heat of the combustion in the main chamber,
which would otherwise be conducted in part through the lining, or pass out of the
chimney and be lost. As the combustion proceeds, the products of combustion or
generator gas pass up around the pipes 13 of a tubular boiler, making steam, and
then into the chimney 14. The steam is conducted down to a coil surrounding the
lower part of the main chamber, where it is superheated. When the combustion is
going on, the steam exhausts into the chimney through a pipe 15 to promote the
draft. When the coal has been raised to incandescence, the combustion is stopped a
by closing the air inlet valve 8. The valve 16 is turned at the same time, shutting
off the steam jet in the chimney, and directing the superheated steam through a
nozzle 15 into the fire chamber through the grate-bars. The steam acting on the
incandescent coal, generates water gas. The valve 17 in the chimney is now closed,
and the gas is drawn off through the pipe 18, the valve 19 being open for the purpose. 4
This pipe conducts both the coal-gas generated in the retort, and the water-gas
generated in the main chamber into a holder 20.
At the side of the cupola, and attached to it, is an oil-vaporizing chamber 21.
Zigzag steam pipes 22 with a general vertical direction are contained in this chamber,
and are located so that the sections of the zigzags of adjoining pipes alternate under 4
each other. Those sections in the series of zigzag pipes which lie under other
sections have grooves on their upper sides. Oil is fed by a pipe 23 between each pair
of steam pipes through nozzles 24 at the uppermost grooves of the sections. The
course of each of the streams of oil in descending is zigzag, for, after running down
to the end of any section, it drips into the upper end of the groove in the section of 5
the adjoining pipe, and thus alternates back and forth between the pipes until it is
vaporized. The resulting oil-gas is conducted through a pipe 25 to an oil-gas holder
26. By the use of the vaporizing apparatus of the peculiar construction shown I am
enabled to thoroughly vaporize the oil without burning any considerable portion of
it.
Where the oil is vaporized by spraying it into hot gases a large proportion of it 5
is burned. In the operation of the oil vaporizer the oil-cock leading to the vaporizer
is opened and adjusted until the oil is found to be evaporated so that there is no drip

page_text: of oil from the bottom of the grooves, and while only one cock is shown controlling
the drips to all the grooves, it is obvious that there may be a separate cock for each
drip.
From the holders 20 and 20 the mixed gas and the oil-gas are drawn off by
pipes 27 28 through metres 29 30 in just such proportions as are necessary for the desired
candlepower, and enter together through a pipe 31 into a fixing retort 32. At the
bottom where they enter, their mixing is assisted by passing them through an open
construction of fire brick, indicated by dots in Fig. 4. The retort has two branches
joined together at the top, and all of it but the lower ends of these branches is
exposed to the beat of the main chamber. The mixed gas passes up one branch,
over the bend at the top and down the other branch, where it passes off through the
pipe 33 to the customary scrubber, purifier and distributing holder. I have shown
two such retorts in my apparatus, in order to get the necessary capacity.
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 what I claim is :
1. In a gas-producing apparatus, a generator consisting of a main chamber provided
with suitable inlets and outlets, in combination with a zigzag retort flaring downward
and provided with an outlet for coal-gas and a charging device and a valve at its
upper end, and a discharge at its lower end into the main chamber, substantially ag
described.
2. In a gas-producing apparatus, a generator consisting of a main chamber provided
with suitable inlets and outlets, in combination with a zigzag retort provided with
an outlet for coal-gas and a charging device and a valve at its upper end, and having
its lower end opening at the fuel line into the main chamber, whereby the latter is
automatically fed with fuel from the retort, substantially as described.
3. In a gas-producing apparatus, a generator consisting of a main chamber provided
with suitable inlets for steam and fuel and outlets for gas, an oil-vaporizing apparatus
consisting of zigzag steam-pipes contained therein and located so that the sections of
the zigzags of adjoining pipes alternate under each other, means for supplying oil to
the surface of the pipes, and means for mixing the gases from the generator and
oil-vaporizing apparatus, substantially as described.
4. In a gas-producing apparatus, a generator consisting of a main chamber provided
with suitable inlets for steam and fuel and outlets for gas, and oil-vaporizing apparatus
with zigzag steam-pipes contained therein and located so that the sections of the
zigzags of adjoining pipes alternate under each other, means for supplying oil to the
surface of the pipes, and a fixing retort, and connections for mixing the gases from
the main chamber and from the oil-vaporizing apparatus and passing them through
the fixing retort, substantially as described.
5. In a gas-producing apparatus, a generator consisting of a main chamber provided
with suitable inlets for steam and fuel and outlets for gas, and means for passing
steam through the main chamber to produce water-gas, an oil-vaporizing apparatus
with zigzag steam-pipes contained therein and located so that the sections of the
zigzags of adjoining pipes alternate under each other, each section having a groove
formed in its upper side which will permit the oil to drop from one groove to another
until vaporized, and an oil-inlet for dripping oil into the upper grooves, and a fixing
retort, and connections for mixing the gases from the main chamber and from the
oil-vaporizing apparatus in suitable quantities and passing them through the fixing
retort, substantially as described.
6. In a gas-producing apparatus, a water-gas generator consisting of a main chamber
with inlets for air and steam at one end and outlets for the products of combustion
and water-gas at its opposite end, in combination with a steam-boiler connected with
and heated from the main chamber, a steam-jet located in the outlets for the products
of combustion, a steam-jet located in the inlet into the fire chamber, and means for
changing the steam exhaust from the jet in the outlet to the jet in the inlet into the
fire chamber, substantially as described.
7. In a gas-producing apparatus, an oil vaporizing chamber, in combination with a

page_text: series of zigzag steam-pipes contained therein and located so that the sections of the
zigzags of adjoining pipes alternate under each other, and an oil-inlet for dripping
oil on to the zigzag pipes, substantially as described.
8. In a gas-producing apparatus, an oil-vaporizing chamber, in combination with
the zigzag steam-pipes contained therein and located so that the sections of the
zigzags of adjoining pipes alternate under each other, each section being provided
with a groove on its upper side which will permit the oil to drop from one groove to
another until vaporized, and an oil-inlet for dripping oil into the upper grooves,
substantially as described.
Dated this 15th day of June 1905
DAY, DAVIES & HUNT,
Chartered Patent Agents,
321, High Holborn, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.