US63405A - Thaddfius s - Google Patents

Description

@latten difice atat @titre THADDEUS s. c'. Lowa, or Naw Yoan, Y,

Letters laent No. 63,405, Ja'cii April 2, 1867.

IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR CONDENSING CARBONIO ACID, AND FOR DRAWING OPF AND APPLYING TEE SAME POR COOLING AND FREEZING.

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TO ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERNr' Be it known that I, TuADDTrUs S. C.' Lowe, of the city, county, and Stute of New York, have invented a new und useful Process and Apparatus for Condensing Carbonio Acid Gas into a Liquid, and retaining the same under pressure, und for drawing the same ofi` in the liquid forni for expansion in a freezing apparatus; and Ido hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the annexed drawings, making part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view.

Figure 2 is a vertical longitudinal section ci' the condenser, a transverse section of the gauge, and shows the end of the expansion-chamber; and i Figure 3 is a vertical section of the cooler,

The same letters zpe employed in all the gures in the indication of identical parts` In an applicutionlior Letters Patent filed in the United States Patent Otlice on the fifteenth day of December, 1866, I set forth in full my new and improved process for manufacturing ice, in which the frigoriiic e`ects f of thc expansion of carbonio acid gas which has rst been reduced by mechanical pressure to a iluid state are.

utilized by means of aconipletc apparatus therein described. This application isp'ntcndcd to apply to so much of .said prnecseiund p'paraus only u is employed in the, condensation and preset'vation -under pressure of the earbonicacid, and the withdrawal of the fluid from the receiver in proper quantities for filling the expansionchainbcr. f

I will proceed to describe the same, so that a person skilled in the art may manufacture and operate the same. Two modes are known ior the condensation of carbonio acid gas-one by positive pressure applied mechanically, the other bythe process of Thelorier, (1835,) in which the generation o' the gas in a close vessel is made to furnish the force by which it is condensed. As it is essential to the economical operation ofthe process that thc'carbonic acid should be used over and over again, the process of condensation introduced by Theiovier is not applicable. I thereforouiukc use of a pneumatic pump, B, which must be so constructed and driven as to be capable oi` producing a pressure of about forty atmospheres. This pump must have an induction pipe with u. valve opening inwardly, and un eduction pipe opening outwardly. For its more economical working, I propose to so construct the piston-rod that the piston muy be carried to and against the bottom of the cylinder; but this will be more fully set i'orth in another application to he made on thc pump. I have experimented with many gases, but. iind that they :ire destructivo to the pump. Carbcnic acid Sccnls t0 act as a lubricatpr7 so that the cylinder is not injured in its use. I use asingle-action pump, thc cylinder being open above. On this should pour a stream ci' cold walter. The puinp should he placed iu a tub, to be kept filled with water. As a consid lcrablc amount of heit is cvolved'in the compression of the gas, iu order toits economical condensation thegn-s must be cooled. To this ond l pass the eiluction pipe, formed in a coil, through the tank C, 'through which passes :i constant stream ci' cold water with which the tank is filled. This Watcl' talifes up thc caloric from the gas. It s also important th-.it there should be no water in the gas, as this, by freezing, would close the pipes. I therefore place a water-trap iu the pipe after it loaves thc cooler, so that thc Water can ho drawn from the pipe. When thc gas hns once become perfectly dry, as it is repeatedly used in the circuit, it cannot acquire IDOSIHC. Ili$n`CyllDdPlCn-l vessel used :is a dryer, through which the gas passes, the water or moisture being taken up by chloride of sodium or other suitable absorbent, with which thc dryer iS filled. The pipe then leads into the condensing coil E, placed within thc euse E. As this coil is subjected constantly to a pressure of nearly forty atmospheres, or six hundred pounds to the square inch, and may be required to sustain a greater pressure, it should bc tested to bear aprcssure much greater than that, say thrcctmes as much. This pipe may bc provided with u safcty-valve, and should have a pressure-gauge for indicating the actual pressure. The gus will liquefy at the point whore it is the most reduced in temperature. It is therefore necessary that the coil should ho kept colder than that in the cooler; to this end the condensing coil is placed in a case, E, (which should bc made double and properly protected against external heat,)'and kept constantly covered by icc. In this coil the carhouic acid is gradually condensed into a liquid, having aboutene six hundred and' it'ticth part of thc bulk of the gas under the ordinary pressure of the atmosphere. From the condenser-coil the liquid is to be drawn into the expension-chamber, Ji-.for other use. It must be carefully measured into this Chamber, for if allowed to escupe by merely opening the communication, if ltoo much entered the chamber it would be liable to bey destroyed by the pressure of the expanding gas, which is very great, and if not carefully regulated would prove very dangerous. '.lhc pressure ot' the condensed and liquefied carbonio acid increases very rapidly with the increase of the temperature. It would therefore be impossible to induce the liquid to HOW from the coil in the gauge Fl it' the latter were warm. To induce the ilowof gas into the gauge, Ienclose itin ubox, and paci:` itin a mixture of ice and salt. The pipe lending into'the gauge, as also that leading from it, is closed by a stopeock. If the liquid were permitted to flow into the gauge by simply openingthe Btopcock in the induction pipe thereof, it would, on entering, be expanded and freeze itself, thus filling the gauge with frozen crystals resembling snow, and preventing further action. To avoid thisl difiicult-y, a pipe lads from the upper part df the condensing-coil E into lthe gauge, which, beingfirst opened, will fill the gauge withgus at the pressure requisite for condensation. Then opening the stop-cock in the induction pipe FZ, and closing tho one in the eduetionpipe, the liquid will flow from tho condensing-coil into and will fill the gauge, which is colder than the coil. Then, by closing the eocl; in the induction pipe, and opening the educ-` tion pipe leading into the expunsion-chamber, the fluid being relieved from pressure will resume the form of a gas, which', filling the chamber, will there produce its frigoriic elfeet. In the same manner, when the liquid is to he drawn oil` for other uses, it may be done in the same manner by substituting a proper receiver for the gauge. This receiver being placed in the cold receptacle, and reduced below the temperature of the coil, will be filled by theiluid in the same manner, when it may be closed and detached by ordinary devices. I make either ablfurcated pipe, F, or two pipes, leading from the condensing-coil into the freezing-chamber. Those pipes are connected, one with the top, the other with the bottom of the coil; the upper one will admit gas to the chamber, the lower one will admit the fluid. By this means very different degrees of temperature may be produced in the freezing-chamber, as the gas only expands to about forty times its owu'bulk, while the fluid expands nearly six hundred and iifty times.

Having fully explained so much of the process and apparatus as relates to the condensation of the gas, its retention as a fluid under pressure, and the manner by which the fluid may be drawn from the receiver, what I claim as new therein, and as of my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. So arranging and operating an apparatus for condensing and retaining under pressure, in the form of n. liquid, substances which in their normal state are gases, that the heut generated in condensation shall be taken up by the water in a cooler,'C, and the liquid be condensed in a. condenser, E', which is maintained at a. tempera turc below that of the cooler.

2. In such an apparatus the combination of a condensing-pump B, cooler C, dryer D, und the condenser E', substantially as set forth. I

3. The mode, substantially as set forth, of inducing the flow of the liquefied product of condensation from the condenser E into agauge, F1, er other receiver.

4. The mode, substantially as set forth, of regulating the temperature of the cxpansion-chnmbcr by pipesv F, leading thereto, connected respectively with the upper and lower parts of che condenser E. v 5. The combination of the condenser E', pipe F, gauge Fl, and expansion-chamber G, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my naine to this specification in the presence cl' two subscribing witnesses.

T,Y S C. LOWE.

l Witnesses:

R. MASON, C. F. CLAnssrL

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