US1542210A

US1542210A - Apparatus for reclaiming gasoline

Info

Publication number: US1542210A
Application number: US687510D
Authority: US
Inventors: Stewart Archibald Donald
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1924-01-21
Filing date: 1924-01-21
Publication date: 1925-06-16
Anticipated expiration: 1942-06-16

Description

Jul 7, 1925;

Fileci Jan 21, 1924 MR km Mn 7 INVENTOR flrchiba id Donald QNE n ATTOX Patented July 7, i925.

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ARCHIBALD DONALD STEWART, OF WESTBURY, NEW YORK.

APPARATUS FOR RECLAIMING GASOLINE.

Application filed January 21, 1924. Serial No. 637,510.

To all when; it may concern:

lie it known that I, Anni-Imam DONALD S'rl-zwanr. a citizen of the United States,

and resident of llestbury, Long Island, in the county of Nassau and State of New York, haye invented certain new and use ful lm jn'ovcments in Apparatus for Beclaiming Gasoline, of. which the following a specification.

My invention relates to appliances or apparatus for purifying or reclaiming gasoline and similar cleansing liquids after they have been employed for cleaning purposes so that the liquids can be. reused, usually under modern conditions in a substantially continuous system of circulation from the cleaning or washing apparatus to the reclaiming or purifying apparatus and back again, or sometimes with an interposed storage tank.

Whilc the invention is here exemplified by structure especially adapted for cleaning gasoline, or similar light hydrocarbons, it is not necessarily limited as to its utility, but may be employedwherever conditions are substantially similar.

An important object of the invention is to provide means to first consolidate, or to a considerable extent separate the contained greases from the dirty cleansing liquid, and to then subject.the partially separated or collected greases to an alkaline solution to convert or lix them and separate them finally from the cleaning liquid. i

Another object is to,iniroduce the, dirty liquid for the removal of grease or other impurities without unduly agitating or disturbing the cleansing solution or liquid, and in such a way that the grease or other impurities will collect in a sump from which they are easily removable. i

A 'lurther object is to provide easy means for cleaningpipes or other passages of the apparatus and also for agitating the waste i material in the sump and removing it.

Thejinvention consists in apparatus or structures for realizing the above stated and other objects and advantages, as rsufliciently further explained her-miter.

In the accompanying drawings;

Figure 1 shows apparatus embodying the invention in one form, two cleaning appliances beingshown in series, with one of them in section.

Figure 2 is a detail in top plan of the gasoline into an alkaline solution or other cleaning-liquid injecting or distributing devlce.

The apparatus as here embodied consists of suitable parts or devices mainly arranged within two tanks, 1 and 2, which are conveniently of circular cross section. The in ternal structure of both tanks may be sub stantially similar or identical, although the mode of using them when arranged in series in the system, may be somewhat different as suiiiciently explained hereafter.

Assuificientlyshown in connection with tank 1, each cylindrical tank body has a top or headerB, and at the bottom a sump 4 which convenientlff, although not necessa1'1ly, 1n inverted coriiml form. The tanks are often buried infthelground; otherwise, when arranged aboyeground suitable sup. ports will be provided.

Between the sump and the main tank interior a substantially horizontal partition plate 5, which may be moderately ome shaped, as shown. Connection from the sump t0 the main tank is afforded by an Opening 6 atoneside of the partition.

Suitable purifying liquid or solution is placed in each Sump. Usually an alkaline solution, such as caustic soda, is placed in the sump of tank 1, mainly for the purpose of removing grease from the cleansing liquid, while water may be placed inthe sump of tank 2 to remove other extraneous matter, sufficiently described as non-greasy.

To properly introduce the cleaning liquid into the sump without undue disturbance of the liquid or solution therein, I provide a suitable number of distributing devices, which, in the present case, are specifically in the form of hollow balls 7, provided with upwardly directed discharge apertures 8, which may occupy substantially the upper half, or somewhat less, of the ball surface.

A pipe 9 is connected to each ball at the topand all these pipes are connected to a 4-way coupling 10, and this in turn is connected by a suitable pipe fitting 11 to a horizontal pipe 12. The dirty cleaning liquid may in some cases be conducted directly to the dis tributing balls by a suitable outward connection to pipe 12, but otherwise, and preferably in most. cases, the liquid is first conducted to a preliminary separating apparatus or chamber, as further described hereafter.

Desirably, a shi ld or bafile plate 14 'is 10- cated above each distributing hall and the discharge apertures thereof, these ballle plates being desirably of inverted, dished or part-spherical form, and they are conveniently supported upon vertical portions of the pipes 9.

Desirably, a preliminary or intermediate chamber is provided in one or both of the tanks. This may be formed by a partition 21 which is desirably arranged so that the upper portion of the prelin'iinary chamber will be of irelatively large area, and the chamber may then taper down to the point of connection to pipe 12. A plurality of horizontal partitions or batlie plates 22 are arranged in the upper portion of the intermediate chamber, communicating openings 23 being provided in preferably staggered arrangement; and desirably, cleats or ritlle flanges 24 are provided on the upper surfaces of these plates.

The dirty cleaning liquid is introduced through a pipe which, in this instance, discharges above the upper partition or separating plate 22 in intermediate chamber 20. Since tank 1 is usually the first in the series, it' more than one tank is employed, the cleaning liquid as it enters contains not only a considerable quantity of extraneous matter which comes under the general heading of non-greasy dirt,but also contains a large amount of various heavy oils'or greases extracted from fabrics or garments. in the flow ot' the liquid over the riflle flanges, and the plates 22, in the circuitous course provided by the staggered arrangement of the conmmnicating openings 23, the liquid is thoroughly stirred or agitated and the-grease is to a great extent collected, agglomerated or separated in a physical sense from the gasoline: or otherwise stated, the grease is collected into particles or lumps ot greater or less size, which pass along with the gasoline. through pip'ti' 12 to the distributing balls and out through their discharge openings, which direct the liquid upward toward and against the battle plates 14.

By reason of the considerable number of distributing balls and the large number of relatively small openings therein, and further by reason of the ballle plates which check the course of the discharged liquid and divert'it downward through the caustic. solu tion, the flow of the dirty and greasy-liquid is at moderate speed, and undue agitation of the purifying solution is avoided, while at the same time a .very intimate contact of the tlirty hydrocarbon and the grease therein 'ivith the cleansing solution is The by the cansoperation being greatly the previous partial separainsured. grease is conyerted or solidified tic solution, this facilitated by tion or agglomeration of the grease above referred to.

The separated grease remains in theisump while the gasoline containing more or less non-greasy dirt rises through aperture 6 toward the top of the tank, from which it is taken oil' through a pipe in to tank 2, in which the operations may be similar, except that in some cases the preliminary or initial separating chamber 20 may be omitted.

A vent pipe is desirably provided, lead ing from any suitable outlet point through header 2 and through partition plate 5 to a point of connection with the sump, to take olf air or accumulated gases. A steam pipe 51 is also desirably provided, leading from any desirable source ot steam under suitable pressure, through the header and partition 5 to a point of conncetion with pipe fitting 11. At suit-able intenvals steam may be admitted through pipe .31 to pipes 9 and balls '7 to clear from them and the discharge openings 8, any accumulated grease or other obstructing material.

A steam pipe 52 is also desirably provided, leading to a discharge point 52 somewhat above the bottom of the sump. and a cleaning pipe 54 is also provided, having its opening 55 located near the. sump bottom. Steam is admitted at intervals through pipe 52 to agitate and loosen the accumulated grease or other material in the sump, which is then drawn oil through pipe 54.

Fresh caustic solution may be introduced into the sump in any convenient way, for instance, by pouring it through pipe 30 by any suitable valve connection; or a separate opening may be provided in the. intermediate chamber 20 for this purpose.

The pipe connections to tank 2 may be substantially similar, and exterior portions of the pipe are identified by the same numerals as the correspomling pipes of tank 1.

The principal function of tank 2 is to re move non-greasy matter from the cleaning liquid; otherwise the operation is substan tially the same as explained in connection with tank'l. The purified cleaning liquid is discharged from tank 2 through a pipe. (30 to a storage tank or directly to a cleaning" apparatus, aml suitable pumps a e. provided as necessary for the circulation of the liquid. The present invention does not relate to the general cleaning installation or to the circulating system thereof, and such details are therefore not shown.

After considering this exemplifying embodiment, persons skilled in the art will understand that many variations may be made within the scope of the invention, and I therefore conten'iplate. the employment of any structures that are properly within the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. Apparatus of the class described, comprising a tank, a partition defining a sump at the lower end of the tank and having an opening for communication between the lit? sump and tank, a plurality of distributors substantially symmetrically arranged in the sump, a pipe fitting and pipe branches leading therefrom to the distributors, a preliminary chamber connected to said pipe fitting, means for supplying dirty cleaning liquid v to the preliminary chamber, and means in said chamber for effecting preliminary separation of extraneous matter from the cleaning liquid.

2. Apparatus of the class described, com prising a tank, a partition defining a sump at the lower end. of the tank and having an opening for communication between the sump and tank, a plurality of distributors substantially symmetrically arranged in the sump, a pipe fitting and pipe branches leading therefrom to the distributors, a preliminary chamber connected to said pipe fitting, means for supplying dirty cleaning liquid to the preliminary chamber, means in said chamber for efi'ecting preliminary separation of extraneous matter from the cleaning liquid, and a steam pipe connected to said pipe fitting to clear out the distributors and their connecting pipes and discharge openings.

Apparatus of the class described, comprising a tank, a partition defining a sump at the lower end of the tank and having an opening for communication between the sump and tank, a plurality of distributors symmetrically arranged in the sum a pipe fitting and pipe branches leading t ierefroni to the. distributors, a preliminary chamber connected to said pipe fitting, means for supplying dirty cleaning liquid to the preliminar'y chamber, means in said chamber for effecting preliminary separation of e"- traneous matter from the cleaning liquid,

,neous matter from the cleaning liquid, and

prising a tank, a partition defining a sump at the lower end of the tank and having opening for communication between the sump and tank, a plurality of distributors synmietrically arranged in the sump, a f fitting and pipe branches leading there to the distributors, prelin'iinary n connected te-said pipe fitting, means for plying dirty cleaning liquid to the pi *.ni.- nary chamber, means in said chamber or efiecting preliminary separation oi extra:

a discharge pipe and a steam pipe comma eating with. the sump near the thereof.

5. Apparatus of the class described, com.- prising a tank, a partition defining a snrop at the lower end of the tank and having 12": opening for conununication between sump and tank, a plurality of diatribe symmetrically arranged in'tbe sump, a fitting and pipe branches leading tlier to the distributors, a preliminary chamber connected to said pipe fitting, for supplying dirty cleaning liquid to the liminary chamber, means in said chamber for eflecting preliminary separation of ex traneous matter from the cleaning liquid, vent pipe communicating with the sump close to said partition, and a steam pipe con" nected to said pipe fitting to clear out t e distributors and their connecting pipes and discharge openings. I

Signed at New York in the county of New York and State of New York this litt e day of January A. D. 1924.

ARCHlElAtll DONALD bTEWAtltil