US1964299A - Process of manufacturing carburetted water gas by the use of high carbon and low carbon oil - Google Patents

Description

June 26, 1934. J, A, PERRY PROCESS OF MANUFACTURING CAHBURETTED WATER GAS BY THE uss OF HIGH CARBON AND LOW CARBON OIL Filed Nov. 20, 1929 W/TA/ESS:

Patented June 26, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PROCESS OF MANU HIGH CARBON AND Joseph A. Perry, United Gas FACTURING CARBU- RET'IED WATER GAS BY THE USE OF LOW CARBON OIL Swarthmore, Pa., assignor to The Improvement Company, Philadel- 3 Claims.

The present invention relates to the manufacture of carburetted water gas.

The principal object of the invention is to provide a method of manufacturing carburetted water gas whereby oils which produce on vaporization relatively large quantities of coke as, for instance, Mexican or Venezuela crude or topped oils, may be used to greater advantage in carburetting than heretofore.

It is advantageous to use such oils if it can be done efliciently and conveniently because of their cheapness. If, however, it is attempted to use them in accordance with usual carburetted water gas practice, that is by spraying them into a checker filled carburetter, the large quantities of deposited coke clog the checker brick and require too frequent cleanings for economical operation.

It has been proposed to-spray such oils during the water gas run onto the top of the generator fuel bed, utilizing the heat stored in the fuel bed and the heat in the up run water gas to vaporize them, the coke being deposited in the fuel bed and eventually being consumed with the fuel.

However, I have found that in the normal operation of the water gas generator, with the air blast and steam, proportioned for proper generator fuel economy, sufiicient heat is not available in the top of the fuel bed for the vaporization of sufficient oil to carburet the water gas to present calorific power standards for town distribution.

Suflicient oil can be vaporized on the top of the fuel bed for this purpose, by resorting to various expedients, such as secondary air blasting of the 8 top of the fuel bed, prolonging the primary air blast, etc., but these have an unfavorable efiect upon generator fuel economy.

According to the present invention, I restrict the introduction of high carbon oil to the top of the. generator fuel bed, to the quantity which can be efiiciently vaporized during the water gas run, with due regard to generator fuel economy, thereby partially carburetting the gas in the generator. I then lead the partially carburetted gas through the customary carburetting vessels, where I complete its carburetion with lower carbon oil such, for instance, as is termed gas oil, and which can be handled in the usual carburetting' vessels without undue clogging of the checker brick.

Throughout the specification and claims the term high carbon oil is used as referring to oil which contains a high proportion of carbon which is deposited as coke when the'oil is used for carburetting in the set. Similarly, the term low carbon oil is used for oil which contains a low proportion of carbon which is deposited as coke when using the oil for carburetting in the set.

As less burden is thrown on the carburetting vessels in vaporization than in usual carburetted water gas practice, in which all the oil is vaporized therein, I am able to recuperate the heat stored therein to better advantage by reversely steaming the set as a whole during the down run, without unduly affecting the temperatures in the carburetting vessels. In the usual carburetting operation, when making a carburetted water gas of high calorific power for distribution, it is difficult to take full advantage of this reverse steaming, because of its adverse effect on oil efficiencies.

This reverse steaming aids in drying up or coking theresidues of the heavy oil sprayed on the top of the generator fuel bed during the up run.

The invention will be further described in connection with the attached drawing which forms a part of this specification and which shows a partial side elevation and partial vertical cross section of apparatus in which the invention may be conveniently performed.

Referring to the drawing:

1 generally indicates a water gas generator, 2 is a carburetter, 3 a superheater and 4 a wash box.

The generator is provided with the ignited fuel bed 5, and with the air blast supply means 6 for upwardly blasting the fuel bed. 7 is a steam supply means for up steaming, 8 is a steam supply means for down steaming. The generator is further provided with the down run water gas ofitake 9 provided with valve 10 and leading from the base of the fuel bed to the wash box 4. There is further provision of the gas offtake 11 leading from above the fuel bed to the carburetter 2. The generator is also provided with the oil supply means 12 for spraying high carbon oil onto the top of the fuel bed.

The carburetter 2 is provided with the checker brick l3 and with the oil supply means 14 for spraying low carbon oil onto the carburetter. The carburetter is connected to the superheater 3 by connection 15. 16 is an air supply means for supplying secondary air.

The superheater is provided with the checker brick l7 and with the stack valve 18. The superheater is further provided with the ofitake 19 provided with valve 20 leading to the wash box 4. 21 is a steam supply means for reversely steaming the set during the down run.

The wash box 4 is provided with the offtake 22 leading to storage or other disposal.

In operation, the preferred method is as follows:

The generator fuel bed is blasted with air supplied through 6, the resultant blast gases passing through the carburetter and superheater and are burned therein to store their heat, secondary air being supplied through 16. The burned blast gases leave the set through the stack valve 18, or through a waste heat boiler (not shown).

When the desired quantity of heat has been stored in the fuel bed and in the carburetter and superheater, the air blast is discontinued and the stack valve closed. Then with valve 20 open and valve 10 closed, the fuel bed is upwardly steamed with steam supplied through '7 to produce water gas. At the same time, high carbon oil is sprayed into the top of the generator onto the top of the fuel bed and vaporized by the heat stored therein, by the radiant heat from the walls of the generator above the fuel bed, and by the sensible heat of the water gas, rising through and out of the top of the fuel bed. I prefer to introduce all the high carbon oil to be vaporized during the run at a high rate during the first part of the uprun, so as to prolong the time the oil is in contact with the fuel bed, and secure the greater part of the available time for its vaporization.

The water gas passing through the top of the generator is carburetted by the oil vapors resulting from the above vaporization, and passes to the carburetter and superheater and thence to the wash box.

During the first part of the steam run, while the high carbon oil is being introduced to the generator at a high rate, there is a relatively high generation of oil vapors and at this time I prefer not to introduce the lower coke oil to the carburetter, instead, both the carburetter and superheater are employed for fixing.

During the latter part of the steam run, when the generation of oil vapor in the generator has decreased, I introduce the low carbon oil to the carburetter, and there further carburet the partially carburetted gas passing from the generator. The resultant vapors are fixed in the carburetter and superheater.

In the above operation, it will be understood that the oil which has been sprayed on the fuel bed continues to generate oil vapors in the top of the generator after the admission of the oil to the generator has been terminated.

After the steam uprun, I prefer to make a down run through the fuel bed by reversely steaming the set, steam being admitted to the superheater at 21. The steam is superheated in the superheater and carburetter and returns heat to the fuel bed. The superheated steam passing through the top of the fuel bed aids in completing the coking of the residues of the high carbon oil sprayed on the top of the fuel bed, and prevents the loss of volatiles in the next air blasting operation. These volatiles are carried through the water gas zone where they are cracked. The cracked gases passing out from the base of the generator to the wash box with the water gas, the free carbon released by the cracking remaining largely in the fuel bed and adding thereto.

Instead of waiting until after the termination of the admission of high carbon oil to the generator for the introduction of the lower carbon oil to the carburetter, it may be desirable to conduct the two operations simultaneously.

In such case, I prefer to introduce the high carbon oil quickly at a high rate at the start of the steam run, and introduce the low carbon oil at a low rate at first, increasing this rate as the oil vaporization in the generator decreases.

In its broader aspects, however, the invention includes providing and maintaining an ignited fuel bed by appropriate air blasting, burning the resultant blast gases with air and storing their heat in a chamber or chambers provided with heat storage material, generating blue water gas by steaming the ignited fuel bed and carburetting the blue water gas by high carbon oil sprayed onto the top of the fuel bed and by low carbon oil sprayed into the heat storage chamber or chambers.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the invention has the merit of being readily performed in the so called standard water gas set consisting of a generator, carburetter and superheater, without the necessity of expensive changes of connections. While it may be most advantageously employed in a set having means for reverse steaming the entire set, as illustrated in the drawing, it may be performed in the older type of set having a connection from the base of the generator to the top of the carburetter, in which case low carbon oil may be advantageously admitted to the carburetter during the down run as well as the uprun.

As used throughout the specification and claims, of this application, the terms generator, carburetter and superheater refer more particularly to zones or locations in which the operation of generating gas, carburetting gas, and fixing the s carburetted gas, may be performed. Such zones may be contained in apparatus of the standard three shell type, or of the two shell type or in a single shell.

I claim:

1. A process of manufacturing carburetted water gas in a set comprising a generator adapted to contain a solid fuel bed, a carburetter, and a superheater, which comprises the following separate, successive steps: air blasting the fuel bed in the generator and storing the heat of the blast gases in the carburetter and in the superheater; making an uprun with steam introduced to the bottom of the generator, simultaneously introducing heavy carbon oil to the top of the fuel bed at a diminishing rate, and simultaneously introducing lower carbon oil to the carburetter at an increasing rate, and leading the water gas produced in the generator through the carburetter and through the superheater whereby carburetted water gas is produced.

2. A process of manufacturing carburetted water gas in a set comprising a generator adapted to contain a solid fuel bed, a carburetter, and a superheater, which comprises the following separate, successive steps: air blasting the fuel bed in the generator and storing the heat of the blast gases in the carburetter and in the superheater; making an uprun with steam introduced to the bottom of the generator, simultaneously introducing heavy carbon oil to the top of the fuel bed at a diminishing rate, and simultaneously introducing lower carbon oil to the carburetter at an increasing rate, leading the water gas produced in the generator through the carburetter and through the superheater whereby carburetted water gas is produced; and then introducing steam to the superheater, passing the steam through the superheater and through the carburetter and 150 the uprun carburetting the resultant water gas with high carbon oil introduced to the top of the fuel bed and low carbon oil introduced to the carburetter, the greater part of the high carbon oil being introduced during the first half of the run and the greater part of the low carbon oil being introduced during the latter part of the run, and leading off the resultant carburetted water gas from the superheater.

JOSEPH A. PERRY.

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