US2207573A - Coking retort oven - Google Patents

Description

July 9, 1940. J. BECKER v COKING RETORT OVEN 5 sheets-sheet 1 Filed Aug. 5, 1957 N 9m rrrddm'l INVENTOR. Joseph' se/rse. BY

ATTORNEY.

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July 9, 1940. J. BECKER COKING RETORT OVEN Filed Aug. 5, 1937 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 M Il m a ai INVENTOR. Josep/v 5e cme 2. BY L .fw-roma'.

July 9, 1940. .1.v BECKER COKING RETORT OVEN 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Aug. 5, 1957 dnd Inv-PSW www l Qian-tuuu.

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Josep/f scxep... BY MW? ATTORNEY.

Patented July 9, 194() 'COKING RETORT OVEN Joseph Becker, Pittsburgh, Pa., assigner to Kappers Company, Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of Delaware Application August 5, 1937, Serial No. 157,493

6 Claims. y, (Cl. 20,2-143) The present invention relates in general to coking retort ovens and comprehends more especially improvements in coking ovens having accessible passageways beneath a structural support-` ing-mat in combination with cross regenerators that lie closely beneath the vertically ued heating walls for the coking chambers. The instant improvement is adapted'icr embodiment in coking retort ovens that are arranged to have their rich lheating gas introduced into the heating ues either from refractory header-conduits that extend longitudinally of the coking chambers through the capitals of supporting pillar walls or according to the so-called underjet principle, and the improvement is further adapted for incorporation in coking ovens of the combination type as well.

The invention contemplates the provision of means to separately regulate for and thereafter ilow into the upperV part of each dame-flue, or of a pair of contiguous flame-nues, of Vvertically flued coking ovenv heating walls, with no significant diminution in pressure and by the shortest direct low-path'from individual regulators accessible beneath the oven-supporting mat, optional quantities of combustion air, or of heating gas, in addition to thoseintroduced into the lower parts of said vertical heating flues, and by meansl of a separate distribution system therefor that is located in passageways positioned directly beneath regenerators for preheating underfring media, said system-being operable independentlyy of those arrangementsv employed to introduce combustion media into the lower parts of the heating flues so that it cany be utilized only at such times as it is advantageous to do so foru establishing preferred thermal conditions in the heating ues and so that regulation of the heating media flowed from such a system can be es-l tablished with readily accessible regulatory means and'that the so regulated heating media will thereafter have an unimpeded and substantially direct how-path into the heating flues, providing direct optionally regulable uniform or di-` versied heating vertically of the flame-nues sev. erally and controllable uniformity or diversityv of such conditions along the heating-walls ho-rizontally.

The present invention thus also may be said to contemplate the provision of means whereby preferred diversiiied .thermal Zones can be established in the ilue systems of coking ovens so that the coke plant operator may befurnished `with a medium through which he is enabled to maintain diverse temperature levels at various levels of the flue system for those occasions where the economic set-up is served by so doing.

The invention also contemplates the provision of an independently regulable system whereby thesecondary combustion air or secondary fuel 5 gas, that is introduced into the upper parts of all the vertical heating flues of a coke'ovenbattery, will be of ysubstantially uniform preheat throughout the heating-walls, the preheating step being recuperatively effected in the regenerator Walls and by equal lengths of flow-paths therein, for the combustion media, to all ofthe heating lues and in such manner that the heat withdrawn from said regenerator walls for that purpose will give rise to no stresses, strains or shearing action in their brickwork or unsymmetrical thermal levels from ends to ends of the regenerator walls nor to dissimilar temperature conditions at similar levels thereof. In addition, the invention contemplates the provision of a system for the stated purpose which will obviate the.

vformation therein of inaccessible accumulations of such suspended matter as may be carried by thecombustionmedia and deposited therefrom in such system. 5

tantly on the nature of the finished products and especially in the case of the distilled fluids their chemical structure and quantity is influenced to a greatextent by the temperature they have encountered during processing. Higher vtemperatures tend to'crack the volatilized uids and promote the formation of compounds that are predominantly aromatic in' nature, whereas lower temperatures promote the recovery of larger yields of liquid by-products having a relatively larger proportion of substances Abelonging to the aliphatic series of compounds. In consideration of these facts it becomes apparent that the temperatures maintained for example in the socalled gas-collecting space, i. e. the crownspace between the top ofthe coking chamber and the top of the coal'charge and through which 45 the constituents volatilized from the coal mass' pass in their path tofthe ascension pipe and co1- lecting main and Vwherein a relatively large proi portion of said constituents are subjected for a significant period to heat given 01T from the brick- 50 work forming the top and sides of this space, become an important consideration andtshould therefore be capable of such regulable adjustment as will permit the oven-,operators establishing those heating conditions both along the heating fiues and especially in the region of the gas-collecting space, which are most suitable for the production of the particular by-products it is desired to manufacture. In other words, in certain circumstances and situations, the economics of the coking process may be best Served when a coking structure is adapted to provide in its iiue system regulablezones of diversied heating therealong whereby the eiects produced in various sections of the coking chambers are subject to regulation so that, for example, hot bottoms and cooler tops or vice versa can be provided for the coking chambers, and among the objects of the present invention is the provision of simple and novel means whereby diversified thermal conditions can be established at any one time in coke oven ues so that the pyrolytic reactions produced at different levels of the coking cham-l bers can be controlled and altered at will. The present invention is thus designed to contribute impro-ved iiexibility of `operation and `operating results to a structure embodying its principles.

By means of the present invention it is possible to convert an existing -design of coking retort oven, in which the manufacture of only high temperature coke was contemplated, into one readily adapted for the production of coke at medium temperatures, such cokes having a residuum of volatile matter therein which ygives them vcertain advantages when used in domesticheating equipment. Besides this, the subject of the invention makes it possible, in the same coliing -oven in which the medium temperature coke is produced, to convert, if preferred, the medium temperature tars and gases, that normally contain higher percentages of aliphatic and paraifinic bodies than do bases and tars made athigh temperatures, into typically high tempera-- ture tars that are predominantly aromatic in nature and by raising the temperatures adjacent the gas-collecting space above that existing in those sections of the walls immediately adjacent the coal-charge.

The device provided by the invention is also of great utility for coke ovens in which, for any reason, it is found necessary to increase drastically'the coking time from that for which the retort oven was especially designed, for it furnishes readily manipulated and directly effective means whereby combustion of the reduced volumes of fuel burned during such intervals may be delayed somewhat, with the result that more equable distribution of these significantly smaller quantities of heat are obtained by its use during such intervals.

The subject of invention is also adapted for embodiment in coking retort ovens of the combination type and will in no wise interfere with normal operating procedure during such times as combination ovens are being underfired with fuel gases of low caloric value since it can be simply and readily excluded from any operating effect whenever desired. The invention has for further objects such other improvements and such other operative advantages or results as may be found to obtain in the processes or apparatus hereinafter described or claimed.

According to the invention there is provided in those walls that separate the flues of a coke oven heating wall, conduit means that branch laterally into the upper parts of a pair of heating iiues positioned on opposite sides of the same flue-separating wall, and extend downwardly through those pillar walls, that structurally support the oven heating Walls and also divide the regenerative space beneath the coking chambers into gas-tight regenerators which course lengthwise of the coking chambers, and also extend through the oven-supporting mat and port beneath said mat in an accessible basement. The

conduits of the invention are preferably adapted to supply to each therewithy connected heating flue from about one-tenth to one-fourth of the total air required to burn the maximum amount v By means of these conduits it is thus possible,

when desirable, to supply part of the combustionair requirements to the heating flues from the battery basement, while the remainder may be passed through the regenerators, and, advantageously, by reason of the fast that valve means, forregulating the flow of air into `the conduits provided by the invention, are readily accessible in the oven basement, said conduits may be rendered inoperative at any time and the total cornbustion-air introduced into the heating flues be withdrawn from the regenerato'rs. oven operator can empirically determine those points at which the introductoin of the combustion-air is best suited to existing circumstances to produce optimum operating results.

By placing the conduits of the invention in the regenerator walls, the air'passing through them is recuperatively heated by the absorption of heat from both the regenerator and heating-flue Thus the coke walls, so that it is somewhat preheated before entering the heating flues. The so-introduced air also operates advantageously to promote uniformity of heat distribution in the different heating. zones by operating as a diffusive medium for transferring heat from adjacent localized areas that may be at temperatures higher than `those surrounding them.

In the oven basement the conduits of the invention for an entire or partial heating wall may be connected through their valve means with a common header-pipe into which the air is introduced before it is distributed to the .individual conduits, or in those instances wheresuch small amounts of air are carried to the heating flues through said conduits that their valve means` erating for down-flow, said conduits maybe provided with individual ports into the basement. If the formerarrangement is preferred, the

header-pipe may be furnished with valve means that are disposed for operation by that mechanism which reverses the flow of gases through the heating flues and regenerators.

According to the invention, this header-pipe may also be connected with asource of preferably lean heating gas so that fuel gas in excess of that introduced into the bottom of the heating flues may be supplied directly to the flues at a point adjacent the gas-collecting space, where it can be burned with air coming from the lower parts of the heating fiues to heat said space to a temperature above that obtaining in the flues lower parts. f

In the accompanying drawings forming a part of the specification and showing for purposes of exemplification a preferred apparatus and method in which the invention may be embodied vandV CII tend cross'wise of the battery and lengthwise l vention specifically to Such illustrativel instance `or instances:

' `Figure 1 is a crosswise vertical section through a coke oven battery embodying features lof the present improvement, said battery comprising coking ovens of the so-called underjet type, the section A-A of the view being taken longitudinally through a heating wall and along the line A-A oi" Figure 2, whereas the section B-B is taken through a coking chamber and a regeneratorand along the line B-B of Figure 2; p

Figure 2 is a composite vertical sectional elevation taken longitudinally of a coke oven battery in planes indicated by the lines C-n-C and D-D of Figure 1; f

Figure 3 is a horizontal section taken along the line III-III of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a crosswise vertical section through a coke oven battery embodying features of the present invention, said battery being of the type shown in Figure l but in which the rich fuel gas is introduced into the bottom of the heating flues by distributing ducts from a refractory headerconduit positioned in the brickwork of the pillar wall capitals, instead of according to the underjet principle, the section EP-lil being taken along the line Er-E of Figure 5, whereas the section F-F is taken through a coking chamber and a regenerator and along the line `FF of Figure 5;

Figure 5 is a composite vertical sectional elevation taken longitudinally of a coke oven battery in planes indicated by the lines G-G, H-H and K--K of Figure 4 and clearly showsv how, in this embodiment, the duct means provided by the invention are not vertically disposed throughout their entire length from the battery basement to the upper part of theheating flues but instead are curved around the rich gas headerconduit in the pillar wall capitals; y

Figure 6 is a horizontal section taken along the lines VI-VI of Figure 5; and

Figure 7 is an enlarged fragment of Figure 2 showing the relative arrangement of the distribution system for flowing rich gas to the heating ilues vfrom beneath the battery-mat and lthe distribution system, of invention for supplying gasous media to the upper parts of the flues from beneath the battery.

The same characters of reference designate the same parts throughout the several views of the drawings.

Referring now to the drawings: the invention as shown in the several views of the drawings is embodied for purposes of exposition in a coke oven battery of the well-known Becker crossover type and more particularly of his Patent No. 2,100,762 and is susceptible of being underred by either rich gas or preheated lean fuel gases, but it will be understood that the benefits provided by the present improvement are not necessarily restricted to coke ovens of the type shown in the illustrations since said benefits can be realized in any one of a large number of cokeoven types that are supported on piers in such manner as to provide accessible passageways therebeneath.

rThe coking retort oven battery shown in the drawings embodies in its construction a plurality of crosswise elongated heating walls II and a plurality of intermediate elongated vertical coking chambers I2. The heating walls II form the side walls of the respective coking chambers I2 and as shown in the drawings are supported by the heavy supporting pillar yWalls I3 that. ex-

of the coking chambers beneath their respective heating walls. The pillar walls I3 serve both to support the heating-walls and to divide the `regenerative space beneath the heating walls and Each of the v by the regenerator division wall I4 which serves to support the coal charge in the coking chamber I2 directly above it, and is in additiony of such substantial and gas-tight construction that gases may be maintained under relatively different pressures on the opposite sides of said division walls I4 so that the flow of different underring media through the checkerbrick contained in these different regenerator chambers I5 may be maintained, without leakages from one chamber to the other taking place. Each regenerator of such a regenerator pair is furnished with an individual sole flue I6 that communicates by means of a plurality of ducts I'I with the checkerbricks above, said ducts operating to promote a uniform distribution throughout the regenerator chamber of gases introduced into the ends of the sole ues.

The heating walls II of adjacent coking chambers are constituted of a plurality of individual vertically disposed heating flues I8 by means of partition walls that are transverse of the heating walls and are tied into the heating walls at their opposite sides and, at their lower ends, form gas-tight connections with the masonry of the pillar walls. Alternate walls of these partition walls, that separate the ues of the heating walls, are higher than the intermediate ones. The higher of these partition walls I9 are flared at their tops, as shown in the drawings, to provide a single passageway for the pair of heating iiues lying between two of such walls I9;v The intermediate shorter partition walls 2l are stopped sufliciently short of the passageways 2t as not to impede the flow of gases through said passageway 20. The heating iiues of each heating wall (with the exception of the end flues which are provided with individual control and cross-over ducts) are divided into groups of four flues lbythe short walls 22 that divide the horizontal flue into a plurality of shorter horizontal fluesf23. The flow of gases from or to the heating ues in each group passes through its horizontal flue 23 directly into the cross-over conduit 24, that is above the middle partition I9 in each group, and into a corresponding group of lues in the heating wall on the opposite side of the oven.

The vertical heating lues I8 of the heating walls each communicate with two regenerators I5 that are located on opposite sides of the pillar walls I3 by means of ducts 42 through which the gases flowed from the regenerators pass into the lower parts of the heating flues. Beneath the regenerators is the battery-supporting mat 25 that is itself supported, by piers 26, above the ground level thereby providing passageways 2'I in which access can be had to the mat from beneath as well as to such of the operating accessories as may be positioned there.

As shown in Figs, 1 and 2, rich underring gases that are not regeneratively preheated, are

introduced into the flame-fines through rich-gas ducts 28fthat rise vertically through the pillar wallsand discharge into the heating ilues at ports 75,

2Q. At their lower ends said rich-gas ducts 28 communicate with a reservoir of rich gas` outside the battery structure by means of a common distributor-header 30 for each heating wall, each such header 30 receiving rich gas from the reservoir therefor through the arterial rich-gas supply main 3l in quantities regulated by a gascock 32 that is adapted for operation by a reversing mechanism through the attached cable.

In the embodiment of the invention shown in Figs. 4 and 5 the rich underring gas is not introduced into the heating flues according to the underjet method but rather from headerconduits 33 that are made of refractory materials and positioned in the brick work of the pillarwall capitals. The gas delivered to each heating flue from a conduit 33, through an individual laterally disposed aperture therein, is regulated by a nozzle-brick 3ft adapted for insertion in said aperture.

As shown in Figs. l and 2 of the drawings, conduits 35 are incorporated in the pillar walls i3 that are directly beneath the heating Walls of the ovens and are arranged to extend vertically upwards from the battery basement entirely through said pillar walls and their capitals and also through the shorter heating flue partitionwalls 2i to a point in their upper parts, whence they fork laterally by means of short ducts 36 into the heating iiues on the opposite sides of a partition wail 2l. Although the conduits 0I" the invention may, if preferred, be placed in the nared iiue partition-walls i9, it is preferred to extend them through the shorter walls 2i so that the gases flowed through any flue-group of a heating wall can be kept segregated from those of all other flue-groups of that wall. The conduits 35 for the heating flues of two adjacent heating walls are connected individually by means of pipe connections tl and a flow-regulating orice 33 with a common header-pipe 39 which is provided at both ends with valve means 49 that may be disposed for intermittent opening and closing by the mechanism employed to reverse the flow of gases through lthe regenerative heating system and in such manner that said valve means are open, when the therewith communicating heating flues are operating as the flame or 11p-burning flues, and are closed when these same flues are the down-flowing flues.

Sole channels i@ at both ends thereof are provided with flow boxes 4i for regulating the flow of underiiring media that enter the regenerators for preheating purposes before they are introduced into the heating flues through ducts 42 and for directing the combustion-products therefrom into the stack canal d3. When underring with regeneratively preheated fuel gases, such as blast furnace gas that is distributed along the batte-ry from gas-main 53, the regenerato-rs and flow-boxes are so arranged, in respect of the regulating devices for and the sources of the waste-heat, the air and the fuel gas, that an air regenerator is always interposed between the combustion-products regenerators and that regenerator used for preheating fuel gas, and in such manner that the regenerators for preheating infiowing fuel gas and combustion-air are adjacent to and on opposite sides of the same pillar wall i3,

In the embodiment shown in Figs. 4, 5, and 6, the 'conduits it provided by the invention are shown in combination with an alternate means for flowing rich fuel gas into the heating fines, said means comprising a refractory bus or header-conduit 33 located in the capitals of each pillar wall i3. Conduits 44 in this embodiment are not vertically disposed lthroughout their entire length but curve outwardly from the Vertical median of the pillar-wall capitals and around the brick work of the conduits 33 before entering the flue partition-walls 2|, as clearly shown in Figs. 5 and 6 of the drawings. Y

Both forms of the conduits of invention 35,

and dit, can be utilized to carry air :or heating gas into the upper parts of the heating iiues. For the purpose of introducing heating gasat such points in the flues, the distributer-headers 39 are communicably connected with the blast furnace gas supply-main 46 and regulated V amounts of that gas are introduced into headers Se through gas-cocks 55,'which may be disposed for actuation by the gas-flow reversing-mechanism through cable 41: during such periods of operation it is obvious that valve means di) must be tightly closed at all times so that there will be no transfer of gases between the atmosphere of the passageways beneath the ovens and said v distributor-header 39.

"me air distributed to the heating nues by f amount of air entering the heating ilues, under if its influence, is apportioned vbetween that entering from sole iiues it and from headers 39 by graduating the apertures d8 of the flow boxes 4I with draft-bars 4S in the manner well-known in the practice. The heating media entering the individual conduits 35and 44 from said headers 39 are subject to regulation by means of orices 3d which are individual to each of the conduits of the invention and may be varied in size as required to produce the desired heating effects.,y

in the heating flues associated therewith.

A coking retort Voven provided with the present improvement receives an improved flexibility in'` operation and is susceptible of having established in its heating ilues, heating zones having a diversity of temperature levels and heating effects,

which advantageously assist the oven-operator y to increase the range of results he can produce or the field of materials that can be manufactured in the ovens. In order to point out more clearly the potentialities of an oven provided with the present invention, the following brief description of operative possibilities is given. From a quantity of fuel gas introduced into the bottoms of the heating fines a variety of heating eects and products of carbonization can beproduced. For example, let it be assumed that the ovens shown in the drawings are operating at the normal coking rate for which they were especially designed, and further assume that the walls are Ibeing heated by means` of a fuel gas that does not require regenerative preheating and is flowed into the heating flues at their lower ports and which cause the air to enter the dues in the form of an annular ring and' rise vertically* thereinto with little tendency to be distorted fro-m a stream-line flow-path, said air being introduced, into the iiues, in quantities just sufficient to effect perfect combustion of the quantities of fuel gas employed. The air and gas will mix and burn as they ovv along the flues: the thereby evolved heat is absorbed by the heating walls of the coking chambers and a certain thermal equilibrium vis established between the heating walls and the burning gases. Coke and 'by-products will be produced having denite characteristics and analyses. Now assume that in consequence of demand it is. desirable toI produce coke that has a somewhat higher residue of volatile constituents, such as will be formed by decreasing the temperature of `the heating walls, and at the same time it becomes important that the pyrolytic decomposition of the distillates, passing through gas-collecting or crown space 52, be made more extensive for the purpose of altering the characteristics of all or some of the by-products. Both these desired operating results can be promoted without alteringthe existing flow of combustion media to the flues by introducing into said iiues at some point nearer the crownspace, an empirically determined portion of that quantity of air which was formerly introduced into the ilues entirely at the bottoms thereof. To this end, the conduits of the invention, which had not been previously in operation, are now put into service by decreasing the effective crosssectional area of the air-ports 48 of the fiowboxes, and by opening the previously closed valves 40 of the distributor-headers 39 whereby air is drawn directly from the passageways beneath the battery supporting-mat and flowed into the upper parts of the individual heating iiues in a direct flow-path and with no significant loss in velocity-head after being both regulated and introduced by orifices 38, into each of the conduits 35 of Fig. 1 or into the conduits 44 of Fig. 4

individually, and under stack-draft. In the upper parts of the heating ilues, this air mixes with and burns any unburned heating gas. The heat thereby evolved is" applied adjacent to the brickwork of the oven crown 52 to increase ther temperature of the region through which volatilized products from the coal must pass, thus providing for their morey extensivedecomposition; at the same time, less of the heat content ter topsy as describedl in the alcxive-mentionedv coking conditions. The establishing of these new coking conditions can be promoted, for example, by reducing the amount of fuel gas introduced into the bottom of the heating flues and at this point also introducing only sufficient air to provide for completeI combustion of said reduced volumes of fuel gas while at the lsame time flowing quantities of excess air into the tops of the ues through the conduits of the invention: the thermal units required to heat this excess air will tend to coolthe oven tops and its heat content can of course be thereafter recovered in the regenerators for reuse in the reverse flow-period of they regenerative heating cycle.

The invention can. also be used to promote uniformity of heat distribution along oveny flues more especially in those instances where the coking time is sharply increased from that for which the ovens were designed 'and for which an existing oven-setting had been made. At such increased coking times, the velocity of the gases through the flues is significantly reduced which promotes the liberation of the coking heat of the gases in a shorter section of the flues: however, by introducing only a part of the air required for' the combustion of the reduced volume of fuel gases into the lower parts of the heating iiues and the remainder into their upper parts, through the conduits of the invention, there will result a tendency toward a significant and desirable elongation of the flames at longer coking times.

The subject of invention can also be used for the addition of more thermal unitsI to the heating `flues than are introduced into the lower ends thereof, a possibility which, for example, may be exploited during those periods when the coking time is relatively shorter than normal, and when it is desired to increase still further the temperatures at the oven tops in order to produce further decomposition of the larger volumes of distillates flowing through the oven crown. At such times7 heating gases of any preferred type can be introduced by means of the conduits 39, 44 into the tops of the fiues where they can be burned by such air as is introduced into the bottom of the heating iiues and is in excess 'of that which is required to burn the rich gas also introduced into the flues at that point.

All these methods of operation are accomplished by short directlyeffective and readily regulable means severally accessible at the distributed points where such flame-flue regulation is needed.

The invention as hereinabove set forth is embodied in particular form land manner but may be variously embodied `within the scope of the claims hereinafter made. l

I claim:

1.1In a battery of cross-regenerative coking retort ovens with vertically flued heating walls having partition walls between the heating iiues and regenerators separated by division walls for joint inflow of primary air or separate inflow of primary fuel gas and primary air simultaneously to the heating flues at their lower parts; and alternative primary fuel gas supply means with vertical ducts in the regenerator division Walls for alternatively supplying unregenerated primary fuel gas to the lower part of the heating fiues for combustion with primary air from a regenerator for simultaneous inflow of primary air; and auxiliary supply means with vertical ductsextending through the regenerator division walls and the heating flue partition walls between the vertical heating flues into communication with the so partitioned heating ues at their upper parts but well below their tops for supplying secondary combustion media thereto for combustion with residual primary combustion media from the lower parts of the heating iiues; the combination of secondary air supply means and secondary fuel gas supply means for supplying secondary air and fuel gas to the auxiliary supply means, said secondary air and said secondary fuel gas supply means being optionally operable alternatively relative to each other and being separate from and operable independently of the primary air and gas regenerators and primary fuel gas supply means, for separate selective operation for flow of either secondary air or fuel gas to the upper parts of the heating flues during flow of primary air or air and gas thereto by the primary supply means therefor.

2. In a battery of cross-regenerative coking retort ovens with vertically flued heating walls having partition walls between the heating flues and regenerators separated by division walls for inflow of primary air to the heating flues at their lower parts; and primary fuel gas supply means with vertical ducts in the regenerator division walls for supplying an unregenerated primary fuel gas to the lower part of the heating flues for combustion with primary air from regenerators for inflow of primary air; and auxiliary supply means with vertical ducts extending through the regenerator division walls and the heating flue partition walls between the vertical ilues into communication with the so partitioned heating nues at their upper parts but well below their tops for supplying secondary combustion media thereto for combustion with residual primary combustion media from the lower parts of the heating flues; the combination of secondary air supply means and secondary fuel gas supply means for supplying secondary air or fuel gas to the auxiliary supply means, said secondary air and fuel gas supply means being separate from and operable independently of the primary fuel gas supply means and the primary regenerators, for separate operation for flow of secondary air or fuel gas to the upper parts of the heating ues during flow of primary air and fuel gas thereto by the primary supply means therefor.

3. In a battery of cross-regenerative coking retort ovens with vertically flued heating walls having partition walls between the heating flues and regenerators separated by division walls for joint inflow of primary air or separate inflow of primary fuel gas and primary air simultaneously to the heating ues at their lower parts; a structural pad supporting saidregenerator and itself supported above a sub-structure providing accessible passageways throughout the basement of the battery; and alternative primary fuel gas supp-ly means comprising a lower horizontal distributor conduit with upper vertical ducts in the regenerator division walls for alternatively supplying unregenerated primary fuel gas to the lower part of the heating flues for combustion with primary air from a regenerator for simultaneous iniiow of primary air; and auxiliary sup-ply means in the basement passageways with vertical ducts extending from the same through the supporting mat, the regenerator division walls, and the heating ue partition walls between the vertical heating flues into communication with the so partitioned heating ilues at their upper parts but well below their tops for supplyng secondary combustion media thereto for combustion with residual primary combustion media from the lower parts of the heating flues; the combination of secondary air supply means and secondary fuel gas supply means in the accessible basement passageways for supplying secondary air and fuel gas to the auxiliary supply means, said secondary air and secondary fuel gas supply means being optionally operable alternatively with each other and being separate v from and operable independently of the primary supply means, for separate selective operation for flow of either secondary air or fuel gas to the upper parts of the heating flues during flow of* primary air or air and gas thereto by the primary supply means therefor.

4. In a battery of cross-regenerative coking retort ovens with vertically iiued heating walls having partition walls between the heating ligues and regenerators separated by division walls 'for inflow of primary air to the heating flues at their lower parts, primary fuel gas supply means comprising a lower horizontal distributor conduit with upper Vertical ducts in the regenerator division walls for supplying an unregenerated pri-1 mary fuel gas to the lower part of the heating flues for combustion with primary air from regenerators for inflow of primary air, and auX- iliary supply means for supplying secondary combustion media to the heating flues; and in which said auxiliary means is constituted of a' header conduit in an accessible passageway beneath the battery, and regulable vertical ducts extending from the header directly upwardly from the same through the regenerator division walls andthe heating flue partition walls. until into communication with the so-partitioned heating flues at their upper parts but well below their tops for combustion with residual primary media from the lower parts of the flues, with' separate selective operation for fiow of secondary 5. Apparatus as claimed in claim 3 and in which the lower horizontal distributor conduit for the primary fuel gas supply means is also disposed horizontally within the capital of the regenerator wall within which its vertical duct means and the Vertical ducts for the auxiliaryl supply means are both also disposed vertically, and in which the Vertical ducts for the auxiliary supply means are curved around the horizontally disposed horizontal distributor conduit ofthe primary fuel gas supply means in the same regenerator division wall therewith.

6. Apparatus as claimed in claim 4 and in which the lower horizontal distributor conduit for the primary fuel gas supply means is also disposed horizontally within the capital of rthe regenerator wall within which its vertical duct means and the vertical ducts` for the auxiliary supply means are both also disposed vertically, and in which the Vertical ducts for the auxiliary supply means are curved around the horizontally. disposed horizontal distributor conduit of the primary fuel gas supply means in the same regenerator division wall therewith.

JOSEPH BECKER. 70

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