Improvements in and relating to the Process of and Apparatus for Elevating Liquids.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 6th Dec., 1892-Accepted, 14th Jan., 1893
CUMI LEIE DI MOITIATION
Improvements in and relating to the Process of and Apparatus
for Elevating Liquids.
I, JULIUS GODFREY POHLE, a citizen of the United States of America,
residing at No. 58, West Seventy-second Street, in the City, County and State of
New York, one of the United States of America, Mining 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:-
The invention relates to the art of elevating water by compressed air, and
consists in improved processes and apparatus whereby the compressed air is
delivered in bulk into the lower end of the water eduction pipe, and the water and
air are caused to ascend through said pipe in distinct alternate layers of definite
dimensions.
The object of the invention is to successfully and practically effect the elevation
of the water to a much greater height than has heretofore been deemed economic
with compressed air, and to avoid the results due to an intimate commingling of the
air and water, as well as to dispense with all valves, annular spaces and solid
pistons. In accordance with my invention the air is not directed into the water in
the form of fine jets or bubbles, which, would very readily commingle intimately
with the water, but is delivered in mass, and the water and air ascend in well
defined alternate layers through the eduction pipe.
In the art of raising water by means of ejection it is essential to use a continuous
and rapid current of steam or air, which by its velocity and momentum forms
primarily a vacuum into which the water flows by suction; from whence it is
secondarily drawn along by the induced velocity current of the steam or air thus
used. In my process, which I term the "Air Lift Process" or method, it is not
necessary to create a vacuum at all, nor is it necessary to use a velocity current for
the purpose of raising water; for its action depends primarily upon the gravity
force of the liquid into which an eduction pipe is submerged, and secondarily it
depends upon the elastic energy stored in compressed air when used in the manner
to be described.
I have discovered that when air of suitable pressure is allowed to enter, in a
constant stream and in suitable quantity, into an eduction pipe, at or near its lower
end when it is submerged in water, while its upper end rises above the water about
the same distance, that its lower end is submerged, that the compressed air thus
introduced will at first expel the standing water from the pipe in an unbroken
column free from air, and consequently by the continued inflowing of the compressed
air under a pressure just sufficient to overcome the resistance of the water outside
of the eduction pipe, it will arrange itself in alternate layers with the water, while
the latter flows into the lower end of the eduction pipe by force of gravity until it
is discharged at the upper or exit end of the pipe. This alternate interposition of
determinate quantities of air between the also determinate quantities of water,
elongates the entire column of air and water, thus facilitating, without materially
adding to the weight of the column, the discharge of the water at a higher level,
than would be the case were these air sectious or layers absent.
I have also discovered that under the above mentioned conditions, the compressed
air will not escape through the water overlying it; and also that the water over-
lying the compressed air will not fall back through the underlying air while both
are in upward motion; but find that the elasticity stored in the compressed air layer
pressing alike in all directions-forms a temporary water-tight air piston, which
lifts the water above it to its final discharge, without appreciable loss by leakage

page_text: or so called slippage, while this compressed air piston,. after having expended its
elastic energy in work of lifting water, is dispelled with only a practically
unimportant loss of power.
To elucidate this process of pumping more clearly, I will refer to the
accompanying drawings, in which-
Figure 1 illustrates a central vertical section of an apparatus embodying the
invention, and Figure 2, a like section on an enlarged scale of the lower ends of
the air and discharge pipes, and in which, A, B, designate an artesian well or its
equivalent; S, the surface of the water level; W, an eduction pipe submerged
therein (being represented as three inches in diameter to correspond with the
lengths and weights of the water and air layers) and having at its lower end the
enlarged extension, C; and a, indicates the air conveying pipe, coming from any
source of compressed air, and terminating with an upturned exit end within the
enlargement, C, several inches below the mouth of the eduction pipe proper; the
exit end of the air pipe is enlarged by beveling off the inner edge thereof, in order
to permit the free delivery of the air in mass or bulk, and thus to avoid the
formation of air bubbles. The enlargement, C, of the pipe, W, is of sufficient area
to compensate for the space occupied by the exit end of air pipe, a, and said end of
said pipe, a, passes through the vertical side of the enlargement, C, as shown, and
derives support therefrom. The drawing represents the apparatus in a state of
'action-pumping water-the shaded sections within the eduction pipe, W,
'representing water layers and the intervening blank spaces, air layers.
At and before the beginning of pumping, the level of the water is the same
outside and inside of the discharge pipe, W (incidentally also in the air pipe) hence
the vertical pressures per square inch are equal at the submerged end of the
discharge pipe; when, therefore, compressed air is admitted into the air pipe, a, it
must first expel the incidental standing water before air can enter the eduction
pipe, W when this has been accomplished the air pressure is maintained until the
water within the eduction pipe has been forced out, which it will be in one unbroken
column free from air bubbles; when this has occurred, the pressure of the air is
lowered or its bulk diminished and adjusted to a pressure just sufficient to overcome
the external water pressure; it is thus adjusted for the performance of regular and
uniform work which will ensue with the inflowing air and water, which adjust
themselves automatically in alternate layers or sections of definite lengths and
weights.
It will be seen in the drawings that the lengths of the water column (shaded) and
air (blank spaces) I, and 1, are entered at the right of the discharge pipe, W; also
that under the pressure of two layers of water 1 and 2, the length of the air column 2
is 6-71 feet long, and so on, the lengths of aggregate water columns and the air
columns which they respectively compress are also entered on the right of the water
pipe.
On the left of the water pipe are entered the pressures per square inch of
these water columns or layers; thus, the pressure per square inch of column, 1, is
seen to be 1-74 pounds; that of 2, consisting of two columns or layers 1 and 2,
each 4.02 feet long, to be 3.49 pounds, and that of 10, consisting of nine columns
or layers of water, 1 to 9 inclusive, each 4.02 feet long, and one of 3-80 (viz.
layer 10) feet in length, to be 17:35 pounds; and the aggregate length of the layers
of water is 39-98 feet in a total length of 91 feet of pipe.
It will be noted that the length of pipe below the surface of the water in the well
is 55-5 feet, and that the difference between this and the aggregate length of the
water layers (39.98) is 15.52 feet; that is, on equal areas, the pressure outside of
the pipe is greater than the pressure on the inside, by the weight due this difference
of level, which is 47-65 pounds for the end of the discharge pipe. It is this
difference of 15-52 feet, acting as a head, that supplies the water pipe, puts the
contents of the pipe in motion and overcomes the resistance in the pipe.
In general the water layers are equal, each to each, and the pressure upon any
layer of air, is due to the number of water layers above it; thus, the pressure upon

page_text: the bottom layer of air, 10, in the drawing, is due to all the layers of water in the
pipe (17.35 lbs.) and the pressure upon the uppermost layer of air, 1, is due to the
single layer of water, I, at the moment of its discharges beginning, viz. 1.74 lbs. per
square inch; as this discharge progresses this is lessened until at the completion of
the discharge of the water layer, the air layer is of the same tension as the normal
atmosphere.
The quantitative relations of the air to water are determinable, but vary with the
relations of submergence to lift, diameter of pipe, temperature and atmospheric
pressure, and range from 1.5 to more volumes of normal air, compressed to an
adequate pressure, for each volume of water raised by this process. The best
efficiency is attained when the submersion is three-fifths of the total length of the
eduction pipe.
It is evident that the process above described is applicable to all other liquids
besides water, such as petroleum oil, saline solutions, brewers' and tanners' liquors,
sewage, etc., and therefore I do not limit the invention to the elevating of water;
neither do I confine the invention to compressed air alone for the purpose of raising
liquids by this process, but claim any aeriform body, such as natural gas, and
steam, when used in oily liquids.
Whatever the submergence or lift may be, in order to secure the desired continuous
upward flow of the contents of the eduction pipe without stoppage or downward
dropping of the same, it is necessary that the air, as introduced into the pipe,
should be in quantity sufficient to form immediately upon its issue from the air pipe
bubbles which will expand across to fill the eduction pipe from side to side and
make distinct piston-like layers entirely separating the portions of the water column
between which they enter said pipe.
Where the bubbles are smaller than this they will pass up through the water, and
while necessarily elongating the water column, will not exert the positive elevating
power that my pipe filling air layers, entirely dividing the layers of water from
each other, do.
The enlargement at the lower end of the eduction pipe, I have found to be of
advantage, not only as compensating for the space taken up by the air pipe, but
where the mouth of the latter is well below the upper end of the enlargement as
facilitating the formation of bubbles sufficiently large to make the desired pipe
fitting piston-like layers rapidly and continuously following each other at very
short intervals in the flow up the eduction pipe.
When the body of water first standing in the eduction pipe has been forced up
out of the latter by the compressed gaseous fluid used, the fluid pressure is,
preferably diminished, as indicated hereinbefore. In practice I so reduce the
pressure to a point below the weight of the column of liquid which standing
in the eduction pipe above the point of entrance of the gaseous fluid has been
removed as stated.
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 1
claim is :-
1. As an improvement in the art of elevating liquid the process which consists
in submerging a portion of an open-ended eduction pipe in a body of the liquid to
be raised and continuously introducing into the liquid, within the lower part of the
pipe, a series of bubbles of compressed gaseous fluid containing enough of the fluid
to expand across the pipe and fill the same from side to side forming pipe fitting
piston-like layers at or just above the point of their entrance into the pipe, whereby
the column of liquid rising in the pipe, after the forcing out of the liquid first
standing in the latter is subdivided by the gaseous fluid into small portions, before
it reaches the level of the liquid outside of the pipe, and a continuously upward
flowing series of well defined alternate layers of gaseous fluid and short layers of
liquid, is formed and forced up the pipe, substantially as and for the purpose
specified.

page_text: 2. As an improvement in the art of elevating liquid, the process which consists
in submerging in the body of liquid to be raised, a portion of an open-ended eduction
pipe having an enlarged chamber on its lower end, and continuously injecting into
such enlargement well below its upper end, gaseous fluid under pressure, to form
bubbles in the pipe above the enlargement large enough to extend across from side
to side of the pipe proper, and form pipe-fitting piston-like layers therein, interposed
'between and entirely separating well defined layers of liquid in the pipe, substan-
tially as and for the purpose described.
3. As an improvement in the art of elevating water or other liquid, the process
which consists in submerging a portion of an open-ended pipe in a body of the liquid
to be raised, removing the upper portion of the column of liquid within the pipe and
injecting into the latter, at a point well below the level of the liquid in which the
pipe is submerged, gaseous fluid in quantity sufficient to form bubbles which will
expand immediately across the pipe and fill the same from side to side and under
pressure less than the weight of a column of liquid in the pipe extending from the
point of entrance of the gaseous fluid to the level of the body of liquid surrounding
the pipe, so that a continuous upward moving series of alternate well defined gaseous
fluid and liquid layers will be formed in and forced up the pipe, substantially as and
for the purpose described.
Dated this 6th day of December A.D. 1892.
JENSEN & SON,
77, Chancery Lane, London, W.C., Patent Agents.