US1302871A - Disposition of inflammable gases. - Google Patents

Description

A SPICE. DISPOSITION OF INFLAMMABLE GASES. Arnie/mom men NOV.10, m1. RENEWED act. 19. 1318.

' 1,302,871. Patented May 6,1919.

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R? I 'M W UNITED STATES PATENT 0FFIGE.

ALFRED SPICE, OF JERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY.

DISPOSITION OF INFLAMMABLE GASES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed November 10, 1917, Serial No. 201,354. Renewed October 19, 1918. Serial No. 258,911.

To all who/"- it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALFRED Smear-,a citizen of the United States, and residing in Jersey City, in the State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Disposition of Inflammable Gases, of which the following'is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying, drawing. forming a part hereof.

In various industries gases are generated or set freeor found which, although perhaps not dangerous in small quantities, become potential sources of dan er if allowed to accumulate. Thus, in mining. the mine gases become exceedingly dangerous if allowed to accumulate and'to form explosive mixtures with air, whereas if they can be disposed of as they are set free they cease to constitute a source of danger. So in met: allurgy and other arts which involve processes of industrial chemistry gases are generated which are dangerous only if permitted to accumulate. In the use of electrical storage batteries the hydrogen developed went .the development of would COHStltlltP no source of danger if it could be removed as it is generated, but as is well known, if permitted to accumulate and to mix with air it forms a hi hly dangerous 'explosivevmixture, so that t e use of storage batteries, in submarines, which may otherwise be best suited for the purpose but evolve hydrogen freely, becomes practically impossible. It has been proposed heretofore to provide means whereby the resence of a gas in dangerous quantities sha l he indicated so that precautions may then be taken to remove the gas; it has also been proposed to explode the mixture of a dangerous gas with air in small quantities, within a confined space, so that the explosion shall not be harmful. These efiorts to solve the problem presented have not led to satisfactory results in practice and the plans proposed have not been adop It is'the-object of this invention, not to predangerous combustible gases nor merely to indicate the presence at such gases (although their presence is actually indicated by the operation of the invention), but to provide for the disposition or the elimination of the gas, which might become dangerous. as thesame is formed; in accordance with the invention the gas whichmight become dangerous is. burned or combined with oxygen, but

'sents, in a diagrauunatic way,

ted generally.

. after without. flame, as it is developed, provision being made whereby the gas shall be completely burned regardless of the volume in which it isevolved or generated or set free. The invention has been developed with particular reference to the safe disposition of the hydrogen generated by the storage batteries in submarine use, in which no telltale bubbles can be permitted toescape into the water, but all the gas and the products of the combustion must be retained within the hull of the submarine. however. that the invention is capable of successful application under other condi-v tions and that it is generally applicable wherever a gas is found or set free or generated which is capable of combustion or combination with the oxygen of the air. The invention will hemore fully explained hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawing, the single figure of which reprea form of apparatus suitable for the practice of the invention.

In the drawin there is represented at a an open vessel w ich acts as a receiver for the gases which are to be disposed of. It might be a chamber in an industrial plant or a hooded space over the storage battery, or any other form of vessel or receiver in which the gases to be disposed of are gatheredand from which they may be conducted to the place of combustion and into which air to sustain the combustion of the gases may be admitted freely. In the drawing this receiver is shown a, for the reception of the gases andof air. Communicating with the receiver a are a tube or duct 7) which is preferably of small capacity and always open and may be called a pilot tube. and one or more additional tubes or ducts b, ber of the tubes b. b, etc., will be. varied according to the capacity ofthe apparatus and each of these tubes is normally closed by a valve 0', 0, etc., each of such valyes being automatically controlled, as hereindescribed, so that the apparatus shall respond immediately in capacity to the volume of gas receive by it. All of the tubes b, b, etc., within which the combustion of the gas is carried on, as hereinafter described, may discharge the products of combustion directly into the atmosphere. or preferably, as indicated in the drawing, into It will be obvious,

to be open at its end b, b and b. The nummaintaining a flow of gas, or of a nixture of gas and air, through the apparatus 1n 1 proportion to the delivery of gas to the apparatus. m,

I In each of the tubes I), 1), etc., 1s suitably disposed a resistance wire f, f, etc., which.

In operation, is maintained by an electric current at a dull red heat, whereby the mixture of gas and'air, as it passes through the tube and is brought into contact with the resistance wire, is heated and the combination of the gas with the oxygen of the air is effected, the products of combustion, namely,

the water vapor, produced by the chemical combination of hydrogen and some of the oxygen of the air, and the air, somewhat depleted of oxygen, passing through the tube J to the place of delivery. In the application of the invention to the disposition of the hydrogen gas developed by the storage batteries of a submarine, the tube ll may well be conducted along the shell of the hull, so as to be cooled and then made to discharge the air and water vapor Within the hull of the submarine, where the air is again en riched with oxygen in the usual manner.

The resistance wire f in the pilot tube b is in circuit with a battery 9 and is maintained by the current therefrom, continuously, at a dull red heat. The resistance wire f forms a part of an ordinary Wheatstone bridge arrangement h in the other part of which isincluded the coil of a galvanometer, indicated generally at k, and having the .usual needle m whichv forms a part of an electric circuit or circuits as hereinafter explained.

The galvanometer is provided with a segmental series of contacts m, m etc., the function of which is to initiate the opening of the valves 0', c segmental series of contacts n, n etc., the function of which, in connection with the needle m is to initiate the closing'of the valves 0', 6 etc. Simultaneously withthe opening and the closing of the several valves 0, 0 etc., the fan and motor (1'. d are speeded up or slowed down, as the case may be, to vary the flow of the mixture of air and gas through the apparatus, in proportion to the quantity of gas delivered to the appara- 5 tus, any substantial variation in the quantity of gas delivered being compensated for by a corresponding change in the quantity of air flowing through the apparatus, so that the combustion of the mixture remains substantiallythe same and favorable for complete combustionot the gas.

The galvanometer needle m is connected electrically, by a wire m with a common battery m9, and each of the contacts m, m etc., is connected by a wire 0', 0 with a coretc., and with another responding relay coil p, 39 etc., each relay coil being connected by a return wire 0 '0, etc., with the common battery m.

Each of the contacts a, n etc., isconnected with a relay coil r, r etc., and each coil is connected by a wire If, 9, etc., to the common battery m and thence, by-the wire m to the needle m of the galvanometer. The two relay coils p 1", 7F 1, etc.. of each pair act upon apivoted switch member .s",

etc., which is connected electrically through a wlre s 8, etc., wlth an lncluded battery to a point common to two solenoids for each valve 0, 0 One contact 2?, t etc., for the corresponding switch s, 8 etc., is connected by a wire t 25 etc., to the corresponding binding post of a resistance box 2 for the motor (I of the fan 03', and thence by a return wire t, f, etc., to the corresponding resistance wire f, F, and thence to the solenoid coil .11, '0 etc.,each coil c o etc., being connected to the common point and thence, by the corresponding wire 3 s, etc., to the switch 8, .9 etc.

The other contact point 10, w, etc., for each switch s, 5- etc., is connected by a corresponding wire 705, 717 etc., with the corresponding solenoid coil-ac, .70 etc., and thence by the common connection and the corresponding wire s 8-, etc., with the common battery, to the switch 8, .9 etc.

It will be understood that each resistance wire f, f, f is heated by the passage of cur rent through it to a heat (usually a dull red heat) sufficient to bring about the combustion of the inflammable gas-of the mixture which passes through the corresponding tube 6, 6, etc. a

When the delivery of gas to the apparatus is at a minimum, such that all of the gas, to

gether with the air admixed with it. can pass through the pilot tube 6, which -is.always open, the wire '7 continues at a dull 'red heat sufficient to bring about the combustion of the gas in the mixture which then passes through the tube, and the needle m of the galvanometer rests upon the contact n, .all of the valves 0, 0 being then closed. If the quantity of gas delivered to the apparatus increases above the minimum the combustion thereof in the tube 6 will increase the temperature of the wire and thereby increase its resistance, so that the galvanometer needle will be caused to move from its normal position of rest toward the right. When the temperature of the wire 7 increases sufficiently the gal- Vanometer needle will pass over th contact m, thereby closing the circuit through the relay p which will immediately act to close the circuit between the switch 8' and the contact-t and thereby alter the resistance in the resistance box i so that the motor (I will be speeded'up and at the same time energize the solenoid coil 4;, so that it will open the valve 0' and heat the wire f. The

etfect of opening the valve 0' will be to cause a larger volume of air to enter the receiver (1 and thus reduce the percentage of inflammable gas in the mixture then passing to the pilot tube or duct 1) and to the combustion tube 7). The several speeds of the tan cl'are such as to maintain a definite velocity of flow of the gaseous mixture through the pilot tube or duct and the combustion tubes whether the pilot tube or duct alone is in operation or the pilot tube or duct and one or more of the combustion tubes. When the percentage of inflammable gas in the mixture is reduced by bringing into action an additional combustion tube. the temperature of the wire f in the pilot tube or duct will be lowered and. through the consequent lowering of the resistance wire, the needle will recede from the highest contact m. etc.. which it has reached.v toward but not to the next lower contact of the series '11.. etc. No effect will be produced as the needle moves from one contact of the series n, over a higher contact of the same series, as from the contact n and over the contact M, because the valves 0', 0 etc., are closed at the beginning. When the valve 0' opens and the resistance wire f in the tube b is heated by the passage of current, the greater volume of gas delivered to the apparatus together with the greater volume of air, through the speeding up of the fan or blower, will be combined with oxygen in the tubes b, 6 until the proportion of inflammable gas in the mixture increases to such an extent as to bring about a further heating of the resistance wire f, when a further movement of the galvanometer needle will take place and in like manner the valve 0 will be opened, the wire f will be heated and the motor (1 will be further speeded up. In like manner the remaining valves may be opened in succession, the resistance wires in the respective tubes heated, and the motor further speeded up so that the entire volume of gas delivered to the apparatus will be burned as it is delivered, the volume of air necessary to maintain the proper proportion of inflammable gas in the mixture being increased in like ratio. In its forward movement the galvanometer needle passes from one of the contacts of the series n, a, etc., to the corresponding contact of the series, m, m, etc., and the valves which are opened by the passage of the needle over the contacts m, m etc., are unaffected by the passage of the needle over the contacts a, 11?, etc. The same is true with respect to the speed of the fan-motor and the condition of the solenoids m, as. When, however, the galvanometer needle moves backward, or from the right to the left, it passes from a contact'of the series m, m to a contact of the series 'n, n and therefore brings about volume of gas delivered to it.

a successive closing of the valves 0 0 etc., a successive cutting out of current from the resistance Wires f, f etc., and a reduction of the speed of the fan-motor. The capacity of the apparatus to dispose of the gas delivered to it therefore varies with the It will be observed, that whenever the percentage of inflammable gas in the mixture delivered to the apparatus falls below a definite mimmum for the tubes which are open at the time, the consequently lowered temperature and resistance of the pilot wire f will cause the galvanometer needle to move in a direction to close one of the valves, shut off current from the resistance wire of the corresponding combustion tube, and reduce the speed of the fan-motor.

The invention, as will be readily understood, is not limited in its application to the disposition of hydrogen gas from storage batteries, but is applicable to the disposition of inflammable gas derived from other sources. So far as. the invention is embodied in apparatus it will also be understood that the apparatus will be varied to suit difl'erent conditions of use and that the invention, except as pointed out in the claims, is not'limited to the particular apparatus shown and described herein. It will furthermore be observed that the gases are not allowed to accumulate, and are not consumed intermittently in a closed chamher, but are combined with oxygen (but without flame) continuously as they are delivered to the apparatus, while the volume of air necessary for the proper combustion of the gas is admitted freely at all times and the volume which passes through the apparatus is at all times proportioned to the volume of gas delivered to the apparatus.

I claim as my invention:

1. The method of disposing of inflam mable gases which consists in causing a mixture of the gas and air to pass in contact with an electrically heated resistance wire, and causing the variations in temperature of the resistance wire produced by variations in the quality of the mixture to bring about a corresponding variation in the volume of the mixture.

' 2. An apparatus for the disposition of inflammable gases, the same comprising a receiver for the gases open for the free admission of air, a tube through which the mixture of air and gas flows from the receiver, an electrically heated resistance wire in said tube to bring about the combustion of the mixture, and means the operation of which is initiated by the varying resistance of the wire with variations in the temperaratus.

3. An apparatus for the disposition of inflammable gases, the same comprising a .receiver for the gas open for the admission of air, a duct for the delivery of the mixture of gas and air from the receiver, an electrically heated resistance wire in said duct, a fan to create and maintain a flow of the mixture through the apparatus, and means' the operation of which is initiated by the varying resistanceiof the wire with variations in the temperature of the Wire due to variations in the quality of the mixture, to vary the speed of the fan and therefore the volume of the mixture passing through the apparatus.

4. An apparatus for the disposition of inflammable gases, the same comprising a receiver for the gas open for the admission of air, a pilot duct through which the mixture is discharged from the receiver, a second duct through which the mixture may be discharged from the receiver, a valve to control the second duct, an electrically heated re 7' sistance Wire in the pilot duct, an electrically heated Wire in the second duct, and

means the operation of which is initiated by the varying resistance of the wire in the plot duct with variations in the tempera- 'ture of the wire due to variations in the ceiver for the gas open for the admission of the air, a pilot duct through which the mixture is dehvered from the receiver, a second duct through which the mixture may be delivered from the receiver, a valve to control the second duct, an electrically driven fan to maintain the flow of the mixture through the apparatus, an electrically heated resistance wire in the pilot duct, an electrically heated resistance wire in the second duct, and means the operation'of which is initiated by the varying resistance of the resistance wire in the pilot duct with variations in the quality of the mixture to com trol the valve of the second duct and to control the speed of the fan.

This specification signed this .5th day of .November 1917.

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