US321870A - Apparatus for washing and scrubbing coal gas - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

I P. WECK. .AFPARMUS FOR WASHING AND SGRUBBING GOAL GAS. No. 321,870. Paten-tedJuly- 7; 1885.

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F. WEGE.

APPARATUS FOB WASHING AND SGRUBBING GOALv GAS. v No. 321,870. Patented July 7, 188.5.

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I'. WECK.

APPARATUS POR WASHING AND SGRUBBING GOAL GAS.

Patented July 7, 1885.

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FRIEDRICH WEOK, OF LILLESHALL, COUNTY OF SALOP, ENGLAND.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No, 321,870, dated July 7, 1885.

Application filed August 14.1884. (No model.) Patented in England January 26, 1884, No. 2,229, and iu Germany April 13, 1884,

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, FRIEDRICH WEGK, a subject of the Queen of Great Britain, residing at Lilleshall, in the county of Salop, England, have invented certain new and useful lmprovements in Machinery or Apparatus for NVashing and Scrubbing Coal-Gas, applicable also for other purposes, of which the following is a specification.

rlhis invention relates to improvements in the construction of machinery or apparatus chiefly applicable for extracting the soluble impurities from coal-gas by the process known as washing and scrubbing,7 the improvements having mainly for object to provide an apparatus in which the spaces between the moistened surfaces shall not become blocked up by the accumulation of solid matter, as now generally takes place with the existing forms of scrubbcrs.

My improvements have also for their object to allow of a much smaller quantity of water or ammoniacal liquor being employed in washers than is usually the case, thereby enabling the user to increase or diminish the strength of his liquor in a very short time by regulating the supply of water.

In carrying out my invention I employ a number of chambers, through each of which the gas is allowed to 'pass successively in a horizontal direction. In each chamber, with their axes parallel to the iiow of the gas, is placed a number of rollers, some near the top and some near the bottom, and over these rollers one or more endless bands are vplaced in such a manner that, following the course of the band from, say, where it passes over the first of the top rollers, counting from one side of the chamber, it passes downward and under the irst of the bottom rollers, thence upward and over the second top roller and downward again under the second bottom roller,

and so on till, having passed over the last of the top rollers, it passes downward and under another roller, placed a little lower than the aforenamed bottom rollers; then it follows a horizontal direction to another roller, placed similarly to the last-named one, but at the opposite side of the chamber, and thence passes 5o upward to the point started from. The horizontal portion of the endless band canin a similar manner be carried over the top rollers instead of under the bottom rollers, it' more desirable. The lower part of the chamber is charged with the purifying liquid to the required height above the lower rollers. One or more of the top rollers is or are made to revolve so as to cause the aforenamed endless band or bands to travel in the direction of its length, thus causing all its or their parts successively to be immersed in the liquid at the bottom of the chamber and to be brought out of this liquid again with a film of the liquid covering the entire surface and exposed to the gas within the chamber. Brushes are employed, as hereinafter described, to effectually prevent the accumulation of deposits on th bands.

ln order to enable my invention to be fully understood, l will describe the same by reference to the accompanying drawings.

Figure lis a longitudinal vertical section of two compartments or chambers of an apparatus constructed according to my invention. Fig. 2 is a vertical cross-section of same; and Fig. 3 is a sectional plan, the section being taken immediately above the upper rollers and below the roof of the chamber; Fig. 2^, a detail in part crossesection showing Scrapers instead of brushes; Fig. 3, a part sectional plan of the lower chamber; Fig. 11, a crossseetion of brush; Fig. 5, a detail showing part of an endless textile band, Fig. 6, aY chain or band composed of wooden rods. Fig. 7 illustrates the pliable metallic or other bands; Fig. 8, part plan of aseraper; Fig. 9, a crosssection; and Fig. 10, a plan (about half full size) of a band having projections on its surfaces; Fig. 11,combs used with this band; and Figs. 12 and 18, enlarged views of part of belt and Scrapers, Fig. 12 showing a flat band,and Fig. 13 a seetion'and a plan of cylindrical bands and their scrapers.

In Figs. 1, 2, 3, a is the endless band, which, in this arrangement, is shown in one 9 width; b b b2, Snc., are the upper rollers,which actuate or giv'e motion to the band. These rollers are shown in the upper chamber, O, of the apparatus to be driven by means of spurgearing, in which case one of the rollers b is driven by a shaft, f, carrying a spur-wheel, f2, which gears into another spur-wheel, f, fixed upon the roller b. rlhe two adjacent rollers b b have their spur-wlleels running loosely upon them, gearing with the spur-wheel f, and of course revolving in the opposite direction. .The next two rollers, bl, have spurwlieels fast to them and geared into the abovenamed loose running wheels, and will be turned again in the opposite direction to them-that is, in the same direction as the first-named roller, b. In this manner the rollers I) b2 b2 b b4, and so on, will be driven, and the intermediate rollers, b b b b3, and so on, will be at liberty to run in any direction which the friction between them and the endless band may cause them to take.

In the lower chamber, D, of the apparatus a different driving mechanism is shown, as clearly seen in the part-sectional plan at Fig. 3^. ()n the rollers are fixed cranks c c c of equal stroke, and which are so formed as to pass one another in revolving, and all these cranks are driven by a coupling-rod, d, in which the cranks-pins run, and which communicates motion to the cranks. rIhe coupling-rod (l is actuated by a crank, c, of the same stroke as the cranks c, and fixed to the driving-shaftf. The driving-shaft can in each case be protruded or extended through the elsing of the chambers and through the stuffing-box in the usual manner. In the last described arrangement all the upper rollers are shown as being driven.

It will be obvious that I can vary this driving mechanism by attaching chain-wheels on the spindles of the rollers and employing endless chains to engage with their teeth. One of the rollers being then extended to the outside of the chamber and driven by any suitable ineans, it will, through the medium of the chain and chain-wheels, impart its motion to the other rollers.

E shows the inlet pipe of the gas, the ow of which is indicated by the dotted arrows. A A is the liquor-outlet. Z shows the level of the liquor in the bottom of the chambers or compartments. g f/ g are the lower rollers, which run in bearings in the bars h h. These bars are free to move up and down, but are prevented from moving sidewise, (with the exception of a little play to insure their easy working,) and by their weight, as well as that of therollers, they keep the bands a stretched, and cause the friction between the band and the top rollers which is necessary to cause the band to travel.

To keep the bars hh horizontal, I employ some simple guiding arrangement, such as is indicated in Fig. 2by the dotted lines t' t' ,which consists of a number of links arranged in the manner shown. One of the links may be produced, as shown by k, and carry a weight at the end to assist in keepingltheendless band c stretched. The endless bands, which in this way become the means of exposing large surfaces of water or ammoniacal liquor to the contact of the gas in the chamber, are made of textile material, perforated or not, as shown in the detached View at Fig. 5, or of pliable metallic or other bands, as shown in the detached View at Fig. 7, or chains of suitable construction, or of wooden rods of suitable size and shape, as shown in the detached views at Fig. 6, laid side by side and joined together by wire or fibrous material w in such a manner that the band thus formed shall be pliable in the direction of its length; or the band may be made of any other suitable material. The repeated bending, first one way and then the other way, and friction of this band in going over the rollers will, to a great extent, prevent the accumulation of naphthaline and other insoluble deposits; but for the more complete removal of such deposit-s I propose to introduce into the chambers two brushes, p p, (see Fig. 2,) which I make of steel wire or other suitable material, according to the material of which the band a is made, and circular or partly circular in cross-section. The brushes p p are fixed in suitable positions in the chamber, as shown, so that the band a as it travels onward shall pass between them. Tile spindies of the brushes are extended to the outside of the chamber, as seen at m m, Fig. 3, so as to allow of their being rotated on their axes so as to bring a new portion of the brushes to bear on the band as onepart gets worn away. Fig. 4 shows a cross-section ot' a brush of this construction drawn about full size.

Sometimes whenI use bands havinganearl y homogeneous surface, such as bands of textile fabric, I employ scrapers instead of brushes, as shown at a a, in the part cross-section at Fig. 2^. These scrapers n a are so fixed to the bearing-bars h h as tolcaveanarrow space, through which the endless bands are caused to pass without touching them, but preventing a too thick depositthercon, thereby scraping off any deposit which may accumulate thereon. rlhe height of these scrapers toward the middle of the band is increased, and they are made sloping off toward the edges of the band, and their ends extend a little beyond it to cause the matter scraped off to be deposited clear of the band a.

Fig. 5 is a view of part of one of the rollers with a piece of fabric forming part of the endless band c placed over the same.

Fig. 6 is a similar view to Fig. 5, but showing a portion of a band composed of a number of small parallel rods connected together with suitable flexible material.

Fig. 7 is aview showing a portion of a roller having a number of bands of circular section, such as thin ropes or cords. When employing bands of this kind the rollers would be grooved, so as to keep all the cords in their places.

Fig. 8 shows a part plan of a scraper suitable for use with these kinds of bands in order to remove deposit therefrom.

Fig. 9 is a cross-section, and Fig. 10 a plan drawn about half fullsize, and showing a band IIO formed with projections on both its surfaces, such projections forming brushes, whereby the extent of wetted surface brought into contact with the gas is increased. At each side of the band is a narrow margin without such projections, and this margin runs upon the rollers. The parts of the rollers where the projections of the band occur are made very small, as at y, so as not to interfere with such projections. In the case of using this band, combs z, as shown at Fig. 11, would be employed in place of the brushes to remove deposit therefrom.

'Ihe operation of the apparatus is as follows: Clean water or other purifyingliquid is introduced into the chamber at one end of the apparatus and allowed to fill its lower part up to the required height, as shown; thence the water is allowed to run into the next chamber, filling this chamber up to the required height, and then making its way to the third chamber, and so on, until at-the last chamber it is drawn away through the outlet A A. The gas to be purified enters the chamber at E at the other end of the apparatus` and passes through it between the wetted surfaces of the endless band a; thence into the next chamber, and so on, until it arrives at the last chamber, which it should leave nearly free from its soluble impurities. By increasing the number of chambers and the area of the surfaces of the endless bands a, this scrubbing and washing action can be carried to the required degree.

I have described my invention as applied to the washing and scrubbing of coal-gas; but it will be evident that it may be. used for other purposes,such as for evaporating liquids. For example, if a weak saline solution be allowed to run into the upper chamb`er,and warn1,dry air be allowed to take the place of gas, the apparatus will be equally effective in concentrating such saline solution by taking up moisture from the exposed surfaces.

In the drawings,the chambers are shown as being placed one above the other. They may, however, as will be well understood, be placed horizontally, one behind another, in which arrangement the driving-rollers of the bands would pass through all the chambers from end `to end.

Cylindrical brushes have been used in gaswashing machines, and I make no claim to them.

Having thus described the nature of my said invention, and the manner of performing the same, what I claim is- I. In an apparatus for washing and scrubbing gas, in combination with an upper and a lower series of geared rollers, a pliable endless band arranged to pass up and down over such rollers, as set forth, and serving to bring extended wetted surfaces in contact with the gas or other fluid, and also serving as absorbents for solid particles, substantially in the manner and for the purposes described.

2. In an apparatus for washing and scrubbing coal-gas, in combination with pliable bands, serving as absorbents, and to carry off solid deposits, combs or Scrapers, serving to clean such deposits from the bands, and to prevent such deposits from attaining too great a thickness, as hereinbefore described.

3. The improved washer-scrubber for coalgas, consisting of the combination of the following elements, namely: chamber G, upper rollers bb b2, &c., endless bands, shaft f, spurwheelsf* f3, lower chamber, D, its rollers and endless band, cranks, coupling-rod d, shaft j", and shafts g, these parts being arranged and operating substantially as described, and the chambers having suitable gas inlet and outlet, and a water-outlet. v

4. In an apparatus for washing and scrubbing gas, endless bands composed of flexible or pliable material, the bands passing over a series of upper rollers and a series of lower rollers, as set forth, and carrying a system of parallel rods or projecting material forabsorbing and carrying off solid deposits, all as shown and described. v

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Witnesses:

CHARLEs EvANs, EPHRAIM HnMUs.

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