Abstract:
Method and device (FIG. 1) for conditioning of hydrocarbon fluids before their fractioning by means of mechanical vibrations comprise the supply of fluid into the space (1) of the rotating working wheel (2), discharge of fluid into the circular chamber (4), formed by the working wheel and the stator (7) through a series of outlet openings (8), and outflow of fluid. During this, preferred empirical relationships are observed: 
     
       R=1.1614 K (mm), 
     
     
       ΔR=1.1614 B (mm) 
     
     and 
     
       n=3.8396 K.sup.-1.5 *10.sup.6 (r.p.m.), 
     
     where 
     R is the radius of the peripheral cylindrical surface of the working wheel, 
     ΔR is the radial size of the circular chamber, 
     n is the frequency of the working wheel rotation, 
     K is the number of the outlet openings of the working wheel, 
     B is the integer in the range of 1 through K/5.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application is a U.S. national application corresponding to PCT application number PCT/RU/00071 having a priority date of Apr. 18, 1995. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention has to do with the technology for preparing hydrocarbon liquids for their further processing. More immediately, the invention has to do with a method and a device for preliminary conditioning of hydrocarbon liquids before their subsequent fractionating, produced by means of processing them with the aid of mechanical effects. The term &#34;conditioning&#34; as used herein refers to the imparting to the raw material physical properties that are favorable with a view to its further processing. 
     From the current state of technology we are broadly familiar with the methods of preliminarily conditioning a hydrocarbon liquid raw material prior to its fractionating, produced by means of processing it with the aid of mechanical effects, specifically, by means of preliminary filtration from undesirable impurities. Such processing facilitates the process of subsequent fractionating, but has no effect on the physical properties of the initial hydrocarbon raw material or semi-finished product and on the outcome of the intermediate or final fractions. 
     Also well-known at the current level of technology is a method of processing a liquid by means of mechanical vibrations (International Patent Registration No. PCT/RU92/00194 of 1992), that involves the injection of the liquid to be processed into the cavity of a revolving rotating wheel; the expulsion of the liquid from the cavity of the rotating wheel through a series of outlet apertures on its peripheral cylindrical surface; the injection of the liquid into a cavity of the stator through at least one inlet aperture in the concentric surface of the stator lying as close as possible to the peripheral cylindrical surface of the rotating wheel; during which there occur periodic abrupt interruptions in the flows of the liquid emanating from the outlet apertures of the rotating wheel, that serve to activate or stimulate mechanical vibrations in the liquid in the sonic or ultrasonic range. 
     The device for implementing the described method for processing a liquid contains a rotor, including a shaft located in the bearings; a rotating wheel that is connected to the shaft and made in the form of a disk with a peripheral annular wall having cylindrical exterior and interior surfaces in which are located a series of outlet apertures for passing the liquid, which outlet apertures are uniformly arranged along the periphery; a stator in which the rotating wheel revolves or spins and that has an inlet aperture for feeding in the liquid and an outlet aperture for expelling the liquid, and two concentric walls that from both sides come as close as possible to the peripheral annular wall of the rotating wheel; in both concentric walls of the stator are located at least one aperture for the passing of the liquid, which aperture is lying on a plane with the positioning of the series of apertures of the rotating wheel. 
     As applied to hydrocarbon liquids the method and apparatus for processing the liquids described above has no effect on their physical properties, with the exception of a certain heating thereof, nor on the intermediate or final products of the subsequent fractionating. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The goal of the present invention is to solve the problem of creating a method for conditioning hydrocarbon liquids prior to their subsequent fractionating and a device for accomplishing such conditioning that would make it possible to affect the physical properties of the hydrocarbon liquid in such a way as to increase the output of light products of fractionating. 
     This problem is solved according to the invention by processing the liquid with the aid of the mechanical effects on it of a process of swirling motion. This process of swirling motion has a specifically defined linear velocity on a specifically defined radius of revolution, and with the superimposition of a process of vibrations having a specifically defined frequency. 
     For this method of conditioning a liquid in the basic working embodiment of the invention, the liquid that is to be subject to processing is fed into the cavity of a revolving wheel; the liquid undergoing processing is expelled from the cavity of the rotating wheel into the annular chamber that is formed by its peripheral cylindrical surface and the concentric surface of the stator, through a series of outlet apertures that are located on the peripheral cylindrical surface of the rotating wheel and that are uniformly distributed along the periphery; the liquid is expelled from the annular chamber through at least one outlet aperture. As this takes place, the radius R of the peripheral cylindrical surface of the rotating wheel and the frequency or rate of its revolutions n is determined by the number K of outlet apertures chosen for the rotating wheel in a range corresponding to the empirical relationships 
     
         R=(1.05 . . . 1.28) K (mm) 
    
     and 
     
         n=(3.6 . . . 4.1) K.sup.-1.5 ×10.sup.6 (revs./min). 
    
     Beyond the bounds of the indicated range of parameters, the achieved result of the conditioning of the liquid, as has been demonstrated experimentally, is expressed with inadequate precision. 
     In the most preferred implementation of a method for conditioning a liquid, the radius R and the rate of revolution n of the rotating wheel are defined unambiguously [i.e., identically defined-Tr.] by the selected number K of its outlet apertures, according to the empirical relationships 
     
         R=1.1614 K (mm) 
    
     and 
     
         n=3.8396 K.sup.-1.5 ×10.sup.6 (revs./min.). 
    
     In another preferred implementation of a method for conditioning a liquid, the expulsion of the processed liquid from the annular chamber that is formed by the peripheral cylindrical surface of the rotating wheel and the concentric surface of the stator, is accomplished through a series of outlet apertures that are located on the concentric surface of the stator and which, during the revolution of the wheel, systematically position themselves against the outlet apertures of the rotating wheel. 
     In the basic embodiment of a method for conditioning a hydrocarbon liquid using the indicated ranges for selecting parameters, as has been demonstrated experimentally, an effect upon the physical properties of the liquid is in principle achieved that, during its subsequent fractionating, the output of the most valuable low-boiling fractions is significantly increased, indeed to such a degree that it is permissible to speak of a sufficiently efficient and practical application. This effect may be explained--without pretending to an exhaustive analysis of the internal physical processes involved, by the destructive transformation of the internal links of the liquid at the molecular level as a result of the periodic effects actuated in essence in mechanical fashion on the liquid at precisely defined critical frequencies, and their harmonics. In the most preferred working embodiment of a method for conditioning a liquid by selecting the indicated unambiguous values for the parameters, which have been determined experimentally, the effect of a favorable predisposition of the hydrocarbon liquid to its subsequent fractionating appears even more markedly. The other preferred working embodiment of a method for conditioning a liquid makes it possible to improve the achieved effect. This improvement is owing to the combined effect on the liquid of the vibrations occurring, first, during its expulsion through the outlet apertures of the rotating wheel into the annular chamber, and then subsequently during its expulsion from the annular chamber through the outlet apertures and onto the concentric surface of the stator. 
     A method for conditioning hydrocarbon liquids in accord with the invention may be effected only with the aid of the device described hereinafter. This device constitutes an integral part of the whole inventor&#39;s plan and is not designed to be used for any other purposes. 
     The device for conditioning of a liquid in the basic working embodiment contains a rotor, including a shaft located in the bearings; at least one rotating wheel that is linked with the shaft and made in the form of a disk with a peripheral annular wall having a cylindrical exterior surface in which are arranged a series of outlet apertures for the liquid, which apertures are uniformly distributed along the periphery; a stator in which to spin the rotating wheel and which has an inlet aperture for supplying the liquid and an outlet aperture for expelling the liquid; a cavity for the liquid undergoing processing that is formed from the disk and the peripheral annular wall of the rotating wheel and the wall of the stator with an inlet aperture adjacent to it; an annular chamber for processing the liquid which is constrained in its radial direction by the peripheral annular wall of the rotating wheel and the concentric wall of the stator and connected up to the outlet aperture for expelling the liquid; in which case, the characteristic geometrical dimensions of the rotating wheel and of the annular chamber come to: 
     
         R=(1.05 . . . 1.28) K (mm), 
    
     where 
     K--is the selected number of outlet apertures of the rotating wheel, 
     R--is the radius of the cylindrical exterior surface of the peripheral annular wall of the rotating wheel, and 
     
         ΔR=(1.05 . . . 1.28) B (mm), 
    
     where 
     B--is the selected integer in the range of 1 . . . K/2, 
     ΔR--is the radial dimension of the annular chamber. 
     In the most preferred working embodiment of the device for conditioning a liquid, the radius R and the dimension ΔR amount to correspondingly: 
     
         R=1.1614 K (mm), 
    
     
         ΔR=1.1614 B (mm), 
    
     where 
     B--is the selected integer in the range of 1 . . . K/5. 
     In the other preferred working embodiment of the device for conditioning a liquid, the stator has a cavity that is adjacent to its concentric wall for receiving the liquid from the annular chamber, which latter is connected up with the outlet aperture for expelling the liquid; in which case, the cavity of the stator is connected with the annular chamber by outlet apertures that are located on the concentric wall of the stator on a plane with the positioning of the outlet apertures of the rotating wheel and that are uniformly distributed along the periphery; the number of outlet apertures of the annular chamber is represented by 1 . . . K. 
     Other peculiarities of the invention become evident from the more detailed descriptions of examples of it that follow hereinafter. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The invention is explained in greater detail below by the practical examples resulting from it that are illustrated schematically by drawings, in which are presented: 
     FIG. 1--a longitudinal axial section of the device for the processing of a liquid using the basic and most preferred working embodiment; 
     FIGS. 2, 4--a partial cross section of the annular chamber; 
     FIG. 3--a longitudinal axial section of the device for processing the liquid in one of the preferred working embodiments. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     In accord with the basic working embodiment (FIGS. 1,2) of the method for conditioning a hydrocarbon liquid with the aid of mechanical effects, the liquid to be subject to processing is fed into the cavity 1 of the revolving rotating wheel 2 through an inlet aperture 3. While the rotating wheel 2 is revolving, the liquid undergoing processing is expelled from its cavity 1 into the annular chamber 4 that is formed by the peripheral cylindrical surface 5 of the rotating wheel 2 and of the concentric surface 6 of the stator 7, through a series of outlet apertures 8, that are arranged on the peripheral cylindrical surface 5 of the rotating wheel 2 and that are uniformly distributed along the periphery. Within the boundaries of the annular chamber 4, the liquid undergoing processing--while continuing to swirl around relative to the central axis 9 according to the law of free flows--is subject to the effect of mechanical vibrations conditioned by the interaction of the elementary streams of liquid flowing out of each outlet aperture 8 of the rotating wheel 2 with the concentric surface 6 of the stator 7. The processed liquid is expelled out of the annular chamber 4 through the outlet aperture 10. 
     The radius R of the peripheral cylindrical surface 5 and the rate of revolution n of the rotating wheel 2 are determined by the selection of the number K of the outlet apertures 8 of the rotating wheel 2 in a range in accord with the empirical relationships: 
     
         R=(1.05 . . . 1.28) K (mm), 
    
     
         n=(3.6 . . . 4.1) K.sup.-1.5 ×10.sup.6 (revs./min). 
    
     In accord with the most preferred method for conditioning a liquid, the radius R and the rate of revolution n of the rotating wheel 2 are unambiguously defined by the number K of outlet apertures 8 selected for the rotating wheel 2, in accordance with the empirical relation: 
     
         R=1.1614 K (mm), 
    
     
         n=3.8396 K.sup.-1.5 ×10.sup.6 (revs./min.). 
    
     In accord with another preferred working embodiment (FIGS. 3,4) of a method for conditioning a liquid, the expulsion of the liquid undergoing processing from the annular chamber 4 that is formed from the peripheral cylindrical surface 5 of the rotating wheel 2 and the concentric surface 6 of the stator 7, is accomplished by one, several or a whole series of outlet apertures 11 on the concentric surface 6 of the stator 7. These outlet apertures 11 of the annular chamber 4 during the revolutions of the rotating wheel 2 systematically position themselves against the corresponding outlet apertures 8 of the rotating wheel 2, [thereby] stimulating periodic perturbation of the stream and corresponding mechanical vibrations in the liquid. The liquid, proceeding through the outlet apertures 11 of the annular chamber 4, arrives in the cavity 12 of the stator 7, from whence the processed liquid is expelled through the outlet aperture 13. 
     The number of outlet apertures 11 of the annular chamber 4 is selected from a range of from one to K. However, it must be borne in mind in this case that, all other conditions remaining the same, an increase in the number of outlet apertures 11, while it adequately increases the volumetric output of the process, also lowers the effectiveness of the conditioning of the liquid, in terms of a solution of the problem offered by the invention. 
     In accord with the basic working embodiment (FIGS. 1,2) of the device for bringing about the described method of conditioning a liquid, it contains a rotor 14, which includes a shaft 15 located in the bearings 16 and 17 and equipped with a gasket 18. The rotor 14 contains at least one rotating wheel 2 connected with the shaft 15 and made in the form of a disk 19 with a peripheral annular wall 20, which annular wall has a cylindrical external surface 5. In this wall 20 are located a series of outlet apertures 8 for the liquid, uniformly distributed along the periphery. 
     The stator 7, in which the rotating wheel 2 revolves, has an inlet aperture 3 for supplying the liquid for processing and an outlet aperture 10 for expelling the processed liquid. A cavity 1 for receiving the liquid to undergo processing is formed by the disk 19 and the annular wall 20 of the rotating wheel 2 and the wall 21 of the stator 7 that is adjacent to it and has the inlet aperture 3. The annular chamber 4 for receiving the liquid undergoing processing is constrained in a radial direction by the annular wall 20 of the rotating wheel 2 and the concentric wall 22 of the stator 7 and connected up to the outlet aperture 10 for expelling the processed liquid. 
     The characteristic geometrical dimensions of the rotating wheel 2 and of the annular chamber 4 come to: 
     
         R=(1.05 . . . 1.28) K (mm), 
    
     
         ΔR=(1.05 . . . 1.28) B (mm), 
    
     where 
     K--is the number of outlet apertures selected for the rotating wheel, and 
     R--is the radius of the cylindrical exterior surface of the peripheral annular wall of the rotating wheel, 
     B--is the integer selected in the range of 1 . . . K/2, and 
     ΔR--is the radial dimension of the annular chamber. 
     In the most preferred working embodiment (FIGS. 1,2) of the device for conditioning a liquid, the nominal size of the radius R unequivocally comes to 
     
         R=1.1614 K (mm), 
    
     Whereas the nominal radial dimension ΔR comes to 
     
         ΔR=1.1614 B (mm), 
    
     where 
     B--is the integer selected in the range of 1 . . . K/5. 
     In accord with another preferred working embodiment (FIGS. 3,4) of the device for conditioning a liquid, the stator 7 has a cavity 12 adjacent to its concentric wall 22 for receiving the liquid from the annular chamber 4 and it is connected up with an outlet aperture 13 for expelling the processed liquid. The cavity 12 of the stator 7 is connected to the annular chamber 4 by outlet apertures 11 for expelling the liquid from the annular chamber 4 and simultaneously for its injection into cavity 12, which outlet apertures are located in the concentric wall 22 of the stator 7. These outlet apertures 11 are located on a plane with the positioning of the series of outlet apertures 8 of the rotating wheel 2 and uniformly distributed along the periphery. The number of apertures 11 amounts to from one to K, although their number beyond K is not useful given the marked decrease, all other things being equal, of the intensity of the vibrating process [which results]. 
     The rotor 14 is connected by means of the shaft 15 and the coupling or socket 23 with the means for driving it at a designated rate of revolution, for example, with an electric motor 24. 
     The rotor may contain several rotating wheels located on one shaft which are systematically interconnected downstream in the liquid. Each rotating wheel may be equipped with blades. 
     A by-pass passageway with a shut-off regulating element, for both internal and external use, may be envisaged for the return injection or re-supply of a part of the processed liquid from the outlet of the device back to its inlet, so as to repeat the processing. 
     The device as a whole may take up any spatial location. 
     The number K of outlet apertures 8 of the rotating wheel 2 is selected depending upon the desired rate of required vibrations to be activated in the liquid within the sonic range, which is determined by the empirical relation 
     
         F=63.993 K.sup.-0.5 (kHz), 
    
     based on the already achieved and expedient geometrical dimensions of the device as a whole. 
     The size of the parameter B is selected within the range indicated earlier. This range is dependent upon the physical nature of liquid that is to be subject to processing in a given instance, especially upon its viscosity and the character of the changes it undergoes under heat, based on the admissible or tolerable geometrical dimensions of the device as a whole. 
     The number of outlet apertures 11 for expelling the liquid from the annular chamber 4 is selected depending upon the desired ratio of the volume of output to the acceptable degree of conditioning. 
     The width of the outlet apertures 8 of the rotating wheel 2 in the circumferential direction to its peripheral surface 5 preferably amount to one half of its circumferential pitch on the periphery of the radius R. The width of the outlet apertures 11 of the annular chamber 4 in the circumferential direction to its concentric surface 6, irrespective of their number, preferably should not exceed the width of the outlet apertures 8. The preferred unique form of apertures 8 and 11, drawn in a direction parallel to the central axis 9, is such as illustrated in the drawings of FIGS. 1 and 3. 
     The device for conditioning a liquid in accord with the invention operates in the following fashion: 
     In the basic and most preferred working embodiment of the device (FIGS. 1,2) the liquid to be processed is fed through an inlet aperture 3 into cavity 1 of the rotating wheel 2 in the direction as indicated by the arrow. The rotor 14 along with the rotating wheel 2 is made to revolve with the aid of an electric motor 24 via a coupling or socket 23 and a shaft 15 at a designated rate of revolution n. At the same time, the liquid that is coming into the cavity 1 of the rotating wheel 2 is expelled under pressure from the cavity 1 through a series of outlet apertures 8 in the peripheral annular wall 20 of the rotating wheel 2, arriving thereby into the annular chamber 4, that is constrained by the annular wall 20 of the rotating wheel 2 and by the concentric wall 22 of the stator 7. From the annular chamber 4 the processed liquid is discharged for further processing by fractionating through outlet aperture 10 in the direction shown by the arrow. 
     In another preferred working embodiment (FIGS. 3,4), the device operates similarly to that described above, with this exception that the liquid undergoing processing exits from the annular chamber 4 into the cavity 12 of the stator 7 through outlet apertures 11 in the concentric wall 22 of the stator 7. From cavity 12 the processed liquid is discharged from cavity 12 for additional processing with the aim of fractionating through an outlet aperture 13 in the direction indicated by the arrow. 
     The concrete examples of practical implementations of the corresponding invention of a method for conditioning a liquid and a device for its implementation are presented in (Tables 1 and 2) below. In this case, the relative increase of output of light products (gasoline, kerosene, diesel fuel) during fractionating of the source or underlying hydrocarbon liquid is seen to depend upon the effectiveness of the conditioning. In the examples cited, the effectiveness of the conditioning is determined by means of the conversion into underlying hydrogenous raw materials (crude oil) of additional withdrawals of light fractions from the fuel oil that are subject to distillation after conditioning, and produced in accordance with the invention. 
     
                       TABLE 1______________________________________Embodiments implemented in accord with FIGS. 1, 2.Liquid undergoing processing - fuel oil.Name              Symbol  Scale     Quantity______________________________________Number of outlet apertures on             K       Pieces    120the rotating wheelRadius of the peripheral cylindrical                   R        mm        140.0surface of the rotating wheel                             inches                                  5.512Radial size of the annular chamber                    ΔR                         mm           9.3                             inches                                  0.366Frequency of revolution of the                 n       revolutions/                               2920rotating wheel                  min.Frequency of mechanical vibrations                     F                            kHz                                     5.840Supplied energy                  Megajoules  E                               46.8Output during open circulation                            kg/min.                                 64.0Effectiveness of the conditioning                         %             1.3during open circulationOutput when the circulation is                       kg/min..1                                 32.0closed by 50%Effectiveness of the conditioning                 --      %             2.5when the circulation is closed by 50%______________________________________ 
    
     
                       TABLE 2______________________________________Embodiments implemented in accord with FIGS. 3, 4.Liquid undergoing processing - fuel oil.Name              Symbol  Scale     Quantity______________________________________Number of outlet apertures on             K       Pieces    192the rotating wheelRadius of the peripheral cylindrical              R             mm           223.0surface of the rotating wheel                             inches                                     8.780Radial size of the annular chamber                ΔR                        mm               41.8                             inches                                     1.646Frequency of revolution of the                    n                            revolutions/                                 1440rotating wheel                    min.Frequency of mechanical vibrations                F           kHz                                        4.620Number of outlet apertures in the                 K.sub.I                       pieces        128annular chamberSupplied energy                  Megajoules                                  64.8Output during open circulation                    G                            kg/min.                                     102.8Effectiveness of conditioning                     --                         %                 1.15during open circulationOutput when the circulation is                    G.sub.I                       kg/min.       51.4closed by 50%Effectiveness of conditioning when                --       %                 2.30the circulation is closed by 50%______________________________________ 
    
     INDUSTRIAL APPLICATION 
     The sphere of industrial applicability of the invention includes the chemical, oil refining and other branches of industry connected with the processing of hydrocarbon liquids--as underlying raw materials, as well as semi-finished reprocessed products with the aim of conditioning them before subsequent fractionating. In particular, crude oil before distillation, fuel oil before repeated distillation or cracking, gas oil before catalytic cracking, solvent naptha [ligroin] before reforming, and the like, and also artificial hydrocarbon liquids before their corresponding fractionation may be subject to preliminary conditioning in accord with the invention. An integration of the corresponding process in accord with the invention is possible for the conventional technological purposes of fractionating under conditions of efficient combination with operations of pumping or transfer of the hydrocarbon liquids among technological items/sites. 
     Bringing the rotating wheel to revolve may be accomplished either by motors(electrical, hydraulic, wind-powered, mechanical, etc.) specially designed for such purposes, or by rotating parts of means of transportation for conveying hydrocarbon liquids.