US254351A - Bagasse fumace - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2. M. J. L. MARIE.

BAG-ASSE FURNACE.

No. 254,351. Patented Feb- 28, 1882.

UNITED STATES:

PATENT OFFICE,

i MARIE JEAN LEON MARIE, OF sr. PIERRE, MARTINIQUE, WEST INDIES.

BAGASSE-FU RNA C E.

SPEGIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent hlo. 254,351, dated February 28, 1882.

- Application filed October 29, 1S81.- (No model.) Patented in France June 9, 1879.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, MARIE JEAN LEON MARIE, of St. Pierre, Martinique,West Indies, have invented an Improved Bagasse-Furnace;

and I do hereby declare that the following is preferably'of cast-iron, on account of its low cost and durability, and is incased in brickwork. It possesses considerable advantages over other furnaces in use, being improved in form and working, and provided with an inclined fire-grate, and a self-acting feeder for spreading the fuel uniformly upon the grate.

The working of the furnace is characterized by, first, the preliminary drying of the fuel; second, the embodiment of the principle Elevation of temperature is a function of the rapidity of combustion third, perfect combustion of the gases, due to the form of the furnace and its'high temperature fourth, perfect natural draftinsured through the grate by the self-acting feeder; fifth, great savingof labor in stoking.

In order that the invention may be more readily understood, I have illustrated two examples ofit in the accompanying drawingsthe one a furnace constructed of cast-iron in several parts to facilitate its erection, and the other a furnace built in brick-work, with castiron grate, doors, and hopper.

Sheet 1 represents the type of furnace employed for heating boilers which are not built in brick-work and have an internal fire-place surrounded with water. The furnace represented in this sheet is incased with fire-bricks or other fire-resisting material. In this sheet Figurel is a front elevation of the furnace, and Fig. 2 a vertical section of the same. Fig. 3 is an elevation of the side next the boiler to which it is to be connected, the dotted lines indicating the front of the boiler with which the furnace is used and Fig. 4 is a horizontal section.

In these figures the same letters of reference indicate the same parts.

The bagassefurnace is constructed of a castiron casing made in four parts, a b 0 d, united by flanges and bolts. with ribs 0, and furnished with a door, f, on a level with the upper end of the fire-bars 9, whose lower ends are supported bya cast-iron bridge, h, bolted on extensions of the side walls of the furnace. The back plate, d, has a flanged opening or throat, k, which fits in the doorway of boiler or furnace to which the bagasse-furnace is connected, the form and dimensions of this throat being varied according as circumstances mayrequire. The b'agassefurnace has a pyramidal crown of cast-iron surmounted by a hopper, m,'through which the fuel is fed into the furnace, the said hopper being furnished with a self-acting balance door or valve, n, kept closed by a counter-weight, 10, so that the draft through the grate is re- The front plate is cast stored immediately after each fresh quantity of fuel is fed into the furnace.

Sheet 2 represents the type of furnace intended to be applied to boilers set in brickwork, or for sugar-evaporating pans heated by anaked fire. (Labat apparatus or copper-wall battery.) This furnace is built of brick-work and has cast-iron doors, grate, and hopper lined or not with sheet-iron. Figs. 5, 6, and 7 of this sheet show respectively longitudinal and cross sections and plan of furnace applied to'a 'sugarevaporatin g apparatus.

As shown in Fig. 2, the application of this type of furnace presents no difficulties. The bagasse-furnace should be arranged as nearly as possible in line with the sugar-evaporating pans or copper-wall battery, or with the boiler to be heated, the door of the bag-asse-furnace being placed at the side, if necessary.

The flues should be contracted as much as possible, in order to utilize all the heat of the flames,especially when bagasse direct from the mill is burned. A good result is obtained in an apparatus already constructed by erecting small bridges r in the positions represented.

Having thus explained the construction of the apparatus, the details of which may, however, be varied, I will proceed to describe its working.

The drying or stoving of the wet cane-trash is the most remarkable feature of this bagassefurnace. It would seem paradoxical at first sight that a furnace placed outside of a boiler could have greater heating power than one inside the boiler; but as cane-trash in the wet state in which it leaves the mill will not burn freely, it will be seen that by subjecting it to a preliminary drying it is rendered eminently fit for fuel, and this is effected by my improved bagasse-furnace. A fire having been first lighted in the furnace with some dry fuel, the sidesbecomehighly heated. The wetcane-trash is then fed in through the hopper, the self-acting balance-door in which opens, spreads the fuel upon the grate, and immediately closes again, thus re-establishing the natural draft through the grate. The flame of the burning fuel immediately envelops the fresh fuel, and, owing to the high temperature in the furnace, the gases at once begin to be distilled. The same results are, I admit, obtained more or less with internal furnaces, but as their surfaces never exceed the relatively low temperature of the surrounding water, (about 150 centigrade,) the unconsumed gases are carried by the draft away from the furnace, become condensed on the cooler surfaces, and pass away unconsumed in the form of dense smoke.

The combustion inmy improved furnace is much more perfect, as its sides are as hot as the flame itself, (1,000 centigrade at least-,) and all the calorie which would in the former case go to heat the water is stored up in the furnace casing, which quickly acquires suflicient heat to almost instantly dry the canetrash and render it fit for burning. As all the gases, whether in ignition or not, are compelled to pass through the contracted throat leading to the fire-place of the boiler to which the bagasse-furnace is applied, an intimate mixture of the gases is effected, which insures the combustion of any as yet unconsumed products. The whole of the fuel is thus utilized, and the furnace, although exterior to the boiler, is yet sufficiently near to transmit a greater amount of heat than that obtained by the imperfect combustion of the'same quantity of fuel in an internal furnace. Owing to the perfect combustion thus obtained, there is little or none of the usual deposit in the boiler-tubes, caused by the condensation of essential oils, tar, and otherunconsumed matters combined with soot.

One man can manage at least three of these furnaces, whereas an ordinary boiler requires two men working alternately and for not longer than two hours at a time. In case it is required to burn coal in the bagasse-furnace, should the supply of cane-trash run short, the parts of the bagasse-furnace most exposed to the heat may have a fire-brick lining to protect the walls of the furnace against the greater heat developed when coal is used. This lining may cover the whole internal surface of the bagasse-furnace, if necessary; or it may be constructed wholly of fire-bricks. For boilers having verylarge fire-placessuch as those in sugarhouses-my bagasse-furnace may be placed inside the boiler fire-place instead of outside, as above described.

The advantages of my improved furnace are, first, a saving of fuel; second, stokin g is almost entirely obviated; third, steam is raised much more quickly; fourth, the production of steam is increased according to the size of the furnace; fifth, the smoke is entirely consumed; sixth, littleor no deposit in the boiler and tubes; seventh, complete utilization of a waste material which is often an encumbrance; eighth, simplicity of construction and working; ninth, it may be readily adapted to all kinds of boilers or furnaces, as well as to the whole of the boilers in the works, whereas with fur: naces having an artificial draft it is necessary to have at least one ordinary furnace-boiler to drive the fan; tenth, preservation of the boiler-plates, which, not being exposed to direct contact of the fire, are not corroded by the decomposing action of the sulphides contained in the coal.

I claim In a bagasse-furnace, the combination of the door-plate 0b, the side plates, 1) c, the plate 01, having flanged throat 7c, the fire-bars g, the bridge h, the crown -piece 1, and the'valved hopper m, all arranged substantially as shown and described.

MARIE JEAN Lton MARIE.

Witnesses:

BELLE ISLE OO UERAN, HENRY SAMUEL LYNcH.

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