CA2224615C - Nozzle for atomizing liquid in two phase flow - Google Patents
Nozzle for atomizing liquid in two phase flow Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- CA2224615C CA2224615C CA002224615A CA2224615A CA2224615C CA 2224615 C CA2224615 C CA 2224615C CA 002224615 A CA002224615 A CA 002224615A CA 2224615 A CA2224615 A CA 2224615A CA 2224615 C CA2224615 C CA 2224615C
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- mixture
- nozzle
- steam
- oil
- reactor
- 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 - Lifetime
Links
Classifications
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B01—PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
- B01J—CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROCESSES, e.g. CATALYSIS OR COLLOID CHEMISTRY; THEIR RELEVANT APPARATUS
- B01J19/00—Chemical, physical or physico-chemical processes in general; Their relevant apparatus
- B01J19/26—Nozzle-type reactors, i.e. the distribution of the initial reactants within the reactor is effected by their introduction or injection through nozzles
-
- 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
- B01F23/20—Mixing gases with liquids
- B01F23/21—Mixing gases with liquids by introducing liquids into gaseous media
- B01F23/213—Mixing gases with liquids by introducing liquids into gaseous media by spraying or atomising of the liquids
- B01F23/2132—Mixing gases with liquids by introducing liquids into gaseous media by spraying or atomising of the liquids using nozzles
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B01—PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
- B01F—MIXING, e.g. DISSOLVING, EMULSIFYING OR DISPERSING
- B01F25/00—Flow mixers; Mixers for falling materials, e.g. solid particles
- B01F25/40—Static mixers
- B01F25/42—Static mixers in which the mixing is affected by moving the components jointly in changing directions, e.g. in tubes provided with baffles or obstructions
- B01F25/43—Mixing tubes, e.g. wherein the material is moved in a radial or partly reversed direction
- B01F25/433—Mixing tubes wherein the shape of the tube influences the mixing, e.g. mixing tubes with varying cross-section or provided with inwardly extending profiles
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B01—PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
- B01F—MIXING, e.g. DISSOLVING, EMULSIFYING OR DISPERSING
- B01F25/00—Flow mixers; Mixers for falling materials, e.g. solid particles
- B01F25/40—Static mixers
- B01F25/42—Static mixers in which the mixing is affected by moving the components jointly in changing directions, e.g. in tubes provided with baffles or obstructions
- B01F25/43—Mixing tubes, e.g. wherein the material is moved in a radial or partly reversed direction
- B01F25/433—Mixing tubes wherein the shape of the tube influences the mixing, e.g. mixing tubes with varying cross-section or provided with inwardly extending profiles
- B01F25/4338—Mixers with a succession of converging-diverging cross-sections, i.e. undulating cross-section
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B05—SPRAYING OR ATOMISING IN GENERAL; APPLYING FLUENT MATERIALS TO SURFACES, IN GENERAL
- B05B—SPRAYING APPARATUS; ATOMISING APPARATUS; NOZZLES
- B05B7/00—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
- B05B7/02—Spray pistols; Apparatus for discharge
- B05B7/04—Spray pistols; Apparatus for discharge with arrangements for mixing liquids or other fluent materials before discharge
- B05B7/0416—Spray pistols; Apparatus for discharge with arrangements for mixing liquids or other fluent materials before discharge with arrangements for mixing one gas and one liquid
-
- C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
- C10—PETROLEUM, GAS OR COKE INDUSTRIES; TECHNICAL GASES CONTAINING CARBON MONOXIDE; FUELS; LUBRICANTS; PEAT
- C10G—CRACKING HYDROCARBON OILS; PRODUCTION OF LIQUID HYDROCARBON MIXTURES, e.g. BY DESTRUCTIVE HYDROGENATION, OLIGOMERISATION, POLYMERISATION; RECOVERY OF HYDROCARBON OILS FROM OIL-SHALE, OIL-SAND, OR GASES; REFINING MIXTURES MAINLY CONSISTING OF HYDROCARBONS; REFORMING OF NAPHTHA; MINERAL WAXES
- C10G9/00—Thermal non-catalytic cracking, in the absence of hydrogen, of hydrocarbon oils
- C10G9/005—Coking (in order to produce liquid products mainly)
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B01—PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
- B01F—MIXING, e.g. DISSOLVING, EMULSIFYING OR DISPERSING
- B01F2215/00—Auxiliary or complementary information in relation with mixing
- B01F2215/04—Technical information in relation with mixing
- B01F2215/0413—Numerical information
- B01F2215/0418—Geometrical information
- B01F2215/0431—Numerical size values, e.g. diameter of a hole or conduit, area, volume, length, width, or ratios thereof
Landscapes
- Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
- Chemical Kinetics & Catalysis (AREA)
- Dispersion Chemistry (AREA)
- Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- Thermal Sciences (AREA)
- Oil, Petroleum & Natural Gas (AREA)
- Organic Chemistry (AREA)
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- General Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
- Production Of Liquid Hydrocarbon Mixture For Refining Petroleum (AREA)
- Nozzles (AREA)
Abstract
Mixing means, for producing a flow mixture of oil and steam, is combined with an atomizing nozzle to provide a nozzle assembly which produces a jet of very fine oil droplets. The nozzle assembly is used in conjunction with a reactor, such as a fluidized bed coker. The mixing means comprises a pipe, external of the reactor, having separate, spaced apart inlets for oil and steam. The steam inlet is upstream of the oil inlet. A reducing diameter nozzle is positioned in the pipe bore between the inlets, for accelerating the steam. The steam contacts the oil and turbulently moves down the pipe bore to produce what is known as a "bubbly flow" mixture. The mixture is fed to the nozzle, which is internal of the reactor. The nozzle has:
an inlet; a first contraction section of reducing diameter for accelerating the flow, preferably to supersonic velocity, whereby the droplets are reduced in size; a diffuser section of expanding diameter wherein the mixture decelerates and a shock wave may be induced; a second contraction section operative to accelerate the mixture more than the first contraction section; and an orifice outlet for producing a jet or spray. The nozzle assembly has been shown to reduce droplet size from about 12,000µm to about 300µm.
an inlet; a first contraction section of reducing diameter for accelerating the flow, preferably to supersonic velocity, whereby the droplets are reduced in size; a diffuser section of expanding diameter wherein the mixture decelerates and a shock wave may be induced; a second contraction section operative to accelerate the mixture more than the first contraction section; and an orifice outlet for producing a jet or spray. The nozzle assembly has been shown to reduce droplet size from about 12,000µm to about 300µm.
Description
2 The present invention relates to a nozzle assembly for producing and 3 atomizing a mixture of oil and steam, for injection into the chamber of a 4 reactor, such as a fluidized bed coker. The nozzle assembly comprises mixing means, external of the reactor, for producing a bubbly flow mixture of 6 oil and steam, and an atomizing nozzle, internal of the reactor, for converting 7 the mixture into a jet of fine liquid droplets. The invention also relates to the 8 process involved in use of the assembly.
Dry bitumen liquid is obtained from oil sands and is further processed 11 in a fluidized bed coker to produce low-boiling petroleum products. The 12 efficacy of this coking process depends upon effective and rapid heat transfer 13 from the fluidized bed solids of the coker to the bitumen feed. This can be 14 enhanced by introducing the bitumen into the coker in the form of fine liquid droplets, thereby significantly increasing the surface area of the bitumen.
The 16 greater the surface area, the more effective and rapid the heat transfer to the 17 bitumen. In addition, better heat transfer is achieved if the cross-sectional 18 coverage area of the droplets is increased. The formation of a wide spray of 19 evenly distributed fine bitumen droplets will increase the desired liquid distillate products and decrease the undesired by-products, namely, gas make 21 and coke make.
1 The bitumen feed is conventionally mixed with steam to produce a two 2 phase mixture and this mixture is injected into the fluid coker through nozzles.
3 The nozzles induce some atomization of the bitumen so that a spray or jet of 4 bitumen droplets is injected into the coker. However, it is our belief that the commercial nozzles available only atomize a portion of the bitumen. We have 6 tested the prior art nozzles used in the present assignees' fluid coker using 7 water and steam as the feed - the indication is that 70 - 90 % of the liquid 8 passed through the nozzle is in a non-atomized form. In addition, the average 9 mean diameter of the atomized liquid droplets produced in the test were in the order of 400~,m for an air to liquid ratio (ALR) value of .008; this is larger than 11 desirable for optimal coking of the bitumen to occur.
12 One aim of the present invention is to provide an improved nozzle that 13 atomizes most of the liquid processed into evenly distributed fine droplets, 14 resulting in desirable droplet surface area of the bitumen when it is subjected to the coking process.
16 In service, nozzles used to atomize the bitumen feed are subject to 17 high wear rates and a high degree of plugging. Therefore it is desirable to 18 ensure that a nozzle not only atomizes the bitumen effectively but is also 19 erosion resistant in order to minimize replacement and repair costs. This can be achieved by designing a nozzle assembly with a minimum of internal parts.
21 In addition, the nozzle assembly should be "roddable" so that it may be 22 unplugged with a rod.
23 It is also desirable that a nozzle design be effective over a broad range 24 of gas/liquid ratios because the bitumen feed rate is variable.
1 It is further desirable that the pressure drop required for achieving 2 satisfactory atomization is not excessive.
3 The literature teaches that several flow mechanisms can have an effect 4 on reducing liquid droplet size in two phase flow. More particularly it is known:
6 ~ That longitudinal vibration of stretched liquid droplets (referred to as 7 "ligaments") can cause reduced diameter at the nodal points and 8 corresponding "necking", which can lead to droplet break-up and 9 formation of finer droplets (this is referred to as the "Rayleigh instability");
11 ~ That longitudinal stretching or straining of a liquid droplet by an 12 accelerating carrier fluid flow can lead to droplet break-up.
13 Otherwise stated, situating droplets of one fluid in another fluid 14 undergoing acceleration can cause the droplets to undergo shear.
When the shear forces overcome surface tension forces, the 16 droplets will deform and can break up (this is referred to as the 17 "elongation effect");
18 ~ That mean and fluctuating shear stresses applied to larger droplets 19 can cause the droplets to rotate, then stretch and ultimately divide into smaller droplets. Mean shear effects and stresses can be 21 induced in droplets by turbulent flow and fluctuations of the carrier 22 phase (the "Reynolds stress effect");
23 ~ That droplets can collide with each other or an impact surface and 24 break up if generated internal stress exceeds surface tension effects; and 1 ~ That droplets passing through a supersonic shock wave can break 2 up due to the effect of the sudden pressure rise.
3 It is the objective of the invention to provide a nozzle assembly, free of 4 moving parts, which can be "rodded" to unplug it and which is designed to incorporate some or all of the previously mentioned flow mechanisms, to 6 combine in efficiently breaking up large liquid droplets in a two phase flow.
7 It is to be understood that, while the nozzle was developed for service 8 with fluid cokers in the petroleum refining field, it is anticipated that it will find 9 application in other fields where atomizing nozzles are used.
12 The present invention is concerned with producing a bubbly flow 13 stream of a mixture of heavy oil and steam and atomizing the mixture. The 14 mixture is a pumped flow or stream in which the oil is present as relatively large droplets, typically ranging in dimension between 6,OOO~,m (1/4") to the 16 internal diameter of the supply pipe in dimension. The objective is to reduce 17 the average mean diameter of the droplets to a relatively fine size, typically in 18 the order of 300~,m. It has been proven that the highest probability of collision 19 of bitumen or heavy oil droplets with heated coke particles occurs when both bitumen droplets and heated particles have similar diameters; thus a droplet 21 size of 200 or 300~,m is desirable.
22 To achieve this, a nozzle is used having a longitudinal bore or flow 23 passageway of circular cross-section comprising in sequence: an inlet; a first 24 contraction section of reducing diameter; a diffuser section of expanding diameter; a second contraction section of reducing diameter; and an orifice 1 outlet. The contraction sections accelerate the flow mixture and induce 2 droplet size reduction by elongation and shear stress flow mechanisms. The 3 second contraction section is designed to accelerate the mixture flow more 4 than the first contraction section. As a result, the fine droplets produced by the first contraction are further reduced in size in the second contraction.
The 6 diffuser section allows the mixture to decelerate and slow down before being 7 accelerated a second time.
Dry bitumen liquid is obtained from oil sands and is further processed 11 in a fluidized bed coker to produce low-boiling petroleum products. The 12 efficacy of this coking process depends upon effective and rapid heat transfer 13 from the fluidized bed solids of the coker to the bitumen feed. This can be 14 enhanced by introducing the bitumen into the coker in the form of fine liquid droplets, thereby significantly increasing the surface area of the bitumen.
The 16 greater the surface area, the more effective and rapid the heat transfer to the 17 bitumen. In addition, better heat transfer is achieved if the cross-sectional 18 coverage area of the droplets is increased. The formation of a wide spray of 19 evenly distributed fine bitumen droplets will increase the desired liquid distillate products and decrease the undesired by-products, namely, gas make 21 and coke make.
1 The bitumen feed is conventionally mixed with steam to produce a two 2 phase mixture and this mixture is injected into the fluid coker through nozzles.
3 The nozzles induce some atomization of the bitumen so that a spray or jet of 4 bitumen droplets is injected into the coker. However, it is our belief that the commercial nozzles available only atomize a portion of the bitumen. We have 6 tested the prior art nozzles used in the present assignees' fluid coker using 7 water and steam as the feed - the indication is that 70 - 90 % of the liquid 8 passed through the nozzle is in a non-atomized form. In addition, the average 9 mean diameter of the atomized liquid droplets produced in the test were in the order of 400~,m for an air to liquid ratio (ALR) value of .008; this is larger than 11 desirable for optimal coking of the bitumen to occur.
12 One aim of the present invention is to provide an improved nozzle that 13 atomizes most of the liquid processed into evenly distributed fine droplets, 14 resulting in desirable droplet surface area of the bitumen when it is subjected to the coking process.
16 In service, nozzles used to atomize the bitumen feed are subject to 17 high wear rates and a high degree of plugging. Therefore it is desirable to 18 ensure that a nozzle not only atomizes the bitumen effectively but is also 19 erosion resistant in order to minimize replacement and repair costs. This can be achieved by designing a nozzle assembly with a minimum of internal parts.
21 In addition, the nozzle assembly should be "roddable" so that it may be 22 unplugged with a rod.
23 It is also desirable that a nozzle design be effective over a broad range 24 of gas/liquid ratios because the bitumen feed rate is variable.
1 It is further desirable that the pressure drop required for achieving 2 satisfactory atomization is not excessive.
3 The literature teaches that several flow mechanisms can have an effect 4 on reducing liquid droplet size in two phase flow. More particularly it is known:
6 ~ That longitudinal vibration of stretched liquid droplets (referred to as 7 "ligaments") can cause reduced diameter at the nodal points and 8 corresponding "necking", which can lead to droplet break-up and 9 formation of finer droplets (this is referred to as the "Rayleigh instability");
11 ~ That longitudinal stretching or straining of a liquid droplet by an 12 accelerating carrier fluid flow can lead to droplet break-up.
13 Otherwise stated, situating droplets of one fluid in another fluid 14 undergoing acceleration can cause the droplets to undergo shear.
When the shear forces overcome surface tension forces, the 16 droplets will deform and can break up (this is referred to as the 17 "elongation effect");
18 ~ That mean and fluctuating shear stresses applied to larger droplets 19 can cause the droplets to rotate, then stretch and ultimately divide into smaller droplets. Mean shear effects and stresses can be 21 induced in droplets by turbulent flow and fluctuations of the carrier 22 phase (the "Reynolds stress effect");
23 ~ That droplets can collide with each other or an impact surface and 24 break up if generated internal stress exceeds surface tension effects; and 1 ~ That droplets passing through a supersonic shock wave can break 2 up due to the effect of the sudden pressure rise.
3 It is the objective of the invention to provide a nozzle assembly, free of 4 moving parts, which can be "rodded" to unplug it and which is designed to incorporate some or all of the previously mentioned flow mechanisms, to 6 combine in efficiently breaking up large liquid droplets in a two phase flow.
7 It is to be understood that, while the nozzle was developed for service 8 with fluid cokers in the petroleum refining field, it is anticipated that it will find 9 application in other fields where atomizing nozzles are used.
12 The present invention is concerned with producing a bubbly flow 13 stream of a mixture of heavy oil and steam and atomizing the mixture. The 14 mixture is a pumped flow or stream in which the oil is present as relatively large droplets, typically ranging in dimension between 6,OOO~,m (1/4") to the 16 internal diameter of the supply pipe in dimension. The objective is to reduce 17 the average mean diameter of the droplets to a relatively fine size, typically in 18 the order of 300~,m. It has been proven that the highest probability of collision 19 of bitumen or heavy oil droplets with heated coke particles occurs when both bitumen droplets and heated particles have similar diameters; thus a droplet 21 size of 200 or 300~,m is desirable.
22 To achieve this, a nozzle is used having a longitudinal bore or flow 23 passageway of circular cross-section comprising in sequence: an inlet; a first 24 contraction section of reducing diameter; a diffuser section of expanding diameter; a second contraction section of reducing diameter; and an orifice 1 outlet. The contraction sections accelerate the flow mixture and induce 2 droplet size reduction by elongation and shear stress flow mechanisms. The 3 second contraction section is designed to accelerate the mixture flow more 4 than the first contraction section. As a result, the fine droplets produced by the first contraction are further reduced in size in the second contraction.
The 6 diffuser section allows the mixture to decelerate and slow down before being 7 accelerated a second time.
8 Advantage is taken of the fact that, for a two-phase flow of liquid 9 droplets and gas, the speed of sound in the mixture is reduced in value to a fraction of either the single-phase values of the gas or the liquid. The reason 11 for this is that the square of the speed of sound in a media is the ratio of the 12 adiabatic bulk modulus (liquid) or pressure (gas) divided by the density times 13 a constant of the fluid properties which in the case of a gas (k = cplcv).
In the 14 case of the two phase mixture, the mixture assumes the pressure value of the gas and the density assumes the mixture density. For a two phase flow this 16 usually results in a relatively small numerator, the gas pressure, and a 17 relatively larger denominator, the mixture density. Hence a much lower value, 18 for the speed of sound of the mixture, is obtained. In fact the speed of sound 19 in the mixture is lower than either value for the individual gas or liquid phases.
This means that, for two-phase nozzle flow, for quite a low mixture velocity, 21 the nozzle flow can be supersonic.
22 It has been shown by experiment that this assumption for the low value 23 of the speed of sound in a mixture of a liquid and a gas is only true if the flow 24 pattern in the nozzle is of the bubbly flow type.
1 The nozzle is therefore preferably designed in accordance with the 2 following criteria:
3 ~ the first contraction section should accelerate the mixture to 4 supersonic velocity - the possibility is then created for generating a flow of relatively small droplets and generating a shock wave in the 6 diffuser due to the lower speed of sound value. If a shock wave is 7 created, it will assist in droplet size reduction;
8 ~ as previously stated, the second contraction section should 9 accelerate the mixture more than that achieved by the first section.
We successfully used a section that provided about twice the 11 acceleration. If the fine droplets produced by the first contraction 12 and diffuser sections are to be further reduced in size, it is 13 necessary to subject them to relatively increased elongation and 14 shear stress; and ~ the diffuser section should increase the diameter of the flow 16 passageway sufficiently so that the desired acceleration in the 17 second contraction section can be achieved. However the length of 18 the section needs to be limited to avoid excessive recombination of 19 droplets. We found a 3° section to be satisfactory while a 6°
section, total angle, was much less useful.
1 By applying the configuration of tandem contraction sections separated 2 by a diffuser section and observing the aforementioned criteria in the design 3 of the sections, we produced a nozzle which satisfactorily reduced relatively 4 large water ligaments of 12,500~,m average mean diameter, present in an air/water mixture, to relatively fine droplets having an average mean diameter 6 of 300~;m, produced in the form of a jet having substantially evenly distributed 7 droplets.
8 In adapting the nozzle to service in a fluid coker, where it was to 9 process a steam and bitumen mixture, it was desirable to provide a more active mixing or pre-conditioner means. The bitumen, a viscous heavy oil, 11 arrives at the coker in the form of a hot, pumped stream in a pipe. It is 12 necessary to convert the mixture into a bubbly flow condition. This was 13 accomplished using the following means:
14 ~ a straight pipe closed at one end by a valve and connected at the other end with the nozzle;
16 ~ a pre-conditioning nozzle of reducing diameter positioned coaxially 17 in the pipe bore between its ends;
18 ~ an inlet upstream of the nozzle, for introducing the steam; and 19 ~ an inlet, close to and downstream of the nozzle, for introducing the bitumen.
21 The steam jets out of the pre-conditioning nozzle and contacts the entering 22 slug of bitumen, breaking it up into ligaments. The fast-moving steam mixes 23 with the bitumen and further breaks up the ligaments, mainly by elongation 24 and shear stress, to partially reduce them in size, as the mixture moves turbulently down the pipe. The pipe is not long - for most efficient use we 1 suggest a length of 10 diameters between the pre-conditioner nozzle and the 2 atomizing nozzle entrance. However, due to practical constraints, this 3 distance may be longer. The combination of steam jetting, turbulence and 4 shear is intended to produce a stream in the condition of "bubbly flovW'.
The invention is characterized by the following advantages:
6 ~ use of the nozzles and active mixing means in connection with a 7 commercial fluid coker demonstrated improved upgraded oil yield;
8 ~ the nozzle has been shown to be capable of reducing the majority 9 of water droplets in a wateNair mixture from about 12,OOO~,m in the feed to about 300pm in the jet product and the fine droplets are 11 evenly distributed in the product jet; and 12 ~ the nozzle is free of working parts and is roddable.
13 Broadly stated, in one aspect the invention comprises, in combination, 14 a reactor forming an internal reaction chamber and having a side wall forming an opening; and a nozzle assembly comprising a mixing means, external of 16 the reactor, and an atomizing nozzle, positioned within the reactor chamber 17 and connected with the mixing means through the opening; the mixing means 18 comprising piping connected with the atomizing nozzle and having an internal 19 bore, the piping having first inlet means for introducing a stream of oil under pressure into the pipe bore upstream of the reactor opening and second inlet 21 means for introducing a stream of steam under pressure into the pipe bore 22 upstream of the first inlet means, a pre-conditioning nozzle, having a bore of 23 reducing diameter, positioned transversely of the pipe bore, for accelerating 24 the steam as it passes therethrough so that the accelerated steam contacts the oil and produces a flow mixture of steam and oil; and the atomizing nozzle 1 comprising a body forming a passageway extending therethrough, said 2 passageway having upstream and downstream ends and comprising the 3 following in sequence, an inlet for introducing the flow mixture, a first 4 contraction section of reducing diameter for accelerating the mixture to supersonic velocity to reduce droplet size by elongation and shear stress, a 6 diffuser section of expanding diameter for allowing the mixture to decelerate 7 and to enlarge the cross-sectional area of the passageway, a second 8 contraction section of reducing diameter for accelerating the mixture with 9 greater acceleration than in the first contraction section to further reduce droplet size by elongation and shear stress and an orifice outlet for 11 discharging the mixture in the form of a jet of oil droplets distributed in the 12 steam.
13 In another aspect, the invention comprises a method for atomizing 14 heavy oil to be injected into a reaction chamber of a reactor, comprising:
forming a bubbly flow mixture stream of oil and steam in mixing means 16 external of the reactor; and reducing the size of droplets by passing the 17 mixture stream through a nozzle passageway in the reaction chamber, said 18 passageway comprising, in sequence, an inlet section, a first contraction 19 section, a diffuser section, a second contraction section and an orifice outlet, so that the mixture stream is introduced into the passageway and accelerated 21 in the first contraction section to reduce droplet size by elongation and shear 22 stress, then decelerated and cross-sectionally enlarged in the diffuser section, 23 then accelerated a second time in the second contraction section, with greater 24 acceleration than in the first contraction section, to further reduce droplet size 1 by elongation and shear stress, and finally discharged through the outlet 2 section into the reactor chamber as a jet of oil droplets distributed in steam.
Figure 1 is a cross-sectional side view of the nozzle showing, in fanciful 6 form, the progression of liquid droplet diminution in the course of passage 7 through the nozzle, as understood by the inventors;
8 Figure 2 is a cross-sectional side view of the nozzle used in water/air 9 tests described below - the dimensions of the nozzle are set forth in Table I;
Figure 3 is a schematic plan view showing the nozzle of Figure 2 11 attached to a pre-conditioning or mixing means to form a nozzle assembly;
12 Figure 4 is a cross-sectional side view of the nozzle used in connection 13 with a fluid coker vessel - the dimensions of the nozzle are set forth in Table 14 II;
Figure 5 is a schematic plan view showing the nozzle of Figure 4 16 attached to a mixing means to form a nozzle assembly;
17 Figure 6 is a side view showing the nozzle assembly of Figure 5 18 connected to a fluid coker;
19 Figure 7 is a side view showing the pre-conditioning nozzle of Figures 5, 6 - the dimensions are set forth in Table II I;
1 Figure 8 is a graph setting forth the Sauter mean diameter of the water 2 droplets produced by the nozzle of Figure 2, plotted against air/water ratio;
3 Figures 9 and 10 are videographs showing the droplet size and pattern 4 of the jet produced in the water/air tests using a prior art nozzle at different view points downstream; and 6 Figures 11 and 12 are videographs showing the droplet size and 7 pattern of the jet produced in the waterlair tests using the nozzle of Figure 4 at 8 different view points downstream.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
11 The invention will now be described in connection with a nozzle 1 used 12 to atomize water in air. The nozzle 1 is shown in Figure 3. Its dimensions are 13 set forth in Table I below.
14 The nozzle assembly 3 comprised a tee mixer 2 threadably connected with a nozzle 1. The tee mixer 2 comprised a .957" I. D. straight pipe 4. Air 16 under pressure from a compressor (not shown) was introduced axially into the 17 bore 5 of the pipe 4. Water was introduced into the pipe bore 5 through a tee 18 connection 6.
19 The nozzle 1 comprised a body 7 forming a longitudinal passageway 8 extending therethrough. The passageway 8 comprised, in sequence: an inlet 21 section; 9; a first contraction section 10; a diffuser section 11; a second 22 contraction section 12; and an orifice outlet section 13.
1 The dimensions of nozzle 1 are set forth in Table I, now following:
2 Table I
a 1.938"
b 4. 823"
c 0.722"
d 2.384"
a 0.862"
f 0.616"
g 0.250"
h 0.512"
4 In the analytical design of the nozzle to achieve the desired results, the first analysis is to determine the droplet diameter entering the first nozzle 6 contraction. This is obtained by considering theory for the break-up of liquid 7 ligaments due to turbulent flow. The theory is applied to the constant 8 diameter pipe section from the point of the first mixing of the bitumen and 9 steam up to the entry to the nozzle. To apply the theory the turbulent Reynolds stresses have to be calculated for the turbulent pipe flow and used 11 in an equation that predicts the break-up of the droplets and corresponding 12 new droplet diameters.
1 The break-up of the bitumen droplets in the first contraction to smaller 2 droplets is also estimated by another equation. The smaller droplet diameter 3 produced by the accelerated flow in the contraction depends on the third root 4 of the product of the surface tension coefficient of the bitumen times the original diameter divided by the product of the bitumen density times the 6 estimated acceleration of the bitumen droplet. The acceleration of the 7 bitumen is obtained by considering the geometry of the contraction and two-8 phase flow theory. For example, it can be shown that for a flow of bitumen 9 and steam at typical temperature and pressure for the fluidized bed coker for a flow rate of 1620 barrels per day and a steam flow rate of 103 Ib./hr., if the 11 initial diameter of the bitumen droplet is 12,120~,m, over a length of 30 12 diameters the bitumen droplets reduce in size to 4,210~,m. On entering the 13 first contraction of the nozzle the acceleration of the mixture and elongation of 14 the bitumen droplets causes the droplet diameter to reduce further to 618~,m.
For this part of the analysis a contraction ratio of 0.286 was assumed over a 16 length of 49.52~m (1.808"). To determine the final diameter of the droplet 17 from the complete nozzle, this analysis has to be repeated for the second 18 contraction.
19 During this analysis, the speed of sound for the mixture has to be determined and the mixture Mach number also calculated for the first 21 contraction. The mixture Mach number is the mixture velocity divided by the 22 mixture speed of sound. If the mixture Mach number is equal to unity, then 23 the flow downstream of the contraction could be supersonic and an additional 24 mechanism, to break-up the bitumen to smaller droplets, will be applied.
The only differences between the supersonic nozzle flow in the proposed nozzle 1 and the usual theory for single phase flow is that in this study the flow media 2 is a two-phase mixture of bitumen droplets in steam flow and the nozzle is a 3 double nozzle with two contractions. Criteria has been developed to 4 determine the necessary and sufficient conditions for axi-symmetrical shock waves to occur in the diffuser or outside of the nozzle in the turbulent jet 6 region. For a distribution of bitumen droplet sizes it is best to employ a 7 software program for this analysis.
8 In testing nozzle 1, the following conditions were observed:
9 water flow rate: 15 USGPM - 52 USGPM
air flow rate: 20 SCFM - 140 SCFM
11 These conditions were used to mimic the real life situation where liquid 12 feed rate varies. The tests were performed at atmospheric pressure at a 13 temperature of 15°C.
14 It was observed through a transparent window that the feed mixture entering the nozzle 1 comprised water ligaments dispersed in the air. The 16 droplet size and distribution in the jet produced were determined in the 17 following manner. New methods for measurement and characterization were 18 developed to obtain data in the near-field of the spray from the nozzle tip to 19 three feet downstream; laser interferometry and high-speed strobe imaging methods were developed and employed successfully to characterize that 21 near-field spray. To minimize any bias of measurement, the orientation of the 22 pre-conditioner and nozzle assembly was changed to a vertical one with the 23 spray projected downwards in a spray tower. The laser interterometry 24 provides a non-invasive technique for measuring velocities and droplet sizes.
No probes are introduced into the flow and thus it retains all the droplet sizes 1 and flow field. Furthermore no calibration of the instrument is necessary.
The 2 instrument made use of an argon ion laser light source and the only 3 disadvantage of the system was that in very dense sprays or non-dispersed 4 sprays, the light burst may be too diffused and may not distinguish the true signal from the background noise. In summary four main tests were made of 6 the design nozzles in the vertical flow test chamber as follows:
7 1. P. D.A. measurements;
8 2. high speed strobe light illuminated videography;
9 3. visual inspection using a SW laser light sheet source; and 4. spray flux determination using paternation sampling equipment.
11 Videograms are shown in Figures 9 and 10 of spray patterns that were 12 taped using a prior art commercial nozzle supplied with a fluidized coker 13 operated by the present assignees. The nozzle was operated at 50 USGPM, 14 air fed at 150 psig and the views were taken at 10" and 36" downstream, respectively. The videograms indicate a dense liquid core. In this flow, liquid 16 ligaments were present with little indication of atomization.
17 Videograms are shown in Figures 11 and 12 of spray patterns that 18 were taped using the nozzle of Figure 4 at distances of 10" and 36"
19 downstream. Much greater width and liquid break-up was observed.
The Sauter average mean diameter of the fine droplets produced by 21 the nozzle of Figure 4 was 250 - 350 ~,m. About 90% of the water processed 22 was in the form of fine droplets.
1 The invention was also tested in a commercial coker using the nozzle 2 20 shown in Figures 4 and 5. The nozzle openings in the coker were 3 relatively small. The nozzle dimensions were modified to meet the limitation 4 in outside diameter, although the same criteria were used in the nozzle's design as was the case for the nozzle of Figure 2. The dimensions of the 6 nozzle 20 are set forth in Table II, now following.
7 Table II
I 0.957"
____..-1.925"
k 1.25"
I 0.612"
m 3.00"
n 0.880"
0 0.825"
p 0.250"
q 0.512"
9 To provide a better flow mixture for the nozzle 20, a pre-conditioning assembly 21 having a contraction nozzle 22 mounted in the bore 23 of the 11 pipe 24, was provided. The pre-conditioning nozzle 22 was positioned 12 downstream of the steam inlet 25 and immediately upstream of the bitumen 13 inlet 26. The dimensions of the pre-conditioning nozzle 22 are set forth in 14 Table III, now following.
1 Table III
r 0.936"
s 1.000"
t 0.250"
a 0.400"
3 A number of the nozzle assemblies 27 were used in a commercial fluid coker 4 and worked without problem to improve coker product yield.
It will be appreciated that the mixer/nozzle assembly has been 6 described in terms of the specific embodiment shown in the drawings.
7 However it is contemplated that other configurations of mixer piping will be 8 apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. The scope of the invention is 9 defined in the claims now following:
In the 14 case of the two phase mixture, the mixture assumes the pressure value of the gas and the density assumes the mixture density. For a two phase flow this 16 usually results in a relatively small numerator, the gas pressure, and a 17 relatively larger denominator, the mixture density. Hence a much lower value, 18 for the speed of sound of the mixture, is obtained. In fact the speed of sound 19 in the mixture is lower than either value for the individual gas or liquid phases.
This means that, for two-phase nozzle flow, for quite a low mixture velocity, 21 the nozzle flow can be supersonic.
22 It has been shown by experiment that this assumption for the low value 23 of the speed of sound in a mixture of a liquid and a gas is only true if the flow 24 pattern in the nozzle is of the bubbly flow type.
1 The nozzle is therefore preferably designed in accordance with the 2 following criteria:
3 ~ the first contraction section should accelerate the mixture to 4 supersonic velocity - the possibility is then created for generating a flow of relatively small droplets and generating a shock wave in the 6 diffuser due to the lower speed of sound value. If a shock wave is 7 created, it will assist in droplet size reduction;
8 ~ as previously stated, the second contraction section should 9 accelerate the mixture more than that achieved by the first section.
We successfully used a section that provided about twice the 11 acceleration. If the fine droplets produced by the first contraction 12 and diffuser sections are to be further reduced in size, it is 13 necessary to subject them to relatively increased elongation and 14 shear stress; and ~ the diffuser section should increase the diameter of the flow 16 passageway sufficiently so that the desired acceleration in the 17 second contraction section can be achieved. However the length of 18 the section needs to be limited to avoid excessive recombination of 19 droplets. We found a 3° section to be satisfactory while a 6°
section, total angle, was much less useful.
1 By applying the configuration of tandem contraction sections separated 2 by a diffuser section and observing the aforementioned criteria in the design 3 of the sections, we produced a nozzle which satisfactorily reduced relatively 4 large water ligaments of 12,500~,m average mean diameter, present in an air/water mixture, to relatively fine droplets having an average mean diameter 6 of 300~;m, produced in the form of a jet having substantially evenly distributed 7 droplets.
8 In adapting the nozzle to service in a fluid coker, where it was to 9 process a steam and bitumen mixture, it was desirable to provide a more active mixing or pre-conditioner means. The bitumen, a viscous heavy oil, 11 arrives at the coker in the form of a hot, pumped stream in a pipe. It is 12 necessary to convert the mixture into a bubbly flow condition. This was 13 accomplished using the following means:
14 ~ a straight pipe closed at one end by a valve and connected at the other end with the nozzle;
16 ~ a pre-conditioning nozzle of reducing diameter positioned coaxially 17 in the pipe bore between its ends;
18 ~ an inlet upstream of the nozzle, for introducing the steam; and 19 ~ an inlet, close to and downstream of the nozzle, for introducing the bitumen.
21 The steam jets out of the pre-conditioning nozzle and contacts the entering 22 slug of bitumen, breaking it up into ligaments. The fast-moving steam mixes 23 with the bitumen and further breaks up the ligaments, mainly by elongation 24 and shear stress, to partially reduce them in size, as the mixture moves turbulently down the pipe. The pipe is not long - for most efficient use we 1 suggest a length of 10 diameters between the pre-conditioner nozzle and the 2 atomizing nozzle entrance. However, due to practical constraints, this 3 distance may be longer. The combination of steam jetting, turbulence and 4 shear is intended to produce a stream in the condition of "bubbly flovW'.
The invention is characterized by the following advantages:
6 ~ use of the nozzles and active mixing means in connection with a 7 commercial fluid coker demonstrated improved upgraded oil yield;
8 ~ the nozzle has been shown to be capable of reducing the majority 9 of water droplets in a wateNair mixture from about 12,OOO~,m in the feed to about 300pm in the jet product and the fine droplets are 11 evenly distributed in the product jet; and 12 ~ the nozzle is free of working parts and is roddable.
13 Broadly stated, in one aspect the invention comprises, in combination, 14 a reactor forming an internal reaction chamber and having a side wall forming an opening; and a nozzle assembly comprising a mixing means, external of 16 the reactor, and an atomizing nozzle, positioned within the reactor chamber 17 and connected with the mixing means through the opening; the mixing means 18 comprising piping connected with the atomizing nozzle and having an internal 19 bore, the piping having first inlet means for introducing a stream of oil under pressure into the pipe bore upstream of the reactor opening and second inlet 21 means for introducing a stream of steam under pressure into the pipe bore 22 upstream of the first inlet means, a pre-conditioning nozzle, having a bore of 23 reducing diameter, positioned transversely of the pipe bore, for accelerating 24 the steam as it passes therethrough so that the accelerated steam contacts the oil and produces a flow mixture of steam and oil; and the atomizing nozzle 1 comprising a body forming a passageway extending therethrough, said 2 passageway having upstream and downstream ends and comprising the 3 following in sequence, an inlet for introducing the flow mixture, a first 4 contraction section of reducing diameter for accelerating the mixture to supersonic velocity to reduce droplet size by elongation and shear stress, a 6 diffuser section of expanding diameter for allowing the mixture to decelerate 7 and to enlarge the cross-sectional area of the passageway, a second 8 contraction section of reducing diameter for accelerating the mixture with 9 greater acceleration than in the first contraction section to further reduce droplet size by elongation and shear stress and an orifice outlet for 11 discharging the mixture in the form of a jet of oil droplets distributed in the 12 steam.
13 In another aspect, the invention comprises a method for atomizing 14 heavy oil to be injected into a reaction chamber of a reactor, comprising:
forming a bubbly flow mixture stream of oil and steam in mixing means 16 external of the reactor; and reducing the size of droplets by passing the 17 mixture stream through a nozzle passageway in the reaction chamber, said 18 passageway comprising, in sequence, an inlet section, a first contraction 19 section, a diffuser section, a second contraction section and an orifice outlet, so that the mixture stream is introduced into the passageway and accelerated 21 in the first contraction section to reduce droplet size by elongation and shear 22 stress, then decelerated and cross-sectionally enlarged in the diffuser section, 23 then accelerated a second time in the second contraction section, with greater 24 acceleration than in the first contraction section, to further reduce droplet size 1 by elongation and shear stress, and finally discharged through the outlet 2 section into the reactor chamber as a jet of oil droplets distributed in steam.
Figure 1 is a cross-sectional side view of the nozzle showing, in fanciful 6 form, the progression of liquid droplet diminution in the course of passage 7 through the nozzle, as understood by the inventors;
8 Figure 2 is a cross-sectional side view of the nozzle used in water/air 9 tests described below - the dimensions of the nozzle are set forth in Table I;
Figure 3 is a schematic plan view showing the nozzle of Figure 2 11 attached to a pre-conditioning or mixing means to form a nozzle assembly;
12 Figure 4 is a cross-sectional side view of the nozzle used in connection 13 with a fluid coker vessel - the dimensions of the nozzle are set forth in Table 14 II;
Figure 5 is a schematic plan view showing the nozzle of Figure 4 16 attached to a mixing means to form a nozzle assembly;
17 Figure 6 is a side view showing the nozzle assembly of Figure 5 18 connected to a fluid coker;
19 Figure 7 is a side view showing the pre-conditioning nozzle of Figures 5, 6 - the dimensions are set forth in Table II I;
1 Figure 8 is a graph setting forth the Sauter mean diameter of the water 2 droplets produced by the nozzle of Figure 2, plotted against air/water ratio;
3 Figures 9 and 10 are videographs showing the droplet size and pattern 4 of the jet produced in the water/air tests using a prior art nozzle at different view points downstream; and 6 Figures 11 and 12 are videographs showing the droplet size and 7 pattern of the jet produced in the waterlair tests using the nozzle of Figure 4 at 8 different view points downstream.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
11 The invention will now be described in connection with a nozzle 1 used 12 to atomize water in air. The nozzle 1 is shown in Figure 3. Its dimensions are 13 set forth in Table I below.
14 The nozzle assembly 3 comprised a tee mixer 2 threadably connected with a nozzle 1. The tee mixer 2 comprised a .957" I. D. straight pipe 4. Air 16 under pressure from a compressor (not shown) was introduced axially into the 17 bore 5 of the pipe 4. Water was introduced into the pipe bore 5 through a tee 18 connection 6.
19 The nozzle 1 comprised a body 7 forming a longitudinal passageway 8 extending therethrough. The passageway 8 comprised, in sequence: an inlet 21 section; 9; a first contraction section 10; a diffuser section 11; a second 22 contraction section 12; and an orifice outlet section 13.
1 The dimensions of nozzle 1 are set forth in Table I, now following:
2 Table I
a 1.938"
b 4. 823"
c 0.722"
d 2.384"
a 0.862"
f 0.616"
g 0.250"
h 0.512"
4 In the analytical design of the nozzle to achieve the desired results, the first analysis is to determine the droplet diameter entering the first nozzle 6 contraction. This is obtained by considering theory for the break-up of liquid 7 ligaments due to turbulent flow. The theory is applied to the constant 8 diameter pipe section from the point of the first mixing of the bitumen and 9 steam up to the entry to the nozzle. To apply the theory the turbulent Reynolds stresses have to be calculated for the turbulent pipe flow and used 11 in an equation that predicts the break-up of the droplets and corresponding 12 new droplet diameters.
1 The break-up of the bitumen droplets in the first contraction to smaller 2 droplets is also estimated by another equation. The smaller droplet diameter 3 produced by the accelerated flow in the contraction depends on the third root 4 of the product of the surface tension coefficient of the bitumen times the original diameter divided by the product of the bitumen density times the 6 estimated acceleration of the bitumen droplet. The acceleration of the 7 bitumen is obtained by considering the geometry of the contraction and two-8 phase flow theory. For example, it can be shown that for a flow of bitumen 9 and steam at typical temperature and pressure for the fluidized bed coker for a flow rate of 1620 barrels per day and a steam flow rate of 103 Ib./hr., if the 11 initial diameter of the bitumen droplet is 12,120~,m, over a length of 30 12 diameters the bitumen droplets reduce in size to 4,210~,m. On entering the 13 first contraction of the nozzle the acceleration of the mixture and elongation of 14 the bitumen droplets causes the droplet diameter to reduce further to 618~,m.
For this part of the analysis a contraction ratio of 0.286 was assumed over a 16 length of 49.52~m (1.808"). To determine the final diameter of the droplet 17 from the complete nozzle, this analysis has to be repeated for the second 18 contraction.
19 During this analysis, the speed of sound for the mixture has to be determined and the mixture Mach number also calculated for the first 21 contraction. The mixture Mach number is the mixture velocity divided by the 22 mixture speed of sound. If the mixture Mach number is equal to unity, then 23 the flow downstream of the contraction could be supersonic and an additional 24 mechanism, to break-up the bitumen to smaller droplets, will be applied.
The only differences between the supersonic nozzle flow in the proposed nozzle 1 and the usual theory for single phase flow is that in this study the flow media 2 is a two-phase mixture of bitumen droplets in steam flow and the nozzle is a 3 double nozzle with two contractions. Criteria has been developed to 4 determine the necessary and sufficient conditions for axi-symmetrical shock waves to occur in the diffuser or outside of the nozzle in the turbulent jet 6 region. For a distribution of bitumen droplet sizes it is best to employ a 7 software program for this analysis.
8 In testing nozzle 1, the following conditions were observed:
9 water flow rate: 15 USGPM - 52 USGPM
air flow rate: 20 SCFM - 140 SCFM
11 These conditions were used to mimic the real life situation where liquid 12 feed rate varies. The tests were performed at atmospheric pressure at a 13 temperature of 15°C.
14 It was observed through a transparent window that the feed mixture entering the nozzle 1 comprised water ligaments dispersed in the air. The 16 droplet size and distribution in the jet produced were determined in the 17 following manner. New methods for measurement and characterization were 18 developed to obtain data in the near-field of the spray from the nozzle tip to 19 three feet downstream; laser interferometry and high-speed strobe imaging methods were developed and employed successfully to characterize that 21 near-field spray. To minimize any bias of measurement, the orientation of the 22 pre-conditioner and nozzle assembly was changed to a vertical one with the 23 spray projected downwards in a spray tower. The laser interterometry 24 provides a non-invasive technique for measuring velocities and droplet sizes.
No probes are introduced into the flow and thus it retains all the droplet sizes 1 and flow field. Furthermore no calibration of the instrument is necessary.
The 2 instrument made use of an argon ion laser light source and the only 3 disadvantage of the system was that in very dense sprays or non-dispersed 4 sprays, the light burst may be too diffused and may not distinguish the true signal from the background noise. In summary four main tests were made of 6 the design nozzles in the vertical flow test chamber as follows:
7 1. P. D.A. measurements;
8 2. high speed strobe light illuminated videography;
9 3. visual inspection using a SW laser light sheet source; and 4. spray flux determination using paternation sampling equipment.
11 Videograms are shown in Figures 9 and 10 of spray patterns that were 12 taped using a prior art commercial nozzle supplied with a fluidized coker 13 operated by the present assignees. The nozzle was operated at 50 USGPM, 14 air fed at 150 psig and the views were taken at 10" and 36" downstream, respectively. The videograms indicate a dense liquid core. In this flow, liquid 16 ligaments were present with little indication of atomization.
17 Videograms are shown in Figures 11 and 12 of spray patterns that 18 were taped using the nozzle of Figure 4 at distances of 10" and 36"
19 downstream. Much greater width and liquid break-up was observed.
The Sauter average mean diameter of the fine droplets produced by 21 the nozzle of Figure 4 was 250 - 350 ~,m. About 90% of the water processed 22 was in the form of fine droplets.
1 The invention was also tested in a commercial coker using the nozzle 2 20 shown in Figures 4 and 5. The nozzle openings in the coker were 3 relatively small. The nozzle dimensions were modified to meet the limitation 4 in outside diameter, although the same criteria were used in the nozzle's design as was the case for the nozzle of Figure 2. The dimensions of the 6 nozzle 20 are set forth in Table II, now following.
7 Table II
I 0.957"
____..-1.925"
k 1.25"
I 0.612"
m 3.00"
n 0.880"
0 0.825"
p 0.250"
q 0.512"
9 To provide a better flow mixture for the nozzle 20, a pre-conditioning assembly 21 having a contraction nozzle 22 mounted in the bore 23 of the 11 pipe 24, was provided. The pre-conditioning nozzle 22 was positioned 12 downstream of the steam inlet 25 and immediately upstream of the bitumen 13 inlet 26. The dimensions of the pre-conditioning nozzle 22 are set forth in 14 Table III, now following.
1 Table III
r 0.936"
s 1.000"
t 0.250"
a 0.400"
3 A number of the nozzle assemblies 27 were used in a commercial fluid coker 4 and worked without problem to improve coker product yield.
It will be appreciated that the mixer/nozzle assembly has been 6 described in terms of the specific embodiment shown in the drawings.
7 However it is contemplated that other configurations of mixer piping will be 8 apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. The scope of the invention is 9 defined in the claims now following:
Claims (11)
1. In combination:
a reactor forming an internal reaction chamber and having a side wall forming an opening; and a nozzle assembly comprising a mixing means, external of the reactor, and an atomizing nozzle, positioned within the reactor chamber and connected with the mixing means through the opening;
the mixing means comprising piping connected with the atomizing nozzle and having an internal bore, the piping having first inlet means for introducing a stream of oil under pressure into the pipe bore upstream of the reactor opening and second inlet means for introducing a stream of steam under pressure into the pipe bore upstream of the first inlet means, a pre-conditioning nozzle, having a bore of reducing diameter, positioned transversely of the pipe bore, for accelerating the steam as it passes therethrough so that the accelerated steam contacts the oil and produces a flow mixture of steam and oil; and the atomizing nozzle comprising a body forming a passageway extending therethrough, said passageway having upstream and downstream ends and comprising the following in sequence, an inlet for introducing the flow mixture, a first contraction section of reducing diameter for accelerating the mixture to supersonic velocity to reduce droplet size by elongation and shear stress, a diffuser section of expanding diameter for allowing the mixture to decelerate and to enlarge the cross-sectional area of the passageway, a second contraction section of reducing diameter for accelerating the mixture with greater acceleration than in the first contraction section to further reduce droplet size by elongation and shear stress and an orifice outlet for discharging the mixture in the form of a jet of oil droplets distributed in the steam.
a reactor forming an internal reaction chamber and having a side wall forming an opening; and a nozzle assembly comprising a mixing means, external of the reactor, and an atomizing nozzle, positioned within the reactor chamber and connected with the mixing means through the opening;
the mixing means comprising piping connected with the atomizing nozzle and having an internal bore, the piping having first inlet means for introducing a stream of oil under pressure into the pipe bore upstream of the reactor opening and second inlet means for introducing a stream of steam under pressure into the pipe bore upstream of the first inlet means, a pre-conditioning nozzle, having a bore of reducing diameter, positioned transversely of the pipe bore, for accelerating the steam as it passes therethrough so that the accelerated steam contacts the oil and produces a flow mixture of steam and oil; and the atomizing nozzle comprising a body forming a passageway extending therethrough, said passageway having upstream and downstream ends and comprising the following in sequence, an inlet for introducing the flow mixture, a first contraction section of reducing diameter for accelerating the mixture to supersonic velocity to reduce droplet size by elongation and shear stress, a diffuser section of expanding diameter for allowing the mixture to decelerate and to enlarge the cross-sectional area of the passageway, a second contraction section of reducing diameter for accelerating the mixture with greater acceleration than in the first contraction section to further reduce droplet size by elongation and shear stress and an orifice outlet for discharging the mixture in the form of a jet of oil droplets distributed in the steam.
2. The combination as set forth in claim 1 wherein the nozzle passageway is circular in cross-section.
3. The combination as set forth in claim 1 or 2 wherein the reactor is a fluidized bed coker.
4. In combination:
a reactor forming an internal reaction chamber and having a side wall forming an opening; and a nozzle assembly comprising a mixing means, external of the reactor, and an atomizing nozzle, positioned within the reactor chamber and connected with the mixing means through the opening;
the mixing means comprising piping connected with the atomizing nozzle and having an internal bore, the piping having first inlet means for introducing a stream of oil under pressure into the pipe bore upstream of the reactor opening and second inlet means for introducing a stream of steam under pressure into the pipe bore upstream of the first inlet means, a pre-conditioning nozzle, having a bore of reducing diameter, positioned transversely of the pipe bore between the first and second inlet means, for accelerating the steam as it passes therethrough so that the accelerated steam contacts the oil and produces a bubbly flow mixture of steam and oil;
the atomizing nozzle comprising a body forming a passageway extending therethrough, said passageway having upstream and downstream ends and comprising the following in sequence, an inlet for introducing the flow mixture, a first contraction section of reducing diameter for accelerating the mixture to reduce droplet size by elongation and shear stress, a diffuser section of expanding diameter for allowing the mixture to decelerate and to enlarge the cross-sectional area of the passageway, a second contraction section of reducing diameter for accelerating the mixture with greater acceleration than in the first contraction section to further reduce droplet size by elongation and shear stress and an orifice outlet for discharging the mixture in the form of a jet of oil droplets distributed in the steam.
a reactor forming an internal reaction chamber and having a side wall forming an opening; and a nozzle assembly comprising a mixing means, external of the reactor, and an atomizing nozzle, positioned within the reactor chamber and connected with the mixing means through the opening;
the mixing means comprising piping connected with the atomizing nozzle and having an internal bore, the piping having first inlet means for introducing a stream of oil under pressure into the pipe bore upstream of the reactor opening and second inlet means for introducing a stream of steam under pressure into the pipe bore upstream of the first inlet means, a pre-conditioning nozzle, having a bore of reducing diameter, positioned transversely of the pipe bore between the first and second inlet means, for accelerating the steam as it passes therethrough so that the accelerated steam contacts the oil and produces a bubbly flow mixture of steam and oil;
the atomizing nozzle comprising a body forming a passageway extending therethrough, said passageway having upstream and downstream ends and comprising the following in sequence, an inlet for introducing the flow mixture, a first contraction section of reducing diameter for accelerating the mixture to reduce droplet size by elongation and shear stress, a diffuser section of expanding diameter for allowing the mixture to decelerate and to enlarge the cross-sectional area of the passageway, a second contraction section of reducing diameter for accelerating the mixture with greater acceleration than in the first contraction section to further reduce droplet size by elongation and shear stress and an orifice outlet for discharging the mixture in the form of a jet of oil droplets distributed in the steam.
5. The combination as set forth in claim 4 wherein the nozzle passageway is circular in cross-section.
6. The combination as set forth in claim 5 wherein the mixing means comprises valve means operative to close the pipe bore or enable the introduction of rodding means.
7. The combination as set forth in claim 6 wherein the reactor is a fluidized bed coker.
8. A method for atomizing heavy oil to be injected into a reaction chamber of a reactor, comprising:
forming a bubbly flow mixture stream of oil and steam in mixing means external of the reactor; and reducing the size of droplets by passing the mixture stream through a nozzle passageway in the reaction chamber, said passageway comprising, in sequence, an inlet section, a first contraction section, a diffuser section, a second contraction section and an orifice outlet, so that the mixture stream is introduced into the passageway and accelerated in the first contraction section to reduce droplet size by elongation and shear stress, then decelerated and cross-sectionally enlarged in the diffuser section, then accelerated a second time in the second contraction section with greater acceleration than in the first contraction section to further reduce droplet size by elongation and shear stress, and finally discharged through the outlet section into the reactor chamber as a jet of oil droplets distributed in steam.
forming a bubbly flow mixture stream of oil and steam in mixing means external of the reactor; and reducing the size of droplets by passing the mixture stream through a nozzle passageway in the reaction chamber, said passageway comprising, in sequence, an inlet section, a first contraction section, a diffuser section, a second contraction section and an orifice outlet, so that the mixture stream is introduced into the passageway and accelerated in the first contraction section to reduce droplet size by elongation and shear stress, then decelerated and cross-sectionally enlarged in the diffuser section, then accelerated a second time in the second contraction section with greater acceleration than in the first contraction section to further reduce droplet size by elongation and shear stress, and finally discharged through the outlet section into the reactor chamber as a jet of oil droplets distributed in steam.
9. The method as set forth in claim 8 wherein the mixture stream is accelerated to supersonic velocity as it passes through the passageway.
10. The method as set forth in claim 8 or 9 wherein the oil droplets in the jet have a size in the order of 300µm.
11. The method as set forth in claim 8 or 9 wherein:
the bubbly flow mixture is formed by separately introducing a stream of oil and a stream of steam into the bore of a pipe, the steam being introduced upstream of the oil, accelerating the steam in the pipe and contacting the oil with the accelerated steam to produce the bubbly flow mixture.
the bubbly flow mixture is formed by separately introducing a stream of oil and a stream of steam into the bore of a pipe, the steam being introduced upstream of the oil, accelerating the steam in the pipe and contacting the oil with the accelerated steam to produce the bubbly flow mixture.
Priority Applications (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA002224615A CA2224615C (en) | 1997-12-11 | 1997-12-11 | Nozzle for atomizing liquid in two phase flow |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA002224615A CA2224615C (en) | 1997-12-11 | 1997-12-11 | Nozzle for atomizing liquid in two phase flow |
Publications (2)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA2224615A1 CA2224615A1 (en) | 1999-06-11 |
| CA2224615C true CA2224615C (en) | 2001-07-31 |
Family
ID=4161892
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA002224615A Expired - Lifetime CA2224615C (en) | 1997-12-11 | 1997-12-11 | Nozzle for atomizing liquid in two phase flow |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| CA (1) | CA2224615C (en) |
Cited By (12)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US8101067B2 (en) | 2004-10-13 | 2012-01-24 | Marathon Oil Canada Corporation | Methods for obtaining bitumen from bituminous materials |
| US8257580B2 (en) | 2004-10-13 | 2012-09-04 | Marathon Oil Canada Corporation | Dry, stackable tailings and methods for producing the same |
| US8435402B2 (en) | 2010-03-29 | 2013-05-07 | Marathon Canadian Oil Sands Holding Limited | Nozzle reactor and method of use |
| US8449763B2 (en) | 2009-04-15 | 2013-05-28 | Marathon Canadian Oil Sands Holding Limited | Nozzle reactor and method of use |
| US8586515B2 (en) | 2010-10-25 | 2013-11-19 | Marathon Oil Canada Corporation | Method for making biofuels and biolubricants |
| US8636958B2 (en) | 2011-09-07 | 2014-01-28 | Marathon Oil Canada Corporation | Nozzle reactor and method of use |
| US8663462B2 (en) | 2009-09-16 | 2014-03-04 | Shell Canada Energy Cheveron Canada Limited | Methods for obtaining bitumen from bituminous materials |
| US8864982B2 (en) | 2009-12-28 | 2014-10-21 | Shell Canada Energy Cheveron Canada Limited | Methods for obtaining bitumen from bituminous materials |
| US8877044B2 (en) | 2010-01-22 | 2014-11-04 | Shell Canada Energy Cheveron Canada Limited | Methods for extracting bitumen from bituminous material |
| US8920636B2 (en) | 2011-06-28 | 2014-12-30 | Shell Canada Energy and Chervon Canada Limited | Methods of transporting various bitumen extraction products and compositions thereof |
| US8968556B2 (en) | 2010-12-09 | 2015-03-03 | Shell Canada Energy Cheveron Canada Limited | Process for extracting bitumen and drying the tailings |
| US9023197B2 (en) | 2011-07-26 | 2015-05-05 | Shell Oil Company | Methods for obtaining bitumen from bituminous materials |
Families Citing this family (9)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RU2371246C2 (en) | 2005-01-03 | 2009-10-27 | Вестерн Ойл Сэндс, Инк. | Jet reactor and method of its usage |
| US7927565B2 (en) | 2005-01-03 | 2011-04-19 | Marathon Oil Canada Corporation | Nozzle reactor and method of use |
| US8999246B2 (en) | 2010-05-25 | 2015-04-07 | Exxonmobil Research And Engineering Company | Fluid injection nozzle for fluid bed reactors |
| SG11201609801VA (en) | 2014-08-28 | 2016-12-29 | Exxonmobil Res & Eng Co | Fluid injection nozzle for fluid bed reactors |
| US9889420B2 (en) | 2014-12-04 | 2018-02-13 | Exxonmobil Research And Engineering Company | Fluid injection nozzle for fluid bed reactors |
| CN108421756B (en) * | 2018-04-24 | 2024-09-10 | 浙江理工大学 | Cavitation jet cleaning cavitation device |
| CN108499393B (en) * | 2018-06-20 | 2023-08-29 | 南京工业职业技术学院 | Mixing combination pipe device for multi-component on-line mixing mechanism of lobe-shaped cutting fluid |
| CN110237794B (en) * | 2019-07-15 | 2024-01-26 | 戚律 | Ultrasonic intensified jet reactor |
| CN114053892B (en) * | 2020-07-28 | 2024-08-09 | 比尔克特韦尔克有限两合公司 | Gas-liquid mixing device for cooling die casting die |
-
1997
- 1997-12-11 CA CA002224615A patent/CA2224615C/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
Cited By (13)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US8101067B2 (en) | 2004-10-13 | 2012-01-24 | Marathon Oil Canada Corporation | Methods for obtaining bitumen from bituminous materials |
| US8257580B2 (en) | 2004-10-13 | 2012-09-04 | Marathon Oil Canada Corporation | Dry, stackable tailings and methods for producing the same |
| US8658029B2 (en) | 2004-10-13 | 2014-02-25 | Marathon Oil Canada Corporation | Dry, stackable tailings and methods for producing the same |
| US8449763B2 (en) | 2009-04-15 | 2013-05-28 | Marathon Canadian Oil Sands Holding Limited | Nozzle reactor and method of use |
| US8663462B2 (en) | 2009-09-16 | 2014-03-04 | Shell Canada Energy Cheveron Canada Limited | Methods for obtaining bitumen from bituminous materials |
| US8864982B2 (en) | 2009-12-28 | 2014-10-21 | Shell Canada Energy Cheveron Canada Limited | Methods for obtaining bitumen from bituminous materials |
| US8877044B2 (en) | 2010-01-22 | 2014-11-04 | Shell Canada Energy Cheveron Canada Limited | Methods for extracting bitumen from bituminous material |
| US8435402B2 (en) | 2010-03-29 | 2013-05-07 | Marathon Canadian Oil Sands Holding Limited | Nozzle reactor and method of use |
| US8586515B2 (en) | 2010-10-25 | 2013-11-19 | Marathon Oil Canada Corporation | Method for making biofuels and biolubricants |
| US8968556B2 (en) | 2010-12-09 | 2015-03-03 | Shell Canada Energy Cheveron Canada Limited | Process for extracting bitumen and drying the tailings |
| US8920636B2 (en) | 2011-06-28 | 2014-12-30 | Shell Canada Energy and Chervon Canada Limited | Methods of transporting various bitumen extraction products and compositions thereof |
| US9023197B2 (en) | 2011-07-26 | 2015-05-05 | Shell Oil Company | Methods for obtaining bitumen from bituminous materials |
| US8636958B2 (en) | 2011-09-07 | 2014-01-28 | Marathon Oil Canada Corporation | Nozzle reactor and method of use |
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| CA2224615A1 (en) | 1999-06-11 |
Similar Documents
| Publication | Publication Date | Title |
|---|---|---|
| US6003789A (en) | Nozzle for atomizing liquid in two phase flow | |
| CA2224615C (en) | Nozzle for atomizing liquid in two phase flow | |
| Lefebvre et al. | Spray characteristics of aerated-liquid pressure atomizers | |
| US5306418A (en) | Heavy hydrocarbon feed atomization | |
| US5289976A (en) | Heavy hydrocarbon feed atomization | |
| JP3773975B2 (en) | High efficiency nozzle for fluid catalytic cracking | |
| US9931648B2 (en) | Mist generating apparatus and method | |
| CA2040030C (en) | Fcc feed injector | |
| US5692682A (en) | Flat fan spray nozzle | |
| US6936227B1 (en) | Feed-dispersion system for fluid catalytic cracking units | |
| US2846150A (en) | Fluid energy grinding | |
| DE69304648T2 (en) | Feed atomization process in a fluid catalytic cracking process | |
| Lacava et al. | Design procedure and experimental evaluation of pressure-swirl atomizers | |
| Johnson et al. | Influence of injection gas molar mass on counterflow atomizer performance | |
| US11185834B2 (en) | Injection device for atomizing a liquid hydrocarbon charge | |
| Ariyapadi et al. | Effect of cross flow on the spray characteristics of an industrial feed nozzle | |
| Kumar et al. | Development of a micro-channel based rotary atomizer and its spray characterization | |
| Lee et al. | Atomization characteristics in pneumatic counterfiowing internal mixing nozzle | |
| RU2820454C1 (en) | Nozzle for feeding liquid hydrocarbon fractions into reaction zone of catalytic cracking unit | |
| Clé ment et al. | Leaflash spray dryer: investigation of the atomization process | |
| Lee et al. | Influence of ALR on Disintegration Characteristics in Pneumatic Spray | |
| Farshi et al. | Development of a New Two-Phase Fluid Atomizer Nozzle in Pilot Scale for Fluid Catalytic Cracking Process | |
| Kumar et al. | Droplet Size Distribution in Twin Fluid Nozzle for Modern FCC Riser | |
| Rahman et al. | Correlations between the two-phase gas/liquid spray atomization and the Stokes/aerodynamic Weber numbers | |
| Soni et al. | Effect of Liquid Preheating on Annular Swirling Liquid Sheet Breakup Process |
Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| EEER | Examination request | ||
| MKEX | Expiry |
Effective date: 20171211 |