US1378084A - Refining sulfur - Google Patents

Description

R. F. BACON AND c. N. WENRICH.

REFINING SULFUR.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 6,1919.

f'atened IIIy 17, 1921.

25M, LW M M UNIT-ED STATES. PATENT -oi-Fica RAYMOND r. BACON AND cALvIN N. WENRICH, or PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA,

ASSIGNORS TO TEXAS GULF SULPHUR COMPANY, 0F BAY RATION 0F TEXAS.l

REFINING SULFUR.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patnted May 17, 1921,

Application filed October 6, 1919. Serial 11%.l 328,902.

To all who/m, t may concern:

Be it known that we, RAYMOND F. BACON and CALVIN N. WENRIOH, both citizens of tlie United States, and residents of Pittsburgh, Allegheny county, State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Refining Sulfur; and we do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of ,the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

In the mining of deep deposits of sulfur, such as those occurring in the States of Texas and Louisiana, it is customary to melt the underground deposit progressively by the introduction of hot water, and to take the melted sulfur in a stream of relatively large dimensions to the surface of the ground and thereupon divert it into receiving wells or sumps, wherein it is permitted to cool and solidify. It is then customary to break u'p the cooled and solidified sulfur into fragments of appropriate size for loading upon cars intended 'for transporting it to the place of destination.

This cooling step, because of the low conductivity of sulfur for heat, is time-consuming and, after the sulfur is set, considerable expenditure of skill and energy is required to break it up into appropriate fragments for shipment. Even with care, the amount of fines is considerable, which, if charged into the cars, are liable to sift out and be lost in transport. I'So also, the attrition of the more` or less sharp edges of the larger fragments of sulfur, during transport, adds to the quantity of the fines and increases the danger of loss from that source. Finally, in the normal charging of a car with these fragments of sulfur, it is found that there is ordinarily a very considerable inter-space between the solid constituents of the load thereby cutting down considerably the weight of sulfur `that is represented per unit of space occupied by the charge as a whole.

The purpose of the present invention is to substitute for the practice referred to, a method for converting the molten sulfur into pellets or the like, which may be produced of fairly uniform size and weight largely within the controler choice of the operator. For most uses, it will be convenient to produce these pellets of approx-i- Figure 1 illustrates, in vertical elevation,

and diagrammatically, a suitable form of apparatus for putting it into practice;

Fig. 2 represen-ts on a somewhat larger scale a fragmentary view of a portion of Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawing, a indicates a suitable conduit for the melted sulfur-which may convey it directly from the well or from any suitable storage receptacle into the metal tank A provided with a removable top 5 and having a steam jacket c for maintaining the body of sulfur within the receptacle A at a temperature of from 115 to 130 C.,

that is to say at a temperature at which the sulfur is of appropriate iiuidity for the uses of. the invention. The steam jacket is supplied with appropriate valves as shown for maintaining a suitable supply of steam of the desired pressure and at the desired rate through the steam jacket. A thermometer CITY, TEXAS, A CORPO- Z is provided for noting the temperature of the molten mass.

The bottom of the receptacle A consists of a perforated plate. The perforations of the plate have preferably the general form of truncated cones, as indicated, on a larger scale 1n Fig. 2 of the drawing. The entire tank A rests upon, and is supported by, a tank or receptacle B having preferably a conical bottom and terminating in an outlet chute e having a cut-off valve as shown. The tank B is preferably of metal and is provided at its upper part with a heating medium of any suitable kind, as, fol inst ance, a steam jacket f, with inlet and outlet pipes for the steam employed. It will be noted that the steam jacket or heating means encircles only the upper part of the tank B, and this is designedly so, in order that a ioo A los jacket f of sufficient volume and temperature to permit the liquid contained inthe tank B to have a temperature 1n its upper part sufficient to allow the sulfur to pass through the openings n of the perforated plate in the form of drops which, in passing through the upper layer of liquid in the tank B will assume first, an elongated and then a pellet-like form. Below the zone encircled by the steam jacket f the liquid in the tank B is at a lower temperature so that upon reaching the inclined bottom of the tank B the pellets will have assumed a definite shape. The bottom of the tank B vis provided with a cooling jacket for the passage of a suitable refrigerating or cooling liquid, such as cold water, the function of the cooling jacket being to maintain the lower portion of the liquid in the tank B at such an appropriate temperature as will cause the pellets to maintain their condition of solidity. At appropriate intervals, the pellets will be discharged from the tank B into the receiver C by opening the discharge gate or valve a2 in the chute e. The tank 7) is provided with a suitable thermometer or thermometers, le, as shown, for noting the temperature prevailing in the liquid medium contained in said tank. As a means for preventing possible accidental coalescence of the elongated drops of sulfur as they pass through the openings n, the bottom plate of the tank A may be provided withv small tubular projections p whose func-tion is to keep said drops apart until they are well within the body of the liquid within tank B.

The -liquid within the tank B may be replenished continuously or periodically through the valved supply pipe g. It should consist of a liquid, such as water, carrying in solution a sulicient quantity ot an appropriate salt such as calcium chlorid to give it an appropriate specific gravity and a sufficiently high boiling point for the purposes of the invention.

It will be apparent from the foregoing description that the molten sulfur, by the practice ot the present invention, will be converted into pellet form. of a size and shape which may be varied within wide limits` by varying the size of the openings n constituting the bottom plate ot the tank A. These pellets are adapted for immediate shipment. As received from the outlet chute c of the tank 7;, they are entirely devoid of dust, they are relatively uniform in size, and have rounded, almost lustrous surfaces. In transport, they have no hard edges, and when charged into the usual paper bags, for distribution, they lack the tendency to perforate the bags which is characteristic ot' sulfur which has been broken up or blasted in the usual way. In addition to the estimated saving of about 50 cents per ton over the cooling and blasting method, it is also found that when charged in pellet form on a car an appreciably larger quantity of the pellets can be carried per unit of available car space, on account of the greatly diminished interstitial air spaces between the solid constituents of the load.

lVhat We claim is:

1. The method of obtaining from mined sulfur, a sulfur product particularly adapted for shipment or transfer, which comprises maintaining a body of the sulfur at a temperature ranging from about 115"4 to 130o C. and supplying it in the form of drops into a body of cooling liquid at such a rate compared with the volume and boiling temperature of the liquid that the drops will coagulate into pellet form substantially as described.

2. The method of obtaining from mined sulfur, a sulfur product particularly adapted for shipment or transfer, which comprises maintaining a body of the sulfur at a temperature ranging Jfrom about 115o to 130 C. and supplying it in the form of drops into a solution of a salt in water, such solution having a boiling point approximating the congealing point of the sulfur, and solidifying said drops in pellet form in said solution; substantially as described.

3. The method of obtaining from mined sulfur, a sulfur product particularly adapted for shipment or transport, which comprises supplying the sulfur in drop form from a reservoir thereof maintained at an approximately uniform temperature somewhat above its melting point to a body of cooling liquid whose upper zone is maintained at a temperature approximating the congealing temperature of sulfur and whose lower portion is at a lesser temperature and of sufficient depth to chill the drops to pellet form; substantially as described.

In testimony whereof we aix our signatures.

RAYMOND F. BACON. CALVIN N. VENRICH.

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