Device for production of inert gases

• US 4,448,577 A
• Filed: 01/29/1982
• Issued: 05/15/1984
• Est. Priority Date: 01/29/1981
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Glowny Instytut Gornictwa
• Original Assignee: Glowny Instytut Gornictwa
• Inventors: Paczkowski, Marian
• Primary Examiner(s): Dority, Jr., Carroll B.
• Application Number:
  US06/344,101
• Time in Patent Office: 837 Days
• Field of Search: 431/4, 431/190, 60/39.53, 60/39.55, 60/39.59, 60/39.07
• US Class Current: 431/190
• CPC Class Codes: A62C 3/02 for area conflagrations, e.g. forest fires, subterranean fires
• CPC Class Codes: A62C 5/006 Extinguishants produced by combustion
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 19/14 Production of inert gas mixtures; Use of inert gases in general
• CPC Class Codes: B05B 7/00 Spraying apparatus for discharge of liquids or other fluent materials from two or more sources, e.g. of liquid and air, of powder and gas B05B3/00, B05B5/00 , B05B11/06 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: F23C 6/00 Combustion apparatus characterised by the combination of two or more combustion chambers or combustion zones, e.g. for staged combustion
• CPC Class Codes: F23J 15/06 of coolers

Abstract

The invention solves the problem of production of inert gases by way of liquid fuel combustion and diffusion of combustion products with water in a device having small overall dimensions and ensuring to obtain and pump large quantities of gases with the oxygen content well below 2% of the volume as well as minimum content of unburnt fuel particles and, furthermore, devoid of dissociation products. The device consists of a turbo-compressor and tightly connected chambers for oxygen pre-reduction, fuel atomizers, combustion, mixing, after burning and diffusion cooling. The pre-reduction chamber preferably has four flame tubes with fuel injectors and sparking plugs and the chamber of the fuel atomizers in equipped with two circumferential rows of atomizers. One of thereof is a row of counter-current atomizers located opposite the exhaust gas outlet from the flame tubes whereas the forms a row of parallel-current atomizers placed in the channels which are made up between the partitions that support the internal tube. Behind the chamber of atomizers on the outlet way of exhaust gases, that have undergone pre-reduction from oxygen, two further chambers are situated, the first of these equipped with parallel-current atomizers of additional fuel with sparking plug makes up the combustion chamber, the second fitted at the front with a diffuser and a counter-current central water nozzle forms the after-burning and preliminary cooling chamber before the basic diffusion cooling and evaporation in the last chamber.

Claims

1. In a device for producing inert gases by liquid fuel combustion and diffusion of combustion products with water, useful particularly to prevent and extinguish underground fires, comprising a turbo-compressor and tightly connected multiple stage chambers for preliminary reduction of oxygen, fuel atomization, after-burning, mixing and evaporation, the improvements which are characterized by providing a first cylindrical shaped inlet combustion chamber immediately downstream of said turbo-compressor, and including a circumferential array of burner tubes extending longitudinally of said chamber, each tube including a fuel injector means and downstream thereof a sparking means for combustion of fuel introduced by said fuel injector means, providing preliminary reduction of oxygen in said flame tubes, a second cylindrical chamber attached downstream of said first chamber and including fuel atomization means in the form of two circumferential rows of atomizers, one of which consists of a series of fuel nozzles facing upstream toward the outlet of said first chamber and said flame tubes therein, a second set of atomizers facing downstream parallel to flow through said second chamber, therebeing included a cylindrical internal tube mounted within said second chamber by means of radially extending partition means connected to the circumference of said second chamber and defining a series of axially arranged channels each containing one of said second set of atomizers therein, a third cylindrical chamber connected to the downstream end of said second chamber, therebeing a further set of supplemental fuel atomizers arranged in a concentric pattern around the central axis of said third chamber, sparking means arranged in the center of said third chamber, a fourth cylindrical chamber connected to the downstream end of said third chamber and providing a preliminary cooling means for exhaust gases flowing therethrough, said fourth chamber including a cylindrically arranged water jacket means for preliminary cooling of said gases, a centrally located water nozzle mounted between said third and fourth chambers for supplying a spray of water facing upstream of said flow toward said third chamber, and a circumferentially arranged spray diffuser means in the form of a ring mounted between said third and fourth chambers and also facing substantially upstream of said flow to supply with said centrally arranged nozzle, a pattern of water for preliminary cooling of said gases, a fifth cylindrical chamber connected to the downstream end of said fourth chamber, a circumferentially mounted set of water nozzles between said fourth and fifth chambers facing partially downstream of said direction of flow therethrough, including individual nozzles mounted at an angle with respect to the cylindrical chamber and defining thereby a spray pattern facing inwardly as well as downstream of said flow of gases, and a chamber connected to the downstream outlet end of said fifth chamber, whereby exhaust gases passing through said device provide for evaporation of water and forming of inert gases at the outlet end thereof.