Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 3rd Sept., 1890
Complete Specification Left, 15th Apr., 1891—Accepted, 30th May, 1891

page_text: Wollaston's battery. Each pair of electrodes is composed of carbon in the form
of slabs, one side of which is porous, and the other side dense with a space or
spaces formed in the exterior for the admission and uniform distribution of the
depolarizing gases over all the surface.
3. An air pump capable of furnishing say about four thousand cubic metres of
gas for the thousand elements, per hour.
4. The necessary piping for supplying the gaseous mixture, and solution of
common salt, and for carrying off the water charged with carbonate of iron in
suspension.
5. A. continuous-nction separator that serves for the separation in a continuous
manner without stoppage, and without manual labour, of the salt water from the
solid products.
6. A. continuous-action machine for forming the mud separated according to the
preceding paragraph, into briquettes.
7. A cupola fel with carbonic oxide at a temperature of about 1000° C., from a
gas producer, and provided with a heat regenerator.
Into the top of this cupola the briquettes of carbonate of iron are charged
through a hopper furnished with a cover, the reduced metal being discharged at
the bottom. The carbonic oxide after the reducing operation is finally burned and
converted into carbonic acid which is drawn off by the air pump and after washing
is forced into the battery. The other apparatus necessary for completing the
installation, such as pumps for water circulation, electric cables and electric
apparatus will be readily understood by electricians.
In the accompanying drawings
Fig. 1 is a vertical section of part of a battery or electric generator according
to this invention.
The battery is usually composed of one or more strong troughs of wood of sny
about 25 metres long, two metres wide. and 120 metres high, each containing
100 double electrodes of two metres length, in, it may be, four pieces connected
together, and forming a hundred tight compartments.
Fig. 1 shews four of these electrodes A. These electrodes A are composed of a
carbonaceous agglomerate and are made by ramming together a moist paste
obtained by crushing and kneading about one part of cereals, one part of fat coal,
and two parts of very porous clayey earth. These pieces after being moulded and
dried are baked in a muffle at a temperature of about 1000° C. By these means
they are rendered suitably porous, that is to say, they have a porosity which is
almost molecular, and are not simply perforated as are other carbon plates or
electrodes made of agglomerate coke.
Ono side, say of each piece is then covered with tar, and the piece is baked or
burned again, which renders this side dense and non-porous.
In constructing the battery the porous side a of each piece is covered with a
layer of suitable material, it may be very coarse canvas; this side constitutes the
positive side, and is depolarized by the gases that enter the space between the two
parts ab by the holes B, the inert portion (nitrogen) of the gases escaping through
pores of a and agitating the solution.
the
The oxygen and the carbonic acid are absorbed by the electrolytic action.
The granulated iron which may be in the form of briquettes, is charged into
the spaces between the electrodes A. and the salt water is supplied by the pipes C C.
The salt water when charged with carbonate of iron in suspension is discharged by
the orifices & d.
The iron briquettes are very good conductors of electricity, so that the resistance
of the couples is proportional only to the thickness of the layer of canvas or other
material applied to the porous sido of each electrode, plus a certain coefficient.
The current is taken from the two ends of the trough M by the metal plates E E
Between E and the next carbon electrode, coke or copper filings is or are
rammed in so as to obtain a contact capable of conducting a current of sy about a
thousand amperes which may be obtained with the battery.

page_text: Fig. 2 is a vertical section of a furnace for regenerating or reducing the carbonate
of iron produced in the battery hereinbefore described.
A is a chamber in which the carbonate of iron to be reduced is placed. Bis a
hopper for the introduction of the carbonate of iron. C is a gas generator for
producing the carbonic oxide, mixed more or less with hydrogen and hydrocarbon,
necessary for reducing the carbonate of iron. The gases from the gas generator
take the course indicated by the arrows 1. When they have arrived at the top
of A, they receive a small quantity of air that effects the complete combustion of the
carbonic oxide therein. The gases then flow into D and thence pass to a chimney,
whence a portion of them are drawn by the air pump hereinbefore referred to, and
cooled and washed on their way to the battery for use therein.
The air necessary to support combustion of the fuel in the gas producer enters
at E and takes the course indicated by the arrows 2; this air which becomes
heated by contact with the walls of the chamber, enters the gas producer by the
opening F. The spongy iron thus obtained by the reduction of the carbonate of
iron treated, descends into the bottom portion Ġ of the apparatus which constitutes
a cooling chamber, and is closed by a door H.
Dated this 3rd day of September 1890
C. A. FAURE,
Per L. W.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Production of Electricity and in Means or
Apparatus therefor.
I, CAMILLE ALPHONSE FAURE, of 15 Rue des Halles, Paris, France, Engineer,
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 :-
This invention relates to improvements in the production of electricity and in
means or apparatus therefor and has reference to a battery element or couple
hereinafter described, and to the use in conjunction therewith of certain apparatus
for regenerating the substances used in the battery and for supplying them to the
battery to maintain the same in operation.
According to one part of this invention two carbon plates or electrodes, one of
which is porous and is covered with a layer of suitable material, for example
canvas, and the other dense and non-porous and covered with granulated or spongy
iron, are immersed in a solution of sea salt or common salt, and a current of air,
mixed with carbonic acid, is passed through the pores of the porous carbon plate
or electrode so as to depolarize the same. This combination gives an electro-
motive force on open circuit of about 1 to 1-2 volts, and the fall of potential in
closed circuit, depends only on the density of the current per unit of surface of the
plates.
A potential of about 0-9 volt may be assumed in a closed circuit for a current
of 3 to 5 amperes per square decimetre. The electro-motive force of 1-2 volts
above referred to has never been obtained hitherto by using the substances, iron,
and common salt. This proves the value of my new battery.
This electro-motive force may be taken to be composed as follows:-
Elements of iron and carbon, immersed in a solution of common salt (NaCl),
produce chloride of iron, caustic soda, and hydrogen, and give an electro-motive
force of about 0.30 volt. By consuming the hydrogen by means of air, an
additional 0.40 volt will be obtained. By carbonating the caustic soda by means
of carbonic acid, an additional 0-30 volt will be obtained. Finally, if instead of
compact iron, semi-compact reduced iron be employed, then about 0.15 volt will be
obtained in addition. This makes a total electro-motive force of :-
-

page_text: In the course of the electrolytic action, the carbonate of soda and chloride of
iron, produced will react and form carbonate of iron and the chloride of sodium or
common salt will thus be regenerated.
Thus the battery will only consume iron which is converted into carbonate of
iron and can be easily separated from the solution and regenerated as hereinafter
described.
The carbonic acid used is also regenerated by the same process of reduction. As
a result there will have been finally consumed only about 0-300 kilogrammes of
carbon in the form of carbonic oxide requisite for reducing the carbonate of iron
nt a dark red heat; this amount of carbon being necessary for each kilogramme of
iron brought into operation, and consequently for each electrical horse power
produced or approximately so.
The industrial application of my invention is effected more advantageously when
carried out on a large scale for instance when producing say a thousand electrical
horsepower.
An installation for this purpose comprises the following elements :—
1. A battery consisting of say a thousand elements in which the surfaces of the
carbon plates or electrodes are about one metre high and two metres long; these
elements are arranged back to back in a trough, as in the trough type of Wollaston's
battery. Each pair of electrodes is composed of carbon in the form of slabs, one
side of which is porous, and the other side dense with a space or spaces formed in
the interior for the admission and uniform distribution of the depolarizing gases
over all the surface.
2. A. pump capable of furnishing say about four thousand cubic metres of gases
for the thousand elements, per hour.
3. Piping for supplying the gaseous mixture, and solution of common salt, and
for carrying off the water charged with carbonate of iron in suspension.
4. A continuous action separator that serves for the separation in a continuous
manner without stoppage, and without manual labour, of the salt water from the
solid products.
5. A continuous-action machine for forming the mud separated according to the
preceding paragraph, into briquettes.
6. A cupola fed with carbonic oxide at a temperature of about 1000° C., from a
gas producer, and provided with a heat regenerator. Into the top of this cupola
the briquettes of carbonate of iron are charged through a hopper furnished with a
cover, the reduced metal being discharged at the bottom. The surplus carbonic
oxide, after the reducing operation, is finally burned and converted into carbonic
acid which is drawn off by the gas pump, and aftor washing, is forced into the
battery.
The other apparatus necessary for completing the installation, such as pumps for
water circulation, electric cables and electric apparatus will be readily understood
by electricians.
In the drawings left with my Provisional Specification,
Fig. 1 is a vertical section of part of a battery or electric generator according
to this invention.
The battery is usually composed of one or more strong troughs of wood, M say
about 25 metres long, two metres wide, and 120 metres high, each containing 100
double electrodes of two metres length, in it may be, four pieces connected together,
and forming a hundred separate compartments.
Fig. 1 shews four of these electrodes A. These electrodes A. are composed of a
carbonaceous agglomerate and are made by ramming together a moist paste obtained
by crushing and kneading about one part by weight of cereals, for example barley,
one part of bituminous coal, and two parts of very porous argillaceous earth.
These substances after being moulded and dried are baked in a mutile at a
Lemperature of about 1400° C. By these means they are rendered suitably
porous, that is to say, they have a porosity which is almost molecular, and are
not simply perforated as aro carbon plates or electrodes made of agglomerated coke.

page_text: One side say b of each piece is then covered with tar, and the piece is baked
again, which renders this side dense and non-porous.
In constructing the battery the porous side a of each piece is covered with a
layer of suitable material, it may be very coarse canvas; this side constitutes the
positive side, and is depolarized by the gases that enter the space between the two
parts a b by the holes B, the inert portion (nitrogen) of the gases escaping through
the pores of a and agitating the solution.
The oxygen and the carbonic acid are absorbed by the electrolytic action.
The granulated iron which may be in the form of briquettes, is charged into the
spaces between the electrodes A. and the salt water is supplied by the pipes C C.
The salt water when charged with carbonate of iron in suspension is discharged by
the orifices d d.
The iron briquettes are very good conductors of electricity, so that the resistance
of the couples is very small. The current is taken from the two ends of the
trough M by the metal plates E E'.
Between E and the next carbon electrode, coke or copper filings is or are
rammed in so as to obtain a contact capable of conducting a current of say about a
thousand amperes which may be obtained with the battery.
Fig. 2 is a vertical section of a furnace for regenerating or reducing the carbonate
of iron produced in the battery hereinbefore described.
A is a chamber in which the carbonate of iron to be reduced is placed. B is a
charging opening for the introduction of the carbonate of iron.
C is a gas
generator for producing the carbonic oxide, mixed more or less with hydrogen and
hydrocarbon, necessary for reducing the carbonate of iron. The gases, after
passing through the fuel K in the gas generator, take the course indicated by the
arrows 1 and pass into the chamber A. When they have arrived at the top of A,
they receive through the opening or cover B a small quantity of air that effects
the complete combustion of the carbonic oxide therein. The gases then flow
through the space D into the flue or passage D' and thence pass to a chimney,
whence a portion of them are drawn by the pump hereinbefore referred to, and
cooled and washed on their way to the battery, for use therein.
The air necessary to support combustion of the fuel in the gas producer enters at
the inlets L and takes the course indicated by the arrows 2; this air which
becomes heated by contact with the walls of the space D, enters the gas producer
by the opening F. The spongy iron thus obtained by the reduction of the
carbonate of iron treated, descends into the bottom portion G of the apparatus
which constitutes a cooling chamber, and is closed by a door H.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed 1 declare that what I
claim is :-
1. In an apparatus for generating electricity, the use of carbon electrodes having
one dense side and one porous side, and spaces for the introduction of gases,
substantially as hereinbefore described.
2. An apparatus for generating electricity, in which porous carbon electrodes are
traversed by a current of air and carbonic acid.
3. In an apparatus for generating electricity, the use of carbon electrodes having
one dense side and one porous side and spaces formed for the introduction of gases,
in combination with a charge of granulated iron designed to be consumed in the
apparatus substantially as herein before described.
4. In apparatus for generating electricity, a battery of the kind hereinbefore
described, and a pump for supplying air and carbonic acid thereto, for the purpose
specified.
5. In apparatus for generating electricity, the use in conjunction with the
battery hereinbefore described, of a furnace for reducing the iron salt produced
in the battery to regenerate the iron and obtain the same in a spongy state by a

page_text: current of carbonic oxide gas, or hydrogen at a red heat, and for furnishing
carbonic acid to the said battery, substantially as hereinbefore described.
6. The hereinbefore described improvements in the production of electricity and
in means or apparatus therefor, substantially as hereinbefore described and for the
purposes specified.
of April 1891.
W. LLOYD WISE,
Per F. J. Brougham,
46, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C., Agent for the Applicant.