Improvements in the Method and Apparatus Employed in the Production of Ozone.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 5th Feb., 1894
Complete Specification Left, 3rd Nov., 1894-Accepted, 8th Dec., 1894
Improvements in the Method and Apparatus Employed in the
Production of Ozone.
I, CHARLES JOHN YARNOLD, of 64 Upper Tulse Hill, Brixton, in the County
of London, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
My invention relates to improvements in the method and apparatus employed in
the production of ozone, whereby ozone can be readily obtained on a commercial
scale, for application to many useful purposes in the arts.
In the production of ozone, air is generally employed in connection with
electrical discharges, in different ways, which are well known; but these methods
have not hitherto been successful for commercial purposes. In my invention I
subject pure oxygen to electrical discharges in an improved apparatus, con-
structed as follows. A box, closed on all its sides, but with the two opposite
ends open, is provided and filled with sheets of glass. Between the several
sheets of glass two narrow strips of glass are laid longitudinally along
opposite sides of the box, thereby forming a thin parallel space between
every two contiguous sheets of glass of the thickness of the glass strips placed
at the sides. The assemblage of glass plates are therefore closed along the
sides, with the spaces open at opposite ends, and these are arranged to coincide
with the open ends of the box. Means are provided for bringing oxygen to one
end of the box, then allowing it to diffuse within and pass through the spaces
between the glass sheets, and to issue through the opposite end of the box into a
pipe or conduit which communicates with a suitable ozone receptacle. Care is taken
to make and keep the junction of the conducting pipes with their corresponding
ends of the box, perfectly airtight; and also to prevent oxygen passing from one
end of the box to the other in any other way than through the spaces between the
glass sheets.
In passing between the glass sheets-through the box-the oxygen is subjected
to electrical action by means of metallic foil placed on one or both sides of each
sheet, which foil is suitably connected to the poles of a source of electricity giving
interrupted or alternating currents; so that the pile of glass sheets acts as a
condenser. The foil employed is preferably gold foil to avoid oxydation, and it
The oxygen is
may be arranged upon the glass, and connected in different ways.
preferably cooled and dried by suitable means previous to its passage through the
condenser, and all air is removed from the whole of the apparatus and the ozone
receptacle, by any suitable means, previous to the admission and treatment of the
oxygen.
The box is sometimes constructed with one or more sides of glass in order to
admit daylight or artificial light during the process of treatment; and I may use
elastic material in combination with or instead of the longitudinal side strips of
glass, so as to prevent any leakage of the oxygen during its passage through the
condenser.
Dated this 5th day of February 1894.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Method and Apparatus Employed in the
Production of Ozone.
I, CHARLES JOHN YARNOLD, of 64 Upper Tulse Hill, Brixton, in the County
of London, Gentleman, 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 improvements in the method and apparatus employed in
the production of ozone, whereby ozone can be readily obtained on a commercial
scale for application to many useful purposes.
In the production of ozone, air is generally employed in connection with
electrical discharges, in different ways; and these though well known, and
successful in laboratory experiments-have not hitherto proved successful in
producing ozone for commercial purposes. By my invention, I subject oxygen
to electrical discharges within an improved apparatus.
In the further description of this invention, reference is made to the accompanying
drawings, in which
Fig. 1 indicates a general view of the apparatus, and Fig. 2 is a perspective
view of the principal part of the apparatus in which the oxygen is subjected to
electric action.
Fig. 3 is a transverse section of Fig. 2, Fig. 4 is an enlarged section of some of
the plates in Fig. 3.
Fig. 5 is a plan of a glass plate used in the apparatus Fig. 2, and Fig. 6 an
enlarged view of part of Fig. 5.
In these drawings, A is a box closed on its sides, but open at the ends. The
top and the bottom sides a, are conveniently made of wood, while the other two
sides b, are preferably made of plate glass. Sheets of glass c (as shown in Figs. 3, 4
and 5) are provided about the length of the box A but not quite so wide, and
each plate is approximately covered where exposed to oxygen with gold foil d; and
narrow strips of glass e are also provided, of a length equal to the length of the
glass sheets c. These sheets are stacked one over the other in the box A, with a
strip e longitudinally on each side between the several sheets c, so as to form a
thin or narrow parallel space f between each pair of contiguous sheets, through
which the oxygen is caused to pass, and this arrangement, on an enlarged scale, is
indicated by Fig. 4.
The gold foil d is placed on one surface of each sheet c (as already stated) and
electrically connected to a source of electricity through a terminal g, or in any
other convenient manner. The connections are so made that positive connections
are all made to the terminal g on one side of the box A, and negative to the other
side, as indicated in Fig. 3, or it may be that the terminals g, with their respective
connections are placed at opposite ends or other convenient place of the box A.
The assemblage of glass plates is closed along their longitudinal edges by the
strips e, leaving the spaces f between them open at their ends, coinciding with
the ends of the box A. A funnel shaped mouthpiece is connected to each end
of the box, by means of which the oxygen to be treated is brought to one end of
the box, and after passing through the spaces fis conveyed through the other.
A pipe or conduit is connected between the inlet mouthpiece h and a cooling
apparatus j, while at the opposite or outlet end a similar pipe k connects the mouth
piece at that end with a suitable receptacle for storing the treated oxygen or
ozone. Care must be taken to make and keep the junction of the conducting
pipes, one to another and to the ends of the box, perfectly tight; and also to
prevent oxygen passing from one end of the box to the other in any other way
thau through the spaces between the glass sheets.
While passing through the box, between the glass sheets, the oxygen is subjected

page_text: to electrical action by means of alternating currents of electricity, the thin parallel
spaces bringing all the gas in close contact with the gold foil conductor. It is
preferred to use rather high potential and high frequency currents, and I have
found 50 volts, and 125 alternations per second serviceable in experiments for
obtaining ozone from oxygen, but I do not limit myself to these figures. Current
connections are established between a generator of alternating currents of electricity,
and the foil d, on the several glass sheets c, in any suitable manner, and I may
use a fan or other means to induce or force the oxygen to pass through the
apparatus at a suitable speed; but it is considered unnecessary to show the said
generator and fan or other means in the drawings, as their action and mode of
connection are well known.
The foil is preferably of gold (to avoid oxydation) and placed all over the
glass sheets exposed to the gas, although other foil may be used and arranged
differently. The oxygen is conveniently supplied from a gasometer m, (or other
receptacle) to the cooling apparatus j and through the conduit i to the inlet mouth
After electrical treatment in A,
piece h, and thence to the box or condenser A.
the gas passes through the outlet mouth piece and pipe k to the ozone receptacle I,
as indicated in Fig. 1 by the arrows.
The box A, as described, is provided with two sides b of glass, to expose the
oxygen under treatment to the action of light; and it will be understood that
soft or elastic insulating material may be used instead of the glass strips e or
combined therewith for the purpose of preventing any leakage of the oxygen
during its passage through the condenser. But in the latter case, the transmission
of light through the glass sides 6 is affected by the opaque soft or elastic material.
The sides a may also be made of glass, or partly so, to assist in transmitting
light, but in this case it is desirable to leave some portion of the glass sheets
uncovered by the foil d to pass the light into the interior of the box A.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is ;-
1. The herein described method of producing ozone, wherein cooled oxygen is
passed through a box or condenser containing a number of narrow passages formed
by an assemblage of glass sheets having thereon metallic foil and connected to a
source of alternating currents of electricity, whereby the said oxygen is exposed
to the action of alternating currents of electricity, and light, during its passage
through the said narrow passages, substantially as shown and specified.
2. In an apparatus for producing ozone from oxygen, a box or condenser A,
having in combination glass b on one or more of its sides for the admission of
light, and containing within the said box an assemblage of glass sheets c coated
with metallic foil d and separated from each other by thin narrow strips e of
insulating material to form thin parallel spaces f for the passage of a gas, electric
connections g, and inlet and outlet mouth pieces h, substantially as and for the
purpose herein shown and described.
Dated this 3rd day of November 1894.
FAIRFAX & WETTER,
433, Strand, London, Agents for the Applicant.