US1530281A - Manufacture of gas - Google Patents

Description

'March 17, 1925. 1,530,281

J. L. MURRIE I MANUFACTURE OF GAS Filed July 1923 lNVliNTOR J olm. 65757 Murr/o B Y Giza-41 lfnan' d 7 A TTORNE y Yonkers, in the county of patgnted Mar. 17, 1925.

v illuminating gas.

FUNITIED *STATE s PATENT. OFFICE;

. JOHN LESTER momma, or xonxnns, NEW YORK.

MANUFACTURE 01 GAS.

Application filed. July 26,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN Lns'rnn Momma, a citizen of the United States, residing at Westchester and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in the Manufacture of Gas, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to the formation of gas suitable for light, heat and power purposes directly from coal by its combination with superheated steam at a high temperature.

I have found that when coal in a finely pulverized condition is mixed with superheated steam in a suitably proportioned coil and submitted to a high temperature the Volatile hydrocarbons in the coal are set free and disassociated by the heat into their hydrogen and carbon which the mixture is submitted, thus forming fixed gases of a high B. t. u. value, which can be used, after, purification by washing, as a fuel gas and possibly as an If finely powdered coal and superheated steam are mixed in a confined space and subjected to a high temperature, the action is violent and explosive in' character, being substantially instantaneous,-but bymaking the space in which the action takes place of a gradually expanding form, the action takes place. more slowly and progressively.

My invention relates to a process for manufacturing gas as indicated above, also to a suitable apparatus for carrying out the process in an advantageous manner.

Other features of novelty will'be apparent from the following detailed description and the appended claims.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a longitudinal vertical section of one form of apparatus. used in connection with a steam boiler to utilize the high furnace heat of the sam Figure 2 is a longitudinal section of one form of device for feeding pulverized coal other form of feeding apparatus." I x and 2 branch pipe 15 1923. Serial No. 654,042.

Figure 3 is a vertical section of a form of type in which are employed water tubes 1,

a water and steam drum 2, combustion chamber 3, a boiler setting f, a superheater 5 and smoke flue 5*.

- In the formshown, the boiler is fired with pulverized coal by means of the apparatus C in whicha pulverizer 7 is driven by an. electric motor 11. The coal is fed to the pulverizer 7 from a hopper 10 which in turn receives the coal from a bunker or other container 12 through a pipe 13 rovided with a valve or cut-0E i l for contro ing the supply of coal. The pulverizedcoal is delivered from the pulverizer 7 to the combustion chamber through the flue 8 and tuyere 9.

The combustion of the pulverized coal in the combustion chamber generates highly heated gases which generate steam in' the boiler. Of course, as hereinafter set forth, any other form of heating the boiler or other chamber may be employed.

In the combustion chamber is located a pipe coil 6 which is preferably made tapering as shown, increasing gradually in area from its inlet end to a much larger area at it's outlet end, as shown in Figures 1 and 3. The shape, size and arrangement of the coil may be varied as desired, but it should always increase in area to obtain the best results and enable the combination to take place more or less gradually and uniformly.

The inlet end of the coil 6 extends outside of the boiler setting and is connected to the pulverized coal and steam feeding mechanism D of Figures 1 and 2 or D of Figure This feeding mechanismmay be of various forms, two of As shown in Figure 2 it consists of a cylinder 18 in which is enclosed a worm 19 which fits the interior of the cylinder closely and which can be rotated at any desired speed by means of the variable speed motor which is connected to the shaft 41 of the worm 19. From the main pulverized coalfeed 8 a diverts a portion of the pulthe hopper 17 from which it 40* to the cylinder 18. The

verized coal to is fed by a plpe relative amounts of coal which pass to the 'eombustion chamber and to the hopper 17 are/varied by an adjustable damper 51 lowhich are illustrated. a

cated at the juncture of the pipes 8 and 15. The force of the pulverizer is sufficient to deliver the pulverized coal through the conduit as. well as through the pipe 8 to the combustion chamber. The flow of the coal through the pipe 15 may further be controlled by a valve 31.

The outlet 40 for the coal from the cylinder 18 is connected to the steam jet box 20 which in turn is connected to the inlet end of the coil 6. A steam pipe 21 for delivering a jet of superheated steam is placed axially in the steam jet box 20, and is connected to the superheater 5 by- pipes 22, 24 and 23, which are controlled by valves 26, 27, 28, 29 and 30. A pipe 23 from the steam space 23 in the waterand steam drum 2 communicates with the superheater.

The outlet end of coil 6 is connected by pipe 32 controlled by valve 33 to a discharge pipe 34 located within the water 37 in a tank 36 of a gas holder B which also comprises a bell having its lower end submerged in the Water 37. A gas outlet p1pe 38 controlled by valve 39 connects the interior of the bell to a desired outside point.

The process is carried out in the above described apparatus as follows The finely pulverized coal is fed from the pulverizer into the boiler furnace 3 where complete combustion takes place and the furnace is heated to a high temperature. The expanding coil 6 is thereby heated to approximately the same temperature. When the coil 6 is properly heated superheated steam is admitted in a controlled amount, through jet 21 and at the same time, by the revolution of the screw 19 the desired amount of pulverized coal is fed from hopper 17 through pipe 40, screw 19 and pipe 40 into the space in tube 20 surrounding the steam jet 21. The suction created by the jet of steam issuing from the jet nozzle at high velocity draws with itthe pulverized coal which is instantaneously mixed with the steam, the mixture passing into expanding coil 6 where, owing to the high temperature to which it is submitted, the particles of the pulverized coal are split up into their component units of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, and the steam is also disassociated into its component units of hydrogen and oxygen. As these free intermingled units of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen pass through the expandingcoil 6, they recombine and form a gas of high B. t. 11. value. Due to the increasing volume of the coil 6 this action takes place gradually and the gas becomes a saturated fixed gas which passes through the pipes 32 and 34 and passes up through the water in tank 36.

No coking action takes place and there is no coke residue. The small amount of ash that is formed passes through with the gas and is washed out by the water in the gas tank or by any other suitable means. The washed gas may be drawn off from the bell 35 for any desired purpose.

The process is continuous and may becan ried out so long as the pulverized coal and the superheated steam are fed in the right proportions into coil 6. This is regulated by the steam control valve 30, the valves 31 and 51, and the speed of the feed screw 19.

Qne important features of this process is the employment of an expanding coil whereby the gas formation is permitted to take place gradually and progressively and not explosively as would be the case if the pulverized coal and superheated steam were allowed to mix is a small confined space at high temperature.

In Figure 3 a furnace E has walls 41 and 42 provided with an expanding coil 6 and pulverized coal injecting apparatus similar to that of Figures 1 and 2. This furnace is fired by a gas or oil burner 48, the gas or oil being fed through pipe 44 controlled by a valve 46 and the air being fed through pipe 45 controlled by Valve 47. The heated gases from the furnace pass through outlet flue 42 provided with a control damper 43. The action of this furnace is similar to that already described.

A modified form of feeding apparatus is disclosed in Figure 2 and comprises a drum 18 interposed between the hopper 17 and the outlet pipe 40.. In this drum there rotates a member 4* having arms 19 the ends of which clear the walls of the drum 18 forming pockets 19 which carry .the coal from the hopper 17 to the pipe 40. In other respects the mechanism resembles that already described, and it is obvious that the feeding mechanism D may be used with the furnace shown in Figure 1 or with that shown in Figure 3. For that matter, other forms of feeding mechanisms may be used with other forms of furnaces, so long as certain essential features are present. v

It will be noted that the process is carried out with the practical exclusion of air or any oxygen except that obtained by the decomposition of the constitutents. The feeding arrangement shown in Figure 2 particularly substantially prevents the enis limited to that resulting from the break ing down of the coal and the steam.

Obviously certain modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention, and the cocess itself is independent of any specih apparatus. The invention is therefore to be regarded as limited only by the scope of the appended B. t. u. value direct from solid carbonaceclaims. ous material which comprises finely pul- I claim as my invention: verizing the material, mixing it with super- 1. The process of forming a gas of high heated steam, and exposing the mixture to 16 5 B. t. u. value direct from solid carbonace a high temperature in a gradually expandous material which comprises finely puli'ng coil wlth the substantial exclusion of verizing the materialfmixing it with superair or extraneous oxygen. heated steam, and exposing the mixture to In testimony hereof -I aflix my signaa' high temperature in a coil Whose volume ture.

1" gradually increases from end to end.

2. The process of forming a gas of high JOHN LESTEB-MURRIE.

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