US1184925A

US1184925A - Retort or still.

Info

Publication number: US1184925A
Application number: US82219314A
Authority: US
Inventors: Harold M Chase
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1914-03-03
Filing date: 1914-03-03
Publication date: 1916-05-30
Anticipated expiration: 1933-05-30

Description

- H. M. CHASE.

RETORT 0R STILL.

- APPLlCATiON FILED MAR. 3. 19M. A 2 0 I Patented May 30, 1916.

2 SHEETSSHEET 1- nil a 5 ilnuculo'zentrain sra ras HAROLD M. GHASE, OF WILMINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA.

Ramona or, STILL.

menses.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 30,1916.

Application filed March 3, 1914. Serial No 322,193.

Wilmington, in the county of New Hanover,

State of North Carolina, have invented certain new and useful Improvements 'in Re torts or Stills, of which the following is a description, reference being bad to the ac-' companying drawings, forming a part hereof. i

My invention relates to stills or retorts particularly adapted to be used in the destructive distillation of non-liquid material in fragments or piec s such for, instance as wood "of resinous or other trees and my 1nvention has for its object to provide a means ,for heating such stills or retorts which will be adapted to be used with retorts of large capacity and will make it possible tonot only regulate the heat applied but willdause the heat to penetrate evenly throughout the material inthe retort.

In the patent to Thomas W. Pritchard issued Feb. 25, 1908, No. 880,466, a method and means for heating retort's for the do structive distillation ,of wood is disclosedi having for its main feature the circulation ahout the retort of a current of heated liquid having a high volatilizingpoint, the temperature of the liquid being so regulated as to get in the retort just the temperature necessary to drive off the particular prodnot desired. In the use of this system of heating it is found that owing to the fact that heat penetrates slowly through a mass of wood the diameter of the retort is neces sarily limited where the heating liquid is circulated in a jacket surrounding the re tort or in pipes near the walls of the retort as if the retort is of large diameter the-outer portions of the charge will be brought to the temperature desired a considerable time before the inner or central portions will be sufiiciently heated to drive off the product desired. My-present invention is designed to overcome this difficulty and to enable re-, torts to be used with the svstem of heating by circulation of a heated liquid, which are not only of larger diameter than those found possible to use heretofore but are-also arranged with their axis vertical so as to page mit the material tobe treated to be introduced at. the top of the retort and the residue tof he removed from the lower" and thus side elev;.ti0n partly broken away, of a stillor retort embodying my invention.= Fig. 2 is a horizontal section through the same on line aa of Fig. l and Fig. 3 is a similar view on line b--b of Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawing 1 indicates a still or retortpreferably formed of sheet metal in cylindrical form and preferably arranged with its axis vertical.

2 indicates a cover for the retort which is constructed so as to be either in whole or in part removable to permit, the material which is to be treated to be introduced.

3 indicates the lower end of the retort having a central opening 4 through which the residue resulting from the destructive distillations may be taken out. A flange 5 extends upward about this opening 4: having at its upper end a plate 6 with central distillatiori may be led off to suitable con-.

densers (not shown). In the bottom, 3 a valved outlet 13 is provided for drawing ofi any liquid residues which may accumulate about the flange 5. r

Within the retort are arranged heating coils 14, 15'and 16 of which the coils 14 are near the walls of the retort, the coils 16 are near the axial center of the retort and the coils arranged with i 15 are between

coils

14 and 16 and are pret erably concentricwith them. The distance between coils 1 k and 15 and between coils .15 and 16 is such as to permit of introducing the material to be treated in pieces or frag-- ments or such size as the material can con veniently be cut or broken into and the in such that the pieces or cross bars 17 arranged near the lower end of the retort supported at their ends in any convenient manner as by brackets 18. Be-

.low these cross bars is arranged a heating coil 19 the coils of which are preferably so arranged as to form a cone the diameter of the upper end of which is nearly the same as that of the interior of the retort and the diameter of the lower end of which rests on the plate 6 about the opening 7 so as to form a funnel to direct the solid portionsof the residue to the opening, the spaces between the coils being suiiicient to permit any liquid residue to escape into ,Irounding the flange 5 or opening '4. At the the space surextreme lower end of the retort orstill is arranged a heating coil 20 surrounding the flange 5 or opening 1.

The heating liquid is sup'plied. to the coils 1-1, 1G, 19 and by inlets 14, 15' 16' 19 and 20 extending through the walls of the retort through outlets inlets and outlets beihg connected with a suitable supply pipe and return pipe (not shown) leading from and to t-he'heater (not shown).

In a retort or still of any considerable height the

several coils

14, 15 and 16 will preferably be formed in sections each having its inlet and outlet so as to avoid the cooling which would result from fprcing .until the heating liquid to pass through too great a length of pipe.

In actual construction particularly Where the retort orstill is to be usedit'oi' the destructive distillation of resinous wood the spaces between the

coils

14 and 15 and between the coils 15 {112d 16 and the interior diameter of the coil 1 3 should not be greater than two or three feet in order to get the best heating effect on the material to. be treated.

In operation after the top or cover 2 has been opened and the spaces between the coils filled with the material to be treated the cover is closed and the heating liquid forced through the coils. If" desired the funnel formed by the coil 19 may be left-filled with solid residue from the previous run, orthe material to be treated may be allowed to material is heated As soon as the to the degree necessary to drive off the first fractional distillate this distillate will pass off through the oti'takes and will continue to pass off so long as the heat is maintained until fully'driven oh". The heat is then increased and successive distillates driven off only nonvolatile residues remain. These residues, in case the retort or still is used for destructive distillation of resinous the coils 1-) and 20 and the liquid passes out ll, 15, 16 19"- and 20 therate inlet space surrounding the flange 4, from which it may be drawn off through-the valved outlet 13. In the process of distillation this tarry or pitchlike residue will carry down with it more or less volatile matter andwill submerge the heating coil 20 andwill be kept highly heated by this coil and by the coil 19 so as to drive off any volatile matter. The wood or charcoal which fills the funnel formed by the coil 19 will be freed from any volatile or tarry matter carried by it by the heat of this coil. After the distillation has been completed and the retort or still cooled by circulation of comparatively cool liquid through the coils the door 8 may be opened and the charcoal permitted to fall into a suitable receptacle;

By reason of the arrangement of the

code

14, 15 and 16 the material to be treated may be treated rapidly and by the action of' the residues may be freed from volatile matter thus not only reducing the time necessary for the effective distillation but also securing a largerrecovery of volatile matter than could otherwise be obtained. vThe arrangement of coils also permits of the use of lar er retorts and the consequent treatment 0 a larger mass of material than would otherwise be'possible. It will of coursebe understood that the intermediate coils 15 may be omitted in retorts of smaller diameter and more than one intermediate coil may be used in retorts of larger diameter than the one illustrated. It will of course be understood that the retort or still of this invention may be used for the treatment of any material capable of being distilled to drive off volatile substances. v

It will also be understood that I do not desire to be limited to the particular construction and arrangement shown asthis may obviously be varied withoutdeparting from the spirit of my invention.

Having thus described my invention what I claim is 1-. v

1. A retort or still for the treatment of solid material in pieces or fragments. comprising an outer shell arranged vertically having an opening at its upper end to receive .the material to be treated, having a central openin V at its lower end for the discharge of soli residues and having a plurality of sets of heating coils arranged therein one above the other, each set com-- prising a plurality of coils arranged one within another spaced apart sufficiently to permit the material to be treated to enter between them, and each set having a sepaand outlet for the beating medium.

2. A retort or still tor the treatment of permit the solid material in pieces or fragments, comprising anouter shell arranged vertically having an opening at its upper end to receive the material to be treated, having a central opening at its lower end for the discharge of solid residues and having a plurality of sets of heating coils arranged therein-brie above the other, each set comprising a plurality ofcoils arranged one within another spaced'apart suiiiciently to permit the material to be treated to enter between them, and each set having a. separate inlet and outlet "for the heating medium, and means for supporting the material to be treated adapted to permit the passage of material disintegrated by treatment.

3. A. retort or still for the treatment of solid material in pieces or fragments, comprising an outer shell arranged vertically having an opening at its upper end to receive the material to be treated, having a central opening at its lower end for the discharge of solid residues'and having a plurality of sets of heating coils arranged therein one above thel-other, each set com rising a plurality of, coils arranged one wit, inanother spaced apart sufficiently to permitth'e material to be treatedto enter between'them,

and each set having a separate inlet and outlet for the heating medium, means for supporting the material to be treated adapted to passage of material disintegrated by treatment, and'a conically arranged heating coil below the material supporting means adapted to direct the disintegrated material to an outlet and to permit liquids ,to pass between the coils.

4. A retort or still for the treatment of solid material in pieces or fragments, comprising an outer shell arranged vertically having an opening at its upper end to receive the materialfto be treated, having a central opening at its lower end for the discharge of solid residues and having a plu- ,rality of sets of heating coils arranged material disintegrated by treatment, a conically arranged heating coil below the material supporting means aclapted to direct the disintegrated material to an outlet and to permit liquids to pass between the coils, a chamber surrounding the conically arranged coil adapted to receive the liquid, and means for heating the chamber.

a This specification signed and 1 witnessed this 25th day of November, A. D. 1913.

HAROLD M] CHASE.

In the presence of P. P. CAUsnY, Bnssn C. STRAUB.