Improvements in and connected with the Manufacture or Production of Ozone and in Apparatus therefor.
Year: 1897

page_text: This Print is in accordance with the Original Specification as it stands after
Amendment (under Section 11 of the Patents, &c., Act, 1883) as required by
the decision of the Chief Examiner of the 9th day of May 1898.
Date of Application, 2nd July, 1897
Complete Specification Left, 24th Sept., 1897-Accepted, 27th Nov., 1897
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and connected with the Manufacture or Production
of Ozone and in Apparatus therefor.
I, EMILE ANDREOLI, of 147, Cold Harbour Lane, Camberwell, in the County of
London, Journalist, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
My invention relates to the manufacture or production of ozone by means of
apparatus such as those described in the Specification of former Letters Patent
granted to me in 1891 No. 17426, 1892 No. 9631 and 21794, 1893 No. 21707 and
1896 No. 10372 or of similar apparatuses, the object of my invention being to
increase the yield of ozone, to prevent the heat generated by the electric effluvia
and also to collect and utilize the ozone for its commercial applications in a more
efficient and cheaper way than by the usual methods.
As a result of exhaustive experiments I have ascertained that the chief cause
of the heat generated in the ozonisers is the use of an electric current of too great
density and I therefore, in order to overcome the difficulties before experienced,
use a current of relatively low density whereby the temperature is prevented from
rising to an injurious extent and the yield of ozone is increased. In practice I
have found that a current of 2 ampères discharging through 50 square feet of
electrodes gives good results. Furthermore, instead of using large ozonizers I
prefer to use a series of relatively small ozonizers worked by transformers capable
of supplying a current of low ampèrage and high potential with great frequency.
The electrodes which I employ may be either point bearing grids only or point
bearing grids and flat plates alternately the electrodes in all cases being separated
by dielectric material. The flat electrodes may be either metallic plates or wood
plates faced both sides with sheets of copper, tin-plate, aluminium or other metal
and the surfaces of the electrodes may be .coated with non-oxidizable paint or
enamel.
In some cases also I may dispense with the point bearing grids and use flat
electrodes; also, in some cases, instead of employing single sheets of dielectric
material between the electrodes I may arrange two such sheets in order to prevent
polarization. The several electrodes of an ozonizer instead of being enclosed in an
air tight case, as heretofore, are held together by means of clamps or the like so
as to form open ozonizers.
I sometimes use an ozonizer consisting of a number of electrodes connected
together and enclosed in a receptacle which is itself composed of three separate
compartments, the upper one being used as a distributing chamber to ensure the
uniform distribution of the air over all the electrodes; the lower one being simply
used as a collecting chamber, from which the ozonized air is drawn. The top

page_text: and bottom of the intermediate chamber i.e. the ozonizing chamber-are provided
with grooves in which the electrodes are placed in position and parallel with each
other. Along one side of the receptacle is fixed an air duct, which leads up to the
distributing chamber, which is separated from the ozonizing chamber by the
perforated partition, through which the air is distributed into the ozonizing
chamber.
Such ozonizers may consist of three large electrodes only, or of a greater number
of electrodes. In the first case, they can be worked by only one transformer which
supplies a current of low quantity and high tension and frequency, in the second
case, the electrodes may be divided in sections, each of which or a certain number
of which is worked separately by a transformer.
The above described apparatus belongs to the ordinary type of ozonizers more or
less closely packed in receptacles or casings, but, in practice, when for commercial
application large quantities of ozone have to be produced in a continuous process,
I prefer to work several open ozonizers in a chamber, each ozonizer being placed
over an aperture or a grating on the floor of the chamber arranged over a second
chamber which I call the air or gas chamber. The gas to be ozonized is forced
rapidly between the electrodes of each set of electrodes.
The ozonized air after passing through the electrodes of the open ozonizers of
a first ozone chamber can be sent in a similar manner to other ozone chambers, so
that it is more condensed than when passing through one ozone chamber only.
But, if dilute ozone is wanted, I have only one chamber from which the ozonized
air or gas is discharged or is sent by convenient means to the place where it is to
be utilized.
In order to provide for passing the air or gas through two or more sets of
ozonizers the said ozonizers may be placed in apertures made in a wall, or the walls
of ozone chambers; or, several masonry partitions can be erected parallel to each
other, in each of which there are apertures where the ozonizers are placed, elec-
trically connected with their respective transformers, the ozonized air being drawn
or forced by means of convenient apparatus. The great advantage of such ozone
chambers is that large quantities of ozone can be generated by means of a given
number of ozonizers, worked by a given number of transformers and that the ozone
in the nascent state can be sent without any complicated arrangement of pipes
through chambers where drying oils, linoleums, or other substances are to be
subjected to its action.
In addition to the advantages of my invention before enumerated it possesses
the further advantages that the open ozonizers can be quickly taken to pieces
and put together again, without the loss of much time and without much labour,
also a large number of ozonizers can be worked simultaneously without difficulty
and nothing is wanted in the ozone chamber beyond an air duct for the inlet and
another one for the outlet.
Improvements in and connected with the Manufacture or Production
of Ozone and in Apparatus therefor.
I, EMILE ANDREOLI, of 147, Cold Harbour Lane, Camberwell, in the County of
London, Journalist, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what

page_text: manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement:-
This invention refers to the production of ozone on a commercial scale by means
of improved apparatuses worked in such a manner that the yield of ozone is
increased, the formation of nitrous compounds and the generation of excessive
heat by the electric effluvia on the dielectric and on the electrodes are pre-
vented, and the ozone is collected and utilized in the nascent state for its commer-
cial applications in a more efficient and cheaper way than by the usual methods.
The electrodes of my ozonisers are either point-bearing grids, one facing the
other, or point-bearing grids facing flat electrodes. I may also use flat plates,
which cost a great deal less than point-bearing electrodes.
My flat electrodes are made of boards of wood or other convenient material,
which are plane and true, and on the two sides of which are fixed, by convenient
means thin sheets of copper, tin plate or aluminium or other metal. I obtain in
Instead of metal
this way perfectly even and plane plates at a moderate cost.
sheets, layers of metal can be obtained by electro-plating. The said sides, if
desired, are coated with one or several layers of a non-oxidizable paint or enamel,
which protects them against the action of ozone. The two metallic sides of these
flat electrodes are electrically connected one to the other and to one of the poles
of the transformer, its other pole being connected with the other electrodes.
When economy is a question, I use flat plates on both sides of the dielectric,
but in such a case the yield of ozone per horse power hour will not be quite as
high as with point bearing plates or grids. My experience is that the most satis-
factory results are obtained with point-bearing grids, one facing the other, or
point bearing grids opposite flat metallic surfaces.
I use any convenient insulating material, such as glass, to separate the elec-
trodes, and I may have between the electrodes, instead of a single sheet of glass
or other dielectric two thin sheets of glass placed one against the other, to prevent
the polarization of the dielectric by the compensating action of the vibrations of
each sheet under the stress of the electrostatic discharge in presence of a flat plate
and of a point-bearing grid, or other electrodes.
I sometimes dispense with the usual sheet of dielectric such as glass interposed
between two electrodes and simply apply on the flat electrodes by means of an
adhesive material, some pieces of mica or powdered mica, or other insulating
powder, or the like, so as to cover the whole of their surface. Some thin distance-
pieces made of glass keep the plates apart from the dielectric.
The construction of an open ozoniser composed of point-bearing grids and flat
electrodes or of flat electrodes separated by sheets of dielectric material will be
clearly understood by reference to Figures 1 to 4, Figure 1 being a sectional
elevation, Figure 2 a plan, Figure 3 a section on the line 3-3 Figure 1 and
Figure 4 a view of a portion of Figure 3 drawn to a larger scale. In these
figures a, a, indicate the point-bearing electrodes each of which is composed of
a series of pieces of serrated wire b, 6 separated by washers c, c and united by
bolts d, d in the ordinary manner, and e, e are the flat electrodes each of which
is composed as herein before stated of a flat board f of hard wood or other material
having thin sheets of metal g, g fixed upon the two surfaces. h, h are the sheets
of dielectric material arranged between the electrodes and which may be supported
in grooves in the frame of the apparatus. h¹, h¹ are glass distance-pieces between
the dielectrics and the electrodes and i, are the conductors.
In Figures 5 and 6, which are respectively a longitudinal section and a trans-
verse section on the line 6-6 Figure 5, I show an ozoniser consisting of a number
of electrodes a, e of large area connected together and enclosed in an air-tight
receptacle which is itself composed of three separate compartments k, l, m, the
lower one being used to ensure the uniform distribution of the air over all the
electrodes, and the upper one m being used as a collecting compartment from
which the ozonised air is drawn, whilst the intermediate or ozonising compart-
ment, which contains the electrodes is provided with grooves in which the

page_text: dielectric separators are placed, the electrodes being maintained in position and
parallel with the dielectrics by distance-pieces as described with reference to
Figures 1 to 4.
Between the distributing compartment and the ozonising compartment / is a
perforated plate or partition n through which the air is evenly distributed I also
place a similar perforated partition n¹ between the ozonising chamber and the
collecting chamber m; at the ends of the casing jare passages k¹, m¹, the former of
which establishes communication between an inlet opening o and the distributing
compartment whilst the latter establishes communication between the collecting
chamber m and an outlet p.
The above described apparatus belongs to the ordinary type of closed ozonisers
which are contained each in a receptacle or casing, but when large quantities of
ozone have to be produced in a continuous manner in works or mills, I prefer to
work several and sometimes many open ozonisers in a large chamber or in large
chambers as hereinafter stated. In this case I dispense entirely with the usual
receptacles or boxes in which each ozoniser must be separately enclosed. The
electrodes of each open ozoniser as well as their dielectric separators are clamped
or screwed together in suitable inexpensive frames, for instance, as shewn in
Figures 1 to 3, in which q, q, indicate the bars of the frame and r, r the wooden
clamping screws which connect the said bars q, q.
An arrangement of several open ozonisers in a chamber is shewn in Figures 7
and 8, which are respectively a sectional elevation of a chamber and a sectional
plan on the line 8-8 Figure 7.
In these figures s indicates the chamber which I call the ozone chamber in which
I place on the floor, over some apertures at convenient distances one from the
other a sufficient number of ozonisers such as that shewn in Figures 1 to 3 supposed
for example to give per hour a quantity of ozone representing the expenditure of
one or several electric horse power hours, or of part of one electric horse power as
the case may be.
Each ozoniser is placed over an aperture (or a grating) t, also shewn in Figures 1
to 3, in the floor u of the chambers over a second chamber which I call the air
or gas chamber; (in some cases I may dispense with the air chamber). The air
or gas to be ozonised is drawn or blown, as shown by the arrows, through the
chambers and flows rapidly between the plates and grids of each set of electrodes
so that part of the oxygen is transformed into ozone, the ozonised air or oxygen
then passing through a pipe w to the recipients where it has to be utilized.
Under each ozoniser I may have a piece of fabric or a strainer to filter the air
to be ozonised.
When condensed ozone is required, the ozonised air can be introduced from one
chamber into a second or third ozonising chamber and so on. But, if dilute ozone
is wanted I have only one ozonising chamber from which the ozonised air is dis-
charged, or is sent by convenient means, to the place where it will be utilized. In
order to prevent in my ozone generators a detrimental rise of temperature I reduce
almost to its minimum the glow of the silent electric discharge, and I increase the
surface of electrodes and of dielectrics. Thus the glow being very feeble, its
calorific power is insignificant and is constantly counteracted by the cooling effect
of the air to be ozonised, which, for the commercial applications of ozone where
large masses of liquids, such as oils, for instance, have to be oxidised, must pass
at a great velocity between the electrodes.
By adopting this method for the commercial production of ozone, I require more
ozonisers than hitherto, but the increase in the plant and machinery is more than
compensated for, in that the yield of ozone is much greater (as with a given
expenditure of energy a smaller output of ozone is generated by each ozoniser but
a larger one is obtained from the whole of the apparatus) and that the ozonisers
can work almost indefinitely without injurious rise in temperature.
Another reason for adopting for the production of ozone the hardly visible glow
of the silent electric discharge (which, as much as possible I combine with great

page_text: frequency) is that it does not form nitrous compounds, which can only be produced
by powerful effluvia due to a very high electrostatic tension.
To the best of my knowledge, I have been the first to construct apparatuses
herein described as open ozonisers and consisting simply of a number of clectrodes
and sheets of dielectric, kept apart one from the other for the free passage of the
air and fastened together by means of clamps or screws instead of being packed
each in an air-tight box and also to combine them with a reservoir or ozone
chamber for the production and the direct supply of ozone in the nascent state for
commercial applications. This apparently unimportant mode of constructing and
of working open ozonisers, for the production in a continuous process of large
quantities of ozone in chambers and its supply from such reservoirs, possesses
several great advantages as compared with former arrangements. (1) No separate
air-tight box or receptacle being required for each set of electrodes or ozonisers,
there is a saving of expense and labour; (2) the apparatus can be worked con-
tinuously because it cannot get out of order or seriously heat; (3) only one inlet
for the air and one outlet for the ozonised air are required for a number of open
apparatuses simultaneously electrified in ozone chambers while a complicated series
of pipes is unavoidable when closed ozonisers are used. Therefore according to
this invention not only the air can be distributed at the same rate of velocity over
the whole range of electrodes of the open ozonisers but the cost of separate pipes
for the inlet and outlet of each closed ozoniser is avoided; (4) the working of the
whole of the ozonisers can be controlled, which is not possible when the several
ozonisers are enclosed in separate air-tight cases; and, (5) in case of accident
or in case cleaning is required the apparatus can be quickly pulled to pieces and
then put together.
Any desirable number of ozonisers may be arranged in a chamber (as shown in
Figures 7 and 8) according to the area of the chamber, or several ozone chambers
may be used each containing a number of open ozonisers according to the electric.
current which is used for each set of electrodes. The open ozonisers or sets of
electrodes are arranged over suitable openings or gratings in the floor, through
which apertures the air is forced or drawn. Or the ozonisers may be placed in
apertures made in the wall or walls of ozone chambers, and several partitions can
be erected parallel to each other, in each of which there are openings wherein
ozonisers are placed, the ozonised air being drawn or forced by means of convenient
apparatus.
By this electrification of a number of open ozonisers in such ozone chambers or
reservoirs large quantities of ozone can be economically generated without heat and
free from nitrous compounds and the ozone in the nascent state can be sent direct,
and in a simple and efficient manner through recipients containing substances to be
subjected to its action.
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 the commercial production of ozone a series of open ozonisers arranged in
chambers in such a manner that the air or gas which enters the said chambers has
to pass evenly between the electrodes of the said ozonisers where it is electrified
by a silent electric discharge the glow of which is reduced to a minimum to avoid
the generation of excessive heat and the formation of nitrous compounds, sub-
stantially as described.
2. The construction of open ozonisers consisting each, of a set of electrodes, held
together in a frame by clamps or wooden screws or the like, as herein before
described and illustrated.
3. In an ozoniser the use of duplex dielectric sheets for preventing polarisation,
substantially as described.
4. The use of flat electrodes, substantially as described and illustrated.

page_text: 5. The arrangement of a number of open ozonisers in large chambers over or in
apertures, substantially as described and illustrated.
6. The use of large chambers or reservoirs which supply direct the ozone in its
nascent state where it has to be utilized, substantially as described and illustrated.
7. In the commercial production of ozone by means of a closed ozoniser the
arrangement of electrodes, dielectrics and chambers, substantially as hereinbefore
described and illustrated in Figures 5 and 6.
Dated the 22nd day of Santambon 1907
EMILE ANDREOLI.
G. F. Redfern & Co.,
:
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicant.