US1808900A - Process and apparatus for storing acetylene - Google Patents

Description

June 9, 1931. E. G. LUENING PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR STORING ACETYLENE Filed May 12, 1927 Z W N m P V gum/A coa Patented June 9, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE- EUGENE GEORGE LUENING, OF LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE AS- SZGNIVIENTS, TO AIR REDUCTION COMPALTY, INCORPORATED, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.,

A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR STORING ACETYLENE Application filed May 12,

plosion from slight predisposing causes, and

precautions are taken to provide certain safety conditions. For example, it is known that acetylene can be dissolved in certain solvents such as acetone and stored in solution with safety up to a certain relative quantity. It is also known that high explosive fluids, such as acetylene, may be safely conserved in nonexplosive condition when concentrated in a porous, cellular or interstitial mass of solid material, providing the pores, cells and interstitial spaces are not of greater dimensions than a certain critical magnitude which is a limit of immunity of explosion for a given degree of condensation or relative quantity of fluid stored. Both of these safety conditions may be provided for in a single storage device.

The quantity of fluid that may be stored in the porous filler of a container, either alone or in solution, in a suitable solvent, depends upon the porosity of the filler in the container. If the filler is too dense, the stored fluid will not be freed sufliciently rapidly when the pressure is released, and if the filler is too porous, the stored fluid will escape too rapidly in gaseous form, and carry some of the liquid solvent therewith, producing spitting. In previous practice, one has been forced to reduce the storage capacity to such a point that this spitting of the solvent, when gas is withdrawn, is prevented.

Another objection to the present practice in the art is that when the porosity is correct to achieve the desired result, namely, to release the gas without blowing out any of thesolvent liquid, it is necessary to drill a hole into the filler so that the surface for the release of the gas will be of suflicient area. Re-

lease of the gas is thus permitted but to the extent that the hole is present, the safety of the cylinder is decreased.

The object of my invention is to provide a method or means which will achieve all the desired results, that is to provide filler of the maximum permissible porosity, which Serial No. 190,719.

will hold the maximum quantity of liquid and gas and will at the same time release the gas at the desired rate of flow without releasing the solvent liquid and which will at the same time completely fill the entire body of the container.

An important feature of my invention involves the provision, between the main body of a highly porous filler and the mouth of the container, of denser material, whose porosity is such that the gas, when freed, will flow through it at the required maximum rate, but such that if the gas is dissolved in a liquid solvent, said liquid will not flow readily through the partition and will be retained in the main body of the highly porous material.

Other objects and advantages will be pointed out hereinafter or will be apparent upon consideration of the embodiments illustrated the accompanying drawings. It is to be understood that these drawings are to be considered in an illustrative rather than in a limiting sense. In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a vertical section of one embodiment of my invention and Fig. 2 is a corresponding vertical section of another embodiment of my invention.

In the construction illustrated in Fig. 1, I have provided a container 1, in which there is a filler 2 whose porosity is preferably the maximum permissible porosity from the standpoint of liability to explosion. Projecting into this highly porous filler from the mouth 8 of the container is a tube 4 with a closed lower end and formed of a denser material of which the porosity is such that while the gas of the explosive fluid, such as acetylene, will flow through the walls of the tube at the required maximum rate the liquid, acetone, for example, in which the gas is dissolved will not flow rapidly therethrough.

Thistube 4 which is closed at its lower end tion is preferably of tubular drawn steel with an integral bottom and with the metal at the upper end gradually increasing in thickness from the cylindrical portion to the end containing the mouth 3. The container 1 is shown as somewhat reduced at its lower end to fit into a base 5. Secured to the container at the mouth 3 is the usual valved hose coupling 6, and the wall may have one or more fusible blow-out plugs 7.

The filler f2 and the tube 4 may be placed in the container 1 in any suitable way. One desirable manner of obtaining this arrangementis to insert into the container 1 filling material in very plastic form, for example very wet Portland cement which may contain other material such as charcoal. After the container is filled with such plastic material the material may be set or changed into porous nonplastic form, as by drying during a considerable period of time. A hole may be bored in the porous filler by means of a suitable tool inserted in the mouth 3 to form a passage extending from the mouth down into the filler. This hole or opening may he of the maximum diameter permitted by the opening for the hose coupling 6. It may then be filled with material preferably in plastic form, but which in its final form is of greater density than the filler 2. It should be of such porosity that it will permit passage of the gas freed from the main body of the filler 2, but will prevent the passage of the liquid solvent such as acetone. This material may then be set and a hole may be bored down through the same, nearly, but not quite to the lower end thereof to form the tube 4 with its lower end closed. This tube 4 may then be filled with filling material which may be the same as the main filler 2. After final setting the filling material is saturated with a liquid solvent, such as acetone, for the stored fluid, such as acetylene.

The extremely porous material such as filler 2 then fills all of the space in the container except that occupied by the tube 4 which is of denser material. It will be seen that the tube 4 while of any desired length has its outside diameter equal to the diameter of the usual tapped hole which constitutes the mouth 3. The inside diameter of the tube 4 depends upon the physical strength of the material of which it is made and should he as large as consistent with the required strength, that is, the walls of the tube should be made as thin as practicable. The length of the tube is dependent on the character of the filler 2, the character of the material of which the tube 4 is composed, and the size of the container 1. The length of the tube is finally determined by the total volume of the gas, the pressure under which it is absorbed and the rate of release desired. Obviously the tube 4 might be formed in advance and inserted in the filler 2.

In Fig. 2 there is shown an alternative type of construction, in which the filler of maxi mum porosity 2 occupies the principal part of the bottom portion of the container 1 and in which there is inserted in the process of manufacture a disc or partition 8 of denser material positioned ashort distance below the top of the container and having for its function to permit the free flow of gas therethrough while retaining the absorbing liquid below the same.

It will be evident that the form shown in Fig. 2 is possible only when the disc 8 of denser material is actually manufactured within the container or cylinder while the construction illustrated in Fig. 1 makes possible the insertion of a tube after the cylinder is manufactured.

The thickness, density, and surface area of the partition, whether in disc or tubular form depend upon the character of the filler of high porosity, the size of the container, the rate of flow of gas from the container, the pressure at which the gas is absorbed in the liquid, the diameter of the hole provided for the release of the gas and other conditions which may apply.

The important feature of my invention is explosive gases absorbed under pressure in containers containing porous material, whose pores, cells or interstices have porosity which is the limit of immunity to explosion for a given degree of concentration and the partition, such as a tube or plate, is of denser material having such porosity that the gas given off passes through it freely but the solvent liquid within the body of the container is retalined. The dimensions and locations of such obstructing or retaining member or partition are such that a large surface is in each case available for the release of gas from the denser dividing wall thus effecting the desirable rate of gas fiow. The whole storage device is so arranged that the entire body of the container is substantially completely filled with porous material without voids, open spaces or holes of any kind.

The difference in porosity of the different 7 parts may be formed in difierent ways as for instance varying the relative proportions of the ingredient, such as cement and charcoal, using charcoal of different mesh, or varying the amount of water in the mixture.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to obtain by Letters Patent is: v

1. A storage device for explosive fluids, including a container having a mouth, a filler of suitable porosity, and a partition of solid non-expansible porous material of greater density interposed between said filler and said mouth.

2. A device for safely storing explosive material of similar character to said filler, but of greater density interposed between the main body of said filler and a relatively small portion of said filler adjacent to said mouth, and a liquid solvent for the explosive fluid.

3. A device for safely storing explosive fluids, including a container having a mouth, a filler of suitable porosity, and a tube with a closed inner end projecting from said mouth into said filler, said tube being of porous material of greater density than said filler.

l. A storage device for explosive fluids, including a container having a mouth, a filler of suitable porosity substantially filling said container, and a tube with a closed inner end projecting from said mouth into said filler, said tube being of porous material of greater density than said filler and being filled with material of suitable porosity to give off the stored fluid with suificient freedom, and the porous material in said container being saturated with a liquid solvent for the explosive fluid.

5. A method of making a device for safely storing explosive fluids, including the steps of filling a container with material in plastic form, setting said material in porous form, and forming in said filler a tube of denser porous material extending from the container outlet into said filler and having a closed inner end.

6. A method of making a device for safely storing explosive fluids, including the steps of filling a container having a mouth, with material in plastic form, setting said material in porous form, removing said filling material in a space extending inwardly from said mouth to form an opening of substantially the cross-section of said mouth, and lining said opening with a lining of porous material of greater density than said filling.

7 A method of making a device for safely storing explosive fluids, including the steps of filling a container having a mouth, with filling material in a plastic state, setting said material in porous form, removing said filling material in a space extending inwardly from said mouth, filling said space with plastic material adapted to set in denser form than said first mentioned filling material, setting said last mentioned plastic material, re moving the central portion of the denser material to leave a relatively thin lining at the sides and inner end, and filling said lining with material of greater porosity than said second mentioned material.

8. A method of making a device for safely storing explosive fluids, including the steps of filling a container having a mouth, with filling material in a very plastic state, setting said material in porous form, removing said filling material in a space extending inwardly from said mouth, filling said space with plastic material adapted to set in denser form than said filling material, setting said last mentioned plastic material, forming a space in said denser material, filling said second mentioned space with plastic material adapted to set in more porous form, and setting said material.

9. A container having a mouth, a filler of porous material, filling the greater part of said container, a rigid partition of finely porous material of permanently greater density, and a material of porosity substantially that of said filler between said partition and said mouth.

10. An acetylene cylinder having a porousfiller substantially completely filling the cylinder, a ortion of the filler adjacent to, but spaced rom, the cylinder outlet being of greater density than the portions of the filler above and below the same but of substantially the same composition.

11. An acetylene cylinder having a porous filler substantially completely filling the cylinder, a portion of the filler adjacent to the cylinder outlet bein of permanently greater density than the portions of the filler below the same, said denser portion of the filler being of the same material as the rest of the filler.

12. The method of making an acetylene absorbent including pouring into a cylinder a plastic mass which upon setting forms a porous filler, thereafter pouring in a plastic mass which upon setting will form a solid non-yielding mass of greater density, and thereafter pouring into the cylinder a second portion of the first mentioned mass to substantially completely fill the cylinder.

13. A storage device for explosive fluids comprising a container filled with porous materials to the exclusion of gross cavities, and having a mouth, said materials comprising a main filler of suitable porosity, a partition of greater density interposed between said main filler and said mouth, and an additional filler of greater porosity than the partition occupying a space between the partition and the mouth, said fillers and said partition each consisting of solid coherent material.

14. An acetylene cylinder having a mouth, a filler of suitable porosity, solid coherent porous matter of the same material as but of less porosity than said filler interposed be-' tween said filler and said mouth, and a solvent for the explosive fiuid absorbed by the porous contents of said container.

Signed at Louisville in the county of J efferson and State of Kentucky this 6th day of May, A. D. 1927.

EUGENE GEORGE LUENING.

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