GB364665A - Improvements in and apparatus for the continuous treatment of solid substances underpressure - Google Patents

Abstract

<PICT:0364665/III/1> Apparatus for effecting chemical reactions at high temperature and pressure in liquids, vapours or gases or mixtures of these with solids comprises a sheaf of parallel pressure-bearing tubes rotating about an axis parallel to the axes of the tubes and either internally or externally heated. The reagents pass through the tubes in parallel or in series, or several sheaves may be arranged in series. The reagents may travel in the same direction or in counter-current, or reagents may be introduced or reaction products withdrawn, at intermediate points. The movement of solid or viscous materials may be effected by worm conveyers or spiral bands within the tubes; agglomeration may be prevented by rods with sharp edges, chains, or loose solid bodies. Catalysts may be mixed with the reaction substances or inserted in the tubes in the form of loose or rigid bodies or deposited on the walls of the tubes or the latter may be composed of catalytic material. Gases may be introduced through nozzles at the ends of the tubes, or alternatively the tubes may be divided into sections of successively increasing diameter and the gases introduced at the points where the diameter increases. Fig. 1 shows an embodiment of the invention suitable for the destructive hydrogenation of brown coal. The tubes A are mounted in heads B, C which rotate on rollers D, and are heated by flue gases traversing the chamber F. The coal is introduced to the head C through the tube J and the solid product is removed at M. Hydrogen at 200 atmospheres is passed in through the pipe K and hydrocarbon vapours are withdrawn at N. Other reactions to which the invention may be applied are the preparation of metal carbonyls, the condensation of unsaturated or aromatic hydrocarbons, the polymerization of acetylene, the synthesis of ammonia, the hardening of fats or oils, the oxidation of hydrocarbons to fatty acids, the synthesis of methanol, and the reduction of carbon monoxide to hydrocarbons.ALSO:<PICT:0364665/IV/1> Apparatus for effecting chemical reactions at high temperature and pressure in liquids, vapours or gases or mixtures of these with solids comprises a sheaf of parallel pressure-bearing tubes rotating about an axis parallel to the axes of the tubes and either internally or externally heated. The reagents pass through the tubes in parallel or in series, or several sheaves may be arranged in series. The reagents may travel in the same direction or in countercurrent, or reagents may be introduced or reaction products withdrawn at intermediate points. The movement of solid or viscous materials may be effected by worm conveyers or spiral bands within the tubes; agglomeration may be prevented by rods with sharp edges, chains, or loose solid bodies. Catalysts may be mixed with the reaction substances or inserted in the tubes in the form of loose or rigid bodies or deposited on the walls of the tubes or the latter may be composed of catalytic material. Gases may be introduced through nozzles at the ends of the tubes, or alternatively the tubes may be divided into sections of successively increasing diameter and the gases introduced at the points where the diameter increases. The Figure shows an embodiment of the invention suitable for the destructive hydrogenation of brown coal. The tubes A are mounted in heads B, C which rotate on rollers D, and are heated by flue gases traversing the chamber F. The coal is introduced to the head C through the tube J and the solid product is removed at M. Hydrogen at 200 atmospheres is passed through the pipe K and hydrocarbon vapours are withdrawn at N. Other reactions to which the invention may be applied are the condensation of unsaturated or aromatic hydrocarbons, the polymerization of acetylene, the oxidation of hydrocarbons to fatty acids, the synthesis of methanol, and the reduction of carbon monoxide to hydrocarbons.