US1142525A - Apparatus for obtaining liquid hydrocarbons. - Google Patents

Description

G. c. MAAG.

APPARATUS FOR OBTAINING LIQUID HYDROCARBONSJ APPLICATION FILED JUNE H 1914.

Patented June 8, 1915.

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8 g EL WVW York city, New York, have invented certain.

umtrnnsrrarns PATENT ormcn.

Gustav clmaao, or new vonx, N. Y., Assrenon TO conrmnura'teas conrnnssme GORPDRATION, A CORPORATION or new roux.-

' arranarns m osramme LIQUID HYDROCARBONS.

To all whom it may concern 1 3e it known that I, GUs'rAv G. MAAG, a citizen of Germany, and a resident of Newnew and useful lmprovements in Apparatus for ()btain'ing Liquid Hydrocarbons, of

- which the following is a specification.

This invention relates generally to apparatus adapted to be employed in the recovery in isolated liquid form of hydrocarbons of the methane series and it is particularly adapted-to the production of gasolene from casing head gases, or gases having a similar constitution.

Several attempts h ve been made heretofore to obtain gasolgh gases by first subjecting the gases to a very high degree of compression and then fsubjccting the compressed gases to cooling from an outside source. The ,main difficulty with these methods was to be found in the lack of economy in the process and in the lack of stability in the product. The pressure was kept very high in order that no part of-the gasolene should esclgpe' condensation, but as a result of such compression a great many ingredients of theif, sing head gases were condensed with th' 'gaso lene and subsequently evaporated outof it again when the gasolene was exposed to the atmosphere. The heat of compression also. played an important role in rendering such. processes uneconomical. So far as the product was concerned, it was likely to difi erin constitution from day to day according to" local temperature and atmospheric conditions. The local temperature, combined with the frequent dearth of water in the gas regions, tended to make the external cooling process a variable, unreliable and expensive factor. In order to render the products marketable, the compressed liquids were frequently exposed for a length of time in weathering tanks in which the more volatilecompressed constituents were allowed to pass off again into the air and this manifestly rendered nugatory the labor of compressing and liquefying such volatile ingredients as became dissipated in the weathering tanks. I have invented an apparatus which will overcome these defects and which is designed to produce a substantially uniform quallty of commerclal gasole'ne continuously and independent of Specification of Letters Patent.

e from casing head gasolene. The process which I employ in this apparatus is the process described in the patent issuedto Emil Schill on June 16, 1914, and the apparatus devised by. me 1s one apparatus in which that process can be carried out. I have also made use of the underlying features of the apparatus for which Letters Patent have been applied for by Emil Schill on June 1st, 1914. I have, however, in devising my improved apparatus, adapted it'more particularly to producing gasolene, whereas the inventions of Emil Schill are designed with special reference to-the production of pentane, gasolene being treated as a by-product. 1

In this'speeification I shall adopt the same terminology employed in the Schill application and refer to-the mixed gases as composed generally speaking of the methanes,

the pentanes and gasolene.

My invention is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which-- Figure 1 represents a top View ot the plant and Fig. 2 a detail view of a modified form of oil separator connections.

Inthe drawing A represents the com pressor and B the belt that drives it.

C C are the steam cylinders which comigiulgi cate with the compression cylinders E represents the pipecommunicating' with the source of supply such, for example, as the head ofan oil well, or of a storage tank or pipe line. The mixed gases which com} pose this supply enter the tank .F through the pipe E. The-tank F' is a cleaning tank and the gases entering it at the top deposit therein rust, oils, water, etc., such as are readily separated by gravity. The gases thus comparatively purified pass from the tank F through pipe Gto the meter M, the function of which is to measure the quantity of gases which are subsequently compressed in the cylinders D D. The gasesfirst enter the low pressure cylinder D and are met thereinby a heat absorbing agent, such as glycerin, in the condition of very fine minute subdivision, which enters the cylinder through an atomizing nozzle supplied through the pipe line L. ing agent must enter the cylinder in a very finely atomized form, such as spray or mist. Glycerin may be used as the heat absorbing medium but I may employ a number of other equivalent agents.

Patented June a, 1915. Application filed June ll, 1914. Serial No. 844,427.

The heat absorb- After the gases have been compressed in the low pressure cylinder D, they are con veyed by meafis of the connection shownan the dotted lines to the high pressure cylinder D, this connection being indicated as located below the apparatus shown. 'The cylinder D is termed a high pressure cyl-' inder as compared with the cylinder D, although the pressure em loyed in my apparatus in the cylinder D is materially less than the pressure which has been employed in connection with rocesses for compression of natural ases. pressure of 200 pounds in this cylinder is sufiicient to bring about commercial results and even lower pressures may be used, care being taken that the pressure and temperature do not produce conditions such that the hydrocarbon gases changp from their gaseous form. The heat absor ing agent removes from those gases the water contained in them in the form of an aqueous vapor and also the water-soluble impurities such as EH H S and others, as well as heavier products. The heat generated by compression is not transferred to the gases, by reason apparently of the intermolecular lubrication which seems to take place; to some extent the heat of compres sion is also absorbed by the glycerin. In the high pressure cylinder D. the gases are subjectcd to such a degree of pressure as is required to reduce them to the proper condition for further treatment in the remainder ofthe apparatus and there is also given to them the necessary power to pass through the remaining portions of the apparatus. From the high compression cylinder D the compressed gases are brought into the top of the separator H in which the glycerin is recovered. The pipe I connects the bottom of the separator H with the top of the glycerin tank J. The pressure in the separator H is sufficient to raise the liquid in the pipe I. From the bottom of the storage tank J the glycerin is carried through the pipes K-L to the spraying nozzles through which it is injected into each of the compression cylinders in a very finely divided condition.'

The pipe L during a portion of its length is shown as externally cooled by the double pipe water cooler N. The by-pass O isused when the storage tank J is cut out of the system for purposes of cleaning, refilling, replacing or repair. From the upper part of the separator H the compressed gases pass into the coil condenser P, which I call the gasolene condenser and which may be cooled by the. expanded permanent gases in the manner'which will be described later. The temperature in the gasolene condenser P is regulated according to the hydrocarbons contained in the gas, 71. e. their partial pressures, and should be approximately 40 to 7 0 (3., and so as to be substantially constant with respect to the compressed gases so as to reduce a uniform quality of gasolene which, as it collects, runs off from the bottom oi the condenser P into the tank Q from which the gasolene may be withdrawn as desired through the pipe 201. I

The uncondensed compressed gases which now consist of methane and pentane as a separated gas leave the top of the collecting tank Q through the pipe 202 and enter the top of the pentane condenser 203 The liquid which is condensed in this coil'condenser 203 consists substantially of pentane and 1S withdrawn at the bottom through the pipe 204 into the pentane collecting tank 205 from which the pentane can be withdrawn at the pipe209. The valves 206, 207, 208, 221 and 222 are provided to enable the condenser 203 to be cut out of the system in case of accident, the necessity for repairs or the like without interrupting the remaining parts of the operation. After the gas passes through the pentane condcnser'203, it has been deprived of all liquefiable constituents and is in the form of dr compressed methane. This dry gas whic first travels from the pentane condenser 203 through the pipe 204 into the pentane collector 205, passes out of the latter throu h the pipe R from which it passes into die compound steam cylinders C G where such pressure-as it may be under will'be converted into energy. The gases as they leave the compound cylinders G C expand into the separator S where such oils or lubricants as they may have gathered will be removed from them. The expansion of these gases at this point, following the conversion of their pressure into energy, develops a very material reduction of temperature. The cold gases leave the separator S through the pipe S and into the pipe 210. The, relief valve T may be used in starting the apparatus so that the gas engine shall not work'against the load. The valve T is closed as soon as pressure is properly developed. The cold gases in the pipe 210 first pass into the bottom of the pentane condenser 203 leaving the top of that condenser. and passing through the cross-T 211 into the gasolene condenser P. The condensation of the pentane increases the temperatlii'e of the cold' methane and thus aids in he regulationof the temperature desired in the gasolene condenser P. By a suitable regulation of the valve, the temperature in the pentane condenser 203 can be so controlled that the methane emergmg from that condenser will have the proper temperature for condensing the gasolene out of the richer compressed mixed gases in the gasolene condenser P. The methane finally passes out of the gasolene condenser ,P

1 0. altogether.

-' leave the high pressure expansion cylinder lating thetemperature in the condenser P, the valve .214 may be employed to bring the desired quantitgof cold gases directly into the condenser or the valve 215 may be opened to permit cooling gases from the pentane separator 203 to pass directly out of the system and into pipe 213; The valves 216 and 217 are'closed when it is desired to cut the pentane separator out of the system ' Bhe valves 218 and 219 serve partially to regllate the temperature in the gas condenser I of that cylinder altogether. The valve 220 is opened when it is not desired to employ the cold gasesin connectionwith any of the condensers andin that case the valves'214, 217 ,215 and 219 would be closed.

' The separator S in practice may "as shown in Fig. 2 be placed between the expansion cylinders C-Gf. v Theretis a considerable drop in temperature of the gases as they which results in the'co'ndensation of vapors. The arrangement is-such that these condensates shall not enter the'low pressure expansion cylinder. Any condensates or lubricant's either from the low expansioncylinder or which may be carried forward out of the separator may be withdrawn from the system through the pipe .223 arranged'in connection with the pentane condenser 203.

1 Having thus described my invention, what I claim is 1; The combination of a-compressor for compressing natural .gas mixtures containing gasolene, pentane and methane, an 1njecting nozzlecommunicating with the interior of said compressor adapted for the in- "jectionof a finely divided liquid, a collector to receive liquid constituents of the compressed'gases as they leave the compressor, a

condenser withinwhich thegasolene is liquefied, a second condenser within which the pentane is, liquefied while in the form of a or to cutthe cold gases out compressed gases from the collector through the gasolene condenser, a connection for withdrawing uncondensed gases from the.

gasolene condenser into the pentane condenser, means" for causing the gases uncondensed in the pentane condenser to expand and a conduit containing the cold expanded gases leading first into the vicinity of the pentane in the pentane condenser and subsequently into the vicinity of the gasolene in the gasolene condenser.

2; The combination of a compressor for compressing natural gas mixtures containing gasolene, pentane and methane, an injecting nozzle communicating with. the interior of said compressor adapted for the injection of a finely divided liquid, a collector to receive liquid constituents of the compressed gases as they leave the compressor, a condenser within which the gasolene is liquefied, asecond condenser within which the pentane is liquefied while in' the form of a separated gas, means for conducting the compressed gases from the collector through the gasolene condenser, a connection for .withdrawing uncondensed gases from the gasolene condenser into the pentane con for controlling the temperature of the cold expanded gases in the said two condensers.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of two subscribing witnesses. q

I GUSTAV C. MAAG. Witnesses: I

1 'J. E; SWINE,

J. W DANIEL.

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