US1593449A

US1593449A - Carbonizing process

Info

Publication number: US1593449A
Application number: US110948A
Authority: US
Inventors: Hayes Charles
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1925-05-16
Filing date: 1926-05-22
Publication date: 1926-07-20
Anticipated expiration: 1943-07-20

Description

July 2O 1926.

C. HAYES CARBONIZING PROCES S Filed May 22,4 1926 Patented July 20, 1926.

CHARLES HAYES, F PARIS, FRANCE.'

cmom'zme Pnocnss.

pplicationled May 22, 1926, Serial No. 110,948, and in Canada Hay 18, 1925.

My invention relates to processes of carbonizing coal and has for its object to provide a simple, eiicient andinexpensive method by which coal and coal-like material con- 1 taining an excess of volatiles may be so far freed from volatiles as. to leave a coke-like product high in fixed carbon with only such proportion of volatiles as may be desired for the purpose 4ofenabling it to be readily igl0 nited. l

` The value of coal for-use as fuel depends upon the proportionate content of ixed car bon. If not too high in volatiles it may be used as a steam coal or may be coked. But

there are large deposits of coal which is so high in volatiles as' to be non-coking and of little value as fuel.' This is particularly true of the coal classed as a lignite whichis not only high in volatiles but alsocarries a large percentage of water.

By my inventionthis non-coking coal and lignite may be, quickly and at little expense, freed from excess of volatiles and water so as to leave a product composed mainly of fixed carbon free from water and containing only such slight percentage of volatiles as nay be desired to make the product easy to ignite. The product obtained by my method` iscoke-like. and is well adapted for use as 80 domestic fuel as well` as for use for any other .fuel purpose, and is particularly umform in quality whatever the original material from which it is made. -The volatiles driven off are largely composed of conden- 85 sable vapors and the oils condensed from these vapors are of substantial value and the volatiles driven o" as fixed gas are of value for heating the digesters or for sale as gas for heating and illuminating.

With the objects above indicated in view my invention consists on the process hereinafter described and claimed.

' Referring to the drawings Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view, part- 5 ly diagrammatical, of a plant adapted to carry out my invention.

Figure 2 is a detail cross plan view of the piston of one of the digesters Figure 3 is a detail plan and vertical sectional view showing the construction oi' the digester bottom.

It should be understood' that the drawings are illustrative only and are not to be taken These di esters are open at their upper ends and at t eir lower ends rest upon suitable cross beams 3. Near their upper ends the digesters are provided with openings 50 for the escape of gases from the digesters into chamber 1. At their lower ends these digesters are closed by hinged bottoms 4 pref# erablyeach consistlng of a main ortion 5 provided with interrupted` screwt reads 6 adapted to be engaged with corresponding interrupted screw threads 7 in the lower en 70 of the digester, the main portion 5 being adapted to rotate in a ring 8 which is hinged to the digester, this construction being adapted to be readily locked and released and when locked in closed lposition capable of supportingv heavy pressure.

In each digester is arranged a piston 10 carried by a rod 11 extending through guide plate 12 into a cylinder 1 3 arranged above the to of chamber 1 and carrying a iston 14. ater or oil supplied to cylin er 13 by pump 16 serves to force the iston 10 downward or to withdraw it as esired.

Below the lower endsof the digesters 2 is a bin 20 the bottom 21 of which is arranged at a distance from the lower end of the digester about equal to half the vertical height of the digester so that when the bottom of the digester is opened and the pistony l10 is operated to ex el the lower portion of the charge this expe led portion belng a solid mass of coke-like material with its lower end resting on the bottom 21 of the bin forms'a supporting column by which the less sohd upper portion of the 'charge will supported and prevented from dropping out of the di ester. When the bottom is again closed this less solid portion of the charge will be in the lower portion of the digester in osition to be subjected to the relatively hi her heat and to be formed into a solid co e-like mass. A door 22 at one side of the bin 2O permits the inished fuel product to be removed.

About the wall of the bin is arranged a chamber or tank 23 to be supplied with water to be converted into steam by the heat of the material discharged from the digester. The mass of material may, if desired, be further cooled by water from a hose or by other means.

About the digesters 2 between them and the walls of chamber 1, are preferably arran d baffle plates 25 and beneath these batlee plates are burners 26 preferably for burning fuel oil though the digester may, of course, be heated by other means. The air necessary for combustion may be supplied to these burners in any usual manner as by an air pipe 51 surrounding oil supply pipe 52. Between the baffle plates is arranged a coil 27 which is supplied with steam from any convenient source the coil 27 serving to superheat the steam so supplied. The upperend of the coil 27 is connected with pipes 28 referably three for each digester, leading through guide plate 12 downward nearly to the lower end of the digester, these ipes being erforated at intervals from t eir lower en s to a point about o posite the midlength of the digester. T e pistons 10 are provided with suitable openings for these superheated steam pipes. The three superheated steam pipes for each digester are preferably equally spaced apart and at points about) lnidway between the center of the digester and its inner periphery.

Near the upper end of each digester is an inlet openin 30 to which leads a pipe 31 from a supp y pipe 32 which leads from a conveyer 33, here shown as a screw conveyer of ordinary construction, operated by a pulley 34. This conveyer is adapted to receive coal or other material from a bin 35 and discharge it into pipes 31 and so into the digesters.

The coal or other material is supplied to bin 35 from a preliminary heater 36 arranged to be heated by Vburner 37 and having at its outer end a ho per 38 to which the coal is supplied pre erably broken so that its particles will not be too large to pass through a quarter inch screen. The air necessary for combustion may be supplied to these burners in any usual manner as by an air inlet pi e 53 inclosing oil supply pipe 54. This preliminary heater is arranged to be rotated, by a motor 39 so as to effect avitation sufficient to prevent the articles o coal from sticking together an to ensure even heating.

From the upper part of chamber 1 a. pipe 40 leads to a chamber 41 in which by means of a rotary screw 42 driven by motor 43 any particles of dust or other solid matter carried over from the digester will be thrown outward against the walls of the chamber to collect at its bottom.

The gas and vapors pass from chamber 41 by pipe 45 for such separation of the vapors and recovery of condcusates therefrom and such use of the fixed gas as may be desired.

By compressing the coal while it is in relatively soft condition the formation of gas pockets is preventedv and the material is made dense and solid, the resulting fuel being more dense and solid than ordinary coke and having a specific gravity about the same as that of the raw material used. B reason of its density and relatively hig specitic gravity the finished product is adapted to be transported at lower freight rates than ordinary coke.

In carrying out the process the coal or lignite previously crushed is introduced into the preheater 36 where it is subjected to a heat of about 400 degrees F., the preheater being agitated to ensure evenness of heating. From the preh'e'ater 36 the heated coal is discharged into bin 35 from which it is conve ed by conve er 33 to the up r end of the digester whic is heated by Eiirners 26 arranged at its base so that its lower portion is more highly heated than its upper portion, thus forming a lower high heat zone and an upper less heated zone. When the digester is filled with the preheated coal the plun er 10 is operated'to com ress the charge o coal, the effect of this fiist comression being to force the particles of coal mto a com act mass free from any large air or gas poc ets. The heat being greater towards the lower ends of the digester the coal in that portion of the-digester becomes quickly softened and the coal in the upper portion becomes more or less softened. The plunger is then again operated compressing the softened coal into a compact mass and leaving a considerable space above it. Additional coal is then fed into the upper 'end of the digester until it is full, and the plunger is operated to com ress this additional charge. The heat being continued, the coal in the lower portion of the digester becomes a relatively solid mass of coke-like material from which the volatiles have been mainly eliminated leaving only suiicient volatiles to make the fuel product readily ignitable.

As soon as the material in the lower portion of the digester is suiciently heated the lower end of the digester is opened by unlocking the bottom 4 and permitting 1t to swin down and the plunger is again forced own to force the contents of the digester downward until the lower end of the expelled mass strikes the bottom 21 of the bin 20 and its further movement is revented, the digester being thus left filed for about half lts length, the partly treated material previously in the upper portion of the digester being forced down into the lower portion, or highly heated zone, of the digester ready to have its treatment there completed by the. action of the heat by which the volatiles are more completely driven olf, and the tarry material rendered soft and in condition to hold the particles of solid matter to ether, so that when commost highly heated point an the temperature of the upper zone aboutl 600 degrees F. in its coolest portion.

After lthe mass has been thus expelled from the digester it should be cut ov and the bottom 4 closed.

The plunger being withdrawn more coal is run into the digester until it islled and the plungrer is operated to compress the charge. he operation of heating until the coal is softened,l compressing, further heating and expelling the lower portion of 4the charge is repeated, the operation being thus substantially continuous.

The operation has been described as conducted with a single digester but it is to be understood that two or more digesters are to be used.. The superheated steam is discharged through -the perforations in pipes 28 throughout the lower portion of the charge, aiding in equalizing the heat throughout the charge, and this steam finds its exit through openings 50 in the upper end of the digester and through pipe 40 to the dust collector 41 carrying with it the volatiles in the form of vapprs and gas and more or less solid matter which is eliminated by the dust collector. l

The intervals of time between the compressing operations will depend somewhat upon the temperature and the character of the raw material, but will not be more than a few minutes. After each compression or operation of the iston it should be withdrawn to above t e inlet for the coal so as to permit free escape of volatiles and also to permit of such expansion or swelling of t e raw material as is likely to take place, as it is heated to the point of driving o the volatiles particularly with coal such as cannel coal.

I do no herein claim the apparatus shown and described, as that forms the subjectmatter of a separate application for patent for apparatus for carbonizing coal, filed May 22, 1926, Serial Number 110,947.

Having thus described my invention what I claim iszln a process of carbonizin coal, heating comminuted coal to drive o moisture, introducing the coal in. heated condition into a digester closed at its discharge end and so heated by externally applied heat that the heat at its dischargel end is greater than at its inlet end, applying force to the charge to compress it and to force it towards the discharge end ofthe di ester and immediately withdrawing the orce ap lied, discharging superheated steam into t e charge, subjecting the ,charge to the heat of thc digester and of the superheated steam to drive y.off volatiles and to soften the coal in the more highly heated'portion of the digester, a ain applying force to the charge to solidilgy the softened coal and immediately withdrawing the force so applied, filling the space resulting from compressing the charge with heated coal, applying force to the coal so introduced to compact it and to further solidify the coal in the more highly heated portion of the digester, subljecting the charge to further action of the heat `of the digester and of the superheated steam, opening the discharge end of the digestor and applying force to the char e to move the portion thereof last intro uced from the less highly heated portion of the digester to the morehighly heated portion and to expel the solidified mass contained in the more highly heated portion.

In testimony whereof, I hereunto aiix my signature.

CHAS. HAYES.