US1549158A - Purifier - Google Patents

Description

Aug- 11, 1925. 1549M H. F. SMITH v PURIFIER Original Filed June 26., 1922 2 She ets-Sheet 1 Patented Aug. 11, 1925};

HARRY E. SMITH, 0F DAYTON, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE GAS E t DAYTON, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

PURIFIER.

Original application filed June 26, 1922, Serial No. 570,972. Divided and this application filed September 29, 1923. Serial No. 665,684..

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, HARRY F. SMITH, a c1tizen of the United States of America, residing at Dayton, county of Montgomery, and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Purifiers, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to purifying apparatus, and more particularly to apparatus for removing impurities from gases.

One of the principal objects of this invention is to provide a gas power plant, comprising purifying apparatus, which is simple in its construction,'andefi'ective in its operation, and easily maintained in repa r.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the description thereof set out below when taken 1n connection with the accompanying drawing.

This invention is a division of the copending application of Harry F. Smith Serial No. 570,972 filed June 26, 1922 for improvements in method of, and apparatus for, generating gas.

In the drawin in which like characters of reference designate like parts through the several views thereof Fig. 1 is an elevational view of a power plant comprising, as shown, a producer, a purifier, a gas engine constructed to operate uponthe gas generated within the producer and at the same time to furnish suction for causing the generation of such gas;

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view showing in detail the construction of the purifier;

Fig. 3 is a. horizontal sectional view, through the purifier with certain parts thereof broken away to more clearly disclose the construction of the apparatus; and

Fig. 4 is a detail view of the scraper forming one element of the purifier.

A combustible gas such as producer gas or the like, ordinarily contains some 1mpurities, the quantity and character of the impurities depending upon the nature of the fuel from which the as is generated, the method of generatin t e gas and other operating condltions. gas of this character is ordinarily sufiiciently free from impurities to permit of its burning under a boiler, or the like, in which case the impurities would be consumed along with the gas. But such a gas is frequently subected to uses requiring the removal of substantially all the impurities before such use.

The apparatus which forms the subject matter of this invention is particularly adapted for use in connection with a gas producer, or the like, for removing the 1mpurities from this generated gas.

As shownthis purifier consists of a shell 19 into the upper end of which an inlet pipe 11 opens, the gas to be purified being introduced into the shell 10 through this pipe. The open upper end of the shell is provided with a top or closure 12, by means of which the shell is tightly closed during operation. The shell 10, and the top 12 are preferably made of thin sheet metal, and the upper free edge of the shell 10 is rolled or beaded as shown at 13, to provide a seat for the top, suitable packing 14 being interposed between the top and the seat 13, to prevent leakage. The top is preferably provided with a. plurality of depending guides 16 which extend down into the shell 1.0 to properly center the top when it is in position. Intermediate its ends, and preferably substantially midway of its height, the shell 10 is provided with a transverse partition 15, which divides it into two chambers the upper 17 being adapted to house the purifying mechanism while the lower 18 acts as an equalizer to prevent undue pulsations in the as passing throu h the purifying chamber 1%, as a result of t e operation of the gas engine.

The partition 15 is provided with a sub stantially central opening therein, and a hol low fitting 20, which is secured to the partition 15 in any desired manner, surrounds this opening, the upper end of this fitting being cone sha ed to receive a correspondingly conical s aped opening in the member 21 which serves to support the purifying material through which the gas, entering the chamber 17 from the producer, asses on its way to the engine. This mem or 21 preferably consists of a pan shaped member, having upstanding side walls 22, and a somewhat oval false bottom 23. The false bottom 23, as shown particularly in Figs. 2 and 3 is provided on its upper face with a plurality of concentric grooves 24, and is also provided with a plurality of radially arranged slots or passages 25. This false bottom has positioned upon its upper surface a layer of fabric 27, which is preferably a good grade of flannel, or the like, such as the wool filter cloth which is an article of commercial use. This cloth is covered with a layer of finely divided purifying material 28, which material is preferably of the same character as the fuel used in the producer. If the producer is operating upon charcoal the layer of purifying material 28 will consist of finely divided charcoal or charcoal dust. If the producer is operating upon coke this layer will consist of coke dust or breeze. The primary purpose of the cloth 27 is to provide a support for the finely divided purifying material which permits the ready passage of the gas therethrough, but prevents any of the finely divided purifying material being carried along withv that gas. The filter cloth is preferably stretched smoothly and somewhat tightly over the false bottom 23, any desired means being used for retaining this clothin position and properly stretched. Preferably, however, the cloth is retained in position by means of a 'piece of rope 30 which is pressed down into a suitable groove 31, within the member 21, the proportions of the groove being such that as the rope is pressed into position it will draw the cloth tight, and will remain in position holding the cloth properly r stretched. If desired a spring, such as is disclosed in the above referred to applications may be utilized for this purpose but experience has shown that a piece of rope is just as satisfactory and considerably cheaper and less difficult to assemble.

The gas introduced into the chamber 17,.

through the inlet pipe 11, passes downwardly through the layer of purifying material, the layer of cloth 27, and thence through the passages 25 in the false bottom, impurities being removed as it passes through the purifying material, the purified gas passing through the member 20 into the chamber 18 and thence outwardly through the pipe 33.

The generated gas, which is to be freed of its impurities by the apparatus shown herein, is often used for operating a gas engine. In such cases the operation of the gas engine furnishes the suction for blasting the fuel in the producer, and the inlet manifold of the gas engine is directly connected to the outlet pipe 33. 'The inlet pipe 11 is connected to the oiftake pipe of the producer, so that operation of the gas engine will furnish suction for drawing the blast through the fuel bed of the producer to cause generation of combustible gas and for withdrawing this combustible gas from the producer vv thence through the inlet pipe 11 into the shell 10 of the purifier, thence through the layer of purifying material and out through the outlet pipe 33 to the engine.

As the engine operates pulsations will generally be set up in the outlet pipe 33 which have a tendency to agitate the puritying material within the layer 28 to interfere with its effectiveness of operation. In order to prevent this the chamber 18 is provided, in the lower part of the purifier, which chamber acts somewhat in the nature of an equalizer to absorb these pulsations and prevent them from affecting the purifying material.

The function of the concentric grooves 24 is to prevent localization of the gas into streams as it passes through the layer of purifying material. as would be the case if the upper surface of the false bottom 23 were smooth and the passages 25 were as widely separated as shown. But by providing these concentric grooves the gas is free to pass through substantially the whole area of the layer of purifying material and after it passes therethrough can travel through the various grooves to the passages 25.

The false bottom 23, as shown, is preferably oval shaped, since such construction permits of maintaining the layer of fabric 27 snugly in contact with the false bottom 23 throughout it extent. If this layer of fabric does not lie snugly against the false bottom 23 it will tend to vibrate or oscillate during operation of the apparatus and thus disturb the layer of purifying material, the effect being so pronounced at times as to break the continuity of this layer of puritying material thus allowing some of the gas to pass through without being subjected to purifying action.

Because of the character of the layer of purifying material the presence of considerable quantities of water or other liquid impurities within the gas will tend to destroy its effectiveness. VV-ater carried by the gas will be removed therefrom, along with other impurities, as the gas passes through the purifier and this water will tend to clog up the purifier. In order to prevent this a condenser is interposed within the delivery pipe 11, between the purifier and.the.pro-

ducer. As shown this condenser preferablv consists of several lengths of pipe'40. but of course any other desired type of condenser may be used.

Inasmuch as the impurities which are removed in the purifier are deposited on the upper surface of the layer of material 28 the tendency during operation is for these impurities to form a layer or crust over the top surface of the purifying material to clog up the passages therethrough and destroy the effectiveness of the purifier. In general practice the layer 28 is formed by placing a quantity of the purifying material to be used upon the'false bottom 23, suflicient of IOU litf

permit removal of this layer of material a' scraper, which consists of a curved blade 45, to which'is attached a rake member 46, is mounted upon the lower end of the rotat able shaft 47. which is positioned within an opening in the top 12, a suitable enlargement or handle 48 being provided, upon the outside of the top, to permit ready manipulation of the scraper. The handle 48 is preferably substantially round with a depending flange 49 which contacts with the upper surface of the top and tends to prevent leakage through the opening in which the shaft 47 is mounted. A suitable spring 50 is positioned l tween the inner face of the top 12 and a disc 51 carried by the shaft 47, to hold the flange 49 against the top, while at the same time permitting ready rotation of the shaft 47 and the scraper member carried thereby. The blade 45. as shown particularly in Fig. 2 rests upon the upper surface. of the flange 22 and as the blade is rotated it tends. because of its curvature, to scrape off any excess material and force it over the edge of the flange. Sometimes the material deposited upon the layer 28 tends to cake but the rake member 46, which consists of a wooden bar having a plurality of teeth 53 imbedded therein, will break up this coating. as the shaft 47 is rotated, to thus restore the cleaning effectiveness of the apparatus.

Details of construction of the engine 60 are not shown since this engine may,be of any desired type. The particular engine shown is the well known Delco Light air cooled engine, details of construction of which are shown in the patent to Charles F. Kettering and William A. Chryst, No. 1,341,- 327. dated May 25, 1920. However, any other type of engine which is adapted to operate upon producer gas may be used. As stated above during operation the purified gas passes from the chamber 18 into the pipe 33 which is connected to the inletpipe 61. of the engine, and the exhaust gas resulting from the combustion of this gas within the cylinder of the engine passes outwardly through the exhaust pipe 62, into the vent pipe 63, which is connected to atmosphere.

Vhile the gas generating system shown herein as illustrating a proper embodiment of the invention comprises an internal combustion engine. this type of purifier may be utilized where the gas is intended for some purpose other than the operation of a gas engine. Of course the purifier would function to remove impurities from the gas, re' gardless of the use to which that gas might be put.

\Vhile the form of apparatus herein described and illustrated constitutes a preferred embodiment of the invention, it is to be understood that the invention is not. limited to this precise form and that changes may be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention which is defined in the appended claims.

lVhat is claimed is:

1. In a gas generating system of the character described, a purifier comprising a hollow shell having a gas inlet and a gas outlet. a perforated partition within the said shell intermediate the saidinletand outlet openings, the upper surface of said partition beingconvex, a layer of filter cloth upon said convex surface, means for holding said filter cloth tightly in position upon the said perforated partition and a layer of purifying material upon said filter cloth.

2. In a gas generating system of the char acter described, a purifier comprising a shell having an inlet opening and an outlet opening therein, a perforated partition within said shell intermediate the said inlet and outlet openings. the upper surface of said partition being convex. a circular groove surrounding the said upper surface of the partition, a layer of filter cloth upon said partition. a rope within said circular groove' being adapted for holding the filter cloth tightly in position upon the perforated partition, and a layer of purifying material upon the said filter cloth.

3. In a gas generating system of the character described. a purifier comprising a shell having an inlet opening and an outlet opening therein: a perforated partition within said shell intermediate the inlet and the outlet opening. the upper surface of said partition being convex and constructed to receive a layer of filter cloth thereupon. and said partition having a circular groove within its upper surface. constructed to receive a rope for holding the filter cloth stretched tightly upon the perforated partition.

4. In a gas generating system of the character described. a purifier comprising a shell having an inlet opening and an outlet opening therein; a hollowpartition within said shell intermediate the said outlet and inlet openings, the upper surface of said partition being convex. and having a series of perforhaving an inlet opening and an outlet opening therein; a partition within said shell intermediate the said inlet and outlet openings,

6. In'a gas enerating system of the.character describe a purifiercomprising a shell having an inlet opening and an outlet opening therein; a artition within said shell intermediate sai inlet and outlet openings, for supporting a layer of purifying material, said partition having a plurality of perforations therethrough, the upper surface of said partition having a series of concentric grooves therein connecting the said perforations.

7. In a gas generating system of the character described, a purifier comprising a shell having a gas inlet opening and-a gas outlet opening therein; a perforated partition Within said shell, intermediate the said inlet and outlet openings, the upper surface of said partition being convex, and constructed to receive a filter cloth upon said surface, said artition having a groove therein surroun ing said convex surface for receiving means for holdingthe filter cloth tightly in position upon said perforated partition.

8'. In a gas enerating system of the character described, a purifier comprising a shell having an inlet openingand an outlet 0 ening therein; a partition Within said shel inv termediate the said inlet and outlet 0 enings,

constructed to receive a layer 0 fabric thereover and to have a layer of purifying material superimposed on said layer of fabric, said partition being 1provided with a plurality of perforations t erethrough the upper surface of said partition being provided with grooves connectin the said perforations whereby is secure substantially uniform distribution over the la er of puri ing material superimposed t ereon of t e gas or the like passing through said perforations.

9. In a gas enerating system of the character describe a purifier comprising a shell having an inlet opening and an outlet opening therein; a partition within said shell intermediate the said inlet and outlet openings, a layer of fabric upon said partition and adapted to support a superimposed layer of purlfying material thereon, said partition having a plurality of perforations therethrough, the upper surface of said partition being provided with grooves connecting said perforations whereby is secured substantially uniform distribution over the layer of purifying material of the gas or the like passing through said perforatlons.

10.In a gas generating system of the character described, a purifier comprising a shell havin a gas inlet opening and a gas outlet. opening therein; a perforated partition within said shell intermediate the inlet and outlet openings, and adapted to support a layer of purifyin material thereon, a rotatable handle extendlng through the top of said shell, an agitating scraper mounted upon said handle and adapted upon rotation of the handle to agitate and scrape the upper surface of the layer of purifying material, and sprin means for ur g the operating handle an scraper towar t he layer of purifying material. Y

'11. In a gas generatin system of the character described, a puri er comprising a shellhaving a gas inlet opening and a gas outlet opening therein, a perforated artition within said shell, intermediate said inlet and outlet openings the upper surface of said partition being convex and constructed to receive a filter cloth upon said surface, an upstanding flange surrounding said perforated partition, said partition and upstanding flange constituting a shallow pan adapted to conta n a layer of urifying material, and a groove within said pan surrounding the perforated partition and ada ted to receive means for holdin the filter cloth tightly in position-upon sai perforated partition. a

In testimony whereof I hereto aflix my signature.

HARRY F. SMITH.

Witnesses:

JOHN W. WRIGHT, ESTHER REHMUND.

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