US794037A - Gas-generator. - Google Patents

Description

PATENTED JULY 4, 1905.

2 SHEETS-SHBET 1.

INVENTU F\ fm. mm Fw Ef;

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W. NACKEN.

GAS GENERATOR.

APPLICATION HLBD 00T. 2s, 1903.

PATENTED JULY 4, 1905.

W. NAGKEN.

GAS GENERATOR.

APPLICATION FILED 00126, 1903.

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, atterrir SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 794,037, dated July d, 1905. Application filed OGtOhel 26, 1Q3. Serial No. 178,566.

lie it known that l', Wnlfrnna NAeKnN, engineer, a subject ot the (fi-ern'ian ltmperor, residing at Yl 5 luclxheimerstrasse, h/lidheim-ontl1e-lthine, Germany, have invented certain new and useful ,improvements in (giasstiienerators; and ,l do hereby declare the Ylillowing to be a full, clear, and exact description ol the invention, suchas will enable others skilled in the art to which it apperliains to make and use the same.

lhe present in\f'ention relates to gas-generators, its object being to provide a suctiongel'lerator which ma)7 be charged with bitiuninous or other gas containing coal or Fuel and which at the same time will furnish agas lree Jfrom hydrocarbons and tars-that is to say, a gas which will burn with a non luminous liame and which therefore will servetorheating purposes.

Vlior this purpose the gas-generator eml iodying my invention consists ol a fuel-receptacle which is open at the top and provided with a grate at the bottom and with an intermediate discharge 'lor the generated gas. By this construction the gases tor siiipporting the combustion, such as air or a mixture of steam and air, are brought into contact with the upper as well as with the lower ond ol the 'liuelcolumn and are forced or drawn :into the interior of the said column, so that the gases produced are all carried ofi from the interior oi the said tuel-column- ',lhe operation of the gas-generator thus arranged as `Follows: ln view ol the suction or exhaustion of the gases trom the generator by means ot any form ot exhaust-pump or suction device the pressure in the interior el the Vfuel-column is reduced and air oramixture of air and steam is drawn into the incamlescent-fuel column from the top and the bottom ot the said column and in passing through the incandescent luel converted into generator-gas. 'lhe fuel, which is added at the top from time to time, is heated by the glowing' coal upon which it rests, the first efiect being that the volatile distillation products are given otl lrom the newlwcharged liuel, whereupon it gradually attains iiuzandescence and then also takes part in the gasilication. The prodi'icts ot distillation are then directly mixed with the air or air and steam sucked in from the top, and the mixture is then directly carried through the incandescent-luel column. The lirstelectotl tl iis tl iat the l il I i l id hydrocarbons are (,:lmnged to gaseous hydrocarhons, whereupon the latter are decomposed into their elements, h vdrogen and carbon, the latter being thrown out as soot. rlhe ilecomposition ol the hydrocarbons depends upon the height olI the upper |ii1el-column-"- that is to say, that portion oE the liuel-eoluum which lies between the upper end olf the generator and the gasdischarge.

'lhe lower portion ot the generator-stliat is to say, the portion between the grate and the intermediate gas-diseharge ei-ves exclusively for the eomph-ite gasification ol the coke `formed in the upper part ol the generator. llence this lower part correspomls to a cokegenerator havingI the usual dralt lrom below upward., and its height must he so determined that the air passing through it will have a full opportunitaT to completely combine with the carbon, so as to lorrn generator-gas. Experiments have shown that when the lower part of the generator has the proper height to be operative it is preferable to make the height ot: the upper part ol said generator greater than the height ol said lower part.

lt is an essential feature oli' this invention that the upper part ot the generator is open and VfreelfgT accessible and also that the lower end ol the Fuel-column is supported so as to leave a space below the same to give l'rec aeeessto the gas for supporting fifomlmstion, or, in other words, that it is held above the ground by the grate. litv leaving the upper part olf the inel-receptacle open the coal may be observed at all times without disturbing the operation and also the coal may he poked and raked and prevel'ited Afrom caking b v suitable instruments at any time. lt should be noted in this connection that in gelierators with downward combustion, as in the upper portion of the generator under my invention, it is of the utmost importance for a perfect operation that the upper layer of coal may be observeifl at all times in order to be able to maintain the zone at which eomlmstitm begins [OO at the same height constantly, which is done in the present case by timely addition of fuel and by a proper distribution of the supply of air to the top and bottom. it is, moreover, of importance that the upper layer of coal can be observed at all times in order to prevent an uneven combustion, which can be prevented in time by proper distribution of the fuel in charging. It is also of importance in view of the slag-'forming fuel employed for gasification that the formation of larger connected masses of slag or clinkers is prevented by frequently thrusting suitable implements down into the fuel-column. The construction of the generator as above stated makes it possible to frequently and even uninterruptedly polie the coal down to the slots or openings in the grate and to scrape the slag away from all parts of the Valls of the generator without interrupting the operation and in particular without changing the mixing proportions of the air or air and steam mixture flowing into the geuerator. A

Uf the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a vertical section through a gas-generator arranged according to my present in ven tion, and Figs, 2 and 3 are similar views of modifications emli odying my invention.

eferimg to Fig. l, the upright fuel-receptacle l) is'always open at top and has at bottom a lire-grate that is accessible from the top opening' of the chamber. The gases are drawn ofi' through a suitably-formed channel e, arranged at the proper point relatively to the height of the fuel-column, which is in a state of incandescence in its entire height. The fuel introduced at top is heated by the incandescent layer below and is first subject to distillation by such heat in becoming' gradually incandescent and is then further gasified by the air admitted at the top of the generator and passing through the incandescent layer of fuel. The residue consisting of incandescent eolie then gradually descends into the lower part of the producer, where in coming into contact with the air entering' through the grate it is finally completely gasilied, with exception of the ash which drops into the ash-pit 1,', which is removed from time to time through the opening l, formed in said ashpit. rihe products of distillation disengaged in the upper part of the body of fuel in being made by the d raft at f: to descend through the upper incandescent layers of .fuel will before reaching the channel c have become decomposed into non-condensable gases, possibly with separation of solid carbon, and pass away through channel c, together with producer-gases formed in the upper and lower parts of the fuel. The air entering through the lire-grate is advantageously moistencd, for which purpose there is provided above the discharge-channel an annular water-eva1 orat ing chamber a, in which a body of water is n'xaintained at a ten'iperature slightly below 100`` ccntigrade. The evaporating-chamber o is built into the bricliworl; of the producer in such a manner that the bottom thereof forms the top of the annular discharge-channel c for the gases and the inner side thereof a portion of the prodneer-chamber. By this arrangement of the evaporation-chamber on the one hand the excess of heat of the fuel at the discharging' Zone not being' utilized by the process is usefully employed in generating the required steam and on the other hand the downward projecting upper edge of the briclzworl channel c is made of a material that is less liable to be damaged by heat than briclrworlz. r[he chamber f/ is made to communicate with the atmosphere through one or more pipes /Z and with the ash-pit v7 througl'i the pipe e. The reduction of pressure effected in the producerchamber by the suction in the discharge-channel c is transmitted through ash-pit if and pipe @to the in terior of chaml'ier e, causing air to be drawn in through pipes (Z, which air in passing over the surface of the heated water takes up vapor or steam therefrom and then passes with the same through pipe i into the ash-pit v', and thence upward through the incandescent column of fuel, where it is converted into producer-gas. The water in chamber f1. is maintained at a constant level by supplying' continuously water through the pipef, while the excess runs ol'l` through the overflow-pipe y, the supply being made suilieient to maintain the temperature of the water in the chamber below boiling-point. For regulating' the amount of air passing' into the ash-pit the pipe c may be provided with a regulating device, such as the damper t, which is operated by hand.

The lower part of the producer serves only for the complete gasication of the colte produced in the upper part. YIt is therefore like an ordinary colte gas-producer with the usual upward draft, and its height is only determined by the necessity for allowing the entering air to combine perfectly with the carbon to form producer-gas before passing' away. YVhile with ordinary colte-gas producers this minimum height frequently exceeded in order to previously heat the upper fuel by the hot gases, and thus to utilize their heat more perfectly, such an increase of height has no object in the present mode of operating, as the fuel enters the decomposing process already in an incandescent state. Any such increase in height would onlyuselessly increase the cost and the space occupied by the producer, the detaching of clinlers from above would be more diflicult, and the loss of heat through radiation would beincreased. Thus it will be seen that the lower part of the producer has its pactically determined height the same as the upper part, and it has been proved that for the production of the rcquired gas according to this invention the upper part must be larger than the lower part.

IOO

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rsi/roer 'lvhc ilmrluminoue e'ae produced according' to this; invention ie more uniform in its compoeition than the luminous,` gas taken oli' Ylrom the higher layers ole the producer in the usual manner, as the zones where the decomposition of the tar and the gasification ol the hy d rocarbons take place overlap each other, and the producer cannot be practically no worked as to maintain a constant height of the fuel. lli, therefore., thinl height sinks somewhan the pl ace where the gaeesare drawn oli'l aiiiproachce somewhat nearer to the surface ol the luel and more undecomposed tare will remain in the gaa ll' on the other hand, the heightof the Fuel rises above the normal level, the diecliaree-openine' for the gases will be farther awry from the Surface ol the VFuel and more gaseous hydrocarbons will be decomposed. lielow the zone in which all the hydrocarbons have heen decomposed in to their elements the gases cannot be Subject to any further clunig'e. fliccordineto this invention. therefor@ they arc withdrz'iwn at a point eullicieutly below this zone to insure that their composition will not be all'ected by any variations in the total height olE the body of luel in the producer that may occur in the practical wmliine'.

'.lhe heating-gas, burning` with a non-luminous llame obtained bythe above means, is not only more uniform in its con'ipoeition. but also, on account ol' the complete deceniposition of all the tare, it is very much purer than the luininouel ,eas prepared in the known manner. Ylthae a lower heatingcapacity than the latter and is on this account particularly suitable for workingl iilternal-coml)nation motorsi but lees; So for producing' high temperaturca, and unless carburetcd it is oll course not suitable Vfor illuminatingil purposes.

l'lfhen granilyingcertain kinds of fuel, it may be ol advantage to add eteam also to the air entcrilleat top, ae Shown in Fig. 3. In this:

ligure m ri'ipreeente the pipe lor intrmlucing` the steam.

ller utilizing the soot that 1s contained 1n the greece in the producer itself the large amount ol `liree heat contained in the lower layers olE the upper part of the :luel can he utilized for converting' into steam water introduced at the point where the soot is eeparated, or eteain may be directly so introduced. Fig. Q Shows the arrane'en'ient of a pipe /if YFor this purpose, which descends through the upper body of Yluel to the point where the carbon separates; 'from the iras and which is eupplied with vater through a Siphon bend at top7 as ehmvin 'lhe reeultolI Lauch steaursup ply will be the prmluction ol water-gas; mainly il not entirely from the separated soot, as; this olli'ere very much more extended Surfaces than the lumps ol coke, and owing;` to its beineI iu a imecent State it ie much more die posed to enter into reaction.

ll'uvine' now particailarly described and aeccrtained the natureof my Said invention and in what manner the Same is to be perl'ormed, lf declare that what lf claim iS l. ln a gras-,eenerati 'a fuel-receptacle open at thetop and provided with agrate at the botu tom, and means lor :nlmitting' air below Said grate in coinl ination with an intermediate rasdischarn'e and means l'or causing' thc interme diate layers ol the luel to convert water into Steam and ln'ine'ing the Steam so formed into contact with the luel at thc soot-'Forming point.

Q. ln a Ae'aee'encrater a fuel-receptacle open at the top and provided with a grate atthe bottom, and means for admitting' air below aaid grate in combination with an intermediate gas discharge and means I orconverting; water into steam at an iiltermediate point o'l the luel'ie ccptaclc, and l'or introduciing'fsaid steam into the fuel.

ln tesitimony whereof I have allixed my Sie nature to this specilicatioi'i in the presence oll two witnesses.

W Afljllfl E'lt NAL/KE N. vi/'lfitneeeee:

(lusrmv Eigenen., W nyn'nniu ltn'rnns.

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