US1735546A - Process for reclaiming lubricating oil - Google Patents

Description

2 Sheets-Sheet 1 N MGM INVENTOR. WzZZaam Ii f A TT ORNE YA/ Nov. 12, 1929. w. C, RATH PROCESS FOR RECLAIMING LUBRICATING OIL Filed March 20, 1929 Nov. 12, 1929. w. c. RATH PROCESS FOR RECLAIMING LUBRICATING OIL Filed March 20, -1929 ,2 Sheets-Sheet 2 \LII'I Il Il ll H Il H Il Il H Il Il Ill A TTORNEYM intervals so thatfre'sh,

Patented Nov. `12, 1929 l iragsitf WILLIAM c. RA'rnyor Naw Yoann. Y.'

PROCESS FOR RECLIMNG LUBRICATING OIL Reille ofV abandoned application Serial My invention relates to a process of reclaiming used lubricating oil, and especially spent oil from internal combustion engines,

such as automotive engines, and for produc-y 5 mg i ponents of the used oil` are' introduced as enl forsale or reuse as a treatment if desired; for instance, if it'is` desired to grade it into lighter andheaviergas in which the lower boiling point com riching ingredients.

In the operation of'internal combustion engines, and especially'cngines of the automotive type, the lubricating oil becomes contaminated with lighter'hydrocarbons, thatis, oils generally designated as gasoline or kerosene, which are parts'of the engine fuel that pass the pistonsand piston rings and go into the `crank case where they mingle with the lubricating oil and dilute it and lower 'its lubricating value so thatin a greater or less time, vdepending on various conditions, itis unfit for use.V

The oil is also gradually contaminated by,`

particles of carbon, thistermbeing used toinclude actual carbon and various gritty and other materials drawn'in'tothe engine with its air supply, and metal particles. It is customary.v to draw o the crank'case'oil'at clean oil 'may' be supplied to the engine, In this way dirty or spent lubricating oil accumulates in garages and service stations, and'while in some cases` the oil'has beenciiltered to remove the carbon, metal particles and other solids, noisatisfactory plan has been devised, within 'myknowL' edge, for removing, on a practical or'commercial scale, the lighter components from this spentoil, to renderit-fit for reuse as an engine lubricant. The result is that this spent oil is usually thrown away, being frequently dumped into sewers with Vvarious obnoxious results, `includii'ig gas explosions, contamination of streams, and other conditions unnecessary to mention. v

One important object of my invention is to recover in some useful form, wasteV oils such as crank case oil, includingA the lighter fractions, even those so volatile as to be diiflcult to condense. Another important obj ect is to make this spent oil available lfor reuse as an engine lubricant on a practicalor commercial n scale, by treating it in connection with the productionof a merchantable gas in such a lbriefly described,

way that the lighter components are removed from the lubricating oil, and added to the gas-as enriching components, leaving the lubricating oil after therusual filtrations or settling toy remove grit, or the like, in substantially its original condition, and available lubricant or for further lubricants it maybe `treated by fractional distillation for this purpose.- Other objectsof my invention will be apparent hereafter.

-The process consists in one suitableform, d in producing any suitable lo v'igrade gasjin Vasuitable gas producing apparatus, for instance, ordinary coal gas, producer gas, or water gas,'and supplying thisgas while hot to a suitable oil separator or oil-'gas generator Vinto rwhich the spentor waste lubricatingoil' is supplied in a suitable way at L Proper rate. i' v vlhehot gas vaporizes, entrains andcarries o troni-the spent lubricant its lighter. comuofesasrc, flied 'Api-u so, 1923( This application mea March 2o, 1929. serial No. 348,676. v f

ponents,"and the process may be regulated so l that substantially ally of the gasoline and kerosene components, and only these,are removed and added to the low grade gas as enriching components 'or the process Vmay loeregulated so that a greater orless range of hydrocarbons is removed from the lubricating oil; .for instance, if aV larger amount of hydrocarbon is desired for enriching material, or if it is desired to produce a heavier grade of lubricant inthe reclaime'dproduct, the intensity of the process may be increased and some of the oil ofthe lighter lubricating' ranges may be evaporated and carried offV with the gas.: The spent oil'may be filtered to remove its eX- traneous solids before or after it is subjectedV to action ofthe gas from the gasproducer, or both, depending on the character of the impuritiesand whether ornot their `separation is promoted by previous heat treatment. -o

rl`he process may be considered either from the-standpoint ofv gas production, in which the obj ect is to provide enriching material for low gradey gas from a source hitherto unavailable', either with' or without producing a greater or: less quantityof a` valuable byproduct, namely, lubricating oil; or it 'may y be considered from the viewpoint of reclaiming or making valuable spent lubricating oils contaminated by unfilterable impurities, such as diluents of the gasolene or kerosene grades, which have heretofore been waste products, with greater or less incidental production of a valuable by-product; namely, the lighter diluent components thereof which are added to low grade gas to enrich the same and increase its merchantable value.

The characteristics andl advantages of the Yinvention are further sufciently explained in gram, explaining the process yin one. form and also sufficiently illustrating diagramatically one-suitable apparatus embodying the invention.

separator or reclaimer'for waste motor oil. In Figure 1, A designates any ordinary or suitable gas generator, such as a typical water gas generator. At B is indicated in dotted lines any suitable gas producer which may be used alternatively. In the broader aspect of -the invention the gas generators or producersA or IB represent any suitable source 1 of gas` supply; thatis to say, any source from which a suitable volume of low grade gas may be supplied toVV be enriched by portions of spent motor oil orto be brought in Contact with spent motor oil `for the purpose of removing diluent components therefrom.

v The hot gas, which is usually of a character which may be described as low grade gas, is conveyedfrom the gas generator or producer A or B through a suitable pipe V1 or 1a to a device or apparatus C of any suitabletype for treating waste motor oil. This pipe is broken off at 1b to indicate that it maybe ofgreat length to secure'air cooling, or that a cooler of any suitable design may be inserted at 1h if alarge proportion of lubricating oil is to be separated, or thatit maybe short and well insulated incase relatively large amounts of the hydrocarbons are to be removed; for example, if not only diluting gasolene and kerosene, but some of the lighter' portions of the lubricating oil `are to be removed and used as gas'enriching agents. Y

One suitable form of separator or reclaimer for-this purpose, which 1s preferable 1n some cases, is shown in Figure 2., A This includes a casing orj acket- 1() which may be of fire brick or concrete or other suitable heat insulating Figure 2 is. a vertical section of a suitable material. Somewhat above the bottom of the `casing is a grate 11 which supports a mass 12 with perforations for the discharge of oil.

An opening may be provided in the casing at 14: close to the grate to permit the casing to be cleaned out, and this opening is closed by cap 15.

The pipe 1 dischargesthe hot vcombustible Y gas below the grate and usually a shieldA 16 is placed over the end of the pipe to prevent the dripping of oil into the pipe.

Referring to Figure 1, the dirty4 or waste motor oil is supplied from a storage tank D in'any suitable way, suitable pumps or Y gravity, feed Varrangements being provided in the apparatus as maybe necessary or desirable, to the oil distributing or spray head 13 in the separator. Desirably afilter E may be interposed between the storage tank and the separator to free the oil from carbon and vother solids. In this case, the oil goes from the storage tank through pipe 2 to the filter,

and from the filter through pipe 3 to the header 13. The oil discharged in fine streams or drops from the perforations in the oil distributing pipes 13 falls .on the checkerwork provided by the broken fragments 12 and spreads over the surfaces of these fragments as it descends, and in this way the oil 'is spread into a thin film over a very large surface and is brought in intimate contact with the ascending hot as from ,pipe l which vaporizes the lower oiling point constituents of the wasteV oil; namely, the gasolene and kerosene components thereof, and these oil vapors are absorbed or entrained in the hot` gas and pass with it from the separator` through pipe t to any suitable cooler or condenser F.l Y p y l/Vhen the oil in its descentthrough the checkerwork 12 reaches grate 1l it is pracdiluent components and it then passes through the grate llto a sumpV provided in the lower part of chamber 10 from which it is conveyed through a pipe 7 to a storage tank M. After mechanical clarification as by filtering,

.settling or treatment inV a' super-centrifugal im ticallyor entirely freed from its lighter or:

'permanently vaporize pipe to retain heat or by cooling the pipe in any suitable way to remove part of the heat from the gas. n some cases additional heat may be supplied to or in the separator, if additional heat is needed at thispoint. The following are sufficient examples of various reasons for any ways in which the amount of heat or the intensity of the separation operation maybe varied or controlled. Waste motor oil may be collected from various sources and will usually consist of various grades of oil, that is, lubricating oils which are originally of the lighter, heavier, or intermediate grades.

The spent oil in storage tank M will therefore usually be a mixture of intermediate grade and by the ordinary treatment in the separator C as above described, in accordance with which only the diluent gasolene and kerosene components are removed, the resulting reclaimed product will be an oil of intermediate grade or viscosity. If it is desired to produce in the performance of my process a heavier grade of oil, the intensity of the separation treatment in separator may be increased by increasing the heat of the gas supplied through pipe 1 in any of the ways above explained, or by providing additional heat if that is'necessary, resulting in driving olf not only the lower boiling point diluents but a certain portion of the lighter lubricating component of the oil.

Otherwise, the reclaimed oil of lwhatever grade it may be as itreaches storage tank M, may be treated by fractional distillation` to produce any desired grades of lubricant within the ranges included in the reclaimed material.

The gas discharged from the separator C through pipe 1l' is therefore the ordinary or low grade gas, enriched by the addition of mineral oils derived from the spent lubricant, and therefore of a high grade and valuable, for heating or illumination,

lf the temperature is sufliciently high to the diluent materials a certain part of the lubricating component vmay be temporarily vaporized without dissociation and may be physically entrained with the gas. The gases discharged from the separator C may therefore be conveyed through a pipe Ll to a condenser of any known or suitable type for the separation of any condensible part of the gases, and in cetrain of the instances above given vsome hydrocarbon in the lower boiling point lubricating range and also in some cases some of the still lighter or kerosene range ofthe original material may be separated from the gases in the condenser. The condensate of whatever character is conveyed to a storage tank H, and desirably a gas trap or seal pot G is interposed in the pipe line 6,7. The condensate in tank H may therefore consist of some of the lighter lubricating oil fractions, together or other purposes.

with, in some cases, some part of the kerosene range of the original spent oil.

When desired, two or more condensers in series, maintained at dierentially lower temperatures may be, used, and these temperatures may be adjusted to` separate out the two or more fractions of condensate, instead of resorting to fractional distillation of the entire vdistillate when condensed. y

yWhen the condensate is contaminated by any of the kerosene it may be treated by fractional distillation in any suitable way, or it may be returned to the separator G for'further treatment in the normal operation of the separator as above explained. When the temperature conditions in the separator are such that all of the lighter components, that is to say, the kerosene and gasolene are vaporized, none of these materials will be separated out in the condenser F and the condensate going to tank' H will be 'only some part of the lighter fractions of thevlubrieating oil. rl`his may be disposedof in any desired way as reclaimed lubricating oil, or f may be used to miX with a part of the reclaimed oil inl tank M to modify the grade thereof. Y y The enriched gas isconveyed from the seal pot Gr through a pip-e 8 to any ordinary or. suitable gas scrubber J, kand then to a storage tank K for any desired utilization. v W'hen'desired the filterL may be inserted in the pipe line 9 leading from the separator to storage tank M. Especially this filter may be so arranged if a filter E vis not provided between the storage tank D and the separator.

The present application is a refiled application of my abandoned application v Serial No. 635,57 6, filed .April 30th, 199.3. I Y lVhat is claimed as new is ing and reclaiming spentlubricating oil by distillation with a combustible-gas, comprising subjecting the spent lubricating oil to the action of warm combustible gas from a gas` generator whereby diluent components of the oil areV vaporized and carried away, and the lubricant is reconditioned for further use. i' 2. The herein described process of purifying and reclaiming spent lubricating oil by distillation with a combustible gas, comprising supplying combustible gas at regulated I 105 1. The herein described process ofpurifyf temperatures in intimate contact with `the contaminated oil whereby regulable percent-zy ages of the oil are entrained and carried off with the gas, and the oil isfreed from the lighter diluents.

Signed at New York York and of March, A. D. 1929.'

. WILLIAM (l. BATH.

iso

in the-county of Newv State of New York this 7th day 1

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