US1223242A - Manufacture of producer-gas. - Google Patents

Description

J. E. BELL.

MANUFACTURE OF PRODUCER GAS. APPLlCATlON FILED JULY 17. 1915.

1,223,242. I 'Pdtented APR-17,1917.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

I I I o I l- J. E. BELL.

MANUFACTURE OF PRODUCER GAS.

APPLICATION HLED JULY 17, i915.

Patented Apr. 17, 1917.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

WQMWM WITNESSES INVENTOR n. 9mm

Qmmmh I UNITED STATES PATENT o'FFIoE.

J'OIHN E.BELL, OFNEW YORK, N. Y.

' MANUFACTURE or PRODUCER-GAS.

. Specification of 'Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 17, 1917.

Continuation of application Serial No. 681,880,"fi1ed March-6, 1912." This applicationfiled July" 17, 1915.

Serial No. {$0,461.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN E. BELL, a resident of New York city, in the county and ,State of New "York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in the Manufacture of Producer-Gas, of which the fol: lowing is. a full, clear, and exact description, reference being -had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which N Figure 1 is a longitudinal vertical section showing one form of apparatus for carrying out my invention; where the combustion chamber is divided into two parts and the fuel drops by gravity through the producer. Fig. 2 is a partial vertical cross-section o p the line II-II of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a horizontal cross-section on the line IIIIII of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 4 is a detail sectional View showing another form of feeder mechanism.

My invention relates to the making of I producer gas and'is designed to provide an entirely new system therefor.

. Among the objects of the invention are, to enable large units to be made and operated, to'reduce the cost of installation, space occupied, and the cost of operation, ,and standby losses, to eliminate the difficulties arising from the formation and disposal of clinker and ash;"-t0 fix the hydrocarbon gases and make gas free from tar and smoke; to increase the amount of steam which may be decomposed, and" thus the amount of water gas formed; to give better control of the operation and to increase the general efiiciency of the system.

In" carrying out my invention, I burn granulated or pulverized fuel in suspension in an atmosphere of preheated air, or preheated air andsteam, furnished by a regenerator or recuperator, which is heated by the outgoing gas. I preferably burn the fuel in suspension in a combustion chamber having two or more compartments, the ash v being dropped during thepassage from one compartment to the next. I also preferably inclose at least a part ofthe producer by the regenerator or regenerators. I may also divide'the steam supplied to'the producer in two parts, mixing one part with the air necessary for gasifying the fuel (directing the jets so as to assist the draft) or use it to project the fuel into the producer, and add the remaining steam to the gas after combustion to reduce any carbon dioxid formed to carbon monoxid and at the same time lower the temperature of the gas entering the regenerator.

The burning of the fuel while-in suspension isa'n important feature as it overcomes the difliculties incident to the formation of clinkers and ash. l/Vith a producer in which ash and clinker in the form of dust and pellets which can be removed by centrifugal action when the resulting gas is forced to make a sharp or abrupt turn. The ash and clinker disposed of in this way will not in any manner afiect the action of the producer, so that the-temperature in the combustion chamber is only limited by the' ability of the material forming the walls and partitions to withstand heat.

The high temperature at which the reac .tions can take place is of advantage as it favors the formation of carbon'monoxid in the combination occurring between the carbon and the oxygen furnished by the air or steam, and-also insures a rapid and perfect combustion of the fuel.- l Other advantages of my invention will be presented in a later partof the specification. In the drawings, referring to the form of Figs. 1 to 3, inclusive, the combustion chamher is divided-into two compartments 2, 2, separated by a partition 3, shownas raised midway between the side walls 4, this partition terminating above the bottom 5 of the producer and being shown as supported at its lower end on a transverse box ,6, through which water may be circulated The granulated or pulverized fuel may be" fed to either one of these chambers 2 by any desirable form of feeders which will drop the fuel in the form of a cloud, curtain or sheet. For this purpose, I have shown a hopper'7, having a series of feed channels 8,v

The ash shown each regenerator as having a chamber,

cated on each side of the chamber and connecting therewith "through a series of ports 11 near the upper end of each wall 4:. I have 12, through which the entering air passes downwardly and a divided chamber 13 through which the air passes upwardly during its flow through the regenerator to the combustion chamber. These regenerator chambers may be filled with any suitable checker work material to absorb .and give out heat, and may be provided with any suitable reversing valves. 4 n

In the present case, I have shown two valves let and 15, mounted on the same vertical stem 16, these valves being mounted in chamber 17 interposed in the outlet from the regenerator to the gas fine 18. The upper valve 14; controls the air inlet through the pipe or flue 19, and I have shown the valve rod as provided with a link and lever system operated by an eccentric 20 mounted on a suitably driven shaft. The valve, however, 'can be operated by steam or hydraulic cylinders or other means. I have shown the chambers 12 of the regenerators as provided with headers or steam supply chambers 21, having branch supply pipes or blowers 22, one to each opening in the regenerator.

' Through these the main steam supply passes and mixes with the entering air. I have also shown in the wall 3 and in line with the ports 11 an auxiliary steam supply header 33 divided longitudinally by a central diaphragm and provided with a series of nozzles from each compartment directed into the adjacent ports 11.

In Fig. 4 I have shown another form of fuel feeding device which is in some respects preferable, as by the use thereof the fuel can be discharged into the chambers 2 in the form of a cloud, the individual particles of the fuel being in this manner distributed in'and surrounded by the heated air and steam in a manner to secure the most eflicient results.

The device shown in this figure comprises one or more oscillating feeder spouts 34 which are preferably operated at a relatively high speed of movement by any suitable means, such as the eccentric rod 35 surrounding the eccentric 36 on a driven tors. gases generated will be low in heat fuel and shaft 37. The eccentric rod is connected in any suitable manner with one of the trunnions of the feed spout, so that the feed spout is actuated thereby. These oscillating feeder spouts may be supplied with fuel by any suitable supply system. The top walls of the chamber 2" may be water cooled, as indicated at 38, the water cooling members being shaped as indicated so as to permit of the oscillation of the 'feeder spouts therein.

In the operation of the apparatus during the period shown in Fig. 1, the air is entering at the left hand 'side' passing downwardly through the chamber 12 where it is mixed with steam, the steam and air. mixture passing upwardly through the two portions of the chamber 13 and entering the left hand compartment of chamber2 through the ports 11. In this chamberthe mixture of heated air and superheated steam mingles with the sheet or curtain of dropping fuel which, on account of the high temperature, is ignited at once and burns during the passage downwardly. The ash and clinker drop out of the current during this downward pass and also during the turn into the upward pass through the other compartment, dropping to the bottom of the combustion chamber, from which they may be removed in any suitable way, through openings 23 provided with suitable closures. The auxiliary steam is injected into the gas just before it enters the right hand ports 11. of the operation, the fuel may be ignited in any desirable manner and a sufficient quantity burned to thoroughly heat the walls of the combustion chamber and the regenera- During this period, of course, the

will be wasted.

During the passage of the mixture through the two chambers, the usual reaction takes place, the steam being decomposed and the oxygen of the airandin the steam combining with the carbon to form a combust'ible gas. Owing to the high temperature developed, the hydrocarbons will be rapidly driven off and changed to fixed gases. The gas, after having been somewhat cooled by the reaction between the steam from the header. 38 and any carbon dioxid formed in chamber2, passes through the upper right hand ports 11 and enters the right hand regenerator to which it will give up a large amount of its remaining heat before leaving the producer and passing to the point of use. Gradually cooling the gas At the beginning loo in this way prevents a reversal of any of the reactions which otherwise might occur with the formation of soot and tar.

At suitable intervals the flow through the producer will be reversed and the coal will be fed into the other compartment of cham ber 2,the current of fuel being dropped into .carbon monoxid and the only one of these compartments at a time; that is the compartment receiving the hot air from the regenerators. The main steam supply Will then be changed to the right .hand. regenerator'and the auxiliary steam the steam immediately begins'j iupon contact I between the powdered fuel tthdthe air and-1 steam. The time requiredto gasify a-given temperature beyond, the point at which the- I reaction stops in the ordinary producer.

Heretofore, wherever it has been'attempt the result that the quantity of fuel is thus greatly reduced over that of the ordinaryproducer,'- further,

more steam 'mayibe used than ordinarily, a1s

on account of the high superheat less additional heat is required in the reaction between steam and carbon, and on account of the initial high temperature also the reactions continue during the lowering of the ed to use powdered coal in a gas producer, it has beencarried in by a blast of airtand great 'difliculty has been experienced in obtaining a constant and-fixed proportion between the weight of the air and the fuel with gas is not of uniform quality. In this form, the feeder, operated mechanically and independent of the air supply insures a regular and continuous feed of a predetermined amount of fuel. The amount of air passing through the producer can be exactly regulated by the draft pres sure or suction, and the amount of steam admitted can be varied either as a whole or as between the main and auxiliary supply. The

main supply controls the rise of temperature in the combustion chamber, and the amount of the auxiliary supply the 'final temperature of the gas before entering the regenerator, and subsequently the temperature of the gas leaving the producer. Each I of the materials entering into the composition of the gas can thus be varied or regulated independently and atwill.

An additional advantage lies in the fact that the rate of formation of gascan be varied or the actual productionstopped almost immediately, this being a great advantage over -the old form of producer, and making it possible, dispense with gasholders or accumulators. The stand-by losses are also greatly reduced, as there is no fuelbed to become chilled or clinkers to freeze.

The reversals in the direction of flow of the gas through the com ustion chambers and regenerators will, to a great extent, separate the dust and ash from the gas and consequently a much cleaner gas can be produced than from the ordinary form of progasification,

'the 'use of water heating service.

blower in the gas mam, of these methods.

even in large plants, to Many other changes and additions may I obvious to those skilled in the art, and have mainly been set forth in the foregoing specifications. Theapparatus may be built in large sized units, reducing the first cost, the cos'tof installation, and the cost of operation, higher temperatures of combustion may be maintained, increasingthe rate of fixing the hydrocarbon gases, eliminating tar andlsmoke, and increasing the amountof steam that may be usedor the amount of heat that can be abstracted by The temperature of the gas leaving theproducer can to near that of the be reduced to'within a few degrees of the temperature of the atmosphere, thus increas ing the efficiency. I The ash and clinkers are automatically deposited by the gas and a cleaner gas is obtained. Full control of the process is provided as the steam, air and fuel may be separately and independently regulated. V

The fuel has been mentioned in some instances as coal. It may be, nevertheless, lignite, peat, oil, ground Wood or any other substance containing carbon and capable of gasification. I

The producer shown can be divided into two or more separate parts by partition walls in the combustion chambers, passageways and regenerators, and the different parts operated so that the air and gas flow are reversed at different times. I I

N on-return or check valves can be placed in the gasoutlet, as can also atmospheric valves arranged to open momentarily .to the atmosphere at a reversal, allowing the air contained by the volume of the 'regenerator, passages and connections to escape before starting the gas to flow.

The air may be supplied under pressure from a fan, or may be induced into the producer by the action of the'steam jets furnishing the steam required; or it may be drawn in by suction produced by a fan or or by a combination exception that in this case Fig. 3 discloses both ends of the apparatus. Fig. 4, which illustrates another form of coal feeding heat stored in said device to preheat air for use in said combustion chamber, substantially as described. A

2. The herein described method of manufacturing producer gas, which consists in causing powdered coal to fall through a combustion chamber, supplying preheated air to said chamber to support the combustion therein, and periodically interchanging the paths of the incoming air and outgoing gases, substantially as described.

3. The herein described method of manufacturing producer gas, which consists in causing powdered coal to fall through a combustion chamber, passing the outgoing gases from said chamber through a heat storage device, and subsequently utilizing the heat stored in said device to preheat air for the support of combustion in said chamber, substantially asdescribed. 4. The herein described method of operating a gas producer, which has acombustion chamber and a regenerator connected to 'OPPOSIlX-B ends of said chamber, said method consisting in burning powdered fuel .1n suspension 1n said chamber, passing air into said chamber through one of the regen- "erators and simultaneously passing the gases from said chamber out through the other regenerator, and periodically changing the gas and air flow to cause each regenerator to be alternately used for cooling the outgoing gases and for heating the incoming air, substantially as described.-

5. The herein described method of operating a gas producer having a vertically 'divided "combustion chamber whose divisions are connected at their lower portions, and also having a regenerator connected to each division thereof, said method consisting in supplying powdered fuel alternately to the twodivisione passing air into the division being supplied with fuel through one of the regenerators and passing the gases from said division out through the other regenerator, and reversing the air and gas flow in the two regenerators with each change in the supply of fuel from one division to the other, substantially as described.

6. The herein described method of operating a gas producer which consists in introvice, and utilizing the heatabsorbed in the.

cooling operation to preheat air for the combustion in said chamber, substantially as described.

7 The herein described method of operating a gas producer which consists in introducing powdered coal into the upper portion of a combustion. chamber in a cloud-like condition and independently ofair or steam, supplying preheated air to said chamber independently of the fuel supply, and causing the fuel to burn while in suspension in said chamber, introducing steam into said chamber near the point where combustion initiates, and introducing further steam into the gases after such combustion to further reduce the carbon dioxid to carbon monoXid and also to lower the temperature of said gases, substantially as described.

8. The herein described method of operating a gas producer which consists in intro ducingpowdered coal into the upper portion of a combustion chamber in a cloud-like condition andindependently of air or steam, supplying preheated air to said chamber independently of the fuel supply, causing the fuel to burn while in suspension in said chamber, introducing steam into said chainber near the point where combustion initiates, introducing further steam into the gases after such combustion to further reduce the carbon dioxid to carbon monoxid and also to lower the temperature of said gases, and then passing the gases through a heat storage device to. further cool them, substantially as described.

9. The herein described method of opcrating a gas producer, which consists in burning powdered or granulated solid fuel in the combustion .chamber of the furnace in the form of a dropping cloud or shower,

abruptly changing the direction of flow of 1 abruptly changing the direction of flow of the gases passing from the bottom of said chamber and passing them upwardly through another passage in the producer, substantially as described. v

11. The herein described method of operating grateless gas producers, which consists in causing powdered or granulated solid fuel to fall vertically in cloud-like form through a relatively long combustion chamber and burning thefuel While so falling, abruptly changing the direction of flow of the gases passing from the bottom of said chamber and passing them upwardly through another passage in the producer, and then passing 15 JOHN. E. BELL.

Witnesses ELIZABETH ARMSTRONG, F. FALLA.

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