US1899889A - Eliminating water hazard in treating oils - Google Patents

Description

Feb. 28, 1933. Q, 3 BAYNE ELIMINATING WATER HAZARD IN TREATING OILS Filed April 25, 1929 Eb mg- HUN-Mao MQR Patented Feb. 28, 1933 warren stares PATENT OFFICE-11 CHARLES D. BAYNE, OF BAYTOWN, TEXAS, ASSIGNOR' TO STANDARD OIL DEVELOPMENT COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF DELAVTARE ELIMINATING WATER HAZARD IN TREATING OI LS Application filed April 25,

The purpose of this invention is to eliminate the serious hazard due to the presence of water in commercial units for cracking or distilling petroleum oils which has been the cause of a number of disastrous explosions. The invention will be fully understood from the following description in conjunction with the drawing.

The most usual method of cracking petroleum oils on a commercial scale consists of heating the oil in a series oftubes to a high temperature, introducing tl e hot feed into a digesting, zone or soaking drum in which most of the cracking takes place and hence conducting the liquid and vapors into a fractionating zone such as a-bubble tower. The pressure in the heating tubes and the soaking drum is usually kept above 300 lbs/square inch and the pressure in the bubble tower around 50 lbs/square inch. The hot feed is ordinarily introduced into the lower portion of the soaking drum and the liquid and vaporous products leave through a common line at the upper portion of the drum.

It is common practiceto steam the cracking unit before and after making a run. After a run has been completed, the equipment is steamed to reduce the quantity of oil vapors present to such a point that the dan- 'ger of'an explosive air-oil vapor mixture is V eliminated. The purpose of steaming before a run is usually twofold. First, the steam heats up the equipment, and secondly, it lowers the oxygen content below the explosive limit. Since the equipment is generally cold when the unit is started up, large quantities of steam condense during the steaming out effected before the run. The condensed water gathers atthe low points, is trapped behind the valves, etc. The bottom portions of the soaking drum and the bubble towerconstitute a very dangeroustrap for condensed water. During the time the unit is being brought up to operating condition, this water is often covered with a layer of cold oil and does not vaporize until the main body of oil is at a temperature considerably higher than the boiling point of water so that the vaporization occurs with a sudden vehe-. mence. The pressure thereby produced is 1929. Serial No. 357,898.

in some cases higher than the soaking drum orthe'bubble tower can stand and in c onse quence'bu'rsting of some part of these vessels follows together with an explosion of the hot oil which comes into contactwith air. Sin ilar conditions may exist in various distillation equipments.

i I have inventedla'lsimple method and device byv which: the hazard of water gathering'at the bottomof distillationor cracking vessels during the starting period ofna run may be, successfully eliminated. For sake of illustration, the method will be described in its application to the soakingdrum. In

thisexample, the water hazard is eliminated f by directing the incoming feed against the bottomrhead of the soaking drum in such a g waythat the "condensed water will be stirred up; Since at the beginning of the run the recting the incoming feed against, the bottom head;

Fig, 2 is an enlarged section of the bottom portion of the soaking drum provided with the same device; 7 r

Fig. 3 is a section similar to that of Fig. 2' showing a modified form of the device.

In Fig. 1, the character 1 designates the shell of the soaking drum, 2 and 3 designate respectivelythe lower and the upper manheads. The feed is introduced through line 4 at the bottom of the drum and the liquid and vapors'leave through line 5 near. the top.

As seen in Fig. 2 in detail the feed is introduced at the bottom through line 4, casting connection 6, T 7 and nipple 8. The

strap 9 which holds the nipple in position is. welded to the drum. Plug 10 diverts the feed into the nipple which ends at the man hole. It is obvious from the figure that the water which tends to settle at the lowest point of the drum is constantly stirred up and vaporized or carried away by the feed before dangerous quantities could accumulate.

Fig. 3 shows a somewhat modified form of the invention. The numeral 11 represents a pipe of somewhat larger diameter, say 6 inches, which has been cut in two and Welded to the bottom head of the drum. One end of the pipe 12 is closed in order to divert the feed against the manhead.

Other similar modifications may be made and the invention may be applied to a great variety of distillation and cracking vessels as well as vessels used in the chemical or other treatment of oils in which there is a danger of accumulation and sudden vaporization of water.

In the following claims the expression vessel for high temperature treatment of oil includes all vessels of cylindrical, rectangular or other shape which areused in distillation, cracking or chemical treatment of oil effected at a temperature above the boiling point of water.

I claim: 7

1. In a drum for the heat and pressure treatment of hydrocarbons, amanhead neck in the bottom of the drum of smaller diameter than the drum and a manhead carried by the neck, and a nozzle supported within the drum with its inlet opening through the drum and its deliveryorifice positioned at the bottom of the drum to deliver fluid downward.- ly against a wall of the neck whereby any liquid in the neck is subject to be struck'by the incoming fluid.

2. In a drum for the heat and pressure treatment of hydrocarbons, a manhead neck in the bottom of the drum of smaller diame ter than the drum and a manhead carried by the neck, a nozzle supported within the drum with its inlet opening through the drum and its delivery orifice positioned at the bottom of the drum above one wall of the neck to deliver fluid downwardly across the neck against the opposite wall of the neck tangentially t0 the manhead whereby any liquid in the neck is subject to be struck by the incomin fluid.

g CHARLES D. BAYNE.

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