US1473402A - Process of refining oil - Google Patents

Description

C. B. FORWARD PROCESS OF REFINING lOIL Filed Jan. 9, 1919 fpsheets-sheei; 1

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C. B. FORWARD PROCESS OF REFINING OIL y'Filed Jan. 9, 1919 3. Sheets-Sheet 2 n mw ,3

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Patented Nov. 6, 1923.

CHUNCEY BLAIR FORWARD, 0F URBANA, OHIO.

PROCESS F REFINING- OIL.

Application led January 9, 1919. Serial No. 270,408.

T 0 @ZZ whom t may concern:

Be it known that CHAUNCEY BLAIR Fonwlinn, a citizen of the United States, residin at Urbana, in the county of Champaign an State of Ohio, has invented certain new and useil Improvements in a Process of Refining Oil, of which the' following is a'specification.

liy invention relates to a process of retining oil, which is an improvement on the process for treating oil shown and described in my application Ser. No. 205,815, filed December 6, 1917. In practicing this improved proce, crudeoil or any fractional distillate thereof is separated into its component parts by the application of superheated steam together with the waste heat or flue gases of the boilers or furnaces which generate and superheat the steam. The

preferable sequence of steps taken involveA initial heating of the oil by the waste heat or flue gases of the boiler. or furnace producing or superheating the steam, and secondly, a further heating of the oil to a higher temperature by the application of the superheated steam. In these proceedings the temperature of the waste heat or flue gases as applied is below the point Where coking or carbonizing of the oil and fouling of the apparatus can occur, and the application of the superheated steam is also within predetermined temperatures to effect separati-ons without coking or carbonizing the oil. v Other steps which expeditethe separations and effect economy in consumption of fueland make the process of practical value and utility commercially, consist in deliver. ing the steam from'a. single boiler to separate sets of oil heaters and separators, in superheating the steam repeatedly for use in the separate sets of oil heaters, in utilizing the superheated steam in the final oil heater of each set to atomize the oil and effect separations in the primary separators, land in treating the vapors with a. measured flow of water to effect various fractional separations continuously.

In the accompanying drawing, Figs. l and 2 are side and plan views, respective-ly, of a. system and appara-tus wherewith to practice my improved process on a commerspectively, arranged in sets, together with a series of auxiliary steam superheaters 7, Boilers 2 may be of any desirable construction and type adapted to supply steam at a high temperature of 900 degrees F. o1'. higher, either by a superheater 3 separate and apart'v from the boiler, -or the superheating may be done by suitable coils placed within the furnace itself, substantially as shown in. my Letters Patent` Number 1,251,850. In either event thesteam is raised to a'high temperature at a definite cost in fuel, and with a certain amount of waste heat or escape of flue gas. To utilize this waste heat so as to work economy in the application of the superheated steam in separating the oil into fractional distillates, I place a coil 8 of oil-conveying pipe in the path of the fluel gases from boiler 2 and 75 y as shown .this coil is placed at the bottom of the boiler stack S. The superheater is also shown as discharging hot gases into the stack above and below the coil by way of separate pipes P-P having dempers D-D, respectively, so that these hot gases may be also utilized if desired. The temperature ofthe waste gas discharged at this point is 'high enough toheat the oil separate very materially as it flows continuously through coilA 8 but there is no excessive heating of the coil throughout its length or in spots or localized areas therein to cause coking or burning of the oil and fouling of, the pipe. Waste gas at a temperature between 500 and 600 degrees F. maybe safely used in heating the cold oi-l as a preliminary step in operations, or if the fiue gas exceeds such temperatures it may still be used with reasonable safety, and this heated Each heater 4, 5 and 6, respectively of each set, comprises a closed cylinder containing a coil of pipe manv hundred feet in length,

and the pipe itself is of relatively small i dia-meter. rIhe heated oil passes from the branch pipe 11, first, into and through the coil in heater 4, thence into and through the coil in the second heater 5, and finally into and through the coil in the third heater 6, and this course of the oil is the 'same in cach set of heaters. Further, a pipe 14 conveys the heated oil from the coil in heater 6 to au iti 1era/to2 atomizer 15 ivhich is adapted to discharge thc oii in an atomized state into a relatively small cylinder or separator 16 together With superheated steam at a high temperature. The steam is conveyed to the atomizer through a pipe 17 connected Wit-h the cylinder or third heater 6, and a. supply of superheated steam at a. very high temperature. to Wit, between 800 or 900 degrees F. or higher, is delivered direct to each cylinder 6 from the main supcrheater 3 by Way of a main supply pipe 18 and its branches 19. rEhe second heater 5 in the first set of the series of oil heaters also receives its supply of steam directly from main superhcatcr 3, but the remaining ,oil heaters, to Wit, heater the set and heaters i and 5 ot earl of the succeeding sets. are heated by the steam discharged from cylinder 5 of the first llmvevor. .steps arc taken toA raise'thc temper-:dure of the steam after using the in the first set and hefore using it in they second set of cylinders, a. proceeding which is manifestly necessary in view of the transference of heat from the steam to the oil passing in an opposite direction through each set of oil heaters. rthis rehcat' of the steam is obtained by an aut-:ih iary superheater 7, one for each set of oil set Sti Hit" heaters except the tirst se and first auxiliary snperheater is located in the pipe line het-.reen the iirst and second sets of oil heaters, While the second auxiliary superis placed in the pipe line between the second and third sets of oil heaters, and so on to the highest numher or amoinrt. 7he

z superheater 7 reheats the steam used in cylinders i and 5 of the first set so that the steam may he used eifectively in the second set of oil heaters, and the second superheater repeats this step of raising the temperature of used steam so that it may be used again in the third set of oil heaters and so on to the end within practical limits. The steam is cai eed forward from set to set of oil heaters under the pressure derived from the single hoilcr 2, and by the successive rehcating steps as described the same steam may he used pea'edly and effectively in connection With the vvaste heat so as to heat the oil to high ,.cniptuaturcs Without ill eflnect on the oil and aratus, liioreover, there is a material saving in fuel and steam in large commercial tnierations as compared with the steps taken hy me heretofore, l

The superheated steam, after its use in the last cylinder or preheater 6, is lowered somewhat in temperature, hut in vievv of the fact that the oil has heen brought to a high temperature before iiovving through the coil in this last cylinder or preheater 6 the fall in temperature is not very greatl and the steam is still available for emcient use at the atomizer 15, vvhere it is discharged into the primary separator 16 with the oil and vapors and Where the separation of the vaporized and unvaporized portions of the oil occur. The more volatile constitutcnts pass npvvardly and out of the separator through pipe 20, While the heavier portions are precipitated to the bottom of the separator 15 and discharged hy the pressure therein through the drain pipe 21 into a residuum tank Q2 Which may be located at a distant point or Wherever most convenient.

The next step in operations consists in subjecting the volatile product to a. cleansing or clarifying action ivhilc also effecting further separation by condensing parts thereof into one or more' useful fractions. distillates. This is accomplished by discharcing' the' volatile productfrom pipe ii .1: the bottom of an upright cylinder Q3 aat spraying the rising vapors with a measured amount of ivaicr, then passing;- the remain ing volatile portion through a pipe 2l to the holtom of a second cylinder Q5 wherein the same spraying treatment is given. ln the present drawings, three more cylinders E2G, 2i'

and 28, respectively, are connected to operate in the saine vay. making five clarifying separators connected in tandem to eii'ect live separations before the vapor from vhieh gasoline is derived passes through av pipe 29 to a vvorm condenser il() and ti'ufncf.; to a tait house nthere a suitable receiver 31 separates the water from the gasoline. The number of fractional separators used may vary according to the number or kind of fractionai distillates desired.

Each clarifying separator has a draw-olif pipe 12 at its bottoni leading to a, cooling' coil 32 which acts to cool the particular separation passing therethrough under the pressure maintained in each clarifying separator 'l before discharging intol a water separator in the. tail house, from whence the, various separations are delivered hy gravity throuh'h pipes leading to distant tanks or receptacles. not shovvn. rEhe delivery of the scparatitns to the tail house being under pressure prmits the tail house to be located anydis tance apart from the main installation.

in spraying the vapors obtained from the primary separator -1G, l find it essentie. to measure accurately the amount. ot' water used in each clarifying separator in order to obtain the desired fractional distillate and to avoid any nlal-fnnction in operations. For this purpose I employ a Water meter 533 and a regulating valve Elfi in cach branch of Water pipe 35 which terminates in a spraying head or nozzle 3G within thc upper cud o' each clarifying cylinder Q3, 25,26. 2T and 2S. respectively. Also the Well or drum 3T at the hottom of each clarifying cylinder has a glass column or sight gage to shoiv the amount of fluid passing therethrough, and suitable valves are placed at intervals in the pipes to regulate the flow of the vapors and fluid and maintain a constant pressure in the entirc system so as to create a continuous flow of oil and vapors and uninterrupted separations.

I also provide a separate set of clarifying and fractional distilling cylinders as described for each primary separator 16 and its complement of oil heaters 4, 5 and 6, and

the showing illustrates a commercial installation capable of refining oil on large scale operations with a minimum of labor and cost, using steam at a high temperature and pressure. The residuum derived from the primary separator 16 makes an excellent cylinder stock and so secured is of better quality than it is possible to obtain by any process using direct heat on the containers of the oil in order to secure this product. The oil secured from clarifying cylinders 26, 27 and 28 or in fact from any or all of the clarifying cylinders may be pumped to and through the primary heating coil 8 and subjected again to the Waste heat of the furnace or boiler 2 and then treated with the steam again in the same manner as hereinbefore described to obtain fractional distillates, but in that event either a'much higher temperature of superheated steaml should be used in the oil heaters than in the first instance or the oil pumped through the system more slowly to obtain a higher heating of the oil in order to crack a large percentage of same into a more volatile oil or gasoline suitable for motor fuelfor internal combustion engines. Having eliminated the heavy end of the crude originally run through the apparatus I find it is safe to run the distillates through the same apparatus at a temperature of 200 degrees F. or more higher than When running through the crude oil without the danger of coking the oil and fouling the apparatus.

ln running either the crude oil or distillates through the apparatus as described the process is continuous and may be run for Weeks or months and the apparatus will be as clean and free from coke or carbon at the end of the run as it was at the start. This is due to the fact that the superheated steam surrounding the coils through which the oil passes permits the oil so passing through the apparatus to be subjected to the desired heat and pressure Without being subjected at any time to any localized heat spots Which is unavoidable Where direct heat on the containers of the oil is used and which local heat spots are the cause of they coking and fouling of the apparatus.

Under a given heating condition in the boiler and superheaters, the speed or rate of flow of the oil through the pipes determines the degree of separation in the primary separator, and Where a large output of gasoline or a mot-or fuel oil is desired and a less number of fractional distillates, more oil may be pumped per hour through the pipes and the Water shut off in the clarifying separators. One or more of the clarifying se arators may bensed and the Water shut o in the remainder to limit the number of fractional distillates, While the amount and quality of distillate obtainable from each clarifying separator may also be regulated by the amount of Water sprayed therein. In running the distillates through the system instead of crude oil, the distillate should be pumped through the system at a slower speed in order to increase the temperature of the distille-tes to a cracking point, and this is feasible because the heavier portion or base of the oil, which is more susceptible to coking or carbonization, has already been removed.

The apparatus shown and described herein is further set forth in my divisional application, filed on the 18th day of February 1919, Ser. No. 277,140.

What I claim is:

1. A process of refining oil, consisting in passing a thin body of oil for a short interval through the Waste heat discharged from a steam boiler` furnace, the temperature of the Waste heat and duration of application being limited to prevent coking or burning of any part of the oil, and secondly, in applylng the steam from the same boiler to the heated oil until a higher degree of temperature of the oil is obtained, and finally separating the lighter and heavier portions of the heated oil.

2. A process of refining oil, consisting in passing the oil to be refined continuously in y a stream through a heater exposed to the waste heat passing from a steam boiler furnace Without excessively heating the oil in its passage to the detriment of its component parts; in continuing the heating of the oil by steam generated in the said boiler for longer intervals and at higher temperatures 'and discharging and atomizing the heated oil in a closed receptacle; and in separating the liquid and volatile parts resulting from such treatment of the oil.

3. A process of refining oil, consisting in superheating steam in a superheater t'o a temperature of 800O F. or higher and applying the Waste heat passing from the superheater furnace t0 a predetermined length of a stream of flowing oil Without coking or carbonizing the oil and then applyin the superheated steam to the heated oil w ile flowing in a stream to raise the temperature thereof and injecting the highly heated oil with a part .of the superheated steam into a separator under constant pressure and discharging the liquid and volatile parts of the oil into separate receptacles.

4. A process of refining oil, consisting in passing a body of oil continuously through a heater exposed to the waste heat products of a steam boiler furnace at temperatures between 500 and 0000 F. and then sub dividing the heated oil into separate streams and heating; each stream o a higher temperature hv steam generated in said boiler and snperheated to above 800O F., in discharging each stream of oil together with superheated steam at a temperature above 800 l". into independent Vessels under a sustained pressure; in spraying water upon the volatile lo separat-ions in said vessels; and in delivering the liquid and remaining volatile product in each vessel vfo separate containers.

Signed at Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga, and State of Ohio, this 19th day l5 of December, 1918.

CHAUNCEY BLAIR FORVARD.

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