USRE4366E - X o oils - Google Patents

Description

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AUGUSTUS H. TAIT AND JOSEPH Wzl-AVIS, orNEW Youn, N. Y.; ASSIGNO'RS, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, To CHARLES P11-Amor SAME PLAGE.

Letters Patent No. 53,359, dated March zo,

1866; reissue No. 4,366, datedlilay 2, 1871 lMPR'OVEMENT IN APPARATUS'AND PROCESSES OF DISTILLlNG APETROLEUM AND OTHER A.l'ho ASchermate referred to in these Letters Patent ax1d`ma1dng part oi' vthe lame.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, AUGUSTUS H. TAIT and J o.- i'

'SEMI W'. AVIS, of the city, county, and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Apparatus andProcess for Distilling Petroleumand other Oils; and we hereby declare the following to he a'full, clear, and exact description thereof, which will enable' those skilled in the art to make and use the same, reference 'being had to the-accompanying drawing forming part of this specification, in Which- Figure 1 represents a plan or top vievv of the iu vent-ion.

Figure 2 is a transverse vertical section of the same,

' thereof according to their specific gravity or their different boiling points.

. According to the present method, in distilling petroleum and other hydrocarbon oils and also other iiuids in large stills containing a large body of oil or uid,it has to be subjected to a very intense and continuous heat, producing destructive distillation, result ing in loss-of quantity on the one hand and on the other hand subjecting'the body of the fluid tothe liability of becoming charred or burned by the heavy or tax-ryl matter settling to thebottom, th us discoloring the. distillate and giving it an unpleasant odor, which requires a large amount of chemicals to remove.

Again, if this tarry mattei' is allowed to remain in the still until the opel'ation is Iinished it becomes coked, forming a solid deposit at the bottom of the still, making it necessary to stop "the works, cool the still olf, and remove the deposit.

Again, in order to drive oli" or distill the heavier oils from this tarry. deposit the application of a very intense heat is required, which tends to destroy'they bottom of the still.

To obviate these difficulties our invention consists in running the oils into a series of stills arranged over an archV or furnace, the oil entering at that retort or part of the .stillfurthest from the lire; and -as the more volatile portions are distilled and a higher tempexatule is necessary to vaporize the remainder of the loil, it passes by suitable communication lto a. hotter still, and inally, before coking, it is removed to whatA we term tar-stills, which are smaller and much less expensiv x; but being subject to such intense heat they require constant repairs. While one is being repaired thetluid is turned into another.

This is a great advantage, and by means of vthis arrangement we are enabled to remove all the tai-ry or heavy matter in a hot state while the stills are running, and of finishing the entire process without. interruption,

The trouble which has heretofore prevented con-. tinuousdistillation has been the ditiiculty of removing operation.

the art to make and use our invention.

In the drawing- A represents a tank, which contains the crude oil, and which communicates by'a pipe, a, with the first one of a series ofretorts, R R2 R3 to R. These retorts are made of castiron or any other suitable material, in a cylindrical or any other desirable form or shape, and are placed horizontally alongside of eac'h other over a flue, which is provided with a' fire-grate situated un- The several retorts connect with each other by means of pipes r, lwhich extend from the opposite ends of the same, so as to cause theliquid or fluid in- Vtroduced into the retort at one end of thc series to pass through the several retolts in a zigzagl course.

The crude oil flows in a continuous stream into the retort Pt,- and thence through the first pipe e' to the second retort, and so ou until all the retorts are filled r. At this stage heat is applied by lighting a fire on 'the grate under the retort E.

- The oil in the'retorts is thus Agradually heated, that 'in the retort R12 being hottest', and that -in retort R1 remaining coolest; and, consequently, the lightest components ,of the oil will be evaporated in the iirst and the heaviest components in the last retort.

The vapors thus formed pass oli` through the' connecting-pipes r from the retorts through pipe o'to the tirst condenser C, and in order to drive ofi' the vapors by mechanical force a stream of steam or heated coui-l pressed gas is passed into the last retort R12, through the pipe b, which connects with a suitable generator provided with a stop-cock, so that the supply of steam or heated gas can be regulated at pleasure.. f

I While passing through the retorts the heavy vapors of lthe last retorts, E, R, &c., mixintiniately with the light vapors of the first retorts, Rl, R?, &c and the product of condensation derived vfrom thc-mixture of vapors isof thercquisitc density for burning-cih The' condenser C consists of a plain tank of sheet metal or-any other suitable material, in which is situated aserpentine pipe, O. 'The several bendsoi' this pipe are placed one above the other, so that the same the tarry or heavy matter While fthe process was in -The following description vvlll enable one skilled in der the retort R12, and which extends from said grate .to the chimney that rises in close proximity to re' up about half, or to the middle of the connecting-pipes g are situated in dillerent levels, and consequently the products of condensation derived from the several bends will 'ne5 of diierent specific gravity, since the 'water in the condenser is coolest at the bottom and 'hottest on top. *By tapping said serpentine pipe at ence, as the products of distillation drawn from it at different levels can be readily distinguished according to their specific gravity.

The heavier oil, which has a higher boiling point, is condensed in the upper bends, where the water is hottest, and can he drawn oil through the tap and cock g', while tliedight oils are drawn oi at the tailpipe d. The specitic gravity of the oil drawn from said't-ail-pipe can be regulated by drawing more or less of the heavy oil through the trap and cock g; and, if desired, by an additional supply of cold water to the condenser the quantity of light oils condensing in the serpentine pipe can be increased.

If a heavy oil is required at the tail-pipe d the cock g must be cheeked or closed and the heavy oil allowed to pass onto the tail-pipe d, and the supply of cold water must be checked, so as to allow a greater portionof the light oilvof the distillate to pass over into the second condenser D, which connects with the Elst condenser C by the pipe h. These light oils and heavy naphtha are again separated during their passage through the second con-v denser, which is furnished with a serpentine pipe, D' trap and cock e, and tail-pipe t'.

` By regulating the supply of cold water the light oil and naphtha of a density under 68C are drawn of( at the trap and cock e and collected in a separate receiver, whence it is pumped up into the tank B for future use, while the gasoline' or light naphtha is received at the tailpipe t and collected in a separate receiver,

and the uncondensable gases pass od by the gas-pipe j.

The lower part of the firstv condenser O helowthe trap g may be considered as a refrigerator to thoroughly cool the distillate.

The light oils and nnphtha coLlected in the tank B, as previously stated, may be run' back to the retort B," through the pipe f, and the vapors lising therefrom, by being mixed with the heavy vapors contained inthe last retorts, produce a distillate of the desired specific gravity.

The heavy products, such as tar and pitch, remain ing in the retort R, are passed into one of the retorts R or R, which are placed separate from but contiguous to the first series, set lengthwise over a separate fire-place, and divided by a partition-wall, so that they can be used alternately. They are set alittle lower than the rst series, so as -to allow a fall for the tar and pitch to pass through the connecting-pipe my,

which isprovided with suitable branch pipes and cocks, so that either-of the retortsR or R can be brought in communication withl the retort B".

The object of having two or more additional retorts is to enablepthe operator teclea-n out the coke from one retort while the other 'is working without stopping the-process.

By-rnean's-of this apparatus all the available constituents 'of orudepetroleumare saved, and the percentage of burning-oil obtained is considerably larger lthan that obtained by ordinary distilling apparatus.

Furthermore, by our apparatus the distilling -process can bc carried on without interruption, and its operation requires a comparatively small expenditure of fuel.

It is obvious that this apparatus may be used for distilling other liquids besides petroleum, such as coaloil and other mixtures having diierent boiling points.

, Vlhat we claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, isy l 1. The process of continuous distillation, the same consisting in causing the oil to flow through. a series of retorts alranged over an arch or flue, so that the oil enters at the colder portion of the series and leaves at the hottest portion, as set forth.

2. One or more tar-stills so connected with an oill still or stills that the heavyresidue may be removed without interrupting the distillation, as set forth.

3. A series of stills, arranged horizontally over `an arch or flue, and connected together, sohthat oil enter ing the still furthest removed from the tire is gradually heated as it flows from one still to another and the vapors driven off, as set forth. v

4. A series of stills in which the oil is4 vaporized as it flows through them, in combination with one or more tar-stills, as set forth.

This specification signed by us this 11th day of April, 1871. f

v A. H. TAIT.

i JOSEPHWV. AVIS.

Witnesses:-

W. HA'UFF, JNO. D. Parras.

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