DE575930C - Device for the use of hydrocarbons, which cannot be liquefied at normal temperature, as a fuel for internal combustion engines, especially for vehicles - Google Patents

Description

Device for using non-liquefiable at ordinary temperature Hydrocarbons as fuel for internal combustion engines, in particular for Vehicles Suggestions have been made repeatedly, not just stationary internal combustion engines (Gas engines) to operate with gas, including usually luminous gas or carbon oxide-rich Blast furnace gas, sometimes also coke oven gas, is used, but also machines for vehicles.

The subject matter of the present invention is special safety devices for the known use of gaseous Hydrocarbons for driving internal combustion engines, especially for vehicles, whereby the gases are used in a liquefied state without being highly compressed to be brought. The task of the internal combustion engines of vehicles with gaseous Operating fuel is also of great economic importance for Germany become. When coke oven gas is broken down, after the Hydrogen or the hydrogen and nitrogen, which for the hydrogenation or used for the synthesis of ammonia, large amounts of methane, which more than Carry half of the total thermal energy of the processed coke oven gases. Nevertheless the unit of heat in the methane is only a small fraction compared to the the usual liquid fuels, such as gasoline or benzene, have increased Usual storage of methane in a highly compressed state in steel cylinders and their use for vehicles, due to the relatively high dead weight of the steel bottles, not quite naturalized.

These difficulties are largely or entirely eliminated, if one uses the previously proposed ways of entrainment of the gases in high-compression State or in elastic sacks and instead leave the gases in light Vessels at almost atmospheric pressure in a manner known per se in liquid Conditions.

Such vessels for storing liquefied gases, in which the latter remain for a very long time, are known in various embodiments and are used for various purposes. They are double-walled or multi-walled vessels provided with heat-insulating spaces, as described by Dewar, Weinhold, H.eylandt, R ohn and others. These vessels are filled with liquefied methane and attached to the vehicles in place of the petrol containers that are now common. Half rollover can assume that 1 1 liquefied methane is approximately equal to r 1 gasoline in his energy levels so that the mitzunehmende weight as well as the volume of the vessels compared to the present situation hardly changes.

For safety reasons, the container will not be refilled After using it, you have to distance yourself from it and simply put the empty container through replace a full one of the same type. This measure is already known and aims to that only those producers who are familiar with the fuel carry out the filling, since every conceivable precaution can be taken at these points.

The liquefied methane or methane-rich gas mixture is located in these vessels almost under atmospheric pressure and has the temperature of the Atmospheric pressure boiling gas mixture, which usually depends on the composition should be between - ioo ° and - 16o °. There is a slight overpressure in the vessel itself, which can be dimensioned differently depending on the wall thickness. Generally likely it is advisable to measure the wall thickness of the vessels so that they give a certain Overpressure, for example by several tenths of an atmosphere, have grown.

Even when the machine is not in operation, it cannot be avoided that the liquefied methane: something evaporates. The resulting losses Gas can be kept within very low limits, even more so than the heat of vaporization of methane is more than twice as large as z. B. that of the liquefied air, which Liquefied for decades, it has been used for various commercial purposes.

After all, due to the explosive nature of the methane-air mixture if the vehicle is left for a longer period of time. with liquefied methane in closed Rooms, e.g. B. in the car shed, there is a certain risk, as the air will enrich with methane. The present invention addresses these hazards be avoided entirely. For this purpose, the vapor space of such vessels is with liquefied Methane, which -for example for an overpressure of 0.1 atm. are built with a safety valve set to about 0.05 atm. overpressure. These Valves are on the one hand with a safety lamp (z. B. Davy) or with flameless combustion tubes into which the evaporated methane escapes, and on the other hand connected to electrical or pyrophoric ignition devices, see above that the escaping methane is burned immediately.

A further guarantee of the unconditional functioning of this safety device to have, it is advisable to control the internal combustion engine with a device which has the effect that when the machine is switched off, an! electrical or Permanent pyrophoric ignition in the safety lamp or in the combustion tube remains in action. In this way it is avoided that unused methane in the air environment.

The arrangement and mode of operation described here, on which to understand. the safety devices are discussed in detail by the enclosed Drawing illustrates, with only the safety devices under protection the formation of firefighters should be provided.

i is a double-walled vessel made of thin sheet metal to hold the liquefied Methane.

As a result of the evaporating methane, there is a slight overpressure in the vessel, which can be regulated, e.g. B. in that the evaporating methane through the Metal bar 3, which is sunk more or less deeply into the liquid methane, more or less heat is supplied from the outside. This overpressure makes that liquid methane in the pipe q. pressed.

If one leaves the pipe q. not on the bottom, but in the upper part of the vessel i open, gaseous methane is fed to the engine.

The pipe q. connects to the valve 5, which is connected to the steering wheel 6, whereupon the methane passes through a nozzle into the air intake pipe 7 and then into the housing 8 of the internal combustion engine, mixed with air. The description of the arrangement to be protected now begins here: The container i is also connected by a pipe to a safety valve 9 which is actuated by a lever or a spring io. This supply pipe to the safety valve, which is guided in a straight line in the drawing or for the sake of clarity, can be arranged in several turns around the vessel i within the heat protection mass 2. If the overpressure is too high, the safety valve 9 is vented and the gaseous methane passes through the tube ii into the safety lamp i2. Wire nets, which limit the spread of the flame, can be attached to both mouths of the connecting tube ii as well as to the safety lamp 12. A metal thread or metal net 13 can be arranged inside the safety lamp 12, which is supplied by an accumulator 1q. can be made to glow. The battery is switched on and off via the contact 15, which is attached to the steering wheel 6, in such a way that, when the methane supply to the internal combustion engine is switched off, the connecting lines to the battery are short-circuited through the contact 15, so that the filament 13 is made to glow.

Even if the internal combustion engine is in motion, it can happen that the overpressure in the vessel r is too great. In such cases: it is the safety valve itself, which by: a shunt 16 turns on the accumulator and the Makes thread 13 glow. .

Claims (2)

PATTERN APPLICATION: r. Device for using at ordinary Temperature non-liquefiable hydrocarbon gases such as methane, ethylene and their homologues or mixtures, in a liquefied, supercooled state as a fuel for internal combustion engines, in particular for vehicles, using a container for the liquefied gas, which is provided with a safety valve, through the if a certain pressure inside the container is exceeded, gas will escape can, characterized in that the gas escaping through the safety valve into a safety lamp or other ignition device to ignite to be brought. 2. Device according to claim z, characterized in that when the internal combustion engine is switched off, the ignition device in the safety valve the safety lamp connected to the gas container is switched on automatically.