DOCSLIB.ORG

United States Patent Office. Fred Bedford and Charles Ed

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
United States Patent Office. Fred Bedford and Charles Ed UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE. FRED BEDFORD AND CHARLES ED. WILLIAMS, OF SLEAFORD, ENGLAND, ASSIGNORS To CEDFORD GAS PROCESS COMPANY LIMITED, of LoNDON, ENGLAND. CATALYTIC SYNTHESIS OF METHANE. 989,755. Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Apr. 18, 1911. No Drawing. Original application filed February 25, 1910, Serial No. 546,016. Divided and this applica tion fled December 19, 1910. serial No. 598,228, To all whom it may concern: cooling of the gases to a degree sufficient l3e it known that we, FRED BEDFOR) and only to liquefy them with a view to the sepa CHARLEs, EDWARD WILLIAMs, subjects of the ration of certain of the constituents. But IXing of Great Britain and Ireland, and none of these processes have been so far com 5 residents of Sleaford, in the county of Lin mercially successful. coln, England, have invented certain new The object of this invention is to provide a 60 and useful Improvements in and Connected process by which the sulfur impurities may with the Catalytic Synthesis of Methane, of be effectually removed and at the same time which the following is a specification. the cheapest of the commercial gases of the 0 This invention relates to an improved type of Mond gas and Duff gas and the like process for the catalytic synthesis of meth may becommercially treated for the produc 65 ane or a mixture of methane with other stion of methane, without there being any gases and is the complement of the invention need to modify their process of manufacture. set out in specification to our co-pending In carrying out this process the mixture 5 application Serial No. 546,016. of gases (which should be first freed from The value of ordinary coal gas is due to carbon dioxid) is cooled to the degree neces 70 the large percentage of methane contained sary in order to get the sulfur impurities therein, and attempts have been made to into a solid form having little or no vapor produce methane synthetically from carbon tension, the hydrogen passing off as a gas 20 oxids by the action of hydrogen in the pres and being collected while the carbon mo ence of finely divided nickel, the function noxid, nitrogen, and methane will be liquid 75 of the latter being simply catalytic. The or solid. On allowing this latter mixture to reactions which take place may be repre evaporate carbon monoxid and nitrogen dis sented by the equations:- till off first and are effectually separated from 25 the sulfur impurities. After this distilla CO--3H, -CH,--H.O tion process a certain quantity of the carbon 80 CO,-4H =CH-2H.O. monoxid obtained is mixed with the hydro This catalytic reaction proceeds Smoothly gen so that the hydrogen and carbon monoxid provided the reacting gases are pure, and are in the required proportions and this mix 30 provided also that hydrogen is present in ture is passed overnickel in the known man sufficient quantity as demanded by the above ner. There should always be an excess of 85 equations. If, however, the reacting gases hydrogen over the theoretical quantity in contain certain substances - hereinafter order to prevent local heating of the metal. termed impurities--such as sulfureted hy The amount of this excess depends on va 35. drogen, carbon disulfid, mercaptain, and sul rious circumstances, such as the speed at fur compounds in general, even if only which the gaseous mixture is passed over 90 very minute quantities, the nickel very soonin the metal, and if nitrogenis present this acts loses its activity. In order, therefore, to as a diluent and assists in preventing local preserve the activity of the nickel, it is essen heating, and a smaller excess of hydrogen 40 tial that the impurities invariably present in may be used than would otherwise be neces commercial gases be carefully removed be SaW. 95 fore the latter are allowed to come in contact illustrate one mode of carrying out the with the catalytic nickel. Various processes. invention, suppose it be required to prepare have been proposed for the removal of the methane synthetically from a Mond gas of 45 impurities. Again all commercial gases ob the , following approximate composition: tained by gasifying coal and containing hydrogen 28 percent carbon monoxid 11. OO hydrogen and carbon monoxid are deficient per cent, carbon dioxid 16 per cent. Ineth in hydrogen, Warious methods have been ane 2 per cent., nitrogen 43 per cent. The proposed for the removal of the sulfur im carbon dioxid is first removed in any known 50 purities, and for obtaining carbon honoxid manner, for example, by absorption in a and hydrogen in the proper relative quanti solution of sodium carbonate, such removal 05 ties, either by varying the mode of manu being desirable to: E. the clogging of facture of the gases or by adding hydrogen. the apparatus by the carbon dioxid. The Some of these methods have depended on the residual mixture is passed through a cool 2. 989,755 ing apparatus adapted to cool it to a tem it is present or not during the catalytic re perature of about -190° C. A cooling ap action. paratus of the well-known type used in the fractionable abstraction method of obtain Having now described our invention what. 5 ing oxygen from the air may be employed we claim as new and desire to secure by for this purpose. After this cooling proc Letters Patent is:- - 40 ess the hydrogen passes off as a gas carry 1. A process for the catalytic synthesis of ing with it small quantities only of carbon hydrogenmethane fromand acarbon commercial monoxid gas comprisingcontaining monoxid and nitrogen but leaving behind cooling the commercial gas to such a de O it the bulk of these gases with the methane gree that the impurities separate out in the and all the sulfur impurities in the solid solid form possessing little or no vapor 45 gas.form Thethat hydrogenwere present may in be the collected commercial in a tension, separating the purified gas into its suitable tank or holder while the mixture constituents, mixing the carbon monoxid 15 which is left behind in the cooling apparatus thus obtained with hydrogen, and passing is evaporated so that the carbon monoxid the mixture into contact with a heated 50 and nitrogen distill off first, and these may catalytic substance for the purpose set forth. be separated by known means, for example, 2. A process for the catalytic synthesis of by Ei of the carbon monoxid by hydrogenmethane fromand acarbon commercial monoxid gas comprisingcontaining 20 means of cuprous chlorid solution from which carbon monoxid may be again ob cooling the commercial gas to such a degree 55 tained by evaporation. In this way the that the impurities separate out in the solid purified gas is separated into its constituents form possessing little or no vapor tension, and a certain quantity of the carbon mo separating the purified gas into its cont 25 stituents, mixing the carbon monoxid thus noxid thus obtained is mixed with the hy. obtained with hydrogen in the required 60 drogen so that these two gases are present quantity and passing the mixture into con in the required quantities, and the mixture. tact with a lheated catalytic substance for entirely freed from the impurities which the purpose set forth. were present in the commercial gas, is passed In testimony wheréof, we affix our signa 30 over heated and finely divided nickel in tures in presence of two witnesses. order that it may be converted into methane. FRED. BEDFORD, It is to be noted that nitrogen is not an im CHAS. ED. WILLIAMS, purity in the sense hereinbefore referred to, Witnesses: and it is immaterial, so far as the catalytic W. WARREN TRIGGs, 35 activity of the nickel is concerned, whether P. A. OUTHWAITE. .
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The Mond Gas-Producer Plant and Its Application.”
    190 HUNPHREP OX THE MOND GAS-PRODUCER PLANT. [Minutesof 16 March, 189;. JOHN WOLFE BARRY, C.E., F.R.S., President, in the Chair. (Paper No. 2956.) ’‘ The Mond Gas-Producer Plant and its Application.” By HERBERTALFRED HUMPHREI’, ASSOC.M. Inst. C.E. GASEOUSfuel possesses certain well-recognised advantages over solid fuel ; it is easily handled, and its combustion is completely under control, and causes no smoke or dirt. It is also applicable to many cases where solid fuel could not be used, and it is the fuel of internal-combustion engines. For these and other reasons the demand for it is rapidly increasing ; and it is the function of the gas-producers to convertsolid fuel intothe gaseous state. In a Paper read before the Institution in 1886, Mr. F. J. Rowan gave an account of the Wilson, Dowson, Grobe,Sutherland, Siemens, and other gas-producers which had been employed up to that time ; and Papers on the application of the Dowson producer to the generation of gas for motive power hare since been com- municated to the Institution by Mr. J. E. Dowson.2 The Author proposes to deal with recentadvances inthis department of industry. Producer gas was used for furnace work many years before its adoption for use in gas-engines ; and its applicationto generating power, which only commenced about 18 years ago, has through- out beenclosely connected with the name of Mr. Dowson. His success, and the great possibilities in this field of work,led to the construction of many other producersfor power gas; those of Wilson, Taylor,Thwaites and Lencauchez having achieved excellentresults.
    [Show full text]
  • Producer Gas Plants. a Profile of the Sites, the Processes Undertaken and Type of Contaminants Present
    Producer Gas Plants. A profile of the sites, the processes undertaken and type of contaminants present. Prepared by Dr Russell Thomas, Parsons Brinckerhoff, Queen Victoria House, Redland Hill, Bristol BS6 6US, UK, 0117-933-9262, [email protected]. The author is grateful to members of the IGEM, Gas History Panel for their technical assistance. Introduction William Murdock used coal gas to light his house and office in Redruth in 1792; this was the first commercial application C of gas in the world. Gas has been used ever since for commercial, industrial and domestic applications. Gas was first produced from coal and later on from oil until its replacement by natural gas in the mid 1970s. The conventional production of gas from coal is well documented; however, there was also another method of gas production D which is less well known, this was called “producer gas”. Producer gas plants started to become popular in the early 1880 and were in extensive use by 1910. As producer gas plants evolved from the first plant built by Bischof (figure 1) through to their demise in competition in the mid 20th century, many varied types evolved. Following Bischof’s early development of the gas producer the next major development was that of Fredrick Siemens who developed a combined gas producer and regenerative furnace in 1857. This system was gradually improved and introduced to the B UK through William Siemens. Producer gas plants provided a A great benefit to those industries requiring high and uniform temperatures. This greatly aided those industrial processes Fig. 1. Bischof Gas Producer.
    [Show full text]
  • Library of Congress Classification
    T TECHNOLOGY (GENERAL) T Technology (General) Periodicals and societies. By language of publication 1 English 2 French 3 German 4 Other languages (not A-Z) (5) Yearbooks see T1+ 6 Congresses Industrial museums, etc. see T179+ International exhibitions see T391+ 7 Collected works (nonserial) 8 Symbols and abbreviations Dictionaries and encyclopedias 9 General works 10 Bilingual and polyglot Communication of technical information 10.5 General works Information centers 10.6 General works Special countries United States 10.63.A1 General works 10.63.A2-Z By region or state, A-Z 10.65.A-Z Other countries, A-Z 10.68 Risk communication 10.7 Technical literature 10.8 Abstracting and indexing Language. Technical writing Cf. QA42 Mathematical language. Mathematical authorship 11 General works 11.3 Technical correspondence 11.4 Technical editing 11.5 Translating 11.8 Technical illustration Cf. Q222 Scientific illustration Cf. T351+ Mechanical drawing 11.9 Technical archives Industrial directories 11.95 General works By region or country United States 12 General works 12.3.A-Z By region or state, A-Z Subarrange each country by Table T4a 12.5.A-Z Other regions or countries, A-Z Subarrange each country by Table T4a 13 General catalogs. Miscellaneous supplies 14 Philosophy. Theory. Classification. Methodology Cf. CB478 Technology and civilization 14.5 Social aspects Class here works that discuss the impact of technology on modern society For works on the role of technology in the history and development of civilization see CB478 Cf. HM846+ Technology as a cause of social change History Including the history of inventions 14.7 Periodicals, societies, serials, etc.
    [Show full text]
  • THE RELATION BETWEEN HEATING VALUE of GAS and ITS USEFULNESS to the CONSUMER a CRITICAL REVIEW of the PUBLISHED DATA Bye
    T290 THE RELATION BETWEEN HEATING VALUE OF GAS AND ITS USEFULNESS TO THE CONSUMER A CRITICAL REVIEW OF THE PUBLISHED DATA ByE. R. Weaver ABSTRACT The introduction, Section I, contains a description of the sources and a dis- cussion of the character of the available information which has an important bearing upon the subject treated. The data are divided into two classes, (1) direct observations of the useful effects obtained from the utilization of gases of different qualities in the appliances in common use, and (2) statistical data showing changes in the quantity of gas used which accompanied changes in heating value. Section II contains a summary and some discussion of the data of the first class. Because of the large amount of such material only the briefest summary of such information consistent with clearness has been given. In some cases in which data are not available to the public in published form, and in others in which the reviewer does not agree with the authors upon the interpretation of the data, detailed figures are presented. Section III contains a summary and discussion of the general significance of the information presented in Section II. There is very general agreement that in all kinds of commercial appliances the potential heat of the gas is used with substantially equal efficiency, whatever the other properties of the gas may be. An explanation is offered for the general applicability of this relation to the results observed with appliances of the most varied character when using gases of any composition within the ordinary limits of commercial supply.
    [Show full text]
  • Guião De Relatório De Projecto / Estágio
    Integrated Masters in Chemical Engineering Packed Bed Membrane Reactor for the Water- Gas Shift Reaction: Experimental and Modeling Work Masters Thesis of Joel Alexandre Moreira da Silva Developed in the framework of the course of dissertation performed at Multiphase Reactors Group, Department of Chemical Engineering & Chemistry, Eindhoven University of Technology Supervisor at TU/e: Eng. Arash Helmi, Dr. Fausto Gallucci and Dr. Martin Van Sint Annaland Chemical Engineering Department July of 2013 Packed Bed Membrane Reactor for the Water-Gas Shift Reaction: Experimental and Modeling Work Acknowledgements I would like to deeply thank Engineer Arash Helmi for all the advice, patiente, support, encouragement and dedication to this project. His help was fundamental to this project. I would also like to thank Doctor Fausto Gallucci for all the good advices given and all the help provided during this project. I would also like to thank Doctor Martin Van Sint Annaland for all the suggestions made regarding the scope of my project and for making this project possible to happen. Also a special thanks to Masters student Rogelio González for all the help while using the phenomenological models that he was developing. Also a very special thanks to Joris for the technical support provided to the set-up I used and for all the technical advices. I would like to thank all SMR group members for making this group such a good one, with such a good environment. Finally I would like to thank my family and friends for their encouragement and support. They played undoubtedly a very important role during this dissertation project.
    [Show full text]
  • Hydrocarbon Torch Gas Kohlenwasserstoffgas Für Schweissbrenner Gaz D’Hydrocarbures Pour Chalumeau
    Europäisches Patentamt *EP000734430B1* (19) European Patent Office Office européen des brevets (11) EP 0 734 430 B1 (12) EUROPEAN PATENT SPECIFICATION (45) Date of publication and mention (51) Int Cl.7: C10L 3/00, C10L 1/18 of the grant of the patent: 23.06.2004 Bulletin 2004/26 (86) International application number: PCT/US1994/011619 (21) Application number: 95904049.4 (87) International publication number: (22) Date of filing: 14.10.1994 WO 1996/011998 (25.04.1996 Gazette 1996/18) (54) Hydrocarbon torch gas Kohlenwasserstoffgas für Schweissbrenner Gaz d’hydrocarbures pour chalumeau (84) Designated Contracting States: (74) Representative: Crump, Julian Richard John et al AT BE CH DE DK ES FR GB GR IT LI NL PT FJ Cleveland, 40-43 Chancery Lane (43) Date of publication of application: London WC2A 1JQ (GB) 02.10.1996 Bulletin 1996/40 (56) References cited: (73) Proprietor: EXCELLENE LIMITED WO-A-94/01515 DE-A- 2 455 727 Port Vila (VU) GB-A- 569 108 US-A- 3 869 262 US-A- 5 232 464 US-A- 5 236 467 (72) Inventor: FRITZ, James, Edward Port Townsend, WA 98368 (US) • DATABASE WPI Section Ch, Week 9540 Derwent Publications Ltd., London, GB; Class H06, AN 95-311792 XP002085604 & ZA 9 408 012 A (EXCELLENE LTD) , 26 July 1995 Note: Within nine months from the publication of the mention of the grant of the European patent, any person may give notice to the European Patent Office of opposition to the European patent granted. Notice of opposition shall be filed in a written reasoned statement.
    [Show full text]
  • Download This PDF File
    THE SUCTION GAS PRODUCER. 117 lations as .441 of a penny, and with steam installations .418 of a penny. The whole position was summed up clearly when he s;howed that the gas engine was only working at economical conditions at full load, and that the consumption of gas was increased by nearly 40 per cent, at half load. Oonsequently a gas engine which did not run continually at full load could never show tbJe guaranteed minimum fuel consumption: whereas the steam engine suffered much less in economy through such a r eduction in load. Of COlli'se if gas producer plants replaced old-fashioned and out-of-date steam plants an economy could be shown, but it could be clearly demonstrated that, by using an up-to-date water-tube boiler, superhea ted steam and a compound engine-not necessarily condensing- and taking into consideration the advantages of sarety, reliability. and flexibility, let alone economy, the steam plant still held the day. The "Ellectrical Times," which published every week the works costs of the 300 Electric Light Stations at H ome in accordance with the returns required by Act of Parlia~nt, furnished a strLking example of the success of steam plants as against gas plants in economy. There were only four gas engine instal­ lations, and these showed a marked increase in the \vOl'king costs as compared with most of the steam plants, a nd cost three times more for maintenance than Mr. Forkels lestimate_ So that the theoretical estimate of .41 of a penny for suction gas plants per H.P_ could not be relied upon, unless undle r exceptional conditions favorable t o a gas plant, :md considering t he cost of labor and repairs in the Colonies.
    [Show full text]
  • Phosphate-Based Catalysts for the WGS Reaction: Synthesis, Reactivity and Mechanistic Considerations
    PhD Thesis Doctoral Program Science and Technology of New Materials Phosphate-based catalysts for the WGS reaction: Synthesis, reactivity and mechanistic considerations Sara Mª Navarro Jaén Supervisors Oscar Hernando Laguna Espitia José Antonio Odriozola Gordon Chapter I General Introduction Chapter I: General Introduction 1.1. History and background of the Water-Gas Shift reaction The production of water gas (Eq. 1.1), consisting in an equimolar mixture of CO and H2, was first discovered in 1780 by the Italian researcher Felice Fontana, when he quenched incandescent coke with water under a glass bell jar. The composition of the mixture was later determined by Lavoisier [1-3]. C + H2O ↔ CO + H2 Eq. 1.1 Nevertheless, the reaction was first patented in 1888 by Ludwig Mond and Carl Langer [4], whose work was focused on the ammonia synthesis from coal and coke. Mond developed the producing process of the so-called Mond gas, which is the reaction product obtained from the reaction of air and steam passed through coal/coke (CO2, CO, H2, N2, …) [2, 5], which became the basis for future coal gasification processes. Mond and Langer were also the pioneers using fuel cells, feed with coal-derived Mond gas [6]. However, feeding pure hydrogen to the fuel cell was a hard task, since large amounts of CO were present in the Mond gas, thus poisoning the Pt electrode. Therefore, Mond solved this problem by passing a mixture of the Mond gas and steam through finely divided nickel at 400 °C, producing CO2 and more H2. After CO2 elimination by alkaline wash, the H2-rich stream could be feed to the fuel cell [2, 5, 7].
    [Show full text]
  • Water Gas Plants
    Gasworks Profile C: Water Gas Plants Gasworks Profiles Gasworks Profile A: The History and Operation of Gasworks (Manufactured Gas Plants) Contents in Britain Gasworks Profile B: Gasholders and their Tanks Gasworks Profile C: Water Gas Plants 1. Introduction................................................................................... C1 Gasworks Profile D: Producer Gas Plants 2. The Early Development of Water Gas..........................................C1 3. Different Systems Used for the Manufacture of Water Gas......... C3 ISBN 978-1-905046-26-3 © CL:AIRE 2014 4. The Development of Intermittent Water Gas Plants..................... C3 5. The ‘Run’ and ‘Blow’..................................................................... C5 Published by Contaminated Land: Applications in Real Environments (CL:AIRE), 6. Types of Intermittent Water Gas Plant......................................... C7 32 Bloomsbury Street, London WC1B 3QJ. 7. Blue-Water Gas Plants................................................................. C8 8. The Operation of an Intermittent Carburetted Water-Gas Plant... C9 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval 9. Types of Fuel used....................................................................... C16 system, or transmitted in any form or by any other means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the written permission of the copyright 10. Oil Feedstocks used to enrich Water Gas.................................... C17 holder. All
    [Show full text]
  • Fuel Is Defined As a Substance Composed Mainly of Carbon and Hydrogen Because These Elements Will Combine with Oxygen Under Suit
    6 FUELS 6.1 Introduction <s Fuel is defined as a substance composed mainly of carbon and hydrogen because these elements will combine with oxygen under suitable conditions and give out appreciable quantities of heat. Fuels are used in industry for production of heat and in turn this heat produced is converted into mechanical work. Before the invention of nuclear energy and nuclear fuels, chemical energy of fuels, which may be in solid, liquid or gaseous forms was only the natural source of energy mainly. Coal, crude oil and natural gas are fossil fuels. Even today, major portion of . energy demand is met by fossil fuels. At present, the major share of energy demand is met by crude oil which supplies nearly 42% of the total energy demand. Coal supplies nearly 32% and natural gas about 21% of the energy demand. Remaining 5% of energy demand is supplied by nuclear power and hydraulic power. All human, industrial, and agricultural wastes constitute potential significant source of energy. Normally a large portion of such waste is combustible matter e.g. wood, paper, tar, textile, plastic, plant, leaves etc. Bio-gas is obtained by fermentation in the sewage disposal system, or by the fermentation of cattle waste, farm waste, etc. If the fermentation is carried out in the absense of air, the gas produced may have the concentration of methane as high as 75%. The remaining part is mostly carbon dioxide and hydrogen. With the increasing gap between the demand and supply of crude oil, and with the fast reducing fossil fuel reserves, it has new become essential to find out alternatives to gasoline for nutomobiles, heavy vehicles, and aircrafts.
    [Show full text]
  • Gas Producers for Internal Combustion Engines: Ancient and Modern
    The Piston Engine Revolution Gas Producers for Internal Combustion Engines: Ancient and Modern D. Andrews and F. Starr Gas producers have been used as a source of energy for large stationary gas engines from the earliest days of the IC piston engine. The paper reviews the history of the gas producer, but also comments on automotive vehicles fitted with gasifiers. Some examples of running costs for stationary engines are given. The paper describes a recent wood based gasifier project that fuelled a modified 250 kW natural gas engine. The problems encountered give an insight into the operation of gas producers of the past. KEYWORDS: gasification, producers, fuels, automotive, modern types. Gasification Processes The terms pyrolysis and gasification are used here in the following way: Pyrolysis is the heating of coal or wood in the absence of air, thereby driving off volatile combustible gases, leaving coke as a residue, as in the original town gas process (or charcoal if wood is employed). The gaseous products contain methane, hydrogen, carbon monoxide with some carbon dioxide and nitrogen. In addition the gaseous pyrolysis products contain tars, liquid hydrocarbons, phenols and ammonia liquors, which condense out at ambient temperatures. Pyrolysis occurs between about 400-1000°C1 Gasification is today referred to as the partial combustion of coal, coke or wood, in which as much as possible of the fuel is turned into a gas. The main “gasification” reactions, which occur between about 700-1400°C are: C+O2 = CO2 (1) CO2+C = 2CO (2) H2O + C = CO + H2 (3) It will be apparent that the volume of gas produced by pyrolysis, as in town gas manufacture, where much of the coal remains as coke, is significantly less than that produced from the same tonnage of coal in a gas producer.
    [Show full text]
  • A Study of Coal Gasification, Byproducts and Its Environmental Impact
    A Review of Coal Gasification Process, Byproducts and Its Environmental Impact Devendra Kumar Gupta 2Department of Mechanical Engineering, GLBIT, Greater Noida, India ABSTRACT Coal is one of the abundant source of energy and has many possibilities in the energy sector fulfilling the demands of future generations when other resources are going to be depleted soon. Although as compared to other resources, coal costs more money for transport, storage and combustion, but there have been a continuous growth in the area of research to find the solution of these problems .Coal gasification is a method of producing Syngas- a mixture consisting primarily of methane (CH4), Carbon Monoxide(CO), Hydrogen (H2), Carbon Dioxide (CO2) and water Vapor (H2O) from coal and water, air or oxygen. Starting its use in earlier times from “town gas” now days coal is providing 70% of electricity in so many countries and much more [1]. This article is a brief study of gasification process of Coal, its byproducts and its environmental impact. I INTRODUCTION Coal as a fuel has been used in the earlier history as a fuel for street lightening and the coal gas was exactly produced by carbonization. In the 1850s every small medium sized town and city construct a gas plant so as to provide fuel for street lightening. Mond gas ,developed by Ludwig Mond, was producer gas made from coal instead of coke. Ammonia and coal tar were the byproducts and was processed to recover these valuable components. And as the time passed coal become one of the important fuel for the generation of electricity.
    [Show full text]