Improvements in or relating to the Manufacture of Gas for Lighting and Heating.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 17th May, 1899
Complete Specification Left, 15th Feb., 1900-Accepted, 31st Mar., 1900
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or relating to the Manufacture of Gas for Lighting
and Heating.
We, ALBERT EDWARD HODDER and Joux BINGLEY GARLAND LESTER,
both of 49, Queen Victoria Street, in the City of London, Engineers, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:--
This invention relates to the manufacture, by carburetting air, of gas for
lighting and heating.
Air under pressure is forced through gas-generators, being, conveniently,
forced from a power-station by air-pumps along mains through the district which
is to be illuminated; from these mains branch-pipes are led into the houses or
works or other places to be illuminated, and from these branches extend con-
nections to various generators, each of which is preferably constructed in the
manner hereinafter described. From these generators the gas is led to the
burners for utilization.
In each generator, which is divided into separate chambers, one of the chambers
contains a heavy hydrocarbon, say petroleum having a flash point at about
120° F., another chamber being charged with a lighter hydrocarbon, say a
distillate of petroleum preferably having a low specific gravity and in the third
chamber is a quantity of naphthaline in the form of albo-carbon air is delivered
in separate streams controlled by separate valves through the separate heavy
and light hydrocarbons, which after passing through them and becoming laden
with hydrocarbon vapours are mingled, being next led through the albo-carbon
before delivery to the burners.
:
The employment of separate chambers for the different hydrocarbons and of
separate supplies of air to these chambers, controllable independently of each.
other with regard to their volumes, enables the proportion of heavy to light
hydrocarbons in the resulting mixture to be readily regulated by regulating the
currents of air; this regulation could not be properly effected if the hydro-
carbons, in their liquid form, were mixed in a single chamber and taken up by
single stream of air.
The preferred construction of generator is provided with three concentric
hambers, one within the other; the outer two chambers are each fitted with
piral blades or vanes so disposed that air delivered into the bottom of either
hamber will be forced to travel several times around it in a helical path through
he liquid therein, as it rises towards the upper end. The central or inner cham-
er is fitted with a perforated or false bottom a short distance above the true
ottom.
Each of these chambers is capable of being hermetically sealed by a
lug or washer or other device provided in an opening pierced in the top of each
permit it to be charged..
Conduits are provided to deliver the vapour-laden air from each of the outer
ydrocarbon chambers into the central chamber containing the albo-carbon. A

page_text: valve may be provided in one or both of these pipes to regulate the flow through
them.
In the bottom of each of the two larger chambers is an inlet orifice fitted with
a non-return valve, which will allow air to pass into the bottom of each chamber,
but will not permit air or liquid to pass back out of it. The connections pre-
viously referred to are led one to each of the hydrocarbon chambers, and are
provided with separate valves so that the volume of air passing through either
hydrocarbon can be regulated independently of that which passes through the
other; there is a valve in the pipe leading from the albo-carbon chamber to
the burner to enable the flow of gas therethrough to be controlled.
The burners employed are fitted with incandescent mantles, the radiance of
which can be regulated by regulating the volume of air allowed to pass through
the petroleum distillate. In other words the illuminating power of the car-
buretted air can be modified by changing the proportion of light to heavy hydro-
carbons in the two currents of air previously referred to.
The pressure of air delivered from the mains to the connections aforesaid is
intended to be controlled by a loaded relief valve in the main in proximity to
the junction of the connections therewith and set so as to lift when a predeter-
mined pressure is arrived at, thus serving to prevent that pressure from being
exceeded the valves in the connections are intended for regulation of the volume
of air passing through them and not for determining the pressure thereof which
would be regulated by the relief valve aforesaid.
Dated this 10th dor of Yo 1800
BOULT & WADE,
Agents for the Applicants.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or relating to the Manufacture of Gas for Lighting
and Heating.
We, ALBERT EDWARD HODDER and Joux BINGLEY GARLAND LESTER,
Engineers, both of 184, St. George Street, E.. in the County of London, formerly
of 49, Queen Victoria 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 parti-
cularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
This invention relates to the manufacture of gas for lighting and heating and
comprises a power station from which air is forced along mains through the dis-
trict to be illuminated; from these mains branch pipes are led to the various
installations in the system. A generator is provided at each installation and com-
prises two or more concentric annular carburetting chambers each connected to
the air supply main by means of a conduit provided with a cock in order to inde-
pendently regulate the amount of air passing to each chamber. Hydrocarbons
of different specific gravities are employed, separate from each other, each hydro-
carbon being allotted its own chamber. By the separation of the hydrocarbons
and by the arrangement of an independent air-supply to each, the proportion
of carburetted air obtainable from each chamber can be adjusted so that the gas
resulting from the mixture of these carburetted streams may have any quality
or richness desired. An air-relief valve is provided upon the air main adjacent
to each generator in order that the pressure therein may not exceed a given
maximum value.
In the accompanying drawings : -
-
Figure 1 is a central vertical section of a gas generator constructed according

page_text: to one method of carrying out this invention showing the various pipe connec-
tions hereinafter referred to.
Figure 2 is a plan of the gas generator partly in section on the line 2-2 of
Figure 1.
Figure 3 is a central vertical section of a modified form of gas generator, and
Figure 4 is a plan of the same in part section on the line 4-4 of Figure 3.
Like letters indicate like parts throughout the drawings.
The gas generator comprises an outer cylindrical vessel A having arranged
concentrically within it a second cylindrical vessel B, and similarly arranged
within the vessel B is a third cylindrical vessel C. The walls of the three vessels
thus concentrically arranged form an outer chamber A, an intermediary cham-
ber 1 and a central chamber C¹. The lower part of each chamber A B¹ is
provided with spiral blades or vanes A² 12 respectively and the lower part of
the chamber C is provided with a perforated partition or false bottom C². All
three chambers are closed at their upper ends by means of a plate or cover D.
A main pipe E communicates with any convenient central pumping station
from which it receives a continuous supply of air under pressure. Communi-
cating with the pipe E are branch pipes E1 E2 each having a cock or valve E³ E
respectively. These branch pipes enter the chambers A B at their upper ends
and extend down through the same to within a short distance of the floor of each
chamber. The upper ends of the chambers A' B¹ are in constant communication
with one another by means of one or more passages F and both chambers com-
municate with the chamber C¹ by means of an orifice F¹, preferably in the upper
end of the chamber and a dip pipe F2 within the chamber which extends down
through the perforated partition C² to within a short distance of the floor of the
chamber (", At the upper end of the chamber (" is a second orifice G which
communicates with a pipe G¹ having a valve G². Each of the chambers is pro-
vided with a screw plug H or other device which when removed will permit
material to be admitted, but when in place hermetically seal the chambers. The
pipe E may be provided with a loaded relief valve J of any convenient con-
struction arranged preferably within close proximity to the branch pipes EE2.
When working this apparatus the annular chambers A B are.
one with a light hydrocarbon such as petroleum-ether or benzine and the other
partially filled
with a heavy hydrocarbon such as petroleum having a flash point at or about
120° F. The central chamber is filled with naphthalin preferably in the form
commercially known as albo-carbon which rests upon the perforated partition
or false bottom (2. By means of the valves E3 E respectively air is then
admitted through the pipes E' E2 into the chambers A¹ B' respectively. The
air thus admitted will pass up through the hydrocarbon in each of these cham-
bers being forced to take a helical passage through the same by means of the
spiral blades or vanes A2 and the air thus carburetted will pass from each cham-
ber through the orifice F¹ and dip pipe F2 into the space below the perforated
partition C2 in the chamber C¹. Here the carburetted air from the two chambers
will become mixed such mixing being further effected by its passage through
the perforated bottom (2 into the chamber proper C. In this chamber the
carburetted air is further enriched by means of the naphthalin or albo-carbon C³
contained therein. The gas thus formed is now ready for consumption and is
carried off through the orifice G and pipe G¹ to the burner. The valve G² serves
o control the passage of gas to the burner. If the gas is to be used for lighting
urposes the burner may be provided with an incandescent mantle.
The loaded relief valve J relieves any undue pressure of the air in the pipe E
o that a comparatively constant pressure is maintained in the pipes E E2, and
y arranging the pipes EE each to conduct a separate supply of air, one
hrough a light and the other through a heavy hydrocarbon, the richness of the
arburetted air may be readily controlled by varying the volume of air allowed
pass through the one pipe or the other.
If preferred the above apparatus may be modified by arranging the pipes È¹ E²

page_text: to communicate direct with the lower ends of the chambers A¹ B¹ by carrying
them through the bottom of the said chambers and providing them with any
convenient form of liquid trap or non-return valve: also in place of the orifices
communicating between the chambers A B and B C external or internal pipes
may be arranged to conduct the carburetted air from the chambers A¹ B¹ to the
chamber C, such pipes communicating either with the upper or lower end of
the chamber C. When these pipes communicate with the upper end of the
chamber the pipe for conducting the gas to the burner is arranged to com-
municate with that part of the chamber which is below the perforated parti-
tion 0¹.
If preferred in place of the vessels A B and C being each separate containers
placed one within the other, they may obviously be made in the form of a
single container divided by partitions into chambers A¹ B₁ C¹. This arrange-
ment is shown in the modified form of generator illustrated in Figures 3 and 4
of the drawings. The top D in this case may either be made integral with the
walls of the chambers as shown in Figure 3, or detachable as in the generator
shown in Figures 1 and 2. In this modified form of generator the pipes E E
communicating with the chambers A¹ B, respectively, enter the chambers from
beneath instead of from the top. Each pipe is allowed to project a short dis-
tance above the floor of the chamber and is covered by a hood E E, respectively.
The lower portions of the hoods are perforated, which permits the passage of
the compressed air into the chambers, whilst each hood and pipe thus arranged
form a liquid seal; in place of the liquid seal, however, a non-return valve of any
well-known construction may be used if preferred. The chambers A¹-B¹ C¹ may
be arranged to communicate with each other as shown in Figures 1 and 2 or they
may be provided with conduits F3 F4.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said in-
vention and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is:-
1. In the manufacture of gas the combination with an air supply under pres-
sure controlled by a relief valve or otherwise of a generator comprising two or
more annular chambers one within another fitted with spiral vanes a different
hydrocarbon in each chamber separate conduits and valves for supplying air
to each hydrocarbon with or without a central mixing chamber containing an
enriching agent substantially as and for the purpose described.
2. In the manufacture of gas a generator having two or more annular cham-
bers one within another fitted with spiral vanes a different hydrocarbon in each
chamber separate conduits and valves for supplying air to each hydrocarbon and
a central mixing chamber containing an enriching agent arranged and operating
substantially as and for the purpose described.
3. The complete gas generating apparatus substantially as described and illus-
trated in Figures 1 and 2 or in Figures 3 and 4 of the accompanying drawings.
Dated this 14th day of February 1900.
ALBERT EDWARD HODDER.
JOHN BINGLEY GARLAND LESTER.
Boult, Wade & Kilburn,
Agents for the Applicants.