Improvements in or connected with Furnaces.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 17th Feb., 1896-Accepted, 21st Mar., 1896
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or connected with Furnaces.
I, ERNST PETZHOLTZ of 14 Jaegerstrasse, Potsdam, Prussia in the German
Empire, Architect to the Court, 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:-
My invention relates to an improved smoke-consuming furnace designed to
submit to complete combustion all combustible matter contained in the fuel, which,
when escaping in an unburned state, not only forms smoke, but must also be
considered as a dead loss of fuel.
To obtain a complete combustion of all gases and smoke developed by the fuel
of any furnace, I add to the products issuing from the fire-chamber, atmospheric
air in a heated state and a combustible gas or vapours of hydrocarbon or other
volatile oils or inflammable substance. Said mixture of atmospheric air and gas.
or vapours, conducted into the flue connected with the fire-chamber, either takes
flame from the furnace, or is ignited by any suitable means, for instance by an
electrical spark, and serves to consume the gas and combustible matter before the
products of combustion escape to the chimney.
In the accompanying drawings, the smoke-consuming arrangement of my inven-
tion is represented as applied to a steam-boiler furnace, but it may equally well be
used in combination with any other fire-place or furnace.
Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of a steam boiler furnace containing the
improvement of my invention; Figure 2 is a plan of the same;
Figure 3 is a transverse section drawn to line g-h of Figure 2;
Figure 4 is a view of the furnace front;
Figure 5 is a transverse section drawn to line i-k of Figure 2, and Figure 6 a
transverse section drawn to line 1-m of Figure 2.
A is the boiler of any suitable construction, B, the flue through which the
smoke and products of combustion, issuing from the furnace pass to the chimney.
Adjacent to the flue B, one or more flues or pipes C, are arranged, contingent to.
the said flue B, and leading to the outside to permit the entrance of atmospheric
air. The amount of air entering said flue or flues C, may be varied by suitable
valves, dampers or other appliances usually employed to determine the admission.
of air. The atmospheric air, entering into the flue or flues C, contingent to the
flue B, is heated there, and the degree of heat obtained will depend on the quantity
of air admitted into the said flue or flues C. Thus, by adjusting the inlet of said
flue or flues C, the air to be admixed to the products of combustion within the
flue B may be heated to a moderate, hot or highly heated state, as desired.
Towards the end of said flue or flues C, apertures n are provided in the partition.
which separates the said flue or flues C, from the flue B, and through said
apertures n, the hot air enters into the said flue B, and becomes mixed with the
smoke and products of combustion issuing from the fire-chamber, and passing
towards the chimney. At or near that portion of the flue B, where the mixture-
of smoke and air has been effected, an inflammable gas, or vapours of hydrocarbon
oil, or other ignitible matter is or are conducted through a channel or pipe D..
into the flue B, and the gas or vapours issuing from said pipe or channel mix with
the mixture of smoke and air, and being set on fire, effect a complete combustion
of all combustible matter yet contained in the current flowing to the chimney. By
this means not only is the smoke entirely consumed, but the fuel is utilized to the

page_text: utmost, and the admitted gas or vapours add to the heat and increase the heating
effect of the furnace for producing steam or performing other work.
At a certain portion of the length of the flue B, the said flue B is preferably
somewhat enlarged, taking the form as indicated by the transverse section_in
Figure 6, and marked B', whilst the gas-pipe or channel D, is branched, as at D',
Figures 2 and 6, and provided with apertures or perforations d d', from which
the gas or vapours issue into the passage B¹ of flue B. The flue or flues C, having
delivered part of their heated air into the flue, B, through the apertures n,
terminate in a kind of chest or small chamber E, preferably of cast iron, from
which the hot air issues by apertures p, as indicated in Figure 1 in a direction
towards the gas-jets d.
To calculate the point at which the combustion is best performed, the height of
the chimney and the construction of the fire-chamber must be taken into account.
The amount of gas or vapours to be admitted to the mixture of air and products
of combustion within the flue B, may equally be varied by arranging suitable
valves or other appliances within the pipe D.
Behind the fire-bridge U, sight-holes S S' may be arranged through which the
process of combustion may be observed, for the purpose of varying the admission
of air or gas, according to the requirements. And if the combustion of smoke
should not be complete at the fire-bridge U, the same arrangement of a flue or
flues C, admitting air to be heated by contingency to the flue B, and a flue or
pipe D, admitting gas or inflammable vapours, may be repeated behind the firc-
bridge, as described, the second system, following the first one, serving to consume
any traces of smoke which might have escaped over the fire-bridge U.
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 I
claim is :-
An improved smoke-consuming furnace, consisting of the combination, with the
flue or flues, leading the products of combustion from the fire-chamber to the
chimney, of one or more flues contingent thereto, through which atmospheric air is
admitted in a heated state to the products of combustion, and of a pipe or channel,
or pipes or channels, through which a combustible gas or inflammable vapours are
admitted to the mixture of atmospheric air and smoke, substantially as described.
Dated this 15th day of February 1896.
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Of 6 Lord Street, Liverpool, Agents for the Applicant.