US1868735A - Process of distilling bitumen - Google Patents

Description

July 26, 1932. E LQFF 1,868,735

PROCESS OF DISTILLING BITUNEN Original Filed Dec. 18, 1925 Patented July 26, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE GUSTAV EG-LOFI', OF cmcaco, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOB T UNIVERSAL OIL PRODUCTS COHPANY, OI CEICAQO, ILLINOIS, A OOBPOBLTIOK OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

PROCESS OF DIS'IILLING Application filed December 18, 1925, Serial No. 76,178. Renewed October 7, 1889.

derived thereby, and-is more particularly.

adapted to the distillation of bituminous materials, such as coal, asphaltic materials, tars or the like, in the presence of air, steam, an heated petroleum. As far as I am aware, I produce certain new roducts from the use of the process hereina er set forth.

First, I produce a lar e tfiiantity of incondensible as sufiiciently ig in heat units as to be adapted for industrial purposes 111 burning, and thus avoiding any or much enrichment of the gas.

Second, I produce a motor fuel having anti-knock properties, in that it contains a considerable percenta e of nitrogen and phenolic compounds, an saturated with aromatic hydrocarbons.

Third, I roduce alcohols, aldehydes and or anic aci ourth, I produce a bed of bituminous material, such as coke which has been largely freed of its evaporable hydrocarbonaceous constituents. Y

The invention will be more readily understood from the accom anying drawing, m which the single figure s ows a somewhat dlagrammatic View, partly in side elevation and partly in verticalsectlon.

Referring to the drawing, 1 designates a furnace in which is mounted a suitable heating coil 2. Oil is fed to the coil through feed line 3 connected to raw oil pum 4, leading to any suitable source of su ply not shown) as, for example, gas oil or uel oil.

The oilfrom the coil passes through transfor line 5, controlled by throttle valve 6 to a combustion chamber 7, which chamber is preferably internally insulated as shown at 8. Any liquid residue may be drawn off of the chamber 7 through the drawofi pipe 9 controlled by the throttle valve 10.

Va ors pass out of the upper end of'the cham er 7 through vapor line 11, controlled by throttle valve 12, and then to the lower part of a dephlegmator 13. The reflux condensate is drawn out through the lower part of the dephlegmator through pipe l4 .controlled by throttle valve 15, which pipe 14 1s preferably provided with a reflux pump 16,

whereby the reflux condensate is returned to the heating coil 2 via the feed line 3. If desired, the reflux condensate ma be drawn out of the system through branc pipe 17 by suitably manipulating the'valves 18, 15 and 19, as will be clearly seen from the drawing.

Steam, saturated or superheated, is introduced into the lower part of the chamber 7 through steam line 20 controlled bythrottle valve 21 and leading to any source ofsteam supply (not shown). Similarly air may be forc into the chamber 7 by means of air' pipe 22, having throttle valve 23 and connected to air pump 24.

The vapors which are not liquefied in the dephle ator pass out of the upper end thereo through pipe 25 controlled by throttle valve 26, which pipe 25 leads to condenser coil 27, which in turn connects to receiver 28. This receiver 28 is provided with H uid drawofi pipe 29 controlled by throttleva vs 30 and gas outlet pipe 31 controlled by valve 32. The as holder 33 is also provided and connecte d to the gas outlet pipe 31.

The process may be earned out as follows: Bituminous material, such as, for example, coal is charged into the insulated chamber 7, fuel oil is fe through the line 3 to the heating coil 2, where the 011 is heated to a transfer temperature of say, 800 deg. F. The oil passes into the bed of coal and tends to dissolve out some of the hydrocarbonaceous material, and also to distil ofi' some of the same.

At the same time regulated uantities of air are introduced into the bed 0 coal which air acts chemically to promote combustion and burn some of the coal and some of the petroleum.

At the same time steam is introduced into the chamber 7, and the action of the highly heated contents of the chamber breaks down the steam into hydrogen and carbon monoxide. The temperature of the contents of the chamber7 may run as high as say 1800 deg. F., or more.

- The petroleum oil vapors, the vapors from the hydrocarbonaceous constituents of the coal, together with the gases formed from breaking down the steam, as well as other fixed gases formed by the operation, all pass into the dephlegmator, Here the heavy constituents which are not sufliciently cracked are condensed, the amount of condensation depending upon the temperature at which it is dephlegmated. The reflux condensate is drawn out of the lower part of the dephlegmator and may be re-run through the coil 2, or carried ofl to storage or elsewhere.' The uncondensed vapors pass through the condenser into the receiver, while the incondensable gas goes to the gas holder shown in the drawing.

By means of the present process I produce the various products stated in the earlier part of the specification, and it is not necessary to again repeat them.

As a feature of the process, instead of operating an atmospheric or superatmospheric pressure, I operate part of the s stem under a vacuum. accomplish this y inserting between the gas holder 33 and the gas outlet pipe 31 a vacuum pump 34. I may maintain the oil in the coil 2 under a pressure of say 1000 pounds, and by suitably controlling the valve 6 and operating the vacuum pump 34, I can maintain a vacuum of, say, from 20 to 28 inches of mercury. I, of course, control the air pump 24 relative to the vacuum pump 34, so as not to interfere with the vacuum. By the use of the vacuum I produce a much larger percentage of fixed gas at the temperature to which the contents of the chamber 7 are subjected than would be the case where it operates at atmospheric or superatniospheric pressure.

I claim as my invention;

1. A process of treating solid bituminous material, consisting in passing petroleum oil through a heating zone where it is subjected to cracking conditions of temperature and pressure, passing the highly heated 011 into a zone of combustion maintained in a chamber containing solid bituminous material, introducin g steam and air into the zone of combustion in said bituminous material, and maintaining the quantity of air and the temperature to which bitumen is subjected suiliciently high to break down the steam and produce substantial quantities of hydrocarbon fixed gases, and maintaining a vacuum on the bitumen during such treatment.

2. A process for producing liquid products from solid bituminous material, characterized by their content of phenolic compounds, alcohols, aromatics and unsaturated hydrocarbons, comprising charging a mass of the bituminous material into a closed chamber, separately heating a supply of hydrocarbon liquids to a cracking temperature, admitting such hydrocarbon liquids, while at a cracking temperature, into said mass of bituminous material, continuously taking oil vaporous constituents generated from the hydrocarbon liquids and bituminous material in said closed chamber therefrom, recovering the liquid products desired from such vaporous constituents during the operation of the process, subjecting the bituminous material and hydrocarbon li uids in said closed chamber to the action 0 steam while said materials are maintained under a vacuum, and maintaining a controlled combustion of portions of the bituminous material and hydrocarbon liquids in a portion of said mass, air and said hydrocarbon liquids being introduced into said portion of the mass.

3. A process which comprises independently heating a hydrocarbon liquid to cracking temperature under pressure, then dischargin the heated liquid, without separation o vapors therefrom, into a portion of said mass of solid bituminous material, simultaneously introducing steam and air into said portion of the mass and effecting partial combustion therein, to produce fixed gases, controlling the reaction in said mass to form condensible vapors in addition to said gases, removing the vapor-gas mixture and separating the vapors from the gases by condensation.

4. A process which comprises independently heating a hydrocarbon liquid to cracking temperature under pressure, then discharging the heated liquid, without separation of vapors therefrom, into a portion of said mass of solid bituminous material, simultaneously introducing steam and air into said portion of the mass and efi'ecting partial combustion therein to produce fixed gases, controlling the reaction in said mass to form condensible vapors in addition to said gases, removing the vapor-gas mixture and subjecting the same to dephlegmation to condense heavier fractions thereof as reflux condensate, utilizing said condensate as at least a portion of said hydrocarbon liquid, and further cooling said mixture to separate the remaining uncondensed vapors from the gases.

5. A process which comprises independent- 1y heating a hydrocarbonliquid to cracking temperature under pressure, then discharging the heated liquid, without separation of vapors therefrom, into a portion of said mass of solid bituminous material maintained under sub-atmospheric pressure, simultaneously introducing steam and air into said portion of the mass and effecting partial combustion therein to produce fixed gases, controlling the reaction in said mass to form condensible vapors in addition to said gases, removing the vapor-gas mixture and separating the vapors from the gases by condensation.

6. A process which comprises independently heating a hydrocarbon liquid to cracking temperature under pressure, then discharging the heated liquid. without separation of vapors therefrom, into a portion of said mass of solid bituminous material maintained under sub-atmospheric pressure, simultaneously introducing steam and air into said portion of the mass and effecting partial combustion therein to produce fixed gases, controlling the reaction in said mass to form condensible vapors in addition to said gases, removing the vapor-gas mixture and subjecting the same to dephlegmation to condense heavier fractions thereof as reflux condensate, utilizing-said condensates as at least a portion of said hydrocarbon liquid, and further cooling said mixture to separate the remaining uncondensed vapors from the gases.

7 A process for simultaneously heating a hydrocarbon liquid and a quantlty of bituminous material, which comprises the maintaining of a mass of bituminous material in a closed chamber, the heating of the hydrocarbon liquid to a cracking tem erature in a separate zone, subsequently ringing the heated hydrocarbon liquid into physical contact with the bituminous material by introducing it into the lower portion of said closed chamber, removing vaporous constituents generated from the oil and bituminous materials from said closed chamber and, during the operation of the process, subjecting the bituminous material and heated hydrocarbon liquid in said closed chamber to the action of steam and controlled combustion by introducing thereto controlled quantities of steam and air.

GUSTAV EGLOFF.

Images