US1694259A

US1694259A - Method of distilling petroleum

Info

Publication number: US1694259A
Application number: US646005A
Authority: US
Inventors: Henry H Hewetson
Original assignee: Standard Oil Development Co
Current assignee: Standard Oil Development Co
Priority date: 1923-06-18
Filing date: 1923-06-18
Publication date: 1928-12-04
Anticipated expiration: 1945-12-04

Description

Dec. 4, 1928. 1,694,259

H. H. HEWETSON 1 METHOD OF DISTILLING PETROLEUM File d June 18, 1925 :iIETOWER V Gamma Patented Dec. 4, 1928.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY H. HEWETSON, OF ELIZABETH, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOB TO STANDARD OIL DEVELOPMENT COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

METHOD OF DISTILLING PETROLEUM.

Application filed June 18, 1923. Serial No. 646,005.

This invention relates to the art of distilling hydrocarbons and will be fully understood from the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing in which Fig. 1 is a side elevation of one form of apparatus embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same; and

Fig. 3 is a detail, showing on an enlarged scfale one form of construction for the fluid li t.

As shown in the drawing, the reference character 1 designates a still heated by any means, as desired, and having a vapor pipe 2 (shown partly broken away for clearness) leading to a fractional condenser tower 3. From the condenser tower 3 a vapor pipe 4 proceeds to a condenser coil in the watercontaining condenser box 5. Another still 10 is mounted alongside the first still and similarly has a vapor pipe 12 and fractional condenser 13; and additional stills may be provided, all in series to any number desired. From the lower part of still 1 a pipe 6 connects to discharge into the tower 13 of the next still. Preferably this connecting pipe extends down below the level of the still and thence has a riser section leading to the point of discharge; and projecting into the riser section is a pipe 7 for admission of p a fluid, for example steam, by means of which discharge is effected. The precise construc tion of the fluid inlet may vary. A simple form comprises an internal pipe extension 8 sealed leak-tight with the wall of the discharge pipe at point of entry and having a plurality of orifices-9.

In operation, oil being fed into the still 1 from a suitable source, vapors will be taken off for the temperature'prevailing in thestill and will ass over to the fractional condenser .3 where heavier constituents are condensed out and may be returned to the still by the as to flow down therein counter-currently to the rising vapors, and then proceeds through r the reflux pipe for thattower down to feed the still 10. The steam introduced into the connecting or discharge pipe from the still not only enables transfer of the oil from the still but also assists in the distillation.

While my invention is particularly advantageous with stills in a series or battery where the fluid lift moves the unvaporized residue from one still to the tower of the next still and so on through the series, I also contemplate in some cases connecting the fluid lift discharge line from one still directly to the next, or from a still directly into its own tower; and generally in distillation or vapor separating apparatus I contemplate connecting a fluid lift line to pick up liquid oil whenever it may be left, whether to move it from a still or even from the bottom of a fractional condensing tower and raise it up to discharge into the same tower.

Instead of a simply perforated steam inlet ipe, if desired the inlet may take other orms, such for instance as a jet, or an ejector form, and while'steam is preferred for the operation of the lift, other convenient fluids may be used; and the advantages of my invitation may be realized correspondingly by even injecting water, in which case steam generation in situ results.

hat I claim is: The method of continuously distilling petroleum which comprises maintaining a series of bodies of petroleum at successively higher temperatures, conducting away and condensing the vapors so formed, maintaining a continuously flowing stream of petroleum from each body to that at the next higher temperature, each stream having a down-flowing and up-flowing section, introducing into said stream a'quantity of a. liquid .having a boiling point lower than the temperature of the stream, to produce by vaporization a gas or vapor in the form of bubbles commingled with the liquid in the up-flowing section.

HENRY H. HEWETSON.