US1056738A - Apparatus for drying washed coal and other material. - Google Patents

Description

CHARLES CATLETT, or TAUNToN, VIRGINIA, AND

'- ALABAMA;i

TENT oEEIoE.

APPARATUS FOR DRYING WASHED COAL AND OTHER MATERIAL.; -f

Specification otLetters Patent. i

Application led June 1, 1912. Serial No; 701,102.

To all 'zc/wm 'it may concern.'

Be it known that we, CHA'nLEs CATLETT und DAVID HANCOCK, citizens of the United States, residing, respectively, at Staunton and lirminglnim, in the respective counties of Augusta and Jefferson and respective States of Virginia and Alabama, have in vented a new and useful Apparatus for Drying lVashcd Coal and which the following is a specification.

This invention has reference to improvements in apparatus for treating washed coal und the like, and its object is to provide an apparatus whereby the drying of, the coal may be expeditiously and economically performed. ,v

In the preparation ,of coal for cokiug it is customary to wash the coal, bituminous coal, to remove slate and certain ash-like accumulations found in the coal and this washing leaves the cleaned coal wlth a large quantity of absorbed and adherent water.

It has been proposed to rid-the coal of such water which .does not readilyllow olf spontaneously, by subjecting the coal tothe net-ion of centrifugal machines, but this has been found to be a costly process and so slow because of t-he smallva'mount of coal which may be handled at any one time,.that Ait is not adapted for use yon a large commercial scale.

With the present invention the. coal is washed and cleansed as usual, and is then delivered upon a moving screen which may he in the form of an endless conveyer havingl numerous passages therethrough, and while on the screen the wet coal is passed over a suction box in such manner thatthe screen will coact with the box at the margins of the latter to prevent any material loss of power due to the leakage of air, and. the screen and box are so proportioned ythat while large quantities of coal may be readily handled, the time during which the coal is subjected to air currents produced by suction is sufficient to extract from the coal all or most of' the absorbed and surface mois'- ture, so that when l livered it is not only clean, but is sufliclently dry for the coking operation. A Y The invention will be besty understood 'from a consideration of the following de- `tailed description 'taken4 in connection with the accompanying drawmgsforming a part of this specification, with the further under` otherl Material, ,of

these rollers or Ito the 'coke ovens.-. Whi A will be understood that the chute 12 follows' being provided with' the coal is finally de-v standing that the showing of the drawings 1s not lntended to indicate any exact promv-rn-inAncocx., or nmnmemms Patented Mar; 18,? 1913; i

portions or arrangement of parts, wherefore the invention is, not'conlined to any .strict conformityv with the showing of the 'draw-- mgs, but may be otherwise embodied so' long as the salient features of the invention are retained., '12E i In the drawings :.-Fi ure 1 -isl a more o'r less schematic vview wit and other parts in elevation' of an apparatus for ypractising the invention. #Figl 2 is a vertical section through a conveyer belt,

parts in section Aeo suction box-and delivery ho per used in practising the invention, the s owing being also to an extent schematic. Fig.' 3 is a plan view ofl a portion of a conveyer belt and underlying suction box which .may be em`' ployed .in connection with the invention.

Referring to 'the drawings there is shown a delivery chute 1 discharging into a tank 2' having an overflow openinglBso that excess1 of water will flow out oft e tank. Entering the tank and rising therefrom is an ele" vatmg` conveyerA of sliitable 'construction which at the upper end discharges into a,l

hopper' 5. The lower'end of the hopper is arranged to discharge upon` a belt 6 which may be an endlessf'belt' 'supported at the ends upon rollers' or drums 7, 8, respectively, and drumsv are mounted up'on a platform' 9 su usually at a su cie'nt height so'that the belt 6 may discharge 'a't on'e end into from which extendsfa chute 12 capable of discharging into 'a -car or other vehicle for the trarlisportationy of the' material treated le' not 'so shown, it

the ordinary practice'of orted by a framework 10' a' bin 11,

the usual controlling means, 'whereby the outflowfrom' the bin 11 may be regulated VVto suit circumstances.

The. belt 6' isv shown as provi'ded'l'w'ith" numerousr perforations 13, butiit will' be understood that this is largely indicative,

and the belt may beconstruc'ted in any manl' ner to provide 4numerous through, these passages being small ,Y to permit lumps "of co'a v from 4passing therethrough, which lumps 'it passages there# lollg" a"`s1ze too 105.

is' desired fto utilize, and are sufficiently large to prevent clogging withinecoalfort coal 'dust'.v Ar' rangedvin underriding' relation to the p-l per run of the belt 61s a-'box having a rather broad ledge 15 about its upper margins, and below this ledge the box 1s provided with la perforated cover 16, either as indicated best in Fig. 3, or in any other way to provide large passages, larger than the passages 13, into the box 14. These passages are indicated at 17. Leading from the interior of the box 14 is a pipe 18 connected with a suction device 1.) of any approved type capable ol exhausting air from the box 14 in desired quantities. The box 14 may be tapered downwardly and `has communicating therewith another pipe 2O discharging into the tank 2 at an appropriate point.

In the drawings no attempt is made to show any exact proportions, but the parts in practice are proportioned to handle large quantities of coal expeditiously. The volume of coal which it is necessary to handle to make the structure operative as' a commercial proposition, is so great that `the speed with which the excess Water 1s reto the suction box,

moved is of the utmost importance. In fact, it is more important to remove ninety per cent. of the Water quickly than to remove ninety-five per cent. by aslower process,

wherefore th'e openings in the movable beltor 4table 6 must be of a size in excess of a very considerable per cent. of the granular material resting upon it, and as this. material is of commercial importance, it is returned through the pipe 2O to the settling tank for subsequent reclamation. When the coal is saturated with Water the fine particles have little or no tendency to pass.

through the perfor-ations, but as the coal dries outby the passing of the excess Water the action of the suction causes a great deal'of this line material to enter the suction box. n

When the coal is lifted by the elevator 4 out of the tank 2, it, of course, carries a vgreat deal of Water 'with it, and the coal is produced by the suction, so

.quite Wet when it is dumped into the lhopper 5. This hopper, therefore, is constructed to deliver the coal upon'. the belt 6in a Wide thin stream and as it is carried over the suction box 14 air is drawn through the thin body of coal, while acertain amount of the water will escape by gravity. The absorbed ,Water and such water as sticks by surface attraction to the coal is and also dislodged, by

rapidly evaporated, the streams of air that by properly proportioning the` belt 6 and box 14, together with the travel of the parts as to the time of action and presenting but a comparatively thin layer of coal at any one time by far the larger part of the carried water is removed from the coal and the latter reaches the bin 11 in a sensibly dry condition. In order to cause the proper movement of the belt 6 it is to be understood that suitable power is applied to one or both of the drums or rollers 7 in any appropriate manner which it is not deemed necessary to illustrate.

It is to be observed that the suction box 14 is so disposed with relation to the belt 6 that not only will water gravitate from the coal through the belt 6 and into the suction box, but strong streams of air are drawn into the suction box through the coal, the direction of these streams being prevented from following any other ,course than through the coal by the contact of the belt about the margins of the box, so that what little vleakage may there occur is negligible. Both Water and such coal dust or small particles as may find their way into the box 14 will ultimately reach the pipe 20 by gravitation and pass by the pipe 20 back to the tank2.

'While the invention has been described more particularly with reference to Washed coal it may be employed in connection With Washed ore or other similar material.

In the particular arrangement shown the pipe 20 enters the settling tank 2 below the overiow water level, .and by locating the sucti a box 14 at a suitable height no Water will be drawn fromthe tank 2 into the suction box` While at the same time the water within the tank 2 acts as an e'ective seal against the entrance 'of airto the suction box by Way of the pipe 20.

The belt or conveyer 6 may be made in any manner suitable for the purposes of the invention and may either be a perforated structure preferably sectional to permit its movement about the rollers or drums 7 8, or it may be a continuous perforated belt or band, or may be made of Woven Wire, or in any manner in. which it is customary to make such belts. The word perforated, therefore, as used with reference to the beltA 6 or the top or cover 16 of the box 14, is to be understood as covering in its meaning any kind of openings or passages answering the purpose.

What is claimed is 1. In an apparatus for drying Washed coal and other materials, a traveling belt having perforations therethrough of a size to be traversed by Water and small particles of the material being treated, means for de positing the wet material upon the belt, a suction box in underlying relation to the runv of the belt receiving the material and having a perforated top with a marginal ledge thereabout arranged to .engage the under surface of said run'of the belt and hold the same in spaced relationl to the perforated top of the box in'substantially air tight re- 'lation thereto at the ledge, and means connected with the suction'box for the conveyance therefrom of water and tine material passing into the box through the belt.

2. An apparatus .for drying washed coal and other material vcomprising a settling tank for receiving the washed coal, an elevating convyer entering. said tank, aeho'pper arrange above the plane of said tank and in to which the. conveyer discharges,a conveyer belt in position to receive material directed from t-he hopper and provided with perforations of a slze to be traversed by.

water and liner particles of the material, a suction box in underlying relation to the run of the belt receivingthe material, said box` having a marginal ledge thereabout rising ,above the perforatedt0p to form an air seal with the perforated belt, air suction means connected with the suction box, and a duct leading from the suctioniboxto the settling 15 tank and entering the latter in position to be water sealed by water in said tank.

In testimony, thaty we claim the foregoing as our own, we have hereto aixed our signatures in the presence of two witnesses.

' CHARLES CATLETT.

DAVID HANCOCK.

Witnesses for Charles Catlett:

F. T. STRIBLING,

LUCY H. CA'ILETT. Witnesses for David Hancock:

HUGH M. BROWN,

W,M. A. DANEs.

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