Year: 1885

page_text: I JOHN KIRKALDY of No. 40 West India Dock Road Poplar in the County
of Middlesex Engineer do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
.
According to my invention I arrange a condenser in such a manner as to bring
into useful application the imperfect and very slow conduction by water of heat in
a downward direction and effect in one condenser or still not only the condensation
of steam passed into the condenser from a steam boiler or from the exhaust pipe
of a steam engine but also effect the distillation of salt or other water by the heat
from the steam so condensed the water distilled being the upper portion of the
circulating or cooling water used in the condenser.
To obtain this result I form a condenser of an upright case preferably with
helical or other coils of tube passed downwards through it but straight tubes
may be used.
Steam from either of the sources above mentioned and from the steam pump by
which water is circulated through the condenser and by which also the water of
condensation is conveyed away is passed into the upper ends of the coils.
Circulating or cooling water is supplied to the case at the bottom and by an
overflow is maintained at any desired level in the case The overflow is led away
from the case at a distance below the level at which water is to be maintained so
that the upper part of the water in the case may remain undisturbed by the flow
of circulating water.
The water in the upper portion of the case will therefore become heated and be
gradually evaporated whilst the water in the lower portion of the case will remain
cool enough to act efficiently as cooling water The vapour or steam given off from
the surface of the water rises into the steam space at the top of the case and
from there is led off to coils of tube contained within the lower part of the
case and is condensed in these coils by the cooler water contained in that part of
the case
The water of condensation passes away from the lower ends of the
coils either directly or through a filter and thence to any place desired either
by gravitation or by means of a pump which may also be a circulating and a
feed nump

page_text: The water of condensation of the steam from the steam boiler or engine may be
taken away by a pump and fed to steam boilers or may be used for any desired
purpose.
In a modification of the condenser or still I make the lower part of the case
of an annular form and in the annular space I arrange the coiled tubes which
carry off the steam from the water evaporated in the condenser. The circulating
water I pass into the upper part of this annular space and conduct it from the
bottom of this space into the bottom of the condenser case.
In the top part of the condenser a series of corrugated domes or inverted dishes
may be placed over which thin layers or streams of water are allowed to trickle
and are more or less evaporated by the heat of the steam or vapour béneath them
the steam or vapour condensed in the lower surface of these dishes being caught by
an annular gutter and conveyed by a pipe to the other distilled water while the
excess of water from the upper part of the dishes is caught by an exterior gutter
and conveyed by pipes from them to any suitable place.

page_text: I, JOHN KIRKALDY of No. 40, West India Dock Road, Poplar in the County of
Middlesex 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 :-
According to my invention I arrange a surface condenser in such a manner that
a flow of circulating or cooling water can be maintained through the lower portion
of the body of water in which the condensing pipes or chambers are immersed
whilst the upper portion of the body of water remains practically undisturbed by
the flow of water below it and consequently owing to the very slow conductivity
of heat by water becomes heated to a boiling temperature and its distillation is
effected. The flow of the cooling water through the lower part of the vessel not
only keeps the condensing surfaces in this part of the vessel at a sufficiently low
temperature for condensing efficiently but also when salt or other impure water is
being used as the cooling water carries away the salt or other impurities thrown
down from the upper water which is being distilled and so keeps the surfaces of
the condenser free from deposit of salt or other matter. I thus form in one vessel
a compound surface condenser and distiller and maintain a portion of the circulating
or cooling water passed through the condenser at the boiling temperature for
evaporation and distillation while the remainder of the water remains' cold and
acts efficiently for keeping the condensing surfaces at a sufficiently low temperature
for condensing not only the steam passing into the condenser but also the steam
derived from the distillation effected within the condenser.
Preferably I arrange the apparatus in such manner that the water derived from
the condensation of steam introduced into the apparatus is kept separate from the
water derived from the condensation of steam produced by distillation within
the condenser. I also form the apparatus in such manner that all parts are readily
accessible for cleaning.
One way in which I form the distilling condenser is as follows:-
I employ a vertical casing kept partially filled with circulating or cooling
water the circulating or cooling water is supplied to the case at the bottom and
by an overflow or otherwise is maintained within the case at the desired level.
The overflow is led away from the case at a distance below the level at which the
water is to be maintained so that the water above the overflow outlet may remain
undisturbed by the flow of circulating water through the lower part of the case.
Within the case and immersed in the cooling water are coiled tubes or other forms
of condensing chambers part of such surfaces being in the water above the overflow
outlet and part in the water below this outlet. Steam from a steam boiler or the
exhaust steam from a steam engine is admitted to the upper coils or other form of
condensing chambers and raises the upper portion of the water in the case to the
boiling temperature.
The vapour or steam given off from the surface of the water rises into a steam
space at the top of the case and is drawn from thence through coils of tube or other
form of condensing chambers contained within the lower part of the case and is
thereby condensed.

page_text: The water resulting from the condensation of the steam given off from the
cooling water may either be allowed to flow into suitable receptacles for use or
may be pumped away by a pump.
The water of condensation of the steam from the steam boiler or engine may
be taken away by another pump and fed to steam boilers or used for any desired
purpose.
To maintain the pressure in the steam space as constant as may be I keep it
at or about atmospheric pressure so as to avoid on the one hand the forming of a
vacuum and the consequent drawing up of the body of cooling water or on the
other hand to avoid an excess of pressure and consequent depression of the level
of the cooling water.
I effect. this either by leading off from the top of the steam space a pipe or pipes
of comparatively small diameter which are at their extremity left open to the
atmosphere and which are each bent into a number of horizontal coils or zig-zag
bends to impede any rapid rush either of steam or air through them. If the
pressure rises steam passes off slowly into the pipe or pipes-if it falls, air passes
through the pipe or pipes into the steam space. In this way the pressure can be
maintained always at or about atmospheric pressure without practically any loss
of steam. Or the same object may be obtained by fitting automatic inlet and
outlet valves in the case or by admitting a small quantity of air to the suction of
the condensed vapour pump.
In place of the above described vertical arrangement of the apparatus, a hori-
zontal arrangement may be adopted as hereinafter described-the distilling coils
or other surfaces being placed at one end of the casing whilst the condensing coils
or surfaces are placed at the other end.
In the drawings hereunto annexed I have shewn various ways in which my
invention may be carried out.
Figure 1 shows an elevation partly in section and Figures 2 and 3 horizontal
transverse sections of one form of vertical condenser.
A is the outer casing into the bottom of which circulating or cooling water is
delivered at B and passes off by an outlet C the outlet pipe passing from which
is carried upwards a distance as shown at Figure 1 so that the water level in the
case A is maintained at some distance above the outlet C.
D is a tubular coil to which steam from a steam boiler or exhaust from an
engine is to be admitted at E. The coil is carried down from top to bottom of the
case and in the space between the water level and the outlet C the diameter of
the coil is increased so as to thus expose a long length of the tube and considerable
surface to the water in this space and transfer the heat from the steam to the
water to boil and evaporate it.
.
The lower end of the coil is as shown at Figure 3 connected to an outlet F.
The steam arising from the upper surface of the water in the case is led away by
pipes G to coils H contained in the lower part of the casing. The water resulting
from the condensation of this steam is led away from the lower ends of the coils
by outlets at I or the pipes G might be replaced by an annular space outside the
casing A.
J is another coil the upper portion of which is around the exterior of the coil D
and in the water space above the outlet C. Exhaust steam is admitted to the
upper end of this coil through the inlet K from the engine used for working the
pumps in connection with the apparatus the water resulting from the condensation
of this steam is drawn off from the lower erd of the coil through the outlet F as
shown in Figure 3. M is a coil of pipe leading from the top of the casing and
open at its end to allow air to pass slowly into the casing or excess of steam to
blow off from it.
Figure 4 shows an elevation with the casing only in section of a modified form
of the apparatus. In this modification the steam resulting from the distillation
effected in the apparatus in place of being conveyed from the upper part of the
casing to the coils H by pipes G which are outside of the case A is conveyed to

page_text: the coils H through a single pipe G which passes down through the centre of the
interior of the casing A.
In place also of the circulating or cooling water- being allowed to flow away
through a pipe led up to the level at which it is required to maintain the water
level in the case A it is led off through an outlet tap at L into a pipe which can be
led away wherever required-the opening of the tap being regulated so as to
maintain the water level in the case at the height required.
To permit of hot water being drawn off from the apparatus another outlet tap
is provided at L' which can be opened whenever hot water is required. M are the
pipes for admitting air to the steam space of the casing or for allowing excess of
steain to pass off from it.
The other parts of the apparatus are marked with the same letters of reference
as in Figure 1.
Figure 5 shows an elevation of the condenser in connection with a steam pump
and filter.
Figure 6 is an end view of the pump and filter.
Steam from a boiler is admitted at E-the water resulting from the condensation
of this steam is drawn off at F
The exhaust steam from the engine is admitted at K to the exhaust steam coil
of the apparatus and the water resulting from the condensation of the steam is
drawn off through an outlet K'.
The pure water arising from the distillation of a portion of the circulating water
is drawn off at I and is delivered into the filter Ñ by the pump to which the
pipe I leads.
The circulating or cooling water is delivered into the casing A through the
pipes B-B is the suction pipe for the circulating pumps.
The water resulting from the condensation of steam from the boiler may when
pure be delivered into the filter or if not sufficiently pure may be returned to the
boiler as hot feed, or disposed of in other advantageous ways-this statement
also applies to the water derived from the condensation of the exhaust steam from
the engine.
In the condensers shown at Figures 1 and 4 the condensing surfaces are the
surfaces of tubular coils and prefer that the condensing surfaces should be so
formed and also that the several tubes should be corrugated in the direction of
their length. I do not however restrict myself to the use of such coils for forming
the condensing surfaces as condensing surfaces of other ordinary forms may be used.
Figure 7 shows an elevation one half in section and the other half with the case
only in section of apparatus in which the condensing chambers are formed of
concentric cylinders one within the other-their surfaces may be either flat or
corrugated or it may consist of a condenser with a helical space formed by winding
plates helically whose edges are connected in such a way as to leave a narrow space
between the plates.
The cooling water passes upwards as shown by the arrows between the outer
surfaces of the plates so connected to form a condenser. Boiler steam enters at E
and passes into the condenser D the water resulting from its condensation is drawn
off at F.
Exhaust steam enters at K and the water resulting from the condensation of
primary and exhaust steam is drawn off at F.
'
The secondary steam passes through the openings G¹ int the pipe G and thence
into the lower condenser J which may be formed like the upper one, the pure water
passing away from it at I.
Another forin of condenser with my improvements adapted to it is shown in
vertical section at Figure 8-E is the primary steam-inlet, K the exhaust steam
inlet, F the outlet for water from condensed primary steam, K¹ the outlet for
water from condensed exhaust steam, G are the tubes for conducting the secondary
steam into the lower part H of the condenser-0 is a diaphragm separating the
upper part of the condenser from the lower-I is the outlet for the pure water

page_text: from the condensed secondary steam-B is the inlet for cooling water-P are
passages through the top of the lower portion of condenser to allow of a flow of
cooling water being maintained through the centre. The cooling water is main-
tained in the case A about at the level shown and the outlet for cooling water is
at some distance below this level as in the condensers previously described-l are
the pipes for equalizing pressure.
Figures 9, 10 and 11 show how my improvements may be carried out with
a condenser mounted horizontally in place of vertically.
Figure 9 is a longitudinal vertical section and Figures 10 and 11 are vertical
cross sections of the condenser.
The case A is divided by a vertical diaphragm A*. Primary or exhaust steam
or both enters at E into the coils D and the water resulting from the condensation
of this steam is drawn from the opposite end F of the coils. The cooling water
enters at B and passes off at C.
An opening is formed through the lower part of the diaphragm A* so that the
water in the two ends is always at the same level.
Secondary steam arising from either of the ends enters at G¹ into the pipe G and
so to the tubular coils H and the water resulting from the condensation of this
steam is drawn off at I.
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. A surface condenser and distilling apparatus in which the coils or chambers
wherein the steam supplied to the condenser is condensed, and also the coils or
chambers wherein the vapour drawn off from the water used for cooling such coils
or chambers is also condensed, are both immersed in one body of water, the one set
partly or entirely in a portion of the body of water which remains approximately
at rest, the other in another portion of the body of water through which a con-
tinuous flow is maintained go utilizing two widely different temperatures in the
Bare body of water.
2. A surface condenser and distilling apparatus in which the steam or vapour
to be condensed is admitted to conden-ing coils or chambers which are immersed
in the upper portion of a body of water which remains at rest or practically so
so that such upper portion of the water is raised to a high temperature and vapour
caused to be given off from it whilst a flow is maintained through the lower.
portion of the body of water to convey away salt or other solid måtter thrown
down from the upper portion substantially as described.
3. A surface condenser and distilling apparatus in which the steam or vapour
to be condensed is admitted to condensing coils or chambers which are immersed in
the upper portion of a body of water which remains at rest or practically so and
in which the vapour arising from the upper surface of such water is conveyed to
and is condensed in condensing coils or chambers immersed in the lower portion
of the water through which lower portion a flow is maintained to keep the con-
densing surfaces cool and convey away salt or other solid matter thrown down from
the upper water substantially as described.
4. In a surface condenser and distilling apparatus the, employment of a long
tube of comparatively small diameter leading from the vapour chamber to the
open air and bent into zig-zag bends or coils to ensure one uniform pressure being
maintained approximately in the chamber substantially as described.
5. In a surface condenser and distilling apparatus the employment of inlet and
outlet valves in the vapour chamber or of an air admission to the suction of the
condensed vapour pump to ensure one uniform pressure being maintained approxi-
mately in the chamber substantially as described.
6. The construction of condensing and distilling apparatus substantially as
herein before described and illustrated at Figures 1, 2 and 3 of the drawings
annexed.

page_text: 7. The construction of condensing and distilling apparatus substantially as
herein before described and illustrated at Figure 4 of the drawings annexed.
8.-The construction of condensing and distilling apparatus substantially as
herein before described and illustrated at Figures 5 and 6 of the drawings
annexed.
9. The construction of condensing and distilling apparatus substantially as
herein before described and illustrated at Figure 7 of the drawings annexed.
10. The construction of condensing and distilling apparatus substantially as
herein before described and illustrated at Figure 8 of the drawings annexed.
11. The construction of condensing and distilling apparatus substantially as
herein before described and illustrated at Figures 9, 10 and 11 of the drawings
annexed.
.