US385145A - Method of generating electricity and purtrying water - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.)

8 J. E. SIEBEL! 1 METHOD OF GENERATING ELECTRICITY AND PURIFYING WATEIL Patented June 26, 1888..

5 thereof to such application an iirrrrnn Jenn new, or

our @rr icn,

,or-iioico, ILLINOIS.

erncirrcn'rion forming pariiof Lethe Application filed November 7, 18%.

. out No. 3855,1125, dated June 26,1883. Serial No. 354,503. (No model.)

To aZZ whomiii mag concern:

Be is known that l, Jonn E. Sinner, a cili- "ceu of the United States, residingai, Chicago, in the county of {look and State of Illinois, 5 heveinvented s. new and nsef n1 Method of Gen crating Eiectricitywi'or Exfiraneous Use and Treating Water to Prevent its Corroding Ac t-ion on Metals, of which the following isasnecificetion. 1 to Natural Water commonly contains sulphu' reted hydrogen or some other subsi'ance which exerts a corroding action oi metal, and pariicnlarly iron andsteei, and or us in the various industries employing boilers, conduits, lacks, l5 and the li lzeof metal, wherein water is re quircdio be in constant. contact with the metal, these devices are gradually impaired and with time rendered unfit for use, thereby entailing expense and trouble A The principal object of my invention is so-io treat natural water inherently containing any of the injurious substances,-referrcd to as to prevent the latteri'rom'corroding the metal; Although my invention may be applied with equally beneficial results to any of the various devices wherein it may he desired; to, neutralize the effect upon metal objects of ihe corroding tendency of any subsie-nce tvhewe tor-may contain, I design my improvement 0 immediately for use in connection wibh icemaking or reirigerating machines; and for that reason, and more particularly icniuh'e sake of convenience in demonstrating my invention, I confine the dcscripcion and illustration in a particular form of refrigerating niachino.-

- The ice or refrigcramng machine referred. to. is of the class involving as it principal parts a refrigerator comprising a tank containing a odesircd number of iron coils surrounded by brine, c. condenser also comprising n inch in Y closing a. coil or coils of iron over which was tcr is caused to flow, a. conduit through which the coils in the condenser and refrigerator 5 hanks arecontrollably connected from corrcnp'onding ends, and a compressor in the con unit-connection of the opposite ends of the condenser and refrigerator coils. The coldproducing medium is a gas liquefiahle under mechanical compression and which hy expansion token the heal; from a surrounding holly,

and thus renders such body cold. Ammonia is an example of gas having the properties referred to, and is quite commonly employed in ice or refrigerating machines. The expansion belies place in the coil or coils of the refrigerator, thereby depriving the surrounding brine of its heat, and EEI'IGACOIG. brine is circulated nhrough coils in the apartments; or the gas itself mayconstituce the direct cooling medium by being caused to circulate and expand through coils in the apartments to be cooled. Aller exp sion, che gas is compressed. into the coil or coils of the condenser, thecoznpres sion aciicn heating it and necessitating cooling thereof on its passage through the condensercoils to the refrigerator, wherein its expansive property is wain utilized. The cooling of-the compressed gas is produced by means of cold .wetcnwhich is caused to flow constantly over fire condenser-coils.

While the foregoing description refers to a machine which iu'ibself forms no part of my invention, it affords'one of many mediums for the practical application thereof, and is inreadily comprehensible.

.The part of the machine to which ii-on is applied is the condenser. Accordingly E'iliunhmte in the accompanying drawings such par: oi an ice or refrigerating machine inconncciiou with an appliance for practicing my improvement;

Figure 1. shows in elevation, principally sectional, arepre'senbation of a condenserprovided with means for neutralizing the corraling'snbsiancc contained in the water employed inizo the condenser-coil; and Fig. 2 presents means in a modified form for accomplishing 'the same purpose.

My invention consists in purifying Water to cost-race from u an inherent; substance having a corroding effect; on metal by filtering ii; through divided fibers of iron or steel and rendering the iron or steel electro-positive to the said inherent substance by connecting it with an electrode electronegat-ive to the said substance, and in purifying by galvanic acthan water containing an inherent substance honing a corroding effect on metal, and utilizing {the water so purified and the electricity 'izended to assist in rendering my invention my invento cool the refrigerating medium compressed asthe exciting-liquid of an electric battery,

thereby abstracting the said inherent substance, leading off the purified Water to the place ofits use, and conducting off to the place of its application the electricity generated by the purifying action. A is atank or vrsscl containing filings, chips, or other refuse, '1', of steel or iron, coir nected through a suitable conductor, q, in contact with the material, 1', with a binding post, 2), and a continuous supply of running water is directed from a spout, :10, into the vessel. A.

ll isa vessel of perforated nutterial-sueh as wood, as shown, having lateral pe forat-ions, or porous clay coniaining a material which is eiectro-negative to iron or steel, such as a sheet of platinum, platinizclfl iron, or other metal, 0, or carbon, graphite, or other eleetroconducting material, which is electrically connected with a binding-post, p. l

0 represents a galvanomelcr, though this may he supplanted by an electric alarm or other deviee'which will serve to indicate the condition of the current, and in the circuit of the battery formed by the materials, '1 o, and

. water in the vessel A through the conducting-wires n and m, which terminate in an appliance adapted to utilize the generated clco. tricity, such as an incandescent lamp, l), eleetroplating-tank, or the like.

E is an extraneous battery or other form of electric generator to he us d an auxiliary when required, as hereinafter described, and for that purpose capable of being readily councetcd with and disconnected from the hinding-posts and p, respectively,through eonducting-wircs Z and Z. i

Fis the comlcnscr-tanlueontainin a desired number of iron or other metal on 11,. (2-, coin municating from opposite extremities, in-

dicated, by the pipes Zr and 7;, respectively, with the refrigerator and compressor, (not shown,) and the tank F maybe provided with the usual overt'low, h. A pipe, 9, leading from the vessel A into the vessel F, serves to conduct the water from the former into thclatter, and is provided with an ordinary valve, 57', for controlling the liow.

The water for cooling the refrigcrati ng agent (which circulates ti'cntimlously, while the ice or refrigerating machine is in operation, through the coil or coils G) is" caused to flow over the material, 0', in the vessel A and contents of the vessel 1?, and thence passes, freed from the deleterious substance rethrred to, or, at least, with the corroding property of such substance neutralizenhas hereinafter described, into the vessel F, wherein it exerts the desired cooling effect, through the coil or coils G before passing off at the overflow h. The water employed is natural or ordinary water from the most convenient sourcesay an Artesian wells-and commonly contains any of various substances having a corroding action on metal, and which would attack the coils and destroy sulphureted hydrogen, and as this atlo'rds a,

good example of the various substances which may be deprived of their injuriousproperties by my improved method of treating water containing them, the remainder of thc; rescnt description hearing reference Itov a eorroding substance is, for the sake of convenience, confined principally to sulph'ureted hydrogen.

The water which ilows eoul innously over the".

material, r a the vessel A and contents, 0, of the vessel L, as hereinbefore described, excites electricity, which passes over thewircs 1 1 and m, and may be utilized for the 'pi'oduclion of light in the lamp 1), or for other purposes within the capacity of the current. The Wetcr, while thus performing its part in exciting electricity, also acts as an electrolyte, and as such is more readily disposed to part wither yield its sulphur to the metal, 9', so that upon leaving the vessel A the water, thus freed of the deleterious properties of the substance, is incapacitated from inj uriouslyatfeeting a metal surface as the coil or trails G-with whiclrit may come into contact. Iii ease the electrodes r and 0 shall become polarized, or from any other cause-es by necessary repairs the current generated. in the vessel A shall become toowealeto fulfill its purposes in a satisfactory manner, which would be. indicate-d by the EGG IIO

is prevented, thus rendering the use ofan anxiliary generator, E, exceptional at most.

The modified form of apparatus illustrated in Fig. 2 shows the vessel A to be dispensed with and as having the vessel 13, with its.conu5 tents, placed in the condenser-tank F, inside the -coil or coilsYG. This fornrof apparatus may he used in cases where the water, after having been uscd-as' for its cooling effect in.

the condenser--isnot desired for other'purposes, requiring the removalv from it of the neutrallzed corroding substance, (sulphuret of iron in the present instance) but wherein the" products of neutralization may be allowed to remain; but it requires that the electrode 0 shall comprise a material clectro-posit'ive to the coil, and the connection of the conductor n is made with the vessel F, if of metal, and also with the coil or coils G, as shown, electricity 'being generated and. utilized as described. in

connection witlfEig. 1, butaltering'the electrical effect upon tlie'niaterlttja manner to leave intact or unaffected the metal of the coil and tank. If the electrode a comprise sheet metal or other material of convenient form, (zinc being preferred,) the vessel B may also be dispensed with, 'when, however, the sheet or sheets of metal should be supported (any where within the tank F) by wooden or other insulating-frames, or by suitable insulating means, to avoid contact thereof with the iron coils or tank.

Should it be desired to save the substance originally contained in the water in a condition to work the injury which my process thus prevents, this maybe done. For example, the sulphuret of iron may be obtained from the treated water by filtration and the sulphur from the sulphuret of iron bysimple evaporation after exposure to theatmosphere, thereby yielding oxidect iron and sulphur in available and merchantable conditions. This is an important advantage incidental to my invention, inasmuch as it adds materially to its utility in the sense that it renders the process cheap by permitting, the injurious substance, which is present to the extent of hundreds of pounds in the daily supply 01' some Artesian wells, to be ntil izedas a merchantable p rod net. Other substances than that referred to, when contained in the water employed, may be saved by well 'knowu chemical processes for the same purpose. I reserve the apparatus used for the practice of my improved method for a future application for Letters Patent.

\Vhat I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The method of purifying water to ab stract from it an inherent substance having a corrodiug" effect on metal, which consists in filtering it through divided pieces of iron 'or steel and rendering the iron or steel electropositive to the said inherent substance by connecting it with an electrode electro-negative to the said substance, substantially as described.

2. The method of purifying by galvanic aetion water containing an inherent substance having a corroding effect on metal and utiliz' ing the water so purified and the electricity excited in the operation of purifying, which consists in employing the water as the exciting-liquid of an electric battery, thereby abstracting the said inherent substance, leading off the purified water to the place of its use, and conducting off to the place of its application the electricity generated by the purifying action, substantially as described.

JOHN E. SIEBEL. In presence of- J. W. DYRENFORTH,

CHAS. E. Gonron.

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