US64260A - Apparatus for burning petroleum - Google Patents

Description

other Hydrocarbons;

UNITED STATE-s. PATENT OFFICE.

GIDEON O. SPENCE, OF TITUSVILLE, PENNSYLVANIA.

APPARATUS FORBURNING PETROLEUM, &c., IN CONIUNCTION WITH STEAM 0R HEATED AIR. 0R BOTH.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 641,260, dated April 30, 1866.

To all whom it may' concern.'r

Beit known thatI, GlDEoN O. SPENCE, ofthe city of Titusville, county of Crawford, and State of Pennsylvania, h ave invented a new and Improved Method of Burning Petroleum and and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact descriptionl thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form a part ol' this specification, and in which similar letters represent similar parts in all (the views. f

Figures 1, 2, and 3 illustrate the method of carrying my invention into practice.

Various methods'and devices for using` pe-- troleum and other hydrocarbons las fuel have been invented and experimented upon, and many of them used with an unsatisfactory degree of success, the practical difficulties with all methods with which I am acquainted being that perfect combustion has not been obtained. In the various methods used the uid hydrocarbon is'injected directly into the fire-box, either in one or more single jets, or in the form of a sprinkling-jet, and in some eases into a pan, and s eam is sometimes introduced for the purpose of assisting the combustion; but in every case theresult is to a greater or less degree the same. A portion of the fluid is resolved into gas and consumed; another portion is decomposed, but` not burned; passform of smoke, .clogging and illing the iiues and passages with soot, while another portion remains a solid residuum, filling the pan or bottom of the fire-box and soon rendering them useless.

It is found that different combustibles ignite at different degrees of temperature. Phospliorus requires 15()o of heat, sulphur 4800 of heat, while the 'hydrocarbons require nearlyl 1,0000 of heat to ignite them. In practice I first discovered it to be a fact that in order to obtain perfect combustion of anyiiuid hydrocarbon it must be instantaneously and entirely resolved into gases. In the methods now in use a suicient degree of permanent heat has not been obtained to resolve the more denseY portions'of the fluid hydrocarbon; hence `the imperfections above referred to. Howto accomplish this result and make it practical has therefore been the object of my study and inven tion.

I have obtained the desired result by providing, and placing at some convenient point within the fire-box, a solid substance capable of receiving and retaining the required degree of heat, and impinging the fluid hydrocarbon upon or against said solid heated s ubstance, at the same time providing, while in its nascent state, sufficient oxygen for perfect combustion, which combustion is thus obtained without smoke or residuum.

Figs, 1, 2, and' 3 of the drawings illustrate one form of mechanical construction or device for carrying my invention into practice in a case Where it is desirable to use, say, crude petroleum as fuel to generate heat or steam. Fig. 1 is a front view of the same. y a horizontal section of the same on line A B.

Fig. 3 is avertical section of the same, takeny on line C D of Fig. 2.

` a represents the solid heated substance above referred to, and which I term a heater.77 This heater may be made of a multitude' of forms; but in this particular case I construct it, as shown, of a triangular form. Upon each of the three angles of this heater I impinge a stream or jet of petroleum through and by means of the pipes b b b, all of which pipes are connected with and supplied from the main oil-pipe c.

For the purposes hereinafter mentioned I provide a second series of blow-pipes, d d d, (in this case entirely surrounding and embracing the oilpipes,) through which I inject air or steam, thus supplying oxygenfor combustion and'intensifying the heatat the desired points, and all'bein g connected With and supplied from the main pipe e. By means of the branch inlet-pipe f this series of blow-pipes may be supplied with either air or steam separately; or, by partially opening each of the main pipes e and f, any desired proportion of steam and air can be used together. I should ordinarily use heated petroleum, heated air, and superheated steam; but this would be impracticable in rst starting the iire. In this particular case I place the oil-pipes b within the blow-pipes-d, first, for the purpose of heating the oil as it passes through the pipes and, secondly, by introducingthem into the blowpipes, if only nearthe outlet, and leaving the oil-pipes a little shorter than the blow-pipes The steam or air, bein g forced through thebloW Fig. 2 is pipes by a constant and considerable pressure, embraces and carries the oil with it to their outlet, Where the oil is forcibly im pin ged upon the heater, mingled with the steam or air in the form of a tine spray, the steam or air thus serving to forcibly eject the oil in separate particles or globules, and at the same time supplying oxygen for combustion. y leaving the orifice of the oil-pipe b a short distance back of' the orifice of the surrounding blowpipe d it will be impossible for the fire to run back77 li\nto the oil-pipes, or to cause an explosion in any way. 'The entire apparatus is therefore perfectly safe., and may be applied to a house furnace or stove with pert'cct safety. In some cases it may be desirable to only enter the oil-pipes near the outlet ofthe blow-pipes, as shown by the dotted lines bb. In the drawings a part of one of the blow-pipes d is re@ moved to show the end of the oil-pipe b.

By the above-described system of pipes, or their equivalent, petroleum and the necessary supply ofoxygcn can be introduced and impin ged upon the heater by any number of jets, from one upward, according as circumstances or the desired amountof heat shall require, arranging the heater to receive the required number of jets. Any additional amount of' oxygen or air necessary can be introduced through the draft holes or slots g g, or, if used in the fire-box of an ordinary boiler, air can be introduced into theash-pit and through the grates, or by an air-box, as is done in housefurnaces. i

In addition to the above-described series of pipes, heater, 85e., some means must beV devised to keep up the requisite degree of constant heat in the heater. When this is made of' the upright triangular form indicated in the drawings, I construct it hollow, open at top and bottom, leaving the spaces h l1l under itssides, for the purposes hereinafter mentioned; or it may be set upon standards or legs suspended from above, or arranged in any way to allow the heat and iiame to pass under and up through it. In this case I place the heater upon or over a saucer or pan, z', constructed of this form for the purpose of catching any..

unburned particles of the oil which may drop from the heater when first starting the fire.

I provide a third series ot' pipes, j j j, supplied Vfrom the main pipe 7c, through which I force steam or air, they beingso arranged that,

in addition to the supplying of oxygen, they serve as blow-pipes to ydirect currents of dame and heat upon the pan and resolve any unburned particles of oil remaining therein, thence reiiecting through' the openings h hand up through thc heater, which, if necessary, may be partially covered at Ythe top to retain and intensify the heat within it. This series of pipes 9' may be supplied with steam or air, or both, as in the case of the pipes c. Each of' the main supply-pipes c, e, f, and 7c should be furnish ed with stop-cocks or valves -to regulate the supply of oil, steam, and air.

My invention is intended to be applied and used in all cases where any considerable amount of flame or heat is required. Itcan be used with equal advantagesin all kin'ds of' portable, stationary, and marine boilers, and

in locomotives for generating steam, under all kinds of stills and retorts, and may be adapted to most or all kinds of furnaces and stoves, even without the steam or air blow-pipes, provided sufficient oxygen is furnished for combustion. By fixing or suspending a solid heater within the stove, furnace, or fire-box, and ilnpinging thereon one or more jets of' petroleum, almost as many forms and arrangements of pipes and heaters can be used as there arcdifferent varieties and forms of' boilers, furnaces, stoves, &c., and yet .my newly-invented method of obtaining a perfect combustion of' uid hydrocarbons, by impingin g a jet or jets of' the same upon a solid heated substance, will remain the same. In many cases the re-pot lean be dispensed with, the internal surface of' the iirc-boxrof the boiler, furnace, or stove serving to confine and direct the heat to the fines or parts where heat is required.

It is perhaps needless to mention the advantages which my method of obtaining a perfect combustion of the iiuid hydrocarbon possesses over other methods and devices which only produce a more or less imperfect combustion.

`Aside from the fact that an apparatus constructed upon the principles herein set forth may be used for months without coating over or clogging the fines and passages for heat and smoke, which is in itself a great advantage, both in convenience and economy, the relative cost of generating and maintaining steam and heat by this and other methods is directly in proportion to the proportion of fuel decomposed and wasted. Taking, for illustration, a ten-horse-power boiler and engine doinga given amount of work: When crude petroleum 'is-used as fuel, and burned by the usual methods, from two to four, andv frequently six, barrels of oil are -used every twenty-four hours. I have used an apparatus constructed substantially as hereinbefore described a sufficient length of time to demonstrate that steam can be generated to supply I a ten-horsepower boiler and engine, doing an ordinary amount of work, with from twenty to thirty gallons, or less than three-fourths of` a barrel, of oil per twenty-four hours, and that in a rudely-constructed apparatus the cost for fuel by my process was less than twenty-five per cent. that of any other process of burning hydrocarbons, coal, or wood. In applying it to locomotives or marine boilers still greater advantages are obtained by the proportionately small amount of tonnage required to carry the necessary fuel for the voyage, and the perfect safety to all withI which, by my method, a fiuid hydrocarbon can be used.

y For the purposes of illustrating the prin ciple of my invention VI have deemed it best to confine my description to one formor method ot' construction, but I do not desire at4 this time to limit myself to this or any particular mechanical device for Working out and using my invention, or to any particular form or arrangement of heater, as boilers, locomotives, furnaces, Src., of different shapes, sizes, and styles of manufacture require different sizes and forms of mechanical devices for applying my invention to them, though all must be adapted to the chemical principles and combinations of my discovery and invention; but

"What I claim as my specific invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. Providing within the fire-box or furnace, for the purposes herein set forth, a solid substance, or its equivalent, capable of receiving and retaining the required degree of heat for resolving petroleum or other iluidhydrocarbons into gases When brought in contact with the same.

2. The within-described method of supplying the fuel and oxygen, by dischargingpetroleum or other fluid hydrocarbons through one or more pipes having their orifices Within blowi -3. The use of one or more blow-pipes, orl

Huid hydrocarbon into gases, for the purposes herein set forth.

5. An apparatus for burning petroleum and other iuid hydrocarbons, consisting, substantially, of a heater, one or more pipes for supplying the fluid hydrocarbon, and one or more blow-pipes, combined and applied for the purposes herein set forth.

Dated at Titusville, Pennsylvania, this 15th day of February, A. D. 1867.

, GIDEoN-o. sPENcE.

AWitnesses: A f v ANDREW B. HOWLAND,

, HENRY BALDWIN,

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