US2047759A

US2047759A - Apparatus for producing fixed combustible gas

Info

Publication number: US2047759A
Application number: US553942A
Authority: US
Inventors: William B Wingert
Original assignee: Semet Solvay Engineering Corp
Current assignee: Semet Solvay Engineering Corp
Priority date: 1931-07-30
Filing date: 1931-07-30
Publication date: 1936-07-14
Anticipated expiration: 1953-07-14

Description

July 14, 1936. w. B. WINGERT APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING FIXED COMBUSTIBLE GAS Filed July 50, 1931 Patented July 14, 1936 UNIT-ED STATES PATENT- OFFICE APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING FIXED COMBUSTIBLE GAS Application July 30, 1931, Serial No. 553,942

4 Claims.

This invention pertains to apparatus for the production of nely divided dispersed particles of liquid in suspension in a gaseous media and more particularly for the production of a subs tantiaily xed combustible gas containing finely divided liquid particles of the character of fog in suspension therein. The gas containing the fog particles is xed in the sense that it is relative stable, i. e. while some of the fog particles separate out on the walls of the long distribution mains in the passage of the gas containing the fog particles therethrough a considerable portion of the fog particles initially introduced into the gas stream' is carried in suspension therein throughout the ow of the gas through the mains. The term fog is intended to include finely divided liquid particles of the iineness of condensed water-vapor suspended in the atmosphere at or near the earths surface as frequently encountered particularly in the neighborhood of large bodies of water and as distinguished from Water-vapor as such and larger particles of liquid which do not remain in suspension in a gaseous medium for a considerable period of time.

One object of this invention is to provide an apparatus for introducing oil, tetralin, water, odoriZi-ng liquid such as ethyl mercaptan, etc., into a: stream of combustible gas such as water gas, both carburetted and uncarburetted, coke oven gas or natural gas. Other objects of this invention Willbeapparent'from the following description thereof.

TheV preferred embodiment of this invention involvesv a container having a gas inlet in onev end wall and agas outlet in the opposite end Wall. A partition is disposed at the base of the container from side toiside thereof. This partition extends only a relatively short distance from the base so asto; provide a substantially unobstructed space atthe top of the container. The container is divided into two compartments by this partitition;` one associated with the gas inlet and the other with the gas outlet. A fioat valve-controlled conduit is disposed in the' compartment 45'* ass-ociated `with the gas inlet to maintain a subrI'he-other compartment has positioned therein aL-weir disposedparallel to and spaced from the partition' defining an end wall of the compartment. An adjustable needle-valve is provided (Cl. mil-92) in the partition to regulate the ow of liquid from the compartment into which the liquid is initially introduced to the Weir. The needle valve permits only a regulated steady ilow of liquid to the Weir and thereover into the other compartment where a substantially constant level of liquid is maintained. A rapidly rotating roll is journalled in the second compartment with its axis substantially parallel to the body of liquid therebeneath and its surface in tangential contact with this body of liquid. The body of liquid is maintained at a substantially constant levelbeneath the rotating roll by regulating the flow through the needle valve to correspond with the amount of liquid fog taken up by the gas. Due to the needle Valve which permits a steady uniform iiow to the weir, surges of liquid over the Weir with consequent fluctuations in the liquid level beneath the roll are avoided.

A baflle plate is disposed near the top of the compartment into which liquid is initially introduced and is arranged to discharge large liquid particles formed by the rotating roll into this compartment. Hence, if for any reason the level of the body of liquid should rise so that the surface of the rotating roll is partially immersed, large liquid particles formed by the rotating roll would be deected into the other compartment and thus the level of liquid beneath the roll would be restored to the proper minimum point.

Bale plates are associated with the gas outlet to remove any liquid particles of a size greater than fog particles. These baiiie plates conserve the liquid and since they remove ,the large liquid particles they prevent subsequent condensation thereofin the gas mains. The gas leaving the apparatus is a substantially fixed gas since it contains fog particles in suspension therein, the particles of a size larger than fog having been removed therefrom.

In the drawing which shows for the purpose of eXemplii-lcation the preferredform of fogging apparatus to which the invention herein is not cominci- Fig. 1 is a fragmentary plan view of an installation embodying this invention;

Fig. 2 is a vertical section partly in elevation of the fogging apparatus taken in a plane passing through line 2--2 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 3- is an end elevation of the apparatus of Fig-.72, and

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary vertical section through a compartment of the fogging apparatus showing the float controlled valve supplying liquid to this compartment.

In the drawing with particular reference to Fig. 2, the fogging apparatus comprises a container dened by end Walls l2, I3, side walls I4, and base |5. A cover member I6 adapted to be readily removed from the container allows access to the interior thereof. A gas inlet is provided in end wall I2 for gas entering the container and a gas outlet I8 is formed in wall I3 for the exit of gas containing fog in suspension therein from the container. A clean-out plug 20 is provided at the base of end wall |2.

A partition 2| extends from side to side of container and is welded or otherwise secured to base I5 and sides |4 to form

compartments

22 and 23. Partition 2| preferably shaped as shown in Fig. 2 extends only a relatively short distance above the base leaving the top portion of the container unobstructed. Compartment 22 receives liquid initially fed to the container. For this purpose valve-controlled pipe 24 leads from tank 25 or other source of supply of liquid into compartment 22. Pipe 24 is provided with a valve port 23 the flow through which is governed by valve stem 2l operatively connected to a float lever 28 carrying at one end iloat 3| and having the other end suitably pivoted in compartment 22. Float 3|, valve 23 and valve stem 2l are adjusted to maintain a level of liquid in compartment 22 within relatively narrow limits. If the level drops oat 3| descends to increase the extent of opening of valve 23 and consequently increase the amount of liquid fed into the compartment to restore the level of liquid to the desired normal point. Conversely, if the level of liquid in compartment 22 rises valve 26 is closed to reduce the flow of liquid thereinto and restore the level of liquid therein.

A weir 32 is welded or otherwise secured to base I5 in the compartment 23. The top of Weir 32 may be serrated to cause even flow of liquid thereover. The flow of liquid to the weir is controlled by needle valve stern 33 disposed within a valve port or orice 34 in partition 2|. Needle valve stem 33 extends through suitable packing gland 35 in end wall I2 and is provided with a hand wheel 36. By turning hand wheel 36 the conical end of valve stem 33 is adjusted with respect to the orifice 34 in partition 2|.

The construction of needle valve and weir hereinabove described causes a smooth even flow of liquid in compartment 22 to the weir 32 and thereover onto a body of liquid 3l maintained under rapidly rotating roll 38 hereinafter more fully described. Surges of liquid flowing through main 24 into compartment 22 are confined to compartment 22 and are not communicated to the weir 32 since the needle valve 33 permits only a smooth uniform flow of liquid to take place therethrough. Hence the level of the body of liquid 3l is maintained at a substantially constant level beneath the rapidly rotating roll 38.

Roll 38 is rotatably journaled in compartment 23 with its axis parallel to and its surface substantially tangential to the body of liquid just touching the liquid as shown in Fig. 2. The roll may be in the form of a smooth or perforated cylinder, a wire screen or a plurality oi spaced discs and is rapidly rotated by electric motor 39 indicated diagrammatically in Fig. l. Needle valve 33 is adjusted so that the liquid fed to weir 32 and thereover corresponds to the amount fogged and consequently the level of liquid beneath the roll remains constant.

A baffle plate 4| extending from side to side in container is welded or otherwise secured to the sides. This baiiie plate is disposed to partially cover gas inlet Il and is arranged as indicated in Fig. 2. It thus prevents the entrance of liquid particles into the gas conduit leading into container I I. Ii for any reason the level of the body 5 of liquid 3l rises so that roll 38 becomes partially immersed, the liquid particles of substantial size which will then be formed will be thrown onto baiile 4| which in turn discharges the liquid particles into compartment 22. Thus the level of 10 liquid beneath the roll 33 is restored such that the roll siuface just contacts therewith and a fog of liquid above the roll is produced.

Baiiie plates 42 arranged in staggered formation are suitably mounted in front of the gas outlet 15 I8, so that the mixture of gas and fog particles leaving the container contact and pass over the baffles. These baiiles remove any liquid particles of a size greater than fog carried by the gas leaving the fog particles in suspension therein. 20 Hence the gas removed from the container contains only fog particles in suspension and is a substantially fixed gas.

In Fig. 1 there is shown the application of the gas fogging apparatus to distributor main 43. 25 Main 43 is provided with an orice plate 44 and by-

pass mains

45 and 46 disposed on opposite sides of the orifice plate. By-

pass

45 and 46 are connected to the gas inlet and gas outlet |8 respectively. The amount of gas conducted through the by-pass pipes into and through the fcgging apparatus is controlled by suitable hand valves 4l and 48 in

pipes

45 and 46 respectively.

A delinite proportion of the gas flowing through main 43 passes through the orice plate 44, the 5 remainder of the gas passing through by-pass 45 into and through container or box wherein it contacts with the fog created by the rapidly rotating roll 38, the resultant xed gas containing the fog in suspension passing' through by- 40 pass 46 into the main distributor pipe 43 where it becomes intimately admixed with the gas flowing through the orifice plate 44 and main 43. Due to the relative positions of orifice plate 44 and by-pass 46, a Zone of reduced pressure is 45 formed by the stream of gas issuing at high velocity adjacent the point where by-pass pipe 46 joins main 43. The reduced pressure assists in drawing the gas having the fog in suspension therein from the fogging apparatus into the main 50 conduit 43 and the turbulence associated with the jet of gas issuing from the orifice causes thorough and intimate mixture of the gas containing the fog in suspension with the gas flowing through orice plate 44 and main 43 to the 55- left of the orice viewing Fig. 1.

It will be noted that in accordance with this invention combustible gas may be effectively and thoroughly fogged with oil, tetralin or other liquid, the fog formed by the rotating roll extending 60 across the full cross-section of the container through which the stream of gas passes and resulting in the production of a substantially xed gas containing the fog in suspension.

The invention is herein disclosed as embodied in a particular form of construction but it is to be understood that it may be variously embodied within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

l. Apparatus for producing a substantially xed gas containing fog particles in suspension comprising a container having a gas inlet and a gas outlet, a partition dividing said container into two compartments, means for introducing liquid to be fogged into one of said compartments, a Weir disposed in the other of said cornpartments spaced from said partition, a needle valve controlling a. port in said partition for regulating the flow of liquid from said compartment into which the liquid is introduced to said weir, said weir being arranged to provide substantially constant ilow of liquid in the other of said compartments on the side of the weir remote from said partition, and a roll rotatably mounted in said other compartment with its axis substantially parallel to the upper surface of the body of liquid and its surface substantially tangential to said body of liquid.

2. Apparatus for producing a liquid fog comprising a container, a partition dividing said container into two compartments, means for introducing liquid to be fogged into one of said compartments, a weir disposed in said other compartment spaced from said partition, means for providing a controlled ilow of liquid from said compartment into which liquid to be foggedis introduced to said weir, said Weir maintaining a substantially constant level of liquid in the compartment in which it is positioned, a roll rotatably mounted in said other compartment with its axis substantially parallel to the upper surface of the body of liquid and its surface substantially tangential to said body of liquid, and means for rotating said roll to create liquid fog particles.

3. Apparatus for producing a gas containing fog particles in suspension therein, comprising a container having a gas inlet in the neighborhood of the top of one end Wall and a gas outlet in the neighborhood of the top of the opposite end wall, a partition extending across the base of said container from side to side thereof dividing it into two compartments one having a gas inlet leading thereinto and the other having a gas outlet leading therefrom, the partition extending only part way up from the base of said container so that the upper portion thereof is unobstructed, a float-controlled valve for maintaining a substantially constant level of liquid in said compartment having the gas inlet leading thereinto, a weir in the other of said compartments spaced from said partition, a needle-valve controlling an oriice in said partition, said needle-valve governing the flow of liquid through said partition to said Weir, said Weir maintaining a substantially constant level of liquid in said other compartment, a roll rotatably mounted in said other compartment with its axis substantially parallel to the upper surface of the body of liquid and its surface substantially tangential to said body of liquid, and means for rotating said roll to create liquid fog particles.

4. Apparatus for producing a substantially fixed gas containing fog particles in suspension` therein comprising a container having a gas inlet and a gas outlet, a partition dividing said container into two compartments, means for introducing liquid to be fogged into one of said compartments, a weir disposed in the other of said compartments spaced from said partition, a needle Valve controlling an orice in said partition regulating the flow of liquid from said compartment into which liquid is introduced to said Weir, said weir being arranged to provide a substantially constant level of liquid in the other of said compartments on the side of said weir remote from said partition, a roll rotatably mounted in said other compartment with its axis substantially parallel to the upper surface of the body of liquid and its surface substantially tangential to said body of liquid, means for rotating said roll to create liquid fog particles, a baille plate below said gas inlet arranged to discharge liquid particles formed by said roll into said compartment into which liquid to be fogged is introduced, and a baiile disposed over said gas outlet to remove liquid particles from the gasfog mixture of a size greater than the fog particles.

WILLIAM B. WINGERT.