US1799231A - Hydrocarbon-oil treatment - Google Patents

Description

April 1, 1931- .1. B. HEID HYDROCARBON lOIL vTREATMENT Filed April 25, 1927 JACOB BENJAMIN HEID, OI CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR T UNIVERSAL OIL PROD- l ,tic'ular' y toa process and apparatus w Patented Apr. 7,v 1931 UNITED STATES, PATENT oFFIcE" UCTS COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS,` A CORPORATION OF SOUTH DAKOTA HYDROCABBON-OIL TREATMENT l Application led April 25,

The resent improvements relate more parich can" be utilized in connection with a cracking processoperated under conditions of conversion .temperature and superatmospheric pressure or with a crude oil topping process, to respectively lash the non-vaporous residual products of reaction due to latent heat vaporization accomplished by a .reduction in pressure, or to vaporize the heated crude oil.

The general purpose of the present invention is to provide a process and apparatus which can be operated very economically and efficiently for carrying out the object of the invention. l e

In the specific embodiment of the invention, hydrocarbon oil heated to a temperature Where substantial vvaporization will take place is introduced into the upper ortion of an enlarged vapor separating cham er wherein the unvaporized portion ofthe oil is caused to have a cascading back and 'forth descent whereb the oil is broken up and vapors evolve The unvaporized portions of the oil collect in a substantial body in the lower portion of the chamber. As a feature of the invention, the ascent of the released vapors is unrestricted and is accelerated, thus making it possible to secure a fairly high velocity of vapors ascending in the chamber, enabling said vapors to be discharged before they have had an opportunity to condense intoa liquid due to slow velocities and radiation.

The utility of the invention as well as other objects and advantages will be more apparent from the following e description z In the drawing, Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic side elevational view partly in vertical section of apparatus in which the invention may be carried out.

Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Referring more in detail to the drawings, hydrocarbon oil heated to a temperature where substantial vaporization takesl place may be introduced through the line 1, in which may be interposed a throttle valve 2, discharging through the perforated coil or rose 4. This heated hydrocarbon oil charged 1927. Serial No. 188,212.

through the line 1 may have been heated in a concurrently operating topping process wherein crude oil is subjected to a distillin temperature, for instance, in a heating coil and discharged through the spray 4, or this hydrocarbon .oil may comprise the non-vaorous residual products of reactionwithrawn from a concurrently operating cracking processcarried out under cracking conditions of temperature and superatmospheric pressure. It is well known, of course, that when the superatmospheric pressure maintained on a body of heated 011 is reduced or released,I substantial vaporization will take place due to the latent heat contained in said oil. The oil discharging through the spray 4: is distributed over the top baiiie plate or deck?) from which the heated oil drops onto plate 5 spaced below the plate 3. The oil in passing from plate 3 to plate 5 overflows the outer edge of. plate 3. It is to be noted that the outer edge of the plate 3 is spaced away from the wall of the shell 6 while the outer edge of the plate 5 is disposed immediately adjacent and preferably in contact with said wall. The purpose of this will be explained. It is also to be noted that each deck is provided with an internal aperture which may take the form of a circle if desired.

The diameter or width of the aperture in the plate 3 is purposely smaller than the diameter or width of the aperture in the plate 5. There are a number of sets of alternate decks 3 and 5 spaced from each other throughout the height of the shell 6. Each of the plates 8 is preferably provided with a tubular extension 7, the purpose of which will hereinafter be more particularly brought out.

It will be apparent that the oil passes over the outer edge of plate 3 to the plate 5 and over the inner edge of plate 5 to the plate 3 therebelow, which action is repeated throughout the height of the shell. Due to the continual changing of the surface area of the hot oil passing from plate to plate in a back and forth cascade flow, vapors are evolved from the oil, passing out into the vapor space located in the center of the tower and designated S.

As a feature of the invention, it isto be noted that the diameter of the tubular extensions 7 in the lowermost plates 3 is greatly smaller than the corresponding width or diameter of the tubular extensions 7 in the plates 3 in the uppermost portion of the tower 6. Thus, each size of pipe provided vas part of the vapor line 8 acts as an injector to a larger vapor line above, pulling the evolved vapors out of each compartment so that the vapors do not come in contact with the liquid oil passing down through the tower. Thus, it is possible to secure a fairly high velocity of the vapors as they pass up through the tower enabling the vapors to pass out before they have had an opportunity to condense into a liquid due to slow velocities and radiation. This isparticularly advantageous, since it makes it possible to secure a greater vaporization at a lower temperature on the oil entering the shell 6, since there is a continual changing ot the area of the heated oil passingr down or descending in the tower, which liberates the vapors, and, further, because such evolved vapors have a separate and quick passage out of the shell 6 before they have an opportunity to condense. The vapors evolved in the successive stages in the tower 6 pass through the spaces between the upper edge ot one tubular extension and the lower edge of the tubular extension thereabove, as indicated by the arrows. The vapors liberated in the tower pass out through vapor outlet pipe 9 in which may he interposed a valve 10, passing to a suitable condenser, fractionating tower or the like. The unvaporized hydrocarbons dropping ott the lower plate 3 may drop onto plate 11, which may be attached to the side wall of the tower and so located as to allow the oil to pass to the surface of the residual oil settling in a body in thc bottom of the tower. To prevent unnecessary mixing or agitation of the oil col.- lecting in the body 12, the plate 11 is tapered and its lower edge may be disposed below the liquid level of the body 12 so as to allow the unvaporized oil to pass into the body 12 at an angle.

The settled free carbon may be drawn out of the tower through line 13 controlled by valve 14 while residual oil practically free from carbon may be drawn off at a point adjacent the surface of the oil body 12 through line 15 in which may be interposed a valve 16.

lt is to be noted that by this arrangement all of the evolved vapors have an unrestricted iow out of the tower through the vapor line 8 which is made up by the tubular extensions 7, and that these vapors, due to their increase in velocity, create a suction at the terminus of the tubular extensions of each plate drawing out additional vapors evolved between the plates, thus preventing them from passing through the liquid oil falling down over the edges of the plates. It is to be understood that the sketch is diagrammatic and that the number of plates and size of tower can be made to suit the condition under which the tower can be most efficiently operated.

The lower section of the tower may be provided with a cone shaped bottom, as illustrated, where the unvaporized oil is allowed to settle. If any tree carbon is present it will gradually settle to the bottom and may be withdrawn through the line 13. Provision may be made for externally or internally heating the tower, as will be obvious to those skilled in this art.`

I claim as my invention:

1. A method which comprises introducing heated hydrocarbon oil into the portion of an enlarged chamber where vapor separation takes place, causing the unvaporized portion of the oil to have a back and forth cascading descent therein whereb the oil is broken up and'vapors evolve, co1 ecting unvaporized portions of the oil in a substantial body in the lower portion of the chamber, and accelerating the ascent of the released vapors by causing same to ascend through passages of successively increased cross-sectional area.

2. A method which comprises introducing hydrocarbon oil heated to a temperature at which substantial portions will vaporize into the upper portion of a vapor separating chamber, causing the unvaporized portions of said oil to have a successivel obstructed descent therein whereby the oil is broken up and Vvapors evolve, collecting unvaporized portions of the oil in a substantial body in the lower portion of the chamber, accelerating the ascent of the released vapors, by causing same to ascend through passages of successively increased cross-sectional area and withdrawing the heavier non-vaporous hydrocarbons from a point adjacent the bottom of the residual body while withdrawing lighter non-vaporized hydrocarbons from a point above the latter point.

3. A still comprising a shell having inlet and outlet tor vapors and liquid, spaced decks disposed within said shell, the outer edge of alternate decks being disposed substantially flush with the interior wall of the shell while the outer edges of decks interposed therebetween are spaced away from the shell wall, upwardly projecting tubular extensions connected to the inner edges of certain decks, the cross-sectional area of the tubular extensions gradually increasing in a successively upward direction.

4. A vaporizer comprising a shell havin vapor and liquid inlets and outlets, space imperforate decks disposed substantially flush with the interior wall of the shell, each of said decks having an enlarged opening substantially at its center, a second set of impcrforate decks disposed alternately with respect to the first mentioned decks, the outer periphery of the second set of decks being spaced from the shell wall, openin increasing in diameter in tion, and tubular wardly from the last mentione mentioned decks, said tu substantially central of said second set o decks and an upward direcextenfsions pro'ecting upo enin through the enlarged ogening of t e first ular extensions increasing in cross sectional area. in an upward

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