US1757855A - Method of making oil-gas mixtures - Google Patents

Description

May 6, 1930. c. cHILowsKY METHOD 0F MAKING OIL GAS MIXTURES 2 Sheets-sheet 1 Filed July 18 1922 May 6, 1930. c. cHlLowsKY METHOD OF MAKING OIL GAS MIXTUHES Filed July 18, 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 OOOOOOOOO OOOOO OOO l pooooooo 411 oooo oooo Iig. 6

Y PatentedMay 6,

UNITED STATES CONSTANTIN- CHILOWSKY, 0F PARIS, FRANCE METHOD 01E' OIL-GAS MIXTURES Application led July 18, 1922, Serial N0. 575,916, and in France J'uly 27, 1921.

This invention relates to methods of making oil-gas mixtures including or carrying a dispersed and suspended oil fog or cloud :from heavy oil.

It is known that heavy combustibles such as fuel oil, tar oil and certain vegetable oils,- can only be used with diiculty to take the place of gasoline in internal combustion engines, since their very high boiling point and their consistency which is often too viscousrender it a dicult matter toedect the carburetion of the air. On the other hand, a method of carburetion which is to bev used for engines of light and heavy motor vehicles or the like is required to be very Hexible in order to follow the considerable variations in speed and power of the engine. l

The present invention, which is intended to provide adequate means for such purposes, consists ot a process wherein the incandescent gases produced in a closed combustion chamber supplied with air on the one hand and by a suitable combustible (gasoline, petroleum or heavy oil) on the other hand, are caused to expand throughan orice having the heavy oil brought thereto in order to effeet a dispersion oi said heavy oil.

rihe incandescent gas will atomize the heavy oil and will immediately thereafter produce the heating and vaporization of the particles of oil which are in suspension after theatomizing process. rlhere is formed a owing mixture of the products of combustion from the burner, of vapors and gases formed from the heavy oil and of very fine dispersed particles `ot heavy oil resulting from atomization and from the vaporization and the' condensation of said vapors. This cloudy mixture, which usually has the appearance of a'thick white smoke, and which may be subsequently cooled by adequate means, is mixed with the air for combustion in the engine in asnitable proportion and bylthe proper devices.

The invention also comprises means for the cooling of the cloudy fluid mixture containing the atomized and vaporized heavy oil, should this be required. Said means comprise the direct contact of the said mixture with the heavy oil. itself by passing the mixture through the oil, the latter being subsequently used for feeding the atomizer. Other means may be provided for cooling said cloudy mixture, such as a Water or oil circulation piping. rllhe said method of cooling by direct contact with the oil is advantageous from the fact that any products of condensation of the said mixture or any particles thrown down will remain in the fuel oil and will be again brought with the latter into the atomizer.

The invention furthermore comprises means for obtaining the requisite degree of carburetion of the air admitted to the engine at the dili'erent speeds of the same and at the dierent amounts of power which it will atford at a given speed, for the purpose of rendering said process applicable to engines for light and heavy motor vehicles or aircraft. Said means are constituted by umps whose output is adjustable and is pre erably continuous, and which are connected with the shaft of the engine and with the air compressor used for supplying the burner. T he said compressor-and a pump of small output serve to feed the combustion chamber of the burner. Another pump having a large output serves to feed heavy oil to the orifice of the atomizer which is operated upon the incandescent gas of the burner. Inasmuch as these two pumps and the air compressor are coupled to the engine shaft, the ratio of feed of the heavy oil and of the atomizing burner will remain constant and will be proportional to the quantity of air drawn in by the engine. In this mannerV the carburetion of the air will remain constant.

0n the other hand, the lever controlling the engine suction or the acceleration handle, the levers controlling the pump with the large output, and if necessary the levers controlling the compressor intake and the pump with the small output, are coupled together and are operated by a single control. In consequence the carburetion remains constant not only at all speeds of the engine but also at diferent degrees of engine suction, that is at the different amounts of power supplied by the engine.Y 'On the other hand, each of said elements can he regulated separately orV they may be regulated in groups so as to adapt the carburetion to the special conditions of operation of the engine. Should it be desired, it will not be necessary to use upon the compressor intake the regulating throttle connected with the acceleration handle of the engine, nor is it required to carry out the simultaneous movement of the regulating lever of the small ump, and in these conditions the intensity o the burner is proportional to the engine speed, and the temperature of the cloudy mixture issuing from the atomizer becomes greater a's the admission of air to the engine is smaller; this will facilitate the ignition, the operation and the starting at slow speed and with reduced cylinder filling.

The pumps feeding the burner and the atomizer with heavy oil are preferably rotary pumps with slide valve and without flap valve, whose output can be regulated by the eccentricity of one of the elements. The ratio between the heavy oil feed to the atomizer and fuel feed to the burner will vary according to circumstances and to the quality of the oil. But as a rule this ratio is from 15 and 25 to 1 for oil having no preliminary heating; however this ratio can be much increased in the event of a preliminary heating of the heavy oil for instance by the exhaust gas or by the heat of the furnace, or again by the heat of the cloudy mixture issuing from the atomizer. This ratio may also be much increased in engines of large cylinder capacity wherein the asifying need only be partial, and the same 1s true for the use of a relatively light oil which does not require to be completely gasified. In such cases the cooling of the atomized cloudy mixture can often be dispensed with. The two umps are usually united in a single machine having separate pistons for the large and the small output of heavy oil.

The intensity of the burner and the amount of heat required to produce the described cloudy mixture from the oil will chiefly depend upon the quality and the consistency of the oil, and it becomes greater as the oil is heavier. In order to reduce the power of the air compressor feeding the furnace,

means of an optional nature are provided,-

especially in the case of very heavy oils, whereby the cloudy mixture which is atomized and partially gasified by the incandescent gas under pressure shall receive a second supply of heat, either as incandescent gas from a burner or lamp burning at atmospheric pressure and drawn through apertures or by suitable means into the reaction and gasifying chamber traversed by the cloudy mixture, or in the form of a partial and additional combustion of said mixture with a certain amount of air drawn by suction into the gasifying chamber. This additional combustion is maintained as a rule in a part of the receptacle and is extinguished in the forwardly situated portion of said fluid, and it produces the additional heat required for completion of the formation of said cloudy mixture. The two methods of additional heating of the cloud mixture can be combined in one to a goo advantage, and incandescent gas from a flame may be drawn into the chamber traversed by said fluid concurrently with the additional air supply and even through the same orifices; and the additional combustion of said fluid with the supplementary air can be started and maintained by the action of said flame.

The additional suction of the incandescent gas from a burner which burns at atmospheric pressure, or the suction of additional air for the further combustion of the cloudy mixture, may be effected by the suction caused by the cloudy mixture when discharged from the atomizer and traversing a tubular chamber and particularly a diverginfr conical receptacle. This edect may also be produced by the suction of the engine itself, or by these two actions combined.

The said additional heat may be chieiy used in the case of the supply of a furnace burning at high pressure with compressed air at several atmospheres and used for heavy oils, in order to reduce the power of the compressor to a minimum. On the contrary, where said furnace is supplied by low pressure air, for example from a compressor with rotating blades, it may prove economical to supply all the necessary heat to the cloudy mixture by the compressed air burning in the furnace under pressure and subsequently atomizing and gasifying the cloudy mixture, without employing the means for the additional heating of said mixture, especially since the loss of heat in the gas by expansion r.

of gas is now much reduced.

The following description, together with the accompanying drawings which are given by way of example, sets forth the nature and the advantages of the invention.

In the showing, Fig. 1 is a view in vertical section, with certain parts in elevation, of the burner or furnace, the atomizer and the gasifying chamber; Fig. 2 is a fragmentary horizontal sectional view of an alternative modification of the oil heater shown at the base of Fig. l; Fig. 3 is a view on a smaller scale of the connections beyond the broken away portion of chamber 9 in Fig. l; and Figs. 4 and 5 are sectional views at right angles to each other of a modified form of furnace chamber; and Fig. 6 is a diagrammatic view showing the connections between the various elements in a complete installation.

The metallic wall l, Fig. 1, of the combustion chamber of the furnace or burner is insulated internally by a thick layer 2 of a refractory substance, preferably of carborundum or alumina. The compressed air around the wall 1 so as tojprovide for the` heatingl of the airand thecoolingof the Wall. Theuse of the-said coiled tube vfor preliminary heating of the air is optional, and the air from'y thel compressor may enter directly through a straight tube. The liquid fuel which is preferably a petroleum oil, such as kerosene, or in :other cases gasoline,

alcohol, heavy oil, or the like, is supplied byl the tube Livvhich opens Withinthe tube 3; the liquid fuel is slightly atomlzed at 5 by. the air issuinor from 3, but as a rule itis adlmitted into tlie furnace in an already gasified form; 6 indicatesthe internal space of the combustion chamber o f the vfurnace wherein is disposed a deflecting device 71 for mixing the gas. Combustion is started for example by the ignition plug 81 or like ignition device. When the internal Walls are suciently heated, the conduit a can also be supplied with heavy oil instead of petroleum. The conduit 4 has the form of a coil With thin Walls l1 before entering. the lfurnace 6 and is connected to an electric circuit 42 so as to heat the liquid fuel by the current flowing in the Walls of said Worm tube. ln the modified form shown in Fig. 2, the coil 411 surrounds an electric resistance 43 for heating the fuel by radiation or by acting through a plastic mass. Heating of the oil coil can also be effected by any suitable iiafne or lamp. When the furnace has been placed in operation and the Walls have become hot,`

the heating of coil 4 may be discontinued, the petroleum being gasified in thepart of the coil surrounding the tube 3 Vby the heat of the furnace itself. rlhis part of the coil is protected by a thin layer of refractory substance 21.

rllhe incandescent products of' combustion fiovv from the furnace 6 into a fuel mixing and oil gasifying chamber 9 through an orice l0 provided in a disk 101, and they expand during this flow, dropping in temperature and pressure. The heavy oil to be gasiiied is brought to the atomizing orifice 10 by the pipe 12 and tube 11,'the position of the latter being adjustable with respect to the orifice ll0, as will be further set forth. The initialontact of the oil with gas is with the latter at high pressure and' temperature but this high temperature Contact is momentary. ln order to facilitate the ignition of the cloudy mixturev in the engine cylinder, small quantities of gasoline or alcohol can be mixed with the heavy oil used to feed the atomizer. The pipe 1 2 is formed in a coil around the furnace 6 so asto afford the 'first heating of the oil concurrently with the cooling of the Wall 1 of the furnace 6; this preliminary heating of the heavy oil which is required especially in the case of. heavy oil of thick nature can Ibe performed either by means of a coiled tube surrounding .the Walls of the furnace and utilizing the heat thereof,

as above stated, or by a coil or like conduit disposed in the coolin device which is traversed, if desired, by t e cloudy mixture before proceeding to the engine cylinder, as Will be hereinafter set forth; in this event the heat of said Huid will be suitably recov-l ered. Again, the method of heating the oil by the exhaust of the engine may also be employed.

The heavy oil which is atomized by the incandescent gases coming from the furnace 6 yield the described oil gas mixture including the dispersed oil fog or cloud, dispersion being aided by the heat of the atomizin gas; this heat suiiicing as a rule Without the use of solid Walls. Chamber 9 is surrounded by alayer of heat insulating substance 91. The intensity of combustion in chamber 6 is preferably regulated so that the oil shall be vaporized by this heat; the line particles of heavy oil obtained by atomizing are to a large extent transformed into much smaller particles Which result from their vapor-ization and subsequent condensation. This condensation takes place partly by the vnatural cooling of the cloudy iuid and partly at the moment of mixing with the suction air of the engine. i

According to the intensity of heat in the furnace and the proportion of heat transmitted to the atomized heavy oil at the time of contact, there may be produced either a s1111- ple dispersion of the oil or a more or less pyrogenic effect, a sort of cracking accompanied by partial production of gas, oil and light 011s. By a proper choice of the relative strength of the furnace flame, said process provides a means for affecting the chemical composition 'of the mixture. For very heavy oils, it is necessary in order to obtain proper atomizing SO that the pressure of the gas discharged from the furnace 6 shall be considerable, and this causes at 10 a high degree of expansion together with cooling which is prejudicial to .the vaporization of the heavy oil. For this the incandescent gas at the atmospheric pres- Y sure of the burner 53, or said gas mixed -with a certain amount of air which will provide for the additional combustion of the cloudy mixture in chamber 9, or again, simply an air supply for obtaining the additional combustion which in this event is started by the ignition geo lio

plug 54. In all these cases, heat is afforded which aids in forming the cloudy mixture obtained from the heavy oil.

The latter mixture in this condition 1s conducted, Fig. 6, into a receptacle 13 wherein it may be cooled if necessary by passmg 1t directly throughthe fuel oil which can be conduit 12 to the atomizer. Special cooling devices 122 employing air, water or oil may be mounted at this point, Fig.. 3, in order to provide for the cooling of the cloudy mixture and to thereby reduce to a minimum the loss of power (with reference to the volume) of the engine which results from the high temperature of the cloudy mixture. On the other hand, said cooling can be dispensed with. The said mixture is conducted to the suction pipe 15 of the engine 30 and is mixed with the considerable amount of suction air of the engine by the following means, analogous to what is usually employed for gas engines and comprising a regulating throttle or butterfly valve, a muiiier and other devices providing for the proper mixture of two gases.

Upon the piping 15 is mounted an absorber or silencer 17 constituted by an elastic metal diaphragm 18 with corrugated periphery, and serving to absorb the shocks of the suction; pipe 15 opens into a chamber 16 wherein is produced the mixture of the cloudy fluid and air; a deflecting device 161, Fig. 3, serves to deviate the stream of cloudy fluid so that it shall mix with the air which is drawn in through the orifices 162. A butterfly valve 14 mounted in pipe 15I is used to regulate the discharge of the carbureted mixture admitted tothe engine.

The following device is used for automatic regulation of the position of atomizer 11 with respect to the orifice 10. Said atomizer is slidable in a frame 111 screwed at the end of the combustion chamber, and the atomizer is secured to a flexible diaphragm 60 having atmospheric pressure upon the outer surface thereof whilst the inner surface is submitted to the pressure prevailing in combustion chamber 6, through the holes 61 formed in the guides of the atomizer 11 within the-frame 111; an opposing adjustable spring 62 may act upon said diaphragm to counterbalance the pressure in the furnace. When this pressure varies or for example increases, with the speed of the compressor, the pressure on the outer side of the diaphragm remaining constant, the diaphragm 60 and needle 11 will move so as to open the expansion orifice, thereby reducing the pres sure in the combustion chamber 6, and vice versa. The use of said regulating device .is optional.

Figs. 4 and 5 show respectively a crosssection and a lengthwise section of a special furnace of the atomizing type with continuous combustion, employing a circular chamber and a tangential air inlet. The passage 24 serves for tangential admission of compressed air into combustion chamber 61, whilst the fuel (heavy oil) in the atomized state is admitted at 5; the gas is ignited by the plug 81 and assumes a rapid rotation in the combustion chamber whereby the continuous combustion of the mixture is afforded, and the flame then issues from the atomizing orifice 10 which is preferably disposed near the center of said chamber. The heavy oil is brought as before to the atomizing orifice 10 by the tube 1l.

Fig. 6 is a diagrammatic view of the installation formed by the various elements, showing particularly the regulation used to maintain constant conditions for the carburetion in all cases. 30 indicates the internal combustion engine with shaft 31, having coupled or geared thereto an air compressor 27 for discharge of air into the conduit 3, a pump for heavy oil or petroleum or a rotating regulator of output 32 which takes oil from reservoir 321 and feeds the furnace 6 through pipe 4, and a heavy oil pump 32 feeding the atomizer 11. The levers 35, 36, respectively controlling the outputs of pumps 32, 33, and which in the case of pumps with regulated eccentricity are levers serving to control the eccentricity, are connected with a pedal or lever 37 with which are also connected the lever 38 of the throttle on the engine suction and, if desired, the lever 271 regulating the suction of the compressor 27. Lever 37 thus serves for simultaneous control of all the devices without changing the proportion of the carburetion. Pumps 32, 33, are as a rule combined in one, with separate pistons.

The pressure of compressed air which is required for the suitable operation of said method and apparatus will depend upon numerous circumstances, and chiefly upon the capacity of the engine cylinder; it will usually vary between about 3 pounds per square inch and a few atmospheres. Compressors of the blade or bucket type with low pressure are especially applicable. As a general rule the process will require the use of an air compressor for obtaining a blast fiame burning under pressure, whereof the expansion will at the same time produce the dispersion of the heavy oil. But the apparatus may be so disposed that the air compressor shall be eliminated and that the difference of pressure between combustion chamber 6 and mixing and oil gasifying chamber 9 shall be no longer obtained by excess of pressure in chamber 6 but by a depression or partial vacuum in the chamber 9, and therefore the blast iiame will burn under atmosphere pressure and the mixing and oil gasiying will take place by expansion of the iame in a partial vacuum. Various known means can be employed for producing a depression or partial vacuum by the suction of the engine.

The said process of atomizing and forming gas mixtures from heavy oil can be employed for supplying the cloudy fluid herein obtained to furnaces, boilers and like dey vices using heavy oil, in which said iluid is caused to burn after being mixed with an adequate amount of air. In like manner, it becomes feasible to atomize or project any suitable liquid such as paint, concrete, water, etc., which is brought to said atomizing oriice 10, and this can be effected by said atomizing process with a considerable saving of compressed air.

' It is obvious that the said'devices and arrangements which are given by way of example are not of a limitative nature and that they are susceptible of all desired modifications without departing from the principle of the invention.

What I claim is:

1. The method of making oil" gas mixtures including a dispersed oil fo or cloud, which comprises burning a. liquid el at high pressure to obtain products of combustion at a high temperature and a high pressure, forming a jet of said products and expanding to atmospheric pressure, and supplying heavy oil to said jet at a point of high temperature and high pressure.

2. The method of making oil gas mixtures including a dispersed oil fo or cloud, which comprises burning a liquid uel at high ressure to obtain products of combustion at igh temperature and high ressure, allowing escape of said products through a narrow oriiice with expansion of the escaping gases to substantially atmospheric pressure, and supplying a feed of heavy oil to the center of the orifice.

3. The method of making oil gas mixtures l including a dispersed oil fog or cloud, which comprises establishing and maintaining concentric jets expanding Ato about atmospheric pressure, the outer jet being composed of extremely hot products of combustion under hiilgh pressure and the inner jet being heavy o 4. The method of converting heavy oils into oil gas mixtures includin a dispersed, and suspended oil fo or clou and suitable for englne use, whic comprises burning a liquid el at high pressureto obtain incandescent gaseous'products of combustion under pressure, mJectmg heated heavy oil into the products and expanding the mixture of heavy oil and the incandescent products to atmospheric pressure and thereby atomizing and dispersing the heavy oil.

5. The method of converting heavy oils into oil gas mixtures including a dispersed and suspended oil fog or cloud and suitable for engine use, which comprises producing products of combustion at high temperature and pressure, admixing heavy oil therewith at such a temperature and pressure, and releasing the pressure to produce atomization and form a. cloudy mixture of finelydivided dispersed liquid oil, vapors and gases.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention, I have si ed my name hereto.

CON STANTIN CHILOWSKY.

Images