Improved Means of Effecting the Evolution of Gases Under Pressure for Obtaining Motive Power.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 17th Nov., 1891
Complete Specification Left, 10th Aug., 1892-Accepted, 10th Sept., '1892
in the Republic of France, Engineer.]
Improved Means of Effecting the Evolution of Gases Under Pressure
for Obtaining Motive Power.
1, ALFRED VINCENT NEWTON of the Office for Patents, 6 Bream's Buildings,
Chancery Lane in the County of Middlesex, Patent Agent, do hereby declare the
nature of this invention to be as follows:-
On the 1st of July 1891, an application for a Patent was filed by me under the
No. 11212, for "Improved means of generating gases under pressure, for obtaining
motive power."
The object of the present application is to widen the field marked out in my
Provisional Specification.
In obtaining motive power, it is now proposed, instead of letting sodium,
potassium, or kindred metals, act on water or other liquids containing oxygen
(which gives rise to a somewhat turbulent and semi-explosive reaction), to let said
metals act on water or other suitable liquids having oxygen as a constituent part,
such liquids containing gases highly soluble therein, and having slight, or no affinity
for the aforesaid metals, such as ammonia gas.
That gas is very suitable for said
purpose, since one volume of water at 0° centigrade absorbs as much as one
thousand volumes thereof, which the heat produced by the reaction between sodium
and water sets free, besides raising its temperature, and thereby increasing its
bulk.
The pressure under which the ammonia gas is set free, will depend on the degree
of confinement under which it is produced, and on the mode of bringing together
said metal and said ammonia solution. But it will be understood that a suitable
mechanism can gradually feed into a chamber or boiler containing ammonia
solution, metallic sodium, potassium, or kindred metal, and thus regulate the
reaction, and thereby also the evolution of ammonia gas. The ammonia solution
may also be fed in gradually.
Practically, the ammonia solution will serve the same purpose as water in a
steam boiler, and the sodium or kindred metal serves as internal and self-igniting
fuel for developing intense motive power for special purposes, as set forth in the
above mentioned Provisional Specification.
Dated this 17th day of November 1891
NEWTON & SON,
Agents for the Applicant.
Improved Means
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Effecting the Evolution of Gases Under Pressure
for Obtaining Motive Power.
I, ALFRED VINCENT NEWTON of the Office for Patents, 6 Bream's Buildings,
Chancery Lane in the County of London, Patent Agent, 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 :-
For propelling torpedoes and other explosive missiles, for controlling the course
of balloons, and for various modern industrial purposes, a motive power is required,
| Puina Q3l

page_text: of which the cost of production is of comparatively slight importance, provided the
material which develops it, and the machinery requisite therefor, be extremely
light in regard to the developed energy which can be practically utilized.
Hitherto, compressed air, liquid carbonic acid, and electric primary and secondary
batteries, have been applied for such purposes, and they have proved comparatively
inadequate.
Now, the present invention relates to an improvement on an invention for which
I obtained Letters Patent bearing date July 1st 1891, No. 11,212, in the Specifi-
cation of which is described a mode of obtaining motive power by effecting the
decomposition of water, or equivalent liquid, by means of metallic sodium or
potassium, or alloys of those two metals, or finely divided manganese, or other
suitable metals..
I may here explain that sodium, when brought into contact with water, combines
with its oxygen, and liberates hydrogen gas; from hydrofluoric and hydrochloric
acids it also developes hydrogen gas, as well as from sulphuretted hydrogen,
whereas, from sulphuric acid, will be produced sulphurous acid vapour.
The reaction of the aforesaid metals, or metallic alloys, on water, produces great
development of heat, which is also a source of motive power.
Thus, 23 grammes of sodium, when brought into contact with 18 grammes of
water, sets free 43-1 units of heat, which are theoretically capable of developing an
energy equal to 18,230 kilogrammeters, or one horse power sustained for four
minutes. Hence, 345 grammes of sodium would theoretically produce and maintain
one horse power for an hour, or ten horse power for six minutes.
The practical utilization will of course fall considerably short of these theoretical
figures, but the waste will be small, owing to the small dimensions of the engine
required, and the high pressure under which it can be made to work.
The reaction of sodium, or equivalent metal above referred to, on water, and
many other liquids, is very intense, and somewhat partakes of the character of
explosive, mixtures. But it is easily moderated by adding substances which have
less affinity for the aforesaid sodium or its equivalent. Such substances are
numerous, such as alcohol, glycerine, sugar, but what the inventor prefers is
ammonia, on account of its chemical indifference to the aforesaid metals, and of the
great volume which it occupies when volatilized. Water at a low temperature, or
under pressure, will absorb large quantities of ammonia gas, which the heat
generated by the reaction of the sodium, or its equivalent, on the water, will
liberate.
If, for instance, 23 grammes of sodium are acting on a liquid composed of
27 gramines of water, and 85 grammes of ammonia (NH³), then the result will be
as follows: Out of the 431 units of heat set free, as above shewn, 23 will be
needed to vaporize 85 grammes of ammonia, and the remaining 18.1 will raise the
temperature of the said 85 grammes of ammonia gas, as well as the solution of
caustic soda formed (50 gramines), and of the one gramme of hydrogen gas set free,
to, about 200 degrees centigrade.
The volume of ammonia and hydrogen thus vaporized and expanded, would,
under the atmospheric pressure, represent a volume of about 210 cubic decimeters.
Each cubic meter of gas to be produced would therefore, under the above con-
ditions, require about 1095 grammes of sodium, 1285 gramines of water, and
404 grammes of ammonia, or; in all, 642 grammes.
The proportion of water should be so regulated as to dissolve the caustic soda
produced by the reaction, otherwise that reaction would be rendered irregular,
owing to the formation of crusts of said caustic soda.
Whatever water may, be added, over and above the said proportion, chiefly serves
to quicken the chemical reaction.
It will be seen from the above figures, that when the proportion of ammonia is
as high as 85 parts to 23 parts of sodium, the temperature of the evolved gas will
be as high as 2000 centigrade. But, if the reaction is taking place under high

page_text: pressure, that temperature may be considerably increased, by lowering the pro-
portion of ammonia, and increasing the proportion of water. In practice, those
proportions must be regulated in such manner as to be suited to the pressure under
which it intended to let the ammonia gas be utilized, which pressure is regulated
to the inlet of sodium, or its equivalent metal or alloy, as well as by a safety valve.
It should be borne in mind, that the higher the pressure under which said gas is
emitted, the more useful effect can be obtained from its expansion, but also the
more heat will be absorbed by that expansion. Hence it is desirable, that the
aforesaid gas should be emitted at a temperature sufficiently high to make up for
the heat absorbed by the expansion, thus securing the full useful effect attainable.
Seeing that the recipient wherein said reaction takes place, can be of very small
dimensions, there is no practical reason why the pressure should not be kept up as
high as 50 or 100 atmospheres, or even much higher, the inlet of said metal into
the water and ammonia mixture being regulated at a proportionate speed.
In carrying out the invention, I make use of a vessel capable of resisting high
pressures, and in which the aforesaid reacting materials are brought into contact.
This can be done in several different ways; for instance, these two reacting
materials can both be injected separately and gradually into the vessel, each of
them at such rate, and in such proportion, as to develope the quantity of gas.
required in a certain time. Or, the vessel can be made of such capacity as to
contain already the entire supply of ammonia and water needed for the develop-
ment of the required energy, in which case the sodium alone, or its equivalent
metal or alloy, is gradually discharged into the liquid on which it has to react.
this case, the full mechanical effect is at-first developed somewhat more slowly,
since it takes some time before the reaction produced can heat up the entire
quantity of water and ammonia contained in the vessel.
In
If sodium is used as the oxydiser, this metal must be injected into the vessel
either at such high temperature as to liquefy it, when it can be injected and
dispersed as any other liquid; or, if it is used in the solid state at the ordinary
temperature, this metal, being very soft, it can be pressed into the liquid through
holes conveniently situated in the containing vessel. This feeding operation can be
done by hand, but most generally will be effected by means of some mechanical
contrivance, so arranged as to render the feeding proportionate to the energy
required and the time during which it has to be applied..
When very quick feeding is required, preference is given to a reacting metal
plastic at the ordinary temperature, such as an alloy of sodium and potassium.
By injecting it in the shape of finely divided spray, a very vivid action is easily
obtained, evolving, in a short time, a large quantity of gas; this action will not
present any feature of an explosive character, owing to the aforesaid mode of
gradual feeding.
The higher the pressure is kept up in the vessel, the less the liquid will be
liable to spurt; hence the gas emitted will occupy a proportionately smaller bulk.
In the accompanying drawing I have shewn, in sectional elevation, suitable
means for generating gas at a high pressure for this and kindred purposes.
In this arrangement, which is a modification of that described in my above
mentioned Patent, the feeding of the metal is effected automatically. From the
valve chamber D, I lead part of the gas into another piston chamber fitted at the
outer end of the piston rod which works the discharge of the metal, and by
regulating with suitable differential valves F and G, the pressure on both sides H
and K of the piston, I can adjust it to work in such a way, that the rate of
discharge increases as the pressure diminishes in the chamber when the reaction
takes place.
It will be readily. understood, that means for bringing the metal into contact
with the liquid, may vary according to circumstances, a continuous discharge being
sometimes required, whereas, at other times, an intermittent delivery may be
preferable.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. Moderating the action of sodium, potassium, or kindred metals or alloys, on
water. or equivalent liquids, by adding to water or said liquids, substances having
little or no affinity for the reacting metals employed, and capable of being easily
vaporised, such as ammonia, as and for the purpose above set forth.
2. The production of gas under pressure in a close vessel, by setting it free from
a liquid in which it was held in solution, and this by means of the heat generated
by a suitable chemical reaction; also the use of this gas for industrial purposes,
such as motive power, all as and for the purpose herein before explained.
Dated this 10th day of August 1892.
NEWTON & SON,
Agents for the Applicant.