US2892758A - Shale sludge distributor - Google Patents

Description

J. L. HoTz Erm. 2,892,758

sHALE sLUnGE DISTRIBUTOR June 30, 1959 Filed May 14, 1956 2 sheets-sheet 1 June 30, 1959 J. L.' HoTz ETAL sHALE sLUD GE DISTRIBUTOR Filed May 14. 195e 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 lIll Illll United States Patent C) SHALE SLUDGE DISTRIBUTOR John L. Hotz and Robert L. Switzer, Long Beach, Calif., vassignors to Union Oil Company of California, Los

Angeles, Calif., a corporation of California Application May 14, 1956, Serial No. 584,854

12 Claims. (Cl, 2412-6) This invention relates to improvements in solids uid contacting and particularly to an improved process and apparatus for the production of hydrocarbon gases and oils from solids by thermal means. Applicable solids include such oil-producing and oil-containing materials as oil shale, tar sand, oil-saturated diatomite, bituminous and sub-bituminous coals, and the like. The description will be conducted in terms of the eduction of shale oil and gas from oil shale for the sake of simplicity and with the understanding that the process and apparatus are applicable in general to other solids from which oils and gases can be produced, and to solids-fluid contacting processes in general.

Some processes for the eduction of shale oils and gases involve the downward passage of shale rock as a moving bed by gravity through a vertical heat treating kiln. During this passage they are heated to eduction temperatures by direct or indirect means. From a thermal efciency standpoint the direct heating means is preferred in which a countercurrent contact of hot gases with the shale rock is employed. To avoid the large fuel consumption otherwise required, most of these processes involve the direct injection of air or other oxygen-containing gas into the bottom of the kiln to burn the carbonaceous residue from the spent shale. rl`his generates hot flue gases needed to heat the rock. However, some difficulties are encountered with the fusion of the spent shale due to this burning, and frequently the fused or partially fused rock plugs the air inlet requiring a shutdown. Since all of the hydrocarbon product is removed at the top of the kiln, it

ymust be removed as a vapor and thus the process requires extensive cooling and condensing facilities.

Other shale eduction processes have successfully avoided the large fuel and condensing water requirements by utilizing an upilow of shale rock and a downilow of heating gas. The shale is fed upwardly successively through a perforated product fluid-shale rock disengaging section and a heat treating and kiln section. Air or other oxygen-containing gas enters the top of the heat treating section, is preheated in cooling the hot shale ash, burns the carbonaceous residue from the spent shale, and the hotline gases continue downwardly to heat the shale rock to eduction temperatures. The hydrocarbon oils and gases are thus evolved in the eduction zone. The whole vapor phase passes downwardly in direct contact with the raw shale, and is cooled thereby condensing the hydrocarbon oil and preheating the raw shale. The liquid and gaseous products are drawn off at the top of the disengaging section and are thus separated from the upwardly moving shale rock. A solids feeder passes the shale rock upwardly through the disengaging and heat treating sections and displaces the shale ash out the top of the unit. The process supplies its own fuel in the form of carbonaceous spent shale. It cools and partially condenses its own product in preheating the raw shale rock.

One principal problem of these processes involves the presence of solids lines in the solids to be thermally treated and in the present illustration these nes are exemplied by shale fines in the feed. In the downow solids processes, a screening step is required to separate from the rock fed to the process the shale nes whose average dimensions are less than about 0.25 inch. In the upow shale process, the problem is aggravated with screw feeders, and non-vertically acting piston feeders. With such solids feeders it has been found that the quantity of nes in the feed increases as much as vor more when such solids feeders are employed and that up to about 50% of the feed is reduced to nes. In the present invention a vertical reciprocating pistonfeeder, hereinafter more fully described, is used. This piston feeder successfully passes shale rock upwardly through the apparatus of this invention without the formation of substantial quantities of additional nes. The process and apparatus are also capable of a substantially complete retorting of valuable products from those fines which naturally occur in the unscreened feed and thus they accomplish what all the previous retorting processes were incapable of accomplishing.

The present invention is therefore directed to an improved upow shale retorting process as illustrative of those solids heat treating processes in which the solids are passed upwardly countercurrent to a downflow of hea't treating fluid and in which process steps and apparatus elements are utilized to avoid the necessity of solids nes separation from the feed and to obtain a complete and uniform heat treatment of all solids including the lines.

It is thus a primary object of this invention to pro-vide an improved solids-fluid contacting process.

It is an additional object to provide a particularly improved solids upow and uid downflow heat treating process especially adapted to the production of hydrocarbon gases and oils from solids.

It is a more specific object of this invention to provide an improved process for the retorting of shale including shale fines to effect a substantially complete recovery of shale oil and gas from the shale rock including the shale fines.

lt is another object of this invention to collect fine solids falling through the disengaging zone in which product uids are disengaged from the solids fed to the process, to return these lines to a specific point in the shale hopper so that they may be drawn into the system and fed upwardly through the contacting zone at the center of the upwardly moving mass of solids so as to minimize fallout of these recirculated solids. y

It is also an object of this invention to provide an apparatus adapted to accomplish the aforementioned objects.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art as the description thereof proceeds.

The present invention will be more readily understood by reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation view in partial cross section of the improved apparatus of this invention shown in conjunction with a schematic flow diagram of the process,

Figure 2 is a side elevation view of the detail of the nes distributor located in the feed hopper,

Figure 3 is an end view of the distributor,

Figure 4 is a plan view looking downwardly into the feed hopper, and

Figure 5 is a partial elevation view taken at right angles to the apparatus shown in Figure 1.

Referring now more particularly to Figure l, the process of the present invention will be described in terms of a specific example of the present invention as applied to the retorting of oil shale to produce shale oil and shale gas. The apparatus of the present invention consists essentially of three parts; namely an upper heat treating or eduction kiln 10, an intermediate solids-fluid feeding position shown and an inclined cylinder charging position not shown but in which the upper outlet opening of cylinder 18 is disposed to the left and immediately below the lower outlet opening of shale feed hopper 2t). `A hydraulic actuating cylinder 22 disposed within cylinder-1 8 reciprocates feeder piston 16 in cylinder 18. A lsecond hydraulic cylinder 24 contained within feeder Vcase 14 oscillates feeder cylinder 18 between the lling and feeding positions. A V-shaped trough 1S runs along the bottom of the case and has a screw conveyor 17 at its apex to move settled fines toward outlet 19. A stream of oil is introduced into case 14 through line 23 controlled by valve 25 and serves to flush the lines slurry from the outlet 19 through line 27. This slurry is re- 'turned to the integral settling chamber by pump 29 and line 31 to recycle fines through seal or distributor 90 to a point in the settler which is below liquid level Si).

Raw shale is introduced by any convenient conveyor means not shown in the direction indicated into feed hopper 20 around fines distributor 90. With feeder pistonY 16 disposed at its upper extremity immediately after its upstroke, cylinder 18 is moved to a point in alignment with feed hopper 20 by hydraulic cylinder 24. Cylinder 22 retracts piston 16 drawing a charge of shale rock and any recycled fines into the upper part of feeder cylinder 18. Hydraulic cylinder 24 is then extended returning feeder cylinder 18 to the vertical position shown. Then hydraulic cylinder 22 is extended forcing piston 16 upwardly thereby moving the charge of rock into disengaging section l2 and displacing the rock therein and in kiln y upwardly. This cycle is repeated thereby continuously feeding fresh shale at the bottom of the structure and displacing cool shale ash from the top.

The shale ash is displaced as described from the top of kiln 10 and inside housing 26. It falls by gravity through the paths indicated as by arrows 28 and 30 downwardly on to the bottom 30 of housing 26 and discharges through outlet 32 into ash disposal conveyor 34.

KilnV 10 is provided with a plurality of radial fins 36 disposed on its outside surface. Jacket 35 surrounds the outer edges of the tins providing a series of adjacent nearvertical Ypaths for cooling air which passes by natural or forced convection upwardly within jacket 38, into manifold 40, and then out through stack 42 to the atmosphere. If desired, this warm air may at least in part be introduced into the top of the kiln through line 44 together with other gases subsequently described.

The raw shale is passed by means described above upwardly through gas and liquid disengaging section l2 in which the cool flue and shale gases and the condensed shale oil are disengaged from the upwardly moving mass of shale. In kiln 10 the upwardly moving shale passes successively through a fresh shale preheating and product cooling and condensing zone, a shale eduction zone, a spent shale combustion zone, and a shale ash cooling and gas preheating zone. At this point the ashes are expelled as described from the top of kiln 10. In order to support the carbonaceous spent shale combustion, an oxygen-containing gas such as air is introduced through line 44 at a rate controlled by valve 46. With this gas may be mixed steam or water or a portion of the cool mixture of shale and ue gas produced from the product separator 58. This gas passes downwardly through the aforementioned zones in the reverse order. In the uppermost or shale ash cooling zone this gas is preheated by direct contact with the shale ash thereby cooling the ash to approximately atmospheric temperature. The preheatedgas then moves downwardly through the spent shale combustion zone in which hot ue gases aregenerated and the carbonaceous shale is burned forming the shale ash. In the next lower or eduction zone the hot flue gases contact and educt shale oil and gases from preheated fresh shale forming the spent carbonaceous shale and a vapor mixture of shale oil and gas together with the flue gas. ln the next lower zone, the fresh shale is preheated by direct contact with the products of eduction thereby cooling and partially condensing them forming a liquid oil phase and the preheated fresh shale. The now cool gas phase continues downwardly and the liquid product runs downwardly by gravity lling the lower portion of disengaging section 12 approximately to level 5G at the lower extremities of slots 52 which extend around the upper periphery of disengaging section 12. This liquid product lls feeder case 14 and stands up to level 50' in shale feed hopper 20 sealing it against entry of air. The difference between these levels 50 and 50 corresponds to the pressure differential existing by virtue of gas ilow through the shale rock bed in the apparatus. In other words, the apparatus is operated under a partial vacuum created by exhaust blower 52.

By means of blower 52 the cool product gases pass from the upwardly moving shale bed through slots 52 into effluent manifold 54 surrounding the disengaging section and therefrom directly into integrally attached product vapor liquid separator and fines settler 58. Herein the gases are separated from the condensed oil. The gas phase containing small quantities of separated oil and unagglomerated mists, flows from separator S8 under the influence of blower 52 through line 60 at a rate controlled by valve 64 and differential pressure recorder controller 66 into a centrifugal separator 68. From this separator the agglomerated oil phase is removed through line 71 and combined with the liquid product produced through line 62 or pumped into settler 58. The remaining gas phase llows under the pressure exerted by blower 52 through line 70 into any sort of nal separator 72. This latter separator may comprise an oil wash such as in an absorber, an electrostatic or ultrasonic treatment, or any liquid scrubber, to clean up any residual dusts and oil mists, or other suitable separators. Oil recovered is removed through line 73. Through line 74 the oil-free gas is discharged to the atmosphere, or recirculated in part to the kiln as previously described.

The oil phase overflowing from disengaging section 12 through slots 52 flows through manifold 54 directly into the integrally attached settler 58, and in a serpentine path around bales 56. The oil temperature is about F. and suicient settling time is provided to permit gravitation of all solids fines larger than l0() microns. These solids are collected in screw conveyors 84, 82 (directly behind 84), and 86 and are returned in the manner described below to hopper 20. Settler 58 is provided with overflow weir box 57 and weir 59 into which the product oil flows. It is pumped therefrom through line 60 by pump 64 at a rate suflicient to supply all oil recycle Streams through line 65, such as that to feeder case 14, and produce a net oil product through line 62 at a rate controlled by valve 66 and liquid level controller 68.

A small quantity of shale nes is invariably present in the raw shale fed to the unit. Further, a small quantity of additional fines is unavoidably formed during the feeding of shale upwardly into the apparatus. For the most part these lines in the present apparatus pass upwardly together with the oil-wet shale rock successively through disengaging zone 12 into retort 10 wherein the shale lines are retorted along with the larger shale particles. However a minor portion of the fines associated with the upwardly moving bed of rock nearest the periphery of the bed discharge at least in part with the oil and gas through slots 52 into eflluent manifold 54. This quantity of fines so entering manifold 54 is only a small proportion of the lines introduced upwardly from feeder case 14 with the upwardly moving mass of rock. i

yIn the present apparatus the shape of manifold 54 and the separator-settler vessel S8 surrounding the perforated disengaging section 12 is especially designed to provide for `the natural gravity settling of these lines downwardly through the body of oil contained therein so as to accumulate in a pair of horizontal parallel primary feeder screws 82 and 84 and a secondary or collection screw 86. The separatorsettler vessel bottom is W-shaped as shown in Figure 5 and consists of a pair of adjacent V-Shaped troughs with the primary feeder screws 82 and 84 disposed horizontally along the bottom or apex of each trough. These troughs are closed at .each end and the disengaging section 12 which is conical in form passes upwardly through the adjacent rconnecting sides of these troughs. Thus the nes which fall through the slots in one side of disengaging section 12 settle in one trough and the fines falling from the other side settle in the other trough. By gravity they progress toward the primary screws 82 and 84 and are moved thereby in the same direction to a collection or secondary screw 86 disposed at right angles to the primary troughs at a point Vadjacent and above feed hopper 20. Fines falling through slots 52 above the hopper fall directly into the secondary screw conveyor 86. The slurry of shale fines discharges from the end of each primary feeder screw 82 and 84 into the outside ends of the collection screw 86. The collection screw 86 consists of approximately equal len-gths of right-hand and left-hand screws disposed on a common shaft so that rotation of the shaft in the proper direction brings each of these slurries discharged from the primary screw feeders toward a central point along the length of the `collection screw. This slurry at this point drops by gravity through distributor 90 directly into the feeder trough 20. Distributor 90 is sealed against inflow of -air by means of liquid level 50. The raw shale moves into hopper 20 around distributor and is fed as previous- -ly described upwardly with the recirculated fines through the apparatus by means of the oscillating reciprocating piston feeder.

The recycle nes distributor is indicated generally as at 90 in shale hopper 20. Beside effecting a partial separationof the nes entering with the raw shale feed, the distributor is also connected in fines-receiving relation to collection screw 86. It serves to concentrate both the fresh and recycled lines at a specific center part in the cross section of the feed hopper which is aligned with the longitudinal axis of the feeder piston when it is in the inclined charging position below the hopper. This center part is surrounded by the larger shale particles so that the shale charge drawn into the feed cylinder from the hopper consists of a mass of shale particles surrounding the solids fines which are concentrated near the center of the charge. As the feeder cylinder oscillates back to the vertical feeding position, additional large lshale particles fill any void space at the top of the charge which is not filled by fresh and recirculated fines. This additional shale ilows into the feed cylinder from points between distributor 90 and the inboard or right-hand part designated 91 of hopper 20 as shown in Figure 1. In this way the feed cylinder is always full regardless of the rate of recycle of shale fines. 1n addition those fines which are concentrated from the fresh feed and which are recycled are located at the center of the charge so as to pass upwardly through perforate disengaging section 12 thereby eliminating any fall-through of the recycled lines and `reducing the fallvthrough from that which formerly occurred without distributor 90. This reduction results from the partial classification of lines as the fresh freed passes over the distributor.

yIn, Figures 2, 3 and 4 are shown various detail views of the distributor indicated generally at 90 in Figure l.

4Referring particularly to Figure 2 -a section of the rtop part of feeder case 14, part of disengaging section 12, and part of feed hopper 20 are shown =as viewed along the axis of collection screw 86 in the same direction as in Figure l. Vertically disposed in hopper 20 is a flat dividing and supporting plate 92 having a sloping leading edge 94 and extends from an integral attachment 96'to the outboard edge of the case of collection screw 86 outwardly to the inboard edge 98 of hopper 20 effectively dividing it into two halves substantially along its diameter. A plurality of -triangularshaped bars 100 are integrally attached at their inboard edges to dividing plate 92 and extend outwardly and downwardly forming a grizzly. The spacing of these parallel bars is preferably of the order of 1/2 inch, or the approximate dimension of the largest sized particle which is considered to be a tine particle in the process being carried out.

The upper extremities 102 of these bars parallel the upper or leading edge 94 of dividing plate 92. The lower ends 104 however are disposed along a line having a relatively steep slope yand substantially parallel with chute 106 extending downwardly from outlet opening 108 of collection screw 86. In this way an open lines return channel 110 is provided below the lower extremity of grizzly bars 104, above recycle chute 106, and between the side plates 112 and 114 (not shown) of the distributor. The lower end of chute 106 is provided with an angular inboard end piece 11S. An angular outboard end piece 116 is also provided which encloses a fines reservoir 118 at the lower extremity of nes return channel 110.

In this structure therefore the raw shale fed in the direction indicated passes downwardly across leading edge 94 and then downwardly and outwardly across the upper surface of grizzly bars 100 thereby preventing entry of the large shale particles into fines reservoir 118. Most of the nes solids present in the feed pass between bars 110 directly into fines reservoir 119 to join those collected as indicated in connection with Figure 1 and discharged through outlet 108 of collection screw 86 through return channel 110. Outboard end piece 116 prevents the fines from collecting at the lower or outboard edge of the mass of shale present in feed hopper 20 and maintains the fines substantially at the center of the feeder piston when the piston is in the cylinder charging position.

Referring briefly to Figure 3, an end view of the distributor in Figure 2 is shown, showing supporting or dividing plate 92, the various grizzly bars 100 showing the slope of their upper surfaces, and lines reservoir 118 located between side plates 112 and 114.

Referring to Figure 4 a plan View of the distributor looking downwardly along the axis of the feeder cylinder in the charging position is shown. Again dividing plate 92 is shown extending from the inboard edge 98 of feed hopper 20 to the outboard edge 96 of the collection screw case 86. Disposed on either side of dividing plate 92 are shown bars 100 having spaces 101 therebetween and which fresh fines can enter fines recycle reservoir 118. The location of the reservoir between inboard and outboard angular end plates and 116 and between side plates 112 and 114 is shown. It is apparent in Figure 4 in which the raw shale from feed hopper 20 passes downwardly around the distributor that reservoir 118 is kept free of large shale particles being deflected outwardly in both directions by upper surfaces of bars 100. The outlet opening 108 of collection screw 86 is shown in broken lines opening downwardly into lines recycle channel 110. In this way both the recycle fines and a substantial part of the fresh fines are concentrated in centrally located reservoir 118. They are passed by means of the feeder cylinder and piston, shown in Figure l, upwardly through the center of the rising shale mass.

In Figure 2 chute 106 is shown spaced apart from the Wall of disengaging section 12 providing an open space 111. As will be apparent in Figure 4, this open space exists on the inboard side of inboard angle end plate 115 and below chute 106. Entering raw shale substantially tills space 111 by passing downwardly around the inboard grizzly bars. If then the quantity of fines recycle is insufficient to fill that portion of the feeder cylinder disposed immediately below lower outlet opening 120 of reservoir 118, this space is filled with large solids flowing from space 111 as the mouth of the feeder cylinder passes that point on its way to the vertical feeding position. Thus the feeder cylinder is always full and the fines recycled are always disposed at the center of the charge to the apparatus.

Referring finally to Figure 5, the W-shaped bottom of the separator-settler vessel 58 referred to previously is shown. The other elements shown are identified by the same numbers as in Figure l and has described above in connection with that ligure.

The apparatus of the present invention employed a feeder piston 5.5 feet in diameter and the rated shale capacity was 350 tons per day. The disengaging section 12 was 8 feet high having a lower diameter of 5.5 feet and an upper diameter of l feet. The kiln section it) was 12 feet high, with diameters of l5 feet at the bottom and 18 feet at the top. The combined eiuent manifold 54 and separator-settler vessel 5S according to this invention in this installation was constructed substantially as shown in Figure 2 and was provided with two V-shaped troughs coinciding at their nearest edges and closed at their extreme ends. An area of 70 square feet for fines settling was provided and no fines larger than 120 microns appeared in the oil product. The settler was provided along the lower apexes with two primary screws which were inches in diameter and 20 feet long. These screws turned at approximately 5 r.p.m. discharging shale fines slurry into a collection screw feeder of the same diameter and 10 feet long turning at 5 rpm. The screw conveyor in feeder case 14 was 6 inches in diameter and 15 feet long and turned at 5 r.p.rn. The fines slurry was successfully returned at a rate corresponding to about 5% of the rate at which the apparatus processed shale.

The dividing plate in the distributor was 3.5 feet high measuring angularly along the axis of the feeder piston in the filling position, and was 5 feet wide between col lection screw case and the outboard part of the hopper. The dividing plate was provided with 16 triangularshaped bars to form a grizzly, the bars being 2 inches thick and spaced on 2.75 inch centers. The nes reservoir thus formed was 1.25 feet wide and 3.50 feet long. The installation of the distributor resulted in a substantial decrease of fines recycle due to the location of recycled fines in the center of the charge and the inclusion of a part of the nes present in the feed in this centrally located concentration of fines. The operation was completely successful.

It is important in the construction of this apparatus to maintain the downward slope of the sides and of the end closures of the W-shaped and V-shaped troughs in the separator-settler and feeder case sufciently high so as to eliminate completely the possibility of nes settling and hanging upon these surfaces. To insure that the lines so contacting these surfaces will slide downwardly toward the primary screws, these surfaces should describe an angle with respect to a horizontal plane of at least 45 degrees and preferably above about 55 degrees. Angles greater than about 8O degrees however are unnecessary and will only unduly increase the height of the apparatus.

Again it should be emphasized that although the foregoing detailed description has been conducted in terms of the production of shale oil and gas from oil shale, the present process and apparatus is clearly applicable to other solids-fluid contacting processes in which a liquid product is produced during a reaction or contact between moving solids and a fluid and in which solids fines must be thoroughly treated. As stated above, the process is applicable with advantage to the treatment of such solids as oil shale, tar sand, bituminous and sub-bituminous coals, bitumen-saturated diatomite or other solids.

A particular embodiment of the present invention has been hereinabove described in considerable detail by way of illustration. It should be understood that various other modifications and adaptations thereof may be made by those skilled in this particular art without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention as set forth in the appended claims.

We claim:

1. A method for solids-uid contacting to produce a liquid product which comprises passing solids as a dense mass downwardly through a hopper zone into a vertically acting feeder zone, passing said solids therefrom as a dense mass upwardly successively through a foraminate disengaging zone and a contacting zone, passing a uid `downwardly through said contacting zone and said disengaging zone into a communicating separator-settler zone, removing gases and liquids separately from said separator-settler zone, removing settled solids lines from the bottom of said separator-settler zone, and introducing substantially all of said lines into said hopper zone at a low central point therein so that said fines are surrounded by fresh solids and are passed upwardly so surrounded from said feeder zone through said disengaging and contacting zones thereby minimizing fallout of said fines from said disengaging zone into said separator-settler zone.

2. A method according to claim 1 in combination with a foraminate solids fines distributor-classifier zone centrally disposed in said hopper zone and into which said settled solids are recycled and around which said fresh solids are introduced whereby solids fines associated with said fresh solids are at least partly accumulated in said distributor-classifier zone in admixture with said settled solids nes introduced therein from said separator-settler zone.

3. A method according to claim 1 in combination with the step of collecting settled solids nes in said feeder zone, pumping a liquid product stream therethrough to form a fines and recycling a slurry of said ines pumped `from said feeder zone to said hopper zone at a low central point therein.

4. A method according to claim 1 wherein said solids are crushed oil shale, said fluid introduced into said contacting zone is an oxygen-containing gas, and said liquid product comprises shale oil.

5. A method for producing shale oil and gas from crushed oil shale which comprises passing crushed oil shale as a dense mass downwardly above and around a foraminate shale nes classifier-distributor zone disposed centrally in a hopper zone, drawing shale from said hopper zone downwardly into a vertically acting shale feeder zone, displacing the shale upwardly from said feeder zone successively through a foraminate fluid-solids disengaging zone surrounded by a closed separator-settler zone, and through a shale retorting zone, passing eduction gases downwardly through said retorting zone at shale oil and gas eduction temperatures and into and from said disengagmg zone into said separator-settler zone, separately removing shale oil and gases therefrom, collecting a slurry of settled oil shale iines at the bottom of said separatorsettler zone, and introducing substantially all of said -slurry into said foraminate fines distributor-classifier zone into admixture therein with shale fines separated there from said crushed oil shale passing downwardly around 1t 1n said hopper zone, whereby said fines are concentrated near the ycenter of the oil shale charge in said feeder zone and are passed upwardly so centered in the mass of oil shale through said disengaging and retorting zones.

6. A method according to claim 5 in combination with the step of maintaining a shale oil level in said hopper zone which submerges at least the lower part of said distributor-classifier zone so as to seal it against now of air.

7. In an apparatus for Huid-solids contacting comprising a contacting vessel, a foraminate disengaging vessel, and a vertically acting solids feeder case disposed at successively lower levels in a column, an inclined solids inlet hopper opening downwardly at an angle into the top of said feeder case adjacent the connection thereto of said disengaging vessel, an oscillating, vertically-acting piston solids feeder disposed within said feeder case, means for oscillating and reciprocating said piston so as to receive a charge of solids as a mass from said hopper and force said mass upwardly through said disengaging and contacting vessels, a closed separator-settler vessel surrounding said disengaging vessel, and means for removing at least one uid stream therefrom, the improvement which comprises in combination therewith a solids distributor-classier centrally disposed in said hopper and open at its lower end, closed at its sides and at its outboard and inboard ends, and means for removing settled fines from the bottom of said separator-settler and charging them into the inboard end of said distributor-classifier so as to `centralize the mass of recycled solids fines in said mass of solids entering said feeder and in said mass passed upwardly through said column.

8. An apparatus according to claim 7 wherein said distributor-classii'ier is provided with a plurality of parallel bars spaced apart from one another forming the upper end thereof whereby fines in said mass of solids passing through said hopper pass between said bars directly into said distributor and the larger solids are diverted downwardly around said distributor into said feeder as a mass containing a centralized concentration of fresh classified and recycled solids fines.

9. A11 apparatus according to claim 8 wherein the upper edges of said parallel bars slope downwardly away one each side from a central high point forming an inverted V-shaped ridge to divert solids around said distributorclassier.

10. An apparatus according to claim 7 wherein said means for removing settled iines comprises at least one screw conveyor disposed at the bottom of said separatorsettler and which opens directly into the inboard end of said distributor-classifier.

11. An apparatus according to claim 7 in combination with a screw conveyor disposed along the bottom of said feeder case, means for pumping a stream of liquid from adjacent the liquid outlet end of said separator-settler into said feeder case, and means for pumping a slurry of liquid and collected lines from the outlet end of said screw conveyor in said feeder case to the opposite end of said separator-settler so as to return fines solids from said feeder case to said hopper.

12. In an apparatus for solids-huid contacting comprising a closed solids feeder case, a foraminate disengaging section surrounded by a closed separator-settler vessel disposed above said case, a contacting vessel disposed above said disengaging section, a generally cylindrical hopper' opening angularly downward into said case beside said disengaging section, and an oscillating feeder cylinder having a reciprocating piston therein disposed Within said case adapted to receive solids from said hopper and force them upwardly successively through said disengaging section and said contacting vessel, the irnprovement which comprises a substantially vertical plate disposed in said hopper and aligned with the vertical axis of said disengaging section, a plurality of parallel plates spaced apart from one another disposed perpendicular to and on both sides of said plate and whose upper edges slope outwardly therefrom, a pair of side plates integrally attached to the outer extremes of said first-named plates and forming with angular end members an enclosure below said iirst-named plate which is generally centrally located within and at the bottom of said hopper, whereby solids entering said hopper surround said enclosure, and means communicating said enclosure with means for collecting settlednes solids in said separator-settler.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,501,153 Berg Mar. 2l, 1950 2,640,014 Berg May 26, 1953 2,640,019 Berg May 26, 1953

Claims (1)

1. A METHOD FOR SOLIDS-FLUID CONTACTING TO PRODUCE A LIQUID PRODUCT WHICH COMPRISES PASSING SOLIDS AS A DENSE MASS DOWNWARDLY THROUGH A HOPPER ZONE INTO A VERTICALLY ACTIGN FEEDER ZONE, PASIG SAID SOLIDS THEREFROM AS A DENSE MASS UPWARDLY SUCCESSIVELY THROUGH A FORMINATE DISENGAGING ZONE AND A CONTACTING ZONE, PASSING A FLUID DSOWNWARDLY THROUGH SAID CONTACTING ZONE AND SAID DISENGAGING ZONE INTO A COMMUNICASTING SEPARATOR-SETTLER ZONE, REMOVING GASES AND LIQUIDS SEPARATELY FROM SAID SEPARATOR-SELLTER ZONE, REMOVING SETTLED SOLIDS FINES FROM THE BOTTOM OF SAID SEPARATOR-SETTLER ZONE, AND INTRODUCING SUBSTANTIALLY ALL OF SAID FINES INTO SAID HOPPER ZONE AT A LOW CENTRAL POINT THEREIN SO THAT SAID FINES ARE SURROUNDED BY FRESH SOLIDS AND ARE PASSED UPWARDLY SO SURROUNDED FROM SAID FEEDER ZONE THROUGH SAID DISENGAGING AND CONTACTING ZONES THEREBY MINIMIZING FALLOUT OF SAID FINES FROM SAID DISENGAGING ZONE INTO SAID SEPARATOR-SETTLER ZONE.

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