US1639327A - Apparatus for distilling oil - Google Patents

Description

5.y 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I Nm. QH

r a A f 121:/

J.W. COAST, JR

Filed Nov.

APPARATUS Fon DISTILLING on.

.dbb

Aug. 16 1927.

1,639,327 All@ 16 1927' J. w. coAs'r, JR

APPARATUS FOR DISTILLING OIL Filed Nov. 54, 1920 l ll i -14."11

l nn..

Patented Aug. 16, 1927.

,.UNITED STATES- PATENT o'FFlca.

JOHN W. COAST, JR., Ol' TULSA, OKLAHOMA, ASSIGrIhI'OIR.,l BY MESNE-ASSIGNMENTS, T0

DOHERTY RESEARCH COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. 'Y.,v A-ACORPORATION 0F DELA- WARE.

arranarus ron nrs'rnnmeon..

Application lcd November 3, 1920. Serial No. 421,494. l'

Thisinvention relates to apparatus for dis:- tilling oil and more particularly to scraping mechanism designed for use in stills.

In the operation of oil stills, especially thosegenerally termed pressure stills in which distillat-ion'is carried on under pres.

sure and at high tem eratures to cause portions ofthe oil'of hig specific gravities and boiling points to be decomposed into oils of lower specific gravities and boiling points,

substances such as tar, carbon, coke and the like are formed which tendl to settle on the vbottom of. the still within the heating-zone of the still. Inauch as such substances' are poor conductors of heat, whenfthey are allowed to accumulate on the-shell ofa still, they constitute a heat insulating medium` which makes it at rst difficult and then imossible to heat the contents of the still to a egree necessary to eiect their proper distillation. rial, such as carbon or coke, is allowed toremain undisturbed for an considerable length of time on the bottom o the still, it becomes baked on the still, and, in such an event, the

portion of the still upon whichzthe carbonaceous material is deposited is liable to be overheated and destroyed. In this respect, deposits of sediment are a source of great danger since they loften lead to disastrous `iiresdue to the ignitionV of` oil escaping from a ruptured part of the still. It is, therefore,

very important, particularly in the-case' of stills maintained in constant operation for long intervals of time as in the-continuous distillation of oil, that allv parts'of the shell of a still be kept free from deposits of sediment. It is an object ofthe present invention :to provide in an oil still mechanism which vmay be operated during the process of distillation to remove from theinner surface of the' Moreover, if carbonaceous mate.

In the ilustrated construcsolid or semi-solid material which may adl Ihere to them in spite of their self-cleaning action:

Another important feature ofthe inventlon is theprovision of a scraping mechanism for a still or. other receptacle whichy shallhave chains disposedv transversely 'of the receptacle and of the direction of movement of the scraping mechanism and acting to sweep before them any solid matter which' may repose loosely oli the bottom of the receptacle..

The inventionl further comprises other. I

novel features of construction and arrangements of. partswhich will be hereinafter more full described and claimed and are illustrate in theaccompauying drawings-,in

which:

Fig. 1 -is- @plat in mami of a een..

Fig. 2 isa vlewshowing the improved' scraping mechanism in lon 'tudinal elevation of the interior of the still, certain of the parts being shown in section Fig. 3 is a transversesection ofthe still taken along the line `3--3 of..,Fig. 2 and` looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 4 isa transverse` section of the still taken along the line 4-4 of Fig. 2 and looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 5 is anfenlarged view in front eleva-l tionofcertain of the scraping members and lvthe member which supports them; and,

Fig. 6 is a view in elevation showing the scraping members andthe supporting members-in transverse section;

In they accompanying. drawings which illustrate a preferred embodiment of the invention, the body of the still is designated by the numeral 2 and is provided with' oilinlet-pipes 4 and 6 (Figs. 1 and 2). The still 2 is further provided with a vapor outlet 8 leading fromfthe top of the. still, and at the right hand end of the still (Fi V2) are a manhole 9 and a tar or sludge out et 10. vThe outlet 10 conductsthe unvaporized oil from the stilLtoge'ther wi'thall the residual products resulting from the distillation. still 2 is preferably substantially cylindrical in shape and is adapted tobe supported in a horizontal position over the fire box. In the use of such stills, their end portions usually-rest on the walls of the fire box which protect them from the heat vof the re and The cause them to remainrelatively cool as compared with the portions of the bottom of the still intervening between the walls of the fire box and directly exposed to the heatv of the fire.

In orderv to prevent substances suchv as tar, carbon, coke and the like from gravitatiig to the bottom of the still 2, and remaining undisturbed long enough to become baked on the shell of lthe still', a scraping mechanism .isprovided comprising scraper blades 12 received in openings in a sup ortingl member 14 disposed transversely o the length of the still and of arcuate shape (Fig. 3) to conform with the bottom of the still. The scraper blades 12 are formed withoutting edges l5 and when in operative position are inclined downwardly in the direction of their movement to cause them to operate after the'manner of ahoe and effectively to remove from the shell of the still any mate'- rial which may collect thereon. The scraper blades 12 are staggered (Figs. 1, 5 and l6), and, as shown in Fig. 3, they are nearer together at the central portion of the supporting member 14 where material is likel to collect in the greatest quantit and W ere it would be most quickly bake onl the st ill, than at the end portions of the supporting member. v

The supporting member 14 is of a length sufficient to extend upwardly along the sides of the still 2 as far as they are exposed to the flames of the re, and the scraper blades 12 extend substantially to the ends of the supporting member so that they act on the shell of the still throughout the heating zone.

The scraping of the still 2 is eected by moving the supporting member 14 length- Wise of the still. To this end the supporting member is mountedl on a carrier which, in the illustrated construction, comprises endless chains 16 arranged in parallelism in the still and trained over gears 18 and 20 on shafts 22 and 24 respectively. The shafts 22 and 24 are rotatablymounted in bearing brackets 25 rojecting inwardly from the sides of the stil. Motion is imparted to the shaft 22 and the chains 16 by means of a shaft 26 r0- tatable in a stuiing box 28 at the left' hand end of the still, as shown in Fig. 1, and having a worm gear 30 meshing with a gear 32 on the shaftY 22. A shaft 34 located between the shafts 22 'and 24 carries gears 36 which assist in supporting the upper runs of the chains 16 and the parts carried by them.

l1he supporting member 14 may conveniently be attached to the chains 1.6 by yokes 38 (Figs. 3 and 6) and metal strips 40 each secured at'one of its ends to one of the yokes 38 and at` its other end to the supporting member.

In the form of the invention now preferred by me, a plurality of supporting members 14 are provided on the chains 16. Secured to the chains in advance of each of the support-l ing members in the direction of movement of the chains are transverse bars 42 which are connected by links 44 to the supporting members. The bars 42 and links 44 fixedly determine the positions of the supporting members 14 with vreference to the chains`16 and prevent them from moving relatively to the chains in a horizontal direction under the strain imposed upon them while the scraper blades 12 are operating onithe still.

The weight of each of the supporting members 14 and the parts associated with it tends to cause the chains 16 to sag as the supporting member passesv over the central portion of the bottom of the still. e, In order to prevent this, a rail 46 is sup orted in horizontal position at each side o the still byvbrackets 48, and the supporting members 14 are equipped at their ends with grocved wheels 50 arranged 'to ride on the rails. With this construction, the rails 46 sustain the major portion of the weight of the su porting members during the scraping of t e still. From the foregoing, it will also be understood that the rails 46 and wheels 50 maintain the supporting members during the operation of the lades 12 on thestill at the same distance above the bottom of the still. In conjunction with the bars 42 and links 44, the above described parts maintain' the supporting members 14, when in operative position, in constant relation to the bottom of the still, thereby enabling the scraper Ablades 3 12 to operate always with, their maximum eiiiciency.

The scraper blades 12 are mounted loosely and independently in the openings of the supporting members 14 so as to permit their operative end-s to be Withdrawn by gravity into the supporting members when they ar inverted by passing from the lower to the upper runs of the chains 16. The size of the blade receiving openings of the supporting members 14 1s such that any material which may previously have adhered to the blades is removed therefrom by the supporting members as the blades are withdrawn into them. On account of the viscous character of the contents of the'still, the scraper blades 12 tend to stick in the supporting members 14. In order to overcome this tendency, the supporting members are provided adjacent to each ofthe blades 12 with uprights 52 (Fig. 6) to which are ivoted levers 54 passing throughJ openings in the blades and carrying weights 56. The weights 56 are heavy enough to insure that the blades 12 will be moved outwardly of the supporting members when they are in scraping position and reversely of such members when they attain the upper runs of the chains 16. It should be understood,` however, that if any of the blades 12'should strike a rigidobject when the operative. ends of the blades have reached locations substantially flush with the adjacent surface of their support-ing member, by abar 58 normally overlying the levers 54 and securedat its' ends to up-standing plates 60 forming parts of the supporting member. Each of the bars 58 is reinforced centrally by a metal strip 61 bolted to it and to the corresponding supporting member 14.

B v making the blades 12 of relatively small width, as shown, they can be so weighted as to render them very reliable in their action. Inasmuch, however, as they are in, dependently mounted in their carriers and are independently weighted, if, for any reason, one ofthe blades should faill to func.- tion properly, the effective operation of the other blades would not be interfered with. In addition to the scraper blades 12, the supporting members 14 are provided adjacent to their ends with blades 62 of greater Width than the blades 12. 'The blades 62 are located so far' up the sides of the -still where that material is not likely to be baked on the still Within their range of action. Consequently, they do not need to be nweighted and are secured to the supporting members 14 by p-in and slot connections 63.

Means is preferably provided for removing from the edges of the blades 12 any material which may still cling to them after the withdrawal of the blades into the supporting members and for removing from the supporting members an material which may be deposited upon t em by the blades. This means may have various forms but, in the illustrated construction, it vcomprises a pump 64 operated by a shaft' 65 and acting to withdrawoil .from the still 2 through a pipe`66 and to deliver it through a pipe 67 to nozzles 68. kThe nozzles 68 are arranged to direct the oil in streams against the support-ing members as they pass from the lower to the upper runs of the chains 16.

Material which is detached from the bottom of the still by the scraper blades 12 may pass between the blades and remain on the still bot-tom. Thisand any other material which may lie loosely `on the shell of the still should be removed. Accordingly, a frame 70 .is secured to the endless chains 16 in transverse relation to the Still 2 and is equipped with chains 72 disposed transversely of the still and arranged to drag on the bottom of the still so as to sweep all such material to the residuum outlet pipe 10. As shown, the fra-me 70 (Fig. 4) is const-ructed with an arcuate portion 73 conforming with the bottom of the still and having a bracket-74 extending forwardly from it in the direction of movement of the chains 16.

vIn the'illuvstrated construction,- av pair of chains 72 are shown each attached at one' end to the forward end of the bracket 74 of the frame 70 andatl its other end toa pin 75 depending from the end of the arcuate portion 73. It is apparent, however, that a single chain may be used extending from one of the pins 75 to the other and attached at its central` portion to the bracket 74 of the frame.

The chains 7,2 are made longer than the distance from the bracket 74 of the frame 70 to one of the pins 75 so that they may drag along the bottom of the still 2 behind the bracket 74.- In order to maintain the frame 70 in fixed position relatively to the chain 16 during the operation of the chains 72 on the still, a bar 76 is securedv to the chains 16 in advance of the frame and is connected with the artxuate member 73 of the frame by.'1inks 78. The endless chains 16 are relieved of the weight of the frame 7,0 as it passes along the bottom of the still 2 by metal strips extending upwardly from the ends of the arcuate' member 73 and pro- 'vided at their upper ends with wheels 82e riding on the rails 46.

Inasmuch as the end portions of the bottom of the still, for the reasons above indicated, are comparatively cool, material is not likely to'be baked thereon. On the contrary, any material which may gravitate upon such portions of the bottom of the still may ordinarily be moved readily along the still. It will be noted that the front end of the bracket 74 is only slightly to the rear of the pivotal connection between the upper end of the -link 78 and the endless carrier, while the scraper blades 15 are much farther to the rear of the corresponding pivotal connection at the upper end of the link 44. As a consequence certain end portions of the still which are not reached by the Scrapers 15 will be reached by the chains 72, more particularly by that section of the chain which is secured below the front end of the bracket 74. a

Although the scraping mechanism has been described as operating during the process of` distillation and is preferably so operated, it is evident that it may be employed toscrape the still at any time, including occasions when distillation is not being carried on.

Having fully described my invention what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patcarrier to move thesupporting member adjacent to the heating surface of the still, scraper blades mounted loosely in the supporting member for movement relatively to the supporting member so -as to follow the.

contour of the still and inclined downwardly in the direction of movement of the supporting member, and means for Weighting the blades to maintain them normally in engagement with the heating surface of the still when said member is moving adjacent thereto.

2. An apparatus for distillin oil comprising a still, a supporting mem er shaped to conform substantially with the heating surface of the still, an. endless carrier for the supporting member, means for operating said carrier to move the supporting member adjacent to the heating surface of the still, blades mounted loosely on the supporting member Jfor scraping the bottom of the the still, and means for Weighting the blades to cause them to follow the contour of the heating surface of the still When said member is moving adjacent thereto, said Weighting means beine' constructed to allow the blades to move lndependently of each other toward and from the still.

3. An apparatus for distilling oil comprising a still, a supporting member, blades,

carried by the supporting member for scraping the bottom of the still, an endless carrier for moving the supporting member along the still, and means separate from the carrier for sustaining the Weight of the supporting member during its movement along the still.

4. An apparatus for distilling oil comprising a horizontally arranged still, supporting member, blades carried by the supporting member for scraping the bottom of the still, endless carriers running longitudinally of the still for moving the supporting member along the bottom of the still and means above the lower runs of the carriers for sustaining the Weight of the supporting member during its movement along the still.

5. An apparatus for distilling oil comprising a still, a supporting member formed with blade-receiving openings, means for moving the supporting member adjacent to the bottom of lthe still from one end of the still to the other and for returning'the supporting member in inverted position to the Erst-mentioned end of the still, and scraper blades mounted loosely in the openings of the supporting member so as to gravitate against the bottom of the still When the supporting member is in operative position and to be Withdrawn by gravity into the supporting member when the supporting member is inverted, said blades and the openings of the supporting member being ot such relative sizes that upon Withdrawal of the blades into the supporting member, material which may previously have adhered to the blades will be removed therefrom by the supporting member so as to render the blades substantially self-cleaning. i

6. An apparatus for distilling oil com-- prising a still, a supporting member movable along the bottom of the still, blades loosely mounted on the supporting member for scraping the bottom of the still, means for moving the supportingmember from one end of the still to the other. and to return the member in inverted position from the lastmentioned to the rst-mentioned end, Weighting means constructed to maintain the blades normally in contact with the bottom of the still While the supporting member is in scraping position and to leffect reverse movement of the blades With respect to the supporting member when the supporting member is in inverted position, and means for limiting the reverse movement of the blades.

7. An apparatus for distillin oil comprising a still. a support-ing mem er, means for moving the supporting member adjacent to the bottom of the still from one end of the still to the other and for returning the supporting member in inverted position to the first-mentioned end of the still, blades carried loosely by the supporting member so as to cause their ends to project from the supporting member during its movement along the bottom of the still to scrape the still and to Withdraw into the supporting memberupon inversion of the supporting member, and means for removing from the Supporting member anv materia-l Which may be deposited upon it by the blades.

8.In a mechanism for scraping a receptacle. a supporting member, means for moving the supporting member adjacent to the bottom of the receptacle from one end of the receptacle to ltheother and for returning the supporting member in inverted position to the first-mentioned end of the receptacle, blades carried loosely by the supporting member so as to cause their operative ends t-o project from the support-ing member during its movement along the bottom of the receptacle to scrape the receptacle and to Withdraw into the supporting member upon inversion of the supporting member, saidtblades and said supporting member being so constructed and arranged that upon the Withdrawal of the ends ot the blades into the supportingmember material which may have previously adhered to the blades is removed therefrom. and means for limiting the further Withdrawal of the blades into the supporting' member after the operative ends of the blades Y-'na ve been moved substantially into line with the means for moving the supporting member along the bottom of the still from one end of the still to the other and for .returning the 4supporting member in inverted position tothe vfirst-mentioned end of the still, blades 5 carried by .the supportingr member for scraping the still', said blades and said supporting member being-constructed and arranged to cause the operative ends of the blades to be withdrawn into the .supporting member upon inversionv 'of the member and to cause n materialpreviously adl1erin" V to the blades 'to beremoved by the supporting member,-

means for limiting-the further movement of the blades after their operative end s haveA 1&5 been moved substantially into llne with the adjacentvsurface of the supporting member, and means including a plurality of nozzles forwithdraWing oil from the body of oil in the still and directing it against the surface of the supporting member to prevent material from accumulating on the supporting member. a

10. An' apparatus for distilling oil comprising a still. an endless carrier mounted for movement lengthwise ofthe still, a substantially hollow supporting member carried by` the endless carrier, and a plurality of scraping members passing through the top and bottom walls .of said supporting membar.` A I Il An ap aratus for distilling oil .com-

Vpris'inga st1l, an endless carrier mounted 'for-movement lengthwise of the-still, a support on the carrier, members carried by the support for scrapi-n the still, andl drag chains mounted on t e endless carrier for sweeping loose material along the still.

12. Ina mechanism for scraping a receptacle, anendless carrier mounted for. movevfor operating the carrier, a ramexmounted ment lengthwise of the receptacle, scraping 40 members carried by the endless carrier and p disposed to engage the inner surface of the lower. port-ion of the receptacle, transversely disposed chains on the carrier arranged to t drag upon the inner surface ot' the lower portion of the receptacle, and means for operating the carrier.

13. An apparatus for distilling oil comj l' y prising a still, an endless carrier mounted for movement lengthwise of the still, scraping members carried by the endless carrier and disposed to engage the linner surface of the lowerjportion of the still from a point spaced from one end of the still to a point spaced from the other end ofthe still, and transversely disposed chainson the carrier arranged to drag upon the inner surface of the bottom of the still including the portions ofthe bottom of the still adjacent lto its ends which are `not operated uponby the Scrapers. 4

14. An apparatus for distilling oil comprising a still, an endlessA carrier mounted for movement lengthwise of the still, meansv transversely 'on-and projecting outwardly from th-e carrier and. having a central portion extending forwardly Ifrom the 'frame and disposed to move close to the bottom of the still adjacent tol the vertical plane of the centre linejof the stilland chains securedto thecentral portion 'of the frame and -to other portions of the frame disposed laterally ot the central portion, said chains being arranged to drag upon the bottom of 75 the still,

v In testimony whereof I alix my signature.

' A. JOHN-YV. COAST, JR.

Images