Apparatus for the Production of Acetylene Gas.
Year: 1896

page_text: [Communicated from abroad by JULIUS PINTSCH, of No. 72/73 Andreas Strasse,
Berlin, in the German Empire, Engineer.]
Apparatus for the Production of Acetylene Gas.
I, WILLIAM BENNETT RICKMAN, of Pintsch's Patent Lighting Company
Limited, of 38, Leadenhall Street in the City of London, 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 :-
Apparatus for generating acetylene gas such as at present constructed suffer
from the disadvantage that for the continuous generation of the gas the raw material
calcium carbide, must be used in a very finely subdivided condition, in order
that it may be readily conveyed by the automatic feed apparatus such as worm
conveyors, &c. Owing to the very hygroscopic nature of the carbide this takes up
imoisture in the finely divided state to a much greater extent than is desirable.
A farther disadvantage of existing apparatus lies in the considerable development
of heat in the generation of the gas, which renders the process dangerous. The use
of water jackets, or other cooling devices in order to keep down such high tem-
peratures necessitates complicated and expensive constructions that are difficult to
work. The present invention relates to the construction of apparatus for the
production of acetylene gas in large quantities, which is of a simple nature and is
very safe in working. With this improved generator the gas is produced by feeding
lumps of calcium carbide, of as uniform a size as possible on to a grating that is
immersed in water, such supply being regulated according to the quantity of gas
required. The gas generated collects in the upper part of the generator above the
constant water level maintained therein by an overflow, and is led away to wherever
required through a branch pipe.
As will be readily understood, the production of heat in such an apparatus can
never be considerable, as the highest temperature which can be produced therein
would be that of boiling water.
The accompanying drawing shews an apparatus for generating acetylene gas
constructed according to the present invention.
Fig. 1 shews a vertical section,
Fig. 2 shews a cross section at X X,
Fig. 3 shews a section through the manhole and cover.
Fig. 4 an inside view of the opening and shoot through which the calcium carbide
is introduced.
The generator consists of a cylindrical vessel A, closed at top and bottom,
and having in its lower part a grating or disc a of wire gauze or perforated metal
carried by an axis a' which is rotatably mounted in bearings at a² a³, and carries
externally a weighted lever a', which ordinarily holds it in the horizontal position
shewn, against a stop F, Fig. 2, but which also serves to turn the grating into a
more or less vertical position. Instead of arranging the grating to turn on pivots
it may be made to slide in and out, or to turn down on a hinge at one side.
Above the grating at about two thirds the height of the generator, is a branch
opening leading into a bend pipe B, that passes down into a closed vessel filled with
water and having a branch opening at top, so that the pipe B is closed by a water
seal. At the opposite side of the generator is provided a charging opening c
against the outside of which is fixed the charging hopper C, which is continued

page_text: internally at C¹. The top of the hopper is preferably closed by a plate c¹ having
an opening c² of such a size as just to allow of the passage of the separate lumps
of carbide through it. A pipe G passes through the cover c¹ through which a
stream of water is made to flow continuously into the hopper, and thence into the
generator, which is thus maintained filled with water up to the level of the overflow
pipe B, through which it passes off through the water seal at 5.
By admitting the water supply into the hopper any dust of the calcium carbide
will be washed down into the generator, together with the lumps. The calcium
carbide in falling on to the grating a, enters into the well known chemical reaction
with the water, generating acetylene gas which collects in the upper part and flows
off at D. As the charge on the grating becomes decomposed by this reaction, the
resulting sludge passes down through the grating into the bottom part of the
generator whence, after having accumulated to a certain extent, it is removed
through the manhole E. Should the grating a become clogged it is turned back-
wards and forwards on its pivots through the water by means of the handle a in
order to clear it.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
Apparatus for producing acetylene gas consisting of a closed receptacle such
as A, having a horizontal grating such as a mounted on pivots so as to be rotatable
by an external lever, above which grating is an overflow pipe such as B with water
seal for maintaining a constant water level, and a lateral charging hopper such
as C, the said parts being combined and operating substantially as herein described
with reference to the drawings.
Dated this 17th day of September 1896.
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.