IMPROVEMENTS IN PRO- DUCING GAS, AND IN ITS APPLICATION TO HEAT AND LIGHT
Year: 1852

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, PETER
ARMAND le Comte DE FONTAINE MOREAU, of South Street, Finsbury, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent, under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster the Seventh day of September,
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-two, in the sixteenth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Peter Armand le Comte de Fontaine Moreau, my exors, adñiors, and assigns,
Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said
Peter Armand le Comte de Fontaine Moreau, my exors, adñiors, and assigns,
or such others as I, the said Peter Armand le Comte de Fontaine Moreau,
my exors, adñiors, and assigns, should at any time agree with and no others,
from time to time and at all times during the term of years therein expressed,
should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England,
Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and in the Islands of Jersey,
Guernsey, Alderney, Sark, and Man, and also in all Her said Majesty's
Colonies and Plantations abroad, the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN PRO-
DUCING GAS, AND IN ITS APPLICATION TO HEAT AND LIGHT," communicated to me
from a Foreigner residing abroad; in which said Letters Patent is contained
a proviso that I, the said Peter Armand le Comte de Fontaine Moreau, shall
cause a particular description of the nature of the said Invention, and in
what manner the same is to be performed, by an instrument in writing under

page_text: my hand and seal, to be inrolled in Her said Majesty's High Court of
Chancery within six calendar months next and immediately after the date
of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same, reference
being thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Peter Armand le Comte de Fontaine Moreau, do hereby declare that the
nature of the said Invention, and the manner in which the same is to be per-
formed, are fully described and ascertained in and by the following statement
thereof, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the
figures and letters marked thereon, that is to say:-
The Invention communicated to me consists, firstly, in the construction of
an apparatus for producing gas, in which the combustible is consumed.
Secondly, in certain arrangements by which the gas thus produced is
employed direct for heating the boilers of locomotives and steam engines in
general.
Hitherto the machinery employed for producing gas has been of too com-
plicated and extensive a nature to admit of its being transportable, and the
cost of the gas too expensive to allow it to be applied when large surfaces
were presented and an elevated temperature required. The apparatus herein-
after described is both simple and inexpensive of construction, and combines
all the necessary conditions for the production of large quantities of gas at a
cheap rate, and in any required position.
The Figures of the Drawing hereunto annexed shew the apparatus for
generating gas, and the arrangements for applying the same to locomotives
generally combined; but, for the better understanding of the description, I
will first describe the former.
Figure 5 is a vertical section of the apparatus composed of a furnace of a
square or oblong form, having an internal diameter which varies according
to the required production of gas, and being of a height that never exceeds
from about four feet to six feet. It is composed of an internal sheet iron
partition, 1, of about one quarter to one half of an inch in thickness, and of a
straight or sloping form from top to bottom, the latter form being seen in the
said Figure. Outside the partition and at a distance from. it, varying accord-
ing as it may be thought necessary, a second metallic partition, 2, of the same
thickness is set, which is also seen in Figure 5. This partition is straight, and
is united to the other at the lower part by the metal band 3, forming by this
means a double jacket or reservoir 4, which is sometimes terminated similarly
to a steam boiler in the form of a dome, as shewn in Figure 18. Water is
introduced into this casing which surrounds the former, and keeps it from

page_text: burning, at the same time producing steam, a part of which is utilized for
moving a ventilator, and the rest for the locomotive. The interior of the
furnace may be lined with metal, bricks, or refractory plates B, Figure 5,
which becomes necessary when hard combustibles such as anthracite are
employed. 6 is a grate placed at the lower part of the furnace; it is formed
of isolated and moveable bars, and is supported on two traverse bars 7.
These bars are maintained by two bolts 8, 8, set in suitable holes, and by
withdrawing the pin which fixes the bolts to the bars, the bars fall down,
together with what they support, into the ash pan 9, Figure 2. The ash pan
is made of cast or sheet iron or bricks, and is set over the entire length of
the furnace. It may be from one to three feet in height, and is provided with
a metallic door, shutting air-tight. Air is supplied to the grate by means of a
ventilator or other suitable mechanism which transmits it through the tube 10,
either through the side or bottom of the ash pan. The tube 10 is provided
with a valve and a cap which serve to regulate and spread the air in a more
uniform manner under the grate. The furnace instead of being single may
be double, as seen in Figure 23. To construct it in this manner it is merely
necessary to divide the internal capacity into two equal sections by means of a
partition 11, which is set upon the bottom of the grate, and is about three feet
in height. The second partition 12, is also made with an external jacket for
holding water, which communicates with the water in the external reservoir
of the partition 11. Two furnaces or generators are thus contained under
the same envelope without increasing its volume, each having a separate ash
pan, grate, and supply of air, but communicating at their upper parts in one
common cavity 13, 13.
Another means of attaining the same object is by setting a partition in
the centre of the cinder pan under the grate, as seen at x. By this means
one side of the furnace may be opened for the purpose of cleaning the bars,
whilst the other side remains closed, and by such contrivance a continuous
supply of air to the grate can be inaintained. The top of the furnace is
terminated by a sheet-iron cover, Figures 2 and 3, about one fifth of an inch
in thickness, fixed by means of bolts on a corner piece, and perfectly luted.
This cover is perforated with two holes, onc, P, for the introduction of com-
bustible, and the other, 16, of a smaller diameter, both having also a moveable
stopper made to screw on and off at discretion. I employ an agitator 26,
Figure 5, for moving about the combustible in the interior of the furnace to
facilitate the passage of the gas through its interstices. This agitator is placed
above the point of ignition, and is composed of fangs of a curvilinear form,
which are disposed on one side of a rotatory shaft, so as to act alternately and

page_text: upon the same plane; it is put in motion by means of a handle or crank arm,
Figure 2, set externally. By turning the handle the fangs are made to enter
into the combustible as far as the incandescent parts, and when the operation
is completed they are set in an opposite direction to the fire by turning the
part of the shaft containing the fangs uppermost to prevent the action of the
heat upon the agitator. The agitator should be employed generally after
the introduction of fresh combustible into the furnace to produce intervals for
the passage of the air, but care must be taken to employ it only when circum-
stances demand it. The distance between the bars of the grate is regulated
according to the size and quality of the combustible employed and the quantity
of air required. The mode of feeding the furnace is as follows:-I first
distribute a layer of three to four inches thick of small and very dry wood,
uniformly over the bottom of the grate, and then I place upon it a quantity of
combustible matters, the quantities of which vary according to their nature,
that is to say, about four feet deep of coke and turf, two feet of anthracite,
eighteen inches of rich coal, and about one foot of light combustible. To set
the combustibles on fire, a lighted torch is moved backwards and forwards
under the grate, by which means the ignition is effected in an uniform manner,
I then close the ash pan and admit a small quantity of air under the grate.
The first products of the fire are water and steam engendered by the wood
and combustibles, which must be allowed to escape by the orifice 16 in the
cover of the apparatus Figure 3. When the generating apparatus is well
heated and the gas appears to be of a good quality, the escape orifice is closed
and the valve. of the eduction pipe is opened to allow the gas to proceed to the
place where it is to be burnt in a burner provided for the purpose. The
shape of the burner varies according to the situation in which it is placed.
It is constructed so as to allow the gas to enter the place to be heated between
mixed parallel currents of air transmitted by means of the ventilator. To
ignite the gas a lighted torch is put in contact with it on its entrance into the
furnace. It may also be lighted by placing on its passage and immersing in it
either a hot iron, a platinum sponge saturated with hydrogen, or transmitting
through it a spark from an electric battery. I add to the air, which I introduce
into the generator, steam in a state of great division, which enters by means
of the pipe a, Figure 18. The supply of gas and the intensity of the flame in
the furnace is regulated by means of valves disposed for that purpose in the
air and gas conductors, and in the pipe for supplying steam.
A method of increasing the gaseous qualities of the combustible consists in
injecting upon the flame liquid tar or oils of little value, such as cod-fish oil,
which is supplied from a small recipient b, Figure 19, fixed for this purpose to

page_text: I
any convenient part of the side of the generator. When such injections take
place, a greater supply of air must be admitted to eflect the decomposition of
the additional quantity of gas produced. The grate of the generator must
be looked to from time to time to clear away the ashes from between the
bars, which, in accumulating, obstruct the passage of the air, and the black
parts of the combustible must be stirred up to maintain ignition. After the
introduction of a fresh charge of combustible, or when occasion requires it,
open
thic bars of the grate for the removal of foreign bodies, and afterwards
I replace them; the bars are so arranged as to facilitate this operation, which,
however, should be executed with celerity. The pressure on the combustible
being considerably less when the door of the ash pan is opened, the production
of gas at this moment is naturally diminished. To render more certain a
regular supply of heat, the arrangement shewn in Figure 23 should be
employed, by means of which all the operations that the grate may require can
be effected without interrupting the working of the apparatus. The mobility
of the bars in all directions has the advantage of enabling their upper parts
to be preserved at a uniform temperature by facilitating a greater supply of
air to the required points. The inclined form of the internal sides of the
generator assists the introduction of the combustible, and the column of water
with which the internal envelope of the furnace is surrounded, obviates the
clogging of the combustible to the sides: It is necessary to preserve a thick
bed of combustible in order to convert the carbonic acid gas first produced,
and which is unfit for combustion, into oxide of carbon by its passage through
the ignited combustible, for if the layer were too thin, the transformation
would not take place, or be but imperfectly effected. The ventilator, herein-
before referred to, may be set up on the side of the apparatus, or in any
convenient situation, when applied for general heating purposes, and is set in
motion by means of steam, conducted by a pipe from the dome of the apparatus,
or by other convenient power.
MODE of APPLYING the SYSTEM of PRODUCING GAS herein-before described to
the HEATING LOCOMOTIVE and MARINE ENGINE BOILERS.
In order to apply the new system of producing gas, herein-before described,
to the heating of locomotive and marine engine boilers, certain modifications
have to be made in their arrangements, which vary according as the heating
apparatus is placed inside or outside the furnace. If the gas generator is set
up outside of the locomotive, it is placed upon the tender, as seen in Figures
2 and 3; and two conduct pipes, one from the generator and the other from
the air tube, serve to transmit the necessary supply of air and gas for heating

page_text: purposes. The generator in that case is of the form herein-before described, and
of dimensions varying according to the required supply of gas. The same
ventilator that serves to supply air to the grate to assist its combustion, serves
also to transmit air to the gas before being lighted. The ventilator is set in
motion by means of a steam engine of the force of two-horse power suitably
disposed upon the tender. G, G, Figure 3, is the conduct pipe for the gas,
which is provided at its point of junction with the locomotive, with a piece H
to enable it to yield to the motions of the machine. Instead of this joint, a
leather tube may be substituted with advantage and economy, as seen at I,
Figure 22. This tube is strengthened by means of a spiral spring set
internally, and is provided with a double envelope J, J, containing water, to
prevent it from being affected by the heat of the gas. The ventilator K,
Figure 3, forces the air into the pipe M, which, in passing under the ash pan,.
furnishes it, by means of the tube N, with the required quantity, and the air
continues its progress through the pipe O towards the locomotive. At the
point of connection between the tender and the locomotive, a flexible air and
water-tight tube P is connected to the tube O, which yields to every motion of
the machine. The gas penetrates into the burner q, Figure 3, through the
tube R; and the air through the tube S. The gas passes through the central
opening U of the burner T, Figure 1, and is divided into streams by the
openings V, V, V. The air enters at the side at Y, passes through the parallel
holes a, a, a, by which contrivance the air and gas egress close to each other,
and mix together in the space Z, before burning between the burner and the
sides of the fireplace 30, where the flame enters the tubes 31 of Figure 3.
By the application of this mode of heating locomotives, the fireplace being
unemployed, and receiving no combustible, may be utilized for producing
additional heating surfaces. For this purpose I make use of various forms and
arrangements of boilers, which I will successively describe. Figure 3 shews
a cylindrical boiler 32 set above the gas burner, and in connection with the
upper part of the fireplace. The dimension of this boiler should be such as
only to leave the space necessary for the passage of the flame between it and
the side of the fireplace, that is to say, a space of about three to four inches.
This boiler may be removed, if necessary, and is provided at its upper part
with an opening serving to cleanse it.
several horizontal boilers, 34, in Figure
according as its dimensions will admit.
diameter, and not more, in order to facilitate their being heated, and produce
a larger quantity of steam. 35 is the space for the passage of the flame. The
said flat boilers may extend the whole length of the locomotive, as seen at 36,
Instead of one cylindrical boiler,
16, may be adapted to the fireplace,
They should be about four inches in

page_text: Figures 14 and 15. The boilers, instead of being flat, may be tubular, as seen
at 38, Figure 12, and be confined to the furnace, or extend the whole length
of the boiler. The extremities of these tubes are seen at 40, in Figure 13.
By making the necessary arrangements, the flame can be made to pass within
the tubes, or the tubes may be filled with water. Figure 4 represents a
smoke box, in which the said tubes are covered at their egress by a sheet-iron
plate 41, perforated with holes corresponding with those in the tubes repre-
sented in the Figure, but of a smaller diameter for regulating draught. A
mode of diminishing the draught consists in adjusting in the chinney a tube
42, Figure 3, for conducting the steam out. To apply the said mode of
heating inside the locomotive, I employ the necessary space in the fireplace
for setting up the gas generator. This arrangement is seen at Figures
7, 8, 9, 10, 17, 18, 19, 20, and 23. For this purpose I set up the generator
underneath, and place above as many flat boilers as circumstances will admit,
and which I dispose so as to leave between them and the partitions of the
fireplace the necessary space for the passage of the flame. Figure 10 shews
the space 46 forming the generator, 47, the boilers, and 48, the space for the
passage of the flame; 49 represents a passage traversing the roof of the
fireplace for the introduction of combustible contained in the chamber 50;
51 is the grate; the ash pan is similar in all respects to that herein-before
described. Figure 17 shews another mode, which consists in separating the
fireplace into two parts by a flat transversal boiler; 51 is a space for the
furnace, which receives its combustible from an internal chamber 52, provided
with the door 53, or from an external chamber. The boiler 54 is fixed to the
roof of the fireplace, and the lighted gas passes between it and the second
boiler 56, in the space 55 left between them. The boiler 56, unlike the
boiler 54, is provided with empty spaces 57 at its lower part, which the gas
traverses before entering the burner 58, to burn in the space 59 between the
boiler and the tubes; 60, in Figure 18, represents the burner, and at a, the
steam pipe from the dome of the apparatus. Figure 19 represents the handle
61, which sets in motion the alimenting chamber and the grate 62. The
second boiler 54, Figure 17, may be suppressed, and the gas conducted to the
fireplace 59 by one or several tubes placed at the upper part of the place of
burning, or at its side. Figure 21 shews a third method, which consists in
dividing the fireplace into two parts by a horizontal boiler, or a simple plate
or diaphragm, the lower part 60 serving as the gas generator provided with
its grate, conduct pipe, and door, for the introduction of combustible, and the
other above for receiving and burning the gas. 62 is the separation or
diaphragm 63 represents the opening of the burner into the consuming

page_text: chamber; 64 and 65 are cylindrical boilers at the upper part of the fireplace.
Care must be taken in all the above arrangements to cause a sufficient supply
of air or steam to combine with the gas, according to the principles herein-
before laid down. The rules laid down for conducting the apparatus when
set up outside the boilers are the same as those to be observed when it is
placed within. What has been herein laid down for locomotives is in every
way applicable to marine and other steam boilers in general.
This mode of heating can be applied to all apparatus where direct or
indirect heat is required, such as for making bricks, heating gas retorts, the
preparation of lime, cements, ceramic products, the crystallization of salts,
the fusion of metals, the baking of bread and biscuits, and the heating of
public or private establishments.
The advantages of the system of heating, herein-before described, consists,
firstly, in an important economy of combustible, caused by a more regular
production of heat, and of its complete utilization. Secondly, in being able to
use every sort of combustible, such as anthracite, lignites, turfs, and all the
poor combustibles in general. Thirdly, in the suppression of the use of
coke in locomotives, and diminution of the charge of combustible on railways,
tenders, and steamboats.
And having now described the nature of the said Invention communicated
to me, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, I wish it to
be understood that I do not confine myself to the precise proportions of the
said apparatus, or to the mode of applying the same, which may be modified
according to circumstances, nor do I claim all the different organs taken
separately; but what I do claim as the Invention communicated to me is,―
Firstly, the construction of an apparatus for producing gas by the com-
bustion of the combustible, as herein-before described and referred to in
Figures 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, and 23 of the Drawing.
Secondly, the mechanical arrangements for heating locomotive and steam
engine boilers, as herein-before described and referred to in the several Figures
of the Drawing.
In witness whereof, I, the said Peter Armand le Comte de Fontaine
Moreau, have hereunto set my hand and seal, this Seventh day of
March, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and
fifty-three
L. DE FONTAINE (L.S.) MOREAU.

page_text: En the Matter of a Patent granted to Peter Armand le Comte de
Fontaine Moreau, of 4, South Street, Finsbury, in the County of
Middlesex, for "IMPROVEMENTS IN PRODUCING GAS, AND IN ITS Appli-
CATION TO HEAT AND LIGHT," bearing date at Westminster, the
Seventh day of September, One thousand eight hundred and
fifty-two.
DISCLAIMER proposed to be entered with the Clerk of the Patents of
England, pursuant to an Act passed in the fifth and sixth years of the
reign of His late Majesty King William the Fourth, intituled An Act to
amend the Law touching Letters Patent for Inventions.
1, the said Peter Armand le Comte de Fontaine Moreau, do declare, that
since the said Letters Patent have been granted, I have discovered that that
part of the title which is contained in the following words "and light," is not
of such practical utility as would make it desirable to retain it in the said
Patent, for which reason I am desirous to, and do hereby disclaim all that
part of the title which is contained in the following words, "and light," so
that the title of the Patent will remain "Improvements in Producing Gas, and
in its Application to Heat."
In witness whereof, I, the said Peter Armand le Comte de Fontaine
Moreau, have hereunto set my hand and scal, this Seventh day of
March, One thousand eight hundred and fifty-three.
This is to certify that Peter Armand le Comte de Fontaine Moreau, of
4, South Street, Finsbury, in the County of Middlesex, has applied to me for
leave to enter with you the above-written Disclaimer to part of the title of a
certain Invention, for which Letters Patent were duly granted to him under
the Great Seal, bearing date the Seventh day of September, 1852; and
having considered the said application, and no objections having been made to
the same, I have accordingly granted leave to the said Peter Armand le
Comte de Fontaine Moreau to tile his said Disclaimer, pursuant to the Statute

page_text: passed in the 5th and 6th years of the reign of His late. Majesty King
William the Fourth, intituled "An Act to amend the Law touching Letters
Patent for Inventions.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Seventh day of March, in
the year of our Lord 1853, the aforesaid Peter Armand le Comte de
Fontaine Moreau came before our said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery,
and acknowledged the Specification and Disclaimer aforesaid, and all and
And
every thing therein contained and specified, in form above written.
also the Specification and Disclaimer aforesaid was stamped according to the
tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.