CA1041995A - Emulsifying system for constant, mixer-input-independent, delivery applications - Google Patents
Emulsifying system for constant, mixer-input-independent, delivery applicationsInfo
- Publication number
- CA1041995A CA1041995A CA270,948A CA270948A CA1041995A CA 1041995 A CA1041995 A CA 1041995A CA 270948 A CA270948 A CA 270948A CA 1041995 A CA1041995 A CA 1041995A
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- emulsion
- storage means
- oil
- water
- supply
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired
Links
Classifications
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B01—PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
- B01F—MIXING, e.g. DISSOLVING, EMULSIFYING OR DISPERSING
- B01F23/00—Mixing according to the phases to be mixed, e.g. dispersing or emulsifying
- B01F23/40—Mixing liquids with liquids; Emulsifying
- B01F23/49—Mixing systems, i.e. flow charts or diagrams
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B01—PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
- B01F—MIXING, e.g. DISSOLVING, EMULSIFYING OR DISPERSING
- B01F35/00—Accessories for mixers; Auxiliary operations or auxiliary devices; Parts or details of general application
- B01F35/80—Forming a predetermined ratio of the substances to be mixed
- B01F35/83—Forming a predetermined ratio of the substances to be mixed by controlling the ratio of two or more flows, e.g. using flow sensing or flow controlling devices
Landscapes
- Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
- Chemical Kinetics & Catalysis (AREA)
- Accessories For Mixers (AREA)
Abstract
ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
An emulsifying system for mixing accurate ratios of two or more liquids to form an emulsion. The liquids are preferably, but not exclusively, water and oil. A supply circuit delivers accurate proportions of the two or more liquids to an injector which mixes them to form a water/oil mixture. An emulsifier emulsifies the mixture to form an emulsion. A container stores a quantity of the emulsion that may vary between predetermined limits, and an output circuit is provided to draw the emulsion from the storage container.
A recirculating circuit is connected at the output of the container to return emulsion from the container to the emulsi-fier to continuously regenerate the emulsion. The emulsion storage container permits the supply of the mixture and the emulsion to the storage container at a rate independent of the rate at which the emulsion is drawn from the output circuit.
An emulsifying system for mixing accurate ratios of two or more liquids to form an emulsion. The liquids are preferably, but not exclusively, water and oil. A supply circuit delivers accurate proportions of the two or more liquids to an injector which mixes them to form a water/oil mixture. An emulsifier emulsifies the mixture to form an emulsion. A container stores a quantity of the emulsion that may vary between predetermined limits, and an output circuit is provided to draw the emulsion from the storage container.
A recirculating circuit is connected at the output of the container to return emulsion from the container to the emulsi-fier to continuously regenerate the emulsion. The emulsion storage container permits the supply of the mixture and the emulsion to the storage container at a rate independent of the rate at which the emulsion is drawn from the output circuit.
Description
104~995 The present invention relates to an improved emulsifying system and method for mixing accurate ratios of two or more liquids to form an emulsion. Preferably, but not exclusively, the liquids are water and oil which are pressure regulated and the supply is isolated from a vented storage container which stores the emulsion to feed emulsion burning apparatus.
There exists a need to provide efficient means of mixing water and oil together to form an emulsion to feed burning apparatus whereby to reduce pollutants which are released in the atmosphere and which also reduce the efficiency of burning apparatus and associated devices. Further, by providing a water/oil emulsion, less oil is consumed by the burning system. Various chemicals and apparatus have heretofore been provided in an attempt to achieve such objectives. However, such known methods and apparatus have not proved to be entirely efficient and economical.
Surfactants are sometimes used to break down the surface tension of one of the fluids to be mixed together, whereby to enable the mixing to take place. Surfactants are usually expensive and require additional savings in the system construction whereby to justify the cost thereof. Also, it has been found that surfactants promote boiler and flue corrosion.
The very fact that the surface tension is reduced, eliminates or diminishes the microexplosions which take place with an emulsion produced without surfactants. These microexplosions are important to the improved performance of burning emulsion.
It is also known to use sonic whistles or similar type devices together with high pressure pumps to produce a desired emulsion. However, known systems which use such devices do not provide means to reduce capacity in order to correspond , lO~l99S
to varying firing rates of burners, without reducing feed pre-ssures. ~e reduction of feed pressures seriously reduces the effectiveness of this type of equipment thereby providing a drawback.
Another type of apparatus known is the piston type homogenizer which is used to produce emulslons from water and oil. These homogenizers, however, require very large amounts of horsepower, require frequent maintenance, and are expensive.
Another type of prior art device known is the ultra-sonic reactor which is used to produce a water/oil emulsion.
This equipment is, however, very expensive, and uneconomical.
Also, such reactors are known to fail due to overpressure, startup with cold oil, etc. This type of system is susceptible to damage from external pressure sources.
Controlling water to oil ratio is very difficult because there is a reliance on standard control items which in themselves are not accurate while trying to proportion through the range of firing rates of a burner system. Known methods and devices, such as those described above, are also very costly.
Recirculating or circulating emulsion through a burner system has been very difficult, if not impos-sible to achieve, because of the problem of contaminating the straight oil with emulsion.
It is, therefore, a feature of this invention to sub~
stantially overcome all of the above-mentioned disadvantages of the prior art and to provide an emulsifying system for mixing two or more liquids to form a stable emulsion.
A further feature of the present invention is to substantially eliminate the use of surfactants or any other 10419gS
chemical which is only used to produce such an emulsion.
A still further feature of the present invention is to provide a water/oil emulsion for burning and very accurately control~ingthe pressure of incoming fuel oil and water, always at one constant flow rate, to permit the control of very accurate proportions of the water and oil at any desired percentage, and at very reasonable cost.
A still further feature of the present invention is to store the emulsion in a container which is vented to at~nosphere and totally isolate the output circuit from the high pressure supplies and to recirculate the emulsion to maintain it in a stable state and further to recirculate the emulsion through the burner system, in the same manner as the oil system is circulated without contaminating the straight oil with emulsion.
Another feature of the present invention is to produce an emulsion for feeding mixing devices such as ultrasonic reactors, or cells whereby to considerably increase the flow capacity therethrough to render such apparatus more economical.
According to the above features, from a broad aspect, the present invention provides an emulsifying system for mixing accurate ratios of two or more liquids to form an emulsion suit-able to permit continuous supply of said emulsion to emulsion consuming means. The system comprises means for supplying an accurate mixture of the two or more liquids. Emulsifying device is provided to emulsify the mixture into an emulsion. Emulsion storage means is also provided for storing a quantity of the emulsion that may vary between predetermined limits. An output circuit draws the emulsion from the emulsion storage means.
A recirculating circuit is connected to the output circuit and has a recirculating pump to recirculate the emulsion to the emulsifying device where the .
1 04~9gS
emulsion is regenerated and returned to the storage means where-by the emulsion in the storage means is maintained in a usable state. The emulsion storage means has a volume control means to control the flow of the two or more liquids to the emulsify-ing device to permit the supply of the emulsified mixture to the storage means at a rate independent of the rate at which ~ .
the emulsion is drawn from the output to maintain a stored volume of emulsion for supply.
According to a still further broad aspect of the present inven'ion, there is provided a method of mixing accurate ratios of two or more liquids and forming a stable emulsion therefrom suitable to permit continuous supply of the emulsion to emulsion consuming means. The method comprises the steps of mixing the two or more liquids in an accurate proportion to form a mixture. The mixture is fed to an emulsifying device to produce an emulsion from the mixture. The emulsion is then stored in a storage means. The volume of emulsion in the storage means is controlled to permit the supply of the mixture and the emulsion to the storage means at a rate independent of the rate at which the emulsion is drawn from the storage means.
The emulsion from the storage means is fed back to the emulsi-fying device where the emulsion is regenerated and fed back to the storage means, A preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIGURE 1 iS a schematic diagram of the emulsifying system, and FIGURE 2 is a sectional view of an example of the construction of an injector device.
,~. ~
_ ,.. . ., ..... ... , , ., . , . ., ~, 10~1995 Referring now to the drawings, there is shown generally at 10, the emulsifying system of the present invention for mixing accurate ratios of water and oil taken from a water supply line 11 and an oil supply line 12, to form a water/oil emulsion for feeding burning apparatus (not sho~n) and fed at the emulsion output supply line 13. A
pressure regulator 14, of simple and inexpensive designand of a type known in the art, is connected in the water supply iine 11 to feed water under pressure to an injector device 15.
Similarly, a back pressure regulator 16 is provided in the return line 17 which connects to the oil line 12 to also feed oil under pressure to the injector 15. This pressure regulator is also of the type well known in the art. The pur- :
pose of using a back pressure regulator is toimaintain a con-stant oil pressure in the oil line 12 while at the same time permitting recirculation of oil. When the system 10 is in - 4a -use, the bypass valv2 18 automatically shuts off thereby automatically disconnecting the bypass line 19 from the emulsion output supply line 13.
A flow restriction means, herein a ratio adjustment valve 20, is connected in the supply line 11 downstream of the pressure regulator 14. A similar flow restriction means or ratio adjustment valve 21, is connected in the oil supply line 12 also downstream of the pressure regulator. These valves 20 and 21 are adjustable needle valves of the type well known in the art, and adjust the flow rates through the supply lines 11 and 12, respectively, to permit the proper ratio of water and oil to he fed to the inputs 22 and 23, respectively of the injector 15. This ratio is normally of the order of up to one part of water to four parts of oil.
Referring now, more specifically, to Figure 2, there is shown an example of how the injector 15 may be constructed. As herein shown, the injector 15 consists of a simple T-shaped mixing device consisting of an outer tubular portion 24 and an inner tubular portion 25 having an outlet end portion 26 posi-tioned concentrically within the outlet portion 27 of the outer tubular portion 24. The outlet end portion 26 is perforated as shown at 28 to permit water within the inner tubular portion 25 to be released in the outlet portion of the outer tubular portion 24 to mix with oil flowing within the outer tubular portion.
This permits the water to be released in close contact with the oil whereby the water and oil particles will mix. As hereinabove mentioned, this is only an example of the construction of the injector and many other types of injector devices can be provided.
The water/oil emulsion or mixture at the outlet portion 27 of the injector 15 is fed to emulsifying means being a pressure pump 46 feeding a pressure mixer 48. The emulsion at the output of the mlxer 4~ iS fed to a container 40. This con-tainer 40 constitutes a storage means for a quantity of the water/oil emulsion fed to it from the injector 15. The pressure in the container 40 is controlled, for example, by means of a vent 41, herein schematically illustrated. The container 40 is further provided with a recirculating circuit 42 which consists of an emulsion recirculating conduit 43 connected in a loop from an outlet 44, taken from the bottom of the container 40, to an inlet of the pressure pump 46. The pressure pump 46 is driven by a pump motor 47. The pressure mixer 48 takes the full pressure drop of the pressure pump 46 whereby to generate the emulsion. The outlet from the pressure mixer 48 is fed to the inlet 45 of the container 40.
The container 40 is provided with a volume control means which is constituted by a level float switch 54. Further, a temperature sensing device 51 may be provided to sense the temperature of the emulsion in the container to make sure it does not fall below a certain predetermined temperature. A heater element 52 may also be connected to the temperature sensing device to heat the emulsion when it falls below the predetermined temperature. The heater element 52 is controlled by the tempera-ture sensing device 51.
When the level of the emulsion within the container 40 falls below a predetermined low level or exceeds a pre-determined high level, a signal is given to a shut-off valve 53 located in the flow line connected to the output portion 27 of the injector 15. mis signal will either cause the shut-off valve 53 to open or close. Thus, the valve 53 is either in a fully open or a fully closed position. m e level switch 54 may be connected directly to the shut-off valve 53. High and low level float switches 49 and 50 protect against excessive volume changes.
. , ._ ~ - 6 -10~1995 The shut-off valve 53 can also be of a slow opening or slow closing type, i.e., four or five seconds, in order to give the regulators time to lock up or seat themselves, depending on the type of regulators utilized. In the event that the regulating system were to consist of receivers or pans, then this valve may be of the fast opening fast closing solenoid type.
The pressure pump 46 may also consist of any type of positive displacement pump such as a gear pump, triplex piston pump, which will give sufficient pressure for it to cause the desired effect when processing the fluids through the pressure mixer 48.
In the event that the recirculation of the emulsion causes the temperature to increase beyond the desired pre-determined temperature, then coolers 55 may be provided in the recirculating conduit 43 to prevent the emulsion temperature from exceeding the predetermined desired temperature. Check valve 56 is provided in the conduit 43 to permit unidirectional flow of the emulsion. Also, the pressure in the line 43 may ba monitored by the provision of a pressure gauge 56' downstream of the pressure pump 46.
It can be noted that with the above system, there is provided a storage of an emulsion which is maintained in a desired stable state and which is isolated from the pressure supplies. Such emulsion may be fed directly to burner apparatus (not shown) without subjecting such burner apparatus to pressures within the emulsifying system. In one applicationlof the system, as shown in Figure 1, the outlet 44 of the container 40 may be connected to a mixer device 60 whereby the emulsion particles are further broken down to provide a finer mix before delivery to the burner device (not shown). As herein illustrated, for 30 purpose of example only, the mixer device 60 is a high frequency mixer device capable of shattering water particles to obtain a finer emulsion. As previously described, an ultrasoni~ reactor : , - , ~ - .
lO~l99S
cell may herein be provided and emulsion is fed into a cavity (not shown) incorporating an ultrasonic vibrator (not shown) to cause a breakdown of the emulsion particles. Shutoff valves 61 are provided on each side of the mixer device 60 to permit replacement of this mixer device by other suitable devices or to interconnect the valves 61 directly when such further mixer device 60 is not required. A check valve 62 insures unidirectional flow to the emulsion output supply line 13. As also shown in Figure 1, a power supply 63 feeds the high frequency mixing device 60.
As further shown in Figure 1, a bypass return line 64 from the burner device (not shown~, is connected to the container 40. Coolers 65 may also be provided in the bypass return line 64 to regulate the temperature of the emulsion therein. Also, unidirectional valves 66 and 67 are provided, respectively, in the supply lines 11 and 12 to permit unidirectional flow. Oil pressure switch 68 and oil temperature limit switch 69 monitor the , temperature and pressure of the oil wi~thin the oil supply line 12.
Similarly, low pressure water limit switch 70 and percent water gauge 71 monitor the water supply line 11.
The pressure mixer 48 may have various type con-structions. With the use of bunker "C" fuel oil, there is always the chance of dirt coming through the system and plugging orifices and consequently it may be advisable to use an orifice arrangement together with a pressure unloading v~lv2 which will disc~arge back to the inlet of the pressure pump 46 or possibly to the container 40 in the event that the orifice was to plug. On the other hand, a common ball-type relief valve, su~h as the type identified by the registered Trade Mark "NUPRO" may be used. In the event, of course, of any accumulation of dirt, then the ball in the valve would simply raise to clear itself. It may also be possible to use a simple cham~er with various shape orifices or with an annular orifice, again using a pressure unloader or relief valve to prevent plugging. A still further alternative would be to use a sonic whistle of a type known in the art. Additionally, the efficiency of such whistle or any other device could be improved by modifying the discharge end to amplify the pressure ~luctua-tions which theoretically should increase the performance.
The size of the container 40 may vary depending on the requirement of the application of the system. Various modi-fications of the system are seen without departing from the broad scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
The method of operation of this system can be summarized as follows. me water and oil supply lines are each provided with a pressure regulator wlaereby to supply water and oil to an injector device 15. m e supply of the water and oil is regulated by ratio adjusting valves 20 and 21 respectively. me mix of water and oil at the outlet of the injector 15 is fed to a container 40 via a shut-off valve 53, and when the level of the emulsion 40 reaches a predetermined higln level, the shut-off valve 53 is shut off, therefor isolating the pressure regulator supply lines from the container 40. m e emulsion in the container 40 is recirculated through a recirculating circuit 42 and the emulsion is maintained in a stable state by a pressure mixer 48 which is fed by pressure pump 46 located in the emulsion recirculating circuit 42. The outlet of the container 40 is connected to burner apparatus (not shown) or to a,further mixer device 60. As the emulsion is consumed, the level of the emulsion in the container 40 drops and when it reaches a pre-determined low leve1, where it is necessary to replenish the container 40, the shut-off valve 53 is opened supplying more emulsion to the container 40. m e size of the container 40 is selected to appropriately supply the burner device (not shown).
It can be seen that whilst the container 40 is being supplied, _ 9 _ -- -: ~: . -- - - - -the pressure from the water and oil supply lines will be vented through the container 40 as the check valve 56 will prev2nt any direct connection of these supply lines to the burner device (not shown) or the mixer device 60.
The emulsifying means, defined herein, could, for example, be an ultrasonic emulsifying device of a type known in the art similar to device 60. Also, as abovementioned, the proportioning and mixing of the liquids can be effected in a variety of ways. It is also foreseen that this system could be utilized as an economical means of providing emulsions for uses other than for combustion, for example in applications to the food and cosmetic industry.
It is further pointed out, that due to the improved combustion process resulting from the burning of the emulsion produced by the invention, particulate emissions is drastically redu^ed thereby making this invention a most important pollution control apparatus. Furthermore, there is achieved a great improvement of energy conservation.
There exists a need to provide efficient means of mixing water and oil together to form an emulsion to feed burning apparatus whereby to reduce pollutants which are released in the atmosphere and which also reduce the efficiency of burning apparatus and associated devices. Further, by providing a water/oil emulsion, less oil is consumed by the burning system. Various chemicals and apparatus have heretofore been provided in an attempt to achieve such objectives. However, such known methods and apparatus have not proved to be entirely efficient and economical.
Surfactants are sometimes used to break down the surface tension of one of the fluids to be mixed together, whereby to enable the mixing to take place. Surfactants are usually expensive and require additional savings in the system construction whereby to justify the cost thereof. Also, it has been found that surfactants promote boiler and flue corrosion.
The very fact that the surface tension is reduced, eliminates or diminishes the microexplosions which take place with an emulsion produced without surfactants. These microexplosions are important to the improved performance of burning emulsion.
It is also known to use sonic whistles or similar type devices together with high pressure pumps to produce a desired emulsion. However, known systems which use such devices do not provide means to reduce capacity in order to correspond , lO~l99S
to varying firing rates of burners, without reducing feed pre-ssures. ~e reduction of feed pressures seriously reduces the effectiveness of this type of equipment thereby providing a drawback.
Another type of apparatus known is the piston type homogenizer which is used to produce emulslons from water and oil. These homogenizers, however, require very large amounts of horsepower, require frequent maintenance, and are expensive.
Another type of prior art device known is the ultra-sonic reactor which is used to produce a water/oil emulsion.
This equipment is, however, very expensive, and uneconomical.
Also, such reactors are known to fail due to overpressure, startup with cold oil, etc. This type of system is susceptible to damage from external pressure sources.
Controlling water to oil ratio is very difficult because there is a reliance on standard control items which in themselves are not accurate while trying to proportion through the range of firing rates of a burner system. Known methods and devices, such as those described above, are also very costly.
Recirculating or circulating emulsion through a burner system has been very difficult, if not impos-sible to achieve, because of the problem of contaminating the straight oil with emulsion.
It is, therefore, a feature of this invention to sub~
stantially overcome all of the above-mentioned disadvantages of the prior art and to provide an emulsifying system for mixing two or more liquids to form a stable emulsion.
A further feature of the present invention is to substantially eliminate the use of surfactants or any other 10419gS
chemical which is only used to produce such an emulsion.
A still further feature of the present invention is to provide a water/oil emulsion for burning and very accurately control~ingthe pressure of incoming fuel oil and water, always at one constant flow rate, to permit the control of very accurate proportions of the water and oil at any desired percentage, and at very reasonable cost.
A still further feature of the present invention is to store the emulsion in a container which is vented to at~nosphere and totally isolate the output circuit from the high pressure supplies and to recirculate the emulsion to maintain it in a stable state and further to recirculate the emulsion through the burner system, in the same manner as the oil system is circulated without contaminating the straight oil with emulsion.
Another feature of the present invention is to produce an emulsion for feeding mixing devices such as ultrasonic reactors, or cells whereby to considerably increase the flow capacity therethrough to render such apparatus more economical.
According to the above features, from a broad aspect, the present invention provides an emulsifying system for mixing accurate ratios of two or more liquids to form an emulsion suit-able to permit continuous supply of said emulsion to emulsion consuming means. The system comprises means for supplying an accurate mixture of the two or more liquids. Emulsifying device is provided to emulsify the mixture into an emulsion. Emulsion storage means is also provided for storing a quantity of the emulsion that may vary between predetermined limits. An output circuit draws the emulsion from the emulsion storage means.
A recirculating circuit is connected to the output circuit and has a recirculating pump to recirculate the emulsion to the emulsifying device where the .
1 04~9gS
emulsion is regenerated and returned to the storage means where-by the emulsion in the storage means is maintained in a usable state. The emulsion storage means has a volume control means to control the flow of the two or more liquids to the emulsify-ing device to permit the supply of the emulsified mixture to the storage means at a rate independent of the rate at which ~ .
the emulsion is drawn from the output to maintain a stored volume of emulsion for supply.
According to a still further broad aspect of the present inven'ion, there is provided a method of mixing accurate ratios of two or more liquids and forming a stable emulsion therefrom suitable to permit continuous supply of the emulsion to emulsion consuming means. The method comprises the steps of mixing the two or more liquids in an accurate proportion to form a mixture. The mixture is fed to an emulsifying device to produce an emulsion from the mixture. The emulsion is then stored in a storage means. The volume of emulsion in the storage means is controlled to permit the supply of the mixture and the emulsion to the storage means at a rate independent of the rate at which the emulsion is drawn from the storage means.
The emulsion from the storage means is fed back to the emulsi-fying device where the emulsion is regenerated and fed back to the storage means, A preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIGURE 1 iS a schematic diagram of the emulsifying system, and FIGURE 2 is a sectional view of an example of the construction of an injector device.
,~. ~
_ ,.. . ., ..... ... , , ., . , . ., ~, 10~1995 Referring now to the drawings, there is shown generally at 10, the emulsifying system of the present invention for mixing accurate ratios of water and oil taken from a water supply line 11 and an oil supply line 12, to form a water/oil emulsion for feeding burning apparatus (not sho~n) and fed at the emulsion output supply line 13. A
pressure regulator 14, of simple and inexpensive designand of a type known in the art, is connected in the water supply iine 11 to feed water under pressure to an injector device 15.
Similarly, a back pressure regulator 16 is provided in the return line 17 which connects to the oil line 12 to also feed oil under pressure to the injector 15. This pressure regulator is also of the type well known in the art. The pur- :
pose of using a back pressure regulator is toimaintain a con-stant oil pressure in the oil line 12 while at the same time permitting recirculation of oil. When the system 10 is in - 4a -use, the bypass valv2 18 automatically shuts off thereby automatically disconnecting the bypass line 19 from the emulsion output supply line 13.
A flow restriction means, herein a ratio adjustment valve 20, is connected in the supply line 11 downstream of the pressure regulator 14. A similar flow restriction means or ratio adjustment valve 21, is connected in the oil supply line 12 also downstream of the pressure regulator. These valves 20 and 21 are adjustable needle valves of the type well known in the art, and adjust the flow rates through the supply lines 11 and 12, respectively, to permit the proper ratio of water and oil to he fed to the inputs 22 and 23, respectively of the injector 15. This ratio is normally of the order of up to one part of water to four parts of oil.
Referring now, more specifically, to Figure 2, there is shown an example of how the injector 15 may be constructed. As herein shown, the injector 15 consists of a simple T-shaped mixing device consisting of an outer tubular portion 24 and an inner tubular portion 25 having an outlet end portion 26 posi-tioned concentrically within the outlet portion 27 of the outer tubular portion 24. The outlet end portion 26 is perforated as shown at 28 to permit water within the inner tubular portion 25 to be released in the outlet portion of the outer tubular portion 24 to mix with oil flowing within the outer tubular portion.
This permits the water to be released in close contact with the oil whereby the water and oil particles will mix. As hereinabove mentioned, this is only an example of the construction of the injector and many other types of injector devices can be provided.
The water/oil emulsion or mixture at the outlet portion 27 of the injector 15 is fed to emulsifying means being a pressure pump 46 feeding a pressure mixer 48. The emulsion at the output of the mlxer 4~ iS fed to a container 40. This con-tainer 40 constitutes a storage means for a quantity of the water/oil emulsion fed to it from the injector 15. The pressure in the container 40 is controlled, for example, by means of a vent 41, herein schematically illustrated. The container 40 is further provided with a recirculating circuit 42 which consists of an emulsion recirculating conduit 43 connected in a loop from an outlet 44, taken from the bottom of the container 40, to an inlet of the pressure pump 46. The pressure pump 46 is driven by a pump motor 47. The pressure mixer 48 takes the full pressure drop of the pressure pump 46 whereby to generate the emulsion. The outlet from the pressure mixer 48 is fed to the inlet 45 of the container 40.
The container 40 is provided with a volume control means which is constituted by a level float switch 54. Further, a temperature sensing device 51 may be provided to sense the temperature of the emulsion in the container to make sure it does not fall below a certain predetermined temperature. A heater element 52 may also be connected to the temperature sensing device to heat the emulsion when it falls below the predetermined temperature. The heater element 52 is controlled by the tempera-ture sensing device 51.
When the level of the emulsion within the container 40 falls below a predetermined low level or exceeds a pre-determined high level, a signal is given to a shut-off valve 53 located in the flow line connected to the output portion 27 of the injector 15. mis signal will either cause the shut-off valve 53 to open or close. Thus, the valve 53 is either in a fully open or a fully closed position. m e level switch 54 may be connected directly to the shut-off valve 53. High and low level float switches 49 and 50 protect against excessive volume changes.
. , ._ ~ - 6 -10~1995 The shut-off valve 53 can also be of a slow opening or slow closing type, i.e., four or five seconds, in order to give the regulators time to lock up or seat themselves, depending on the type of regulators utilized. In the event that the regulating system were to consist of receivers or pans, then this valve may be of the fast opening fast closing solenoid type.
The pressure pump 46 may also consist of any type of positive displacement pump such as a gear pump, triplex piston pump, which will give sufficient pressure for it to cause the desired effect when processing the fluids through the pressure mixer 48.
In the event that the recirculation of the emulsion causes the temperature to increase beyond the desired pre-determined temperature, then coolers 55 may be provided in the recirculating conduit 43 to prevent the emulsion temperature from exceeding the predetermined desired temperature. Check valve 56 is provided in the conduit 43 to permit unidirectional flow of the emulsion. Also, the pressure in the line 43 may ba monitored by the provision of a pressure gauge 56' downstream of the pressure pump 46.
It can be noted that with the above system, there is provided a storage of an emulsion which is maintained in a desired stable state and which is isolated from the pressure supplies. Such emulsion may be fed directly to burner apparatus (not shown) without subjecting such burner apparatus to pressures within the emulsifying system. In one applicationlof the system, as shown in Figure 1, the outlet 44 of the container 40 may be connected to a mixer device 60 whereby the emulsion particles are further broken down to provide a finer mix before delivery to the burner device (not shown). As herein illustrated, for 30 purpose of example only, the mixer device 60 is a high frequency mixer device capable of shattering water particles to obtain a finer emulsion. As previously described, an ultrasoni~ reactor : , - , ~ - .
lO~l99S
cell may herein be provided and emulsion is fed into a cavity (not shown) incorporating an ultrasonic vibrator (not shown) to cause a breakdown of the emulsion particles. Shutoff valves 61 are provided on each side of the mixer device 60 to permit replacement of this mixer device by other suitable devices or to interconnect the valves 61 directly when such further mixer device 60 is not required. A check valve 62 insures unidirectional flow to the emulsion output supply line 13. As also shown in Figure 1, a power supply 63 feeds the high frequency mixing device 60.
As further shown in Figure 1, a bypass return line 64 from the burner device (not shown~, is connected to the container 40. Coolers 65 may also be provided in the bypass return line 64 to regulate the temperature of the emulsion therein. Also, unidirectional valves 66 and 67 are provided, respectively, in the supply lines 11 and 12 to permit unidirectional flow. Oil pressure switch 68 and oil temperature limit switch 69 monitor the , temperature and pressure of the oil wi~thin the oil supply line 12.
Similarly, low pressure water limit switch 70 and percent water gauge 71 monitor the water supply line 11.
The pressure mixer 48 may have various type con-structions. With the use of bunker "C" fuel oil, there is always the chance of dirt coming through the system and plugging orifices and consequently it may be advisable to use an orifice arrangement together with a pressure unloading v~lv2 which will disc~arge back to the inlet of the pressure pump 46 or possibly to the container 40 in the event that the orifice was to plug. On the other hand, a common ball-type relief valve, su~h as the type identified by the registered Trade Mark "NUPRO" may be used. In the event, of course, of any accumulation of dirt, then the ball in the valve would simply raise to clear itself. It may also be possible to use a simple cham~er with various shape orifices or with an annular orifice, again using a pressure unloader or relief valve to prevent plugging. A still further alternative would be to use a sonic whistle of a type known in the art. Additionally, the efficiency of such whistle or any other device could be improved by modifying the discharge end to amplify the pressure ~luctua-tions which theoretically should increase the performance.
The size of the container 40 may vary depending on the requirement of the application of the system. Various modi-fications of the system are seen without departing from the broad scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
The method of operation of this system can be summarized as follows. me water and oil supply lines are each provided with a pressure regulator wlaereby to supply water and oil to an injector device 15. m e supply of the water and oil is regulated by ratio adjusting valves 20 and 21 respectively. me mix of water and oil at the outlet of the injector 15 is fed to a container 40 via a shut-off valve 53, and when the level of the emulsion 40 reaches a predetermined higln level, the shut-off valve 53 is shut off, therefor isolating the pressure regulator supply lines from the container 40. m e emulsion in the container 40 is recirculated through a recirculating circuit 42 and the emulsion is maintained in a stable state by a pressure mixer 48 which is fed by pressure pump 46 located in the emulsion recirculating circuit 42. The outlet of the container 40 is connected to burner apparatus (not shown) or to a,further mixer device 60. As the emulsion is consumed, the level of the emulsion in the container 40 drops and when it reaches a pre-determined low leve1, where it is necessary to replenish the container 40, the shut-off valve 53 is opened supplying more emulsion to the container 40. m e size of the container 40 is selected to appropriately supply the burner device (not shown).
It can be seen that whilst the container 40 is being supplied, _ 9 _ -- -: ~: . -- - - - -the pressure from the water and oil supply lines will be vented through the container 40 as the check valve 56 will prev2nt any direct connection of these supply lines to the burner device (not shown) or the mixer device 60.
The emulsifying means, defined herein, could, for example, be an ultrasonic emulsifying device of a type known in the art similar to device 60. Also, as abovementioned, the proportioning and mixing of the liquids can be effected in a variety of ways. It is also foreseen that this system could be utilized as an economical means of providing emulsions for uses other than for combustion, for example in applications to the food and cosmetic industry.
It is further pointed out, that due to the improved combustion process resulting from the burning of the emulsion produced by the invention, particulate emissions is drastically redu^ed thereby making this invention a most important pollution control apparatus. Furthermore, there is achieved a great improvement of energy conservation.
Claims (15)
1. An emulsifying system for mixing accurate ratios of two or more liquids to form an emulsion suitable to permit con-tinuous supply of said emulsion to emulsion consuming means, said system comprising means for supplying an accurate mixture of said two or more liquids, an emulsifying device to emulsify said mixture into an emulsion, emulsion storage means for storing a quantity of said emulsion that may vary between predetermined limits, an output circuit to draw said emulsion from said emul-sion storage means, a recirculating circuit connected at said output circuit and having a recirculating pump to recirculate said emulsion to said emulsifying device where said emulsion is regenerated and returned to said storage means whereby said emulsion in said storage means is maintained in a usable state, said emulsion storage means having a volume control means to control the flow of said two or more liquids to said emulsifying device to permit the supply of said emulsified mixture to the storage means at a rate independent of the rate at which said emulsion is drawn from said output to maintain a stored volume of emulsion for supply.
2. A system as claimed in claim 1 wherein said emulsion is a water/oil emulsion for use as a combustible fuel.
3. A system as claimed in claim 2 wherein said means for supplying an accurate mixture comprises injection means fed by a regulated water and oil supply to provide said accurate mixture of said water and oil, said injection means is an injector device having a water flow inlet and an oil flow inlet connected respec-tively to said water and oil regulated supplies, conduit means to release water and oil flows from said inlets to mix in said injector device, said regulated supplies being pressure regulated supplies, said pressure regulated supplies each have a pressure regulating device and a flow restriction means located down-stream of said pressure regulating device, said flow restriction means controlling the flow rate of said water and oil supplies for delivery to said water flow inlet and oil flow inlet, respectively, of said injection device.
4. A system as claimed in claim 2 wherein said water/oil emulsion is drawn into said recirculating circuit by said recir-culating pump, said emulsifying device being connected between said recirculating pump and said storage means, said storage means further comprising temperature control means to maintain said water/oil emulsion at a desired temperature, input means connected to said storage means to feed back water/oil emulsion from a burner, and wherein said output circuit is connected to said burner whereby said burner draws said water/oil emulsion from said storage means when in operation.
5. A system as claimed in claim 1 wherein valve means is provided downstream of said means for supplying an accurate mix-ture to isolate said storage means from pressure from said means for supplying said accurate mixture.
6. A system as claimed in claim 2 wherein a further mixer device is connected to said output circuit to obtain a finer mix of said oil and water in said emulsion prior to delivery to a burner device.
7. A system as claimed in claim 6 wherein said further mixer is a high frequency mixer device capable of shattering water particles to obtain a finer emulsion.
8. A system as claimed in claim 1 wherein said storage means is vented to atmosphere.
9. A method of mixing accurate ratios of two or more liquids and forming a stable emulsion therefrom suitable to per-mit continuous supply of said emulsion to emulsion consuming means, said method comprising the steps of:
i) mixing said two or more liquids in an accurate proportion to form a mixture, ii) feeding said mixture to an emulsifying device to produce an emulsion from said mixture, iii) storing said emulsion in a storage means, iv) controlling the volume of emulsion in said storage means to permit the supply of said mixture and the supply of said emulsion to said storage means at a rate independent of the rate at which said emulsion is drawn from said storage means, and v) feeding said emulsion from said storage means back to said emulsifying device where said emulsion is regenerated and fed back to said storage means.
i) mixing said two or more liquids in an accurate proportion to form a mixture, ii) feeding said mixture to an emulsifying device to produce an emulsion from said mixture, iii) storing said emulsion in a storage means, iv) controlling the volume of emulsion in said storage means to permit the supply of said mixture and the supply of said emulsion to said storage means at a rate independent of the rate at which said emulsion is drawn from said storage means, and v) feeding said emulsion from said storage means back to said emulsifying device where said emulsion is regenerated and fed back to said storage means.
10. A method as claimed in claim 9 wherein said step (i) comprises controlling the flow rate of a pressure regulated supply of said two or more liquids, and feeding said pressure regulated supply to injector means for mixing.
11. A method as claimed in claim 10 wherein there is further provided the step of isolating said container from said pressure regulated water and oil supply.
12. A method as claimed in claim 11 wherein there is further provided the step of feeding said emulsion from said storage means to a further emulsifying means to obtain a finer emulsion, and feeding said finer emulsion to an emulsion burning apparatus.
13. A method as claimed in claim 10 wherein there is further provided the step of isolating said storage means from said pres-sure regulated supplies and controlling the feed of said emulsion to said storage means.
14. A method as claimed in claim 13 wherein said step of controlling the supply of said mixture includes controlling a shut-off valve downstream of a mixing means.
15. A method as claimed in claim 9 wherein there is further provided the step of controlling the pressure in said storage means.
Priority Applications (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA270,948A CA1041995A (en) | 1977-02-02 | 1977-02-02 | Emulsifying system for constant, mixer-input-independent, delivery applications |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA270,948A CA1041995A (en) | 1977-02-02 | 1977-02-02 | Emulsifying system for constant, mixer-input-independent, delivery applications |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA1041995A true CA1041995A (en) | 1978-11-07 |
Family
ID=4107856
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA270,948A Expired CA1041995A (en) | 1977-02-02 | 1977-02-02 | Emulsifying system for constant, mixer-input-independent, delivery applications |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| CA (1) | CA1041995A (en) |
Cited By (1)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WO2022098891A1 (en) * | 2020-11-04 | 2022-05-12 | Saudi Arabian Oil Company | Methods and systems for the generation of stable oil-in-water or water-in-oil emulsion for enhanced oil recovery |
-
1977
- 1977-02-02 CA CA270,948A patent/CA1041995A/en not_active Expired
Cited By (1)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WO2022098891A1 (en) * | 2020-11-04 | 2022-05-12 | Saudi Arabian Oil Company | Methods and systems for the generation of stable oil-in-water or water-in-oil emulsion for enhanced oil recovery |
Similar Documents
| Publication | Publication Date | Title |
|---|---|---|
| US4117550A (en) | Emulsifying system | |
| US7930998B2 (en) | Real time in-line water-in-fuel emulsion apparatus, process and system | |
| EP2426335B1 (en) | Multi-fuel co-injection system and method for internal combustion and turbine engines | |
| US4596210A (en) | Method and device for dissolving gas, especially carbon dioxide, in liquid fuel and for distributing the fuel in a supersaturated state through the combustion air | |
| US7934474B2 (en) | Real time in-line hydrosonic water-in-fuel emulsion apparatus, process and system | |
| WO2014039663A2 (en) | Homogenizing fuel enhancement system and gas processor for use therein | |
| EP0009520B1 (en) | Emulsifying system and method for mixing accurate quantities of two or more liquids | |
| CA1134148A (en) | Fuel producing system for solid/liquid mixtures | |
| US20140041288A1 (en) | Real time in-line water-in-fuel emulsion apparatus, process and system | |
| CA1041995A (en) | Emulsifying system for constant, mixer-input-independent, delivery applications | |
| US4430054A (en) | Oil-water mixing and supplying system | |
| CN216678018U (en) | Viscous oil-water preparation device and diesel oil emulsified fuel preparation system | |
| GB2233572A (en) | Producing water-in-oil emulsions | |
| US5466064A (en) | Fuel homogenization system with dual compensating homogenization valves | |
| RU2033851C1 (en) | Method and system for preparation of emulsion | |
| JPWO2010047343A1 (en) | Method for producing emulsion fuel and method for handling emulsion fuel | |
| RU1789973C (en) | Device for proportioning and mixing up liquid components | |
| WO2023060983A1 (en) | Viscous oil-water preparation device and method, and diesel emulsified fuel preparation system and method | |
| KR100618166B1 (en) | Emulsion unit without using emulsifier | |
| KR100434129B1 (en) | The apparatus of emulsifying oil and water | |
| SU754085A1 (en) | Quarry ventilating unit | |
| US3826604A (en) | Method and apparatus for chemical waste disposal | |
| SU1271993A1 (en) | Diesel engine fuel system | |
| RU2122890C1 (en) | Method of preparation and storage of liquid fuel | |
| KR200375326Y1 (en) | Emulsion unit without using emulsifier |