Improvements in and Apparatus for the Treatment of Liquid Hydrocarbons, and the Production therefrom of Gas and Valuable Bye-products.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of App ication, 5th Dec., 1894
Complete Specification Left, 7th Mar., 18-5-Accepted, 23th Sept., 1895
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION..
Improvements in and Apparatus for the Treatment of Liquid
Hydrocarbons, and the Production therefrom of Gas and
Valuable Bye-products.
I PAUL DVORKOVITZ of Devonshire Chambers 16 Bishopsgate Street Without
in the City of London Chemist do hereby declare the nature of this invention to
be as follows:-
The object of my invention is to provide efficient means whereby gas, and
valuable bye-products, can be obtained from petroleum, or other liquid hydro-
carbons, in such a manner that practically all, or a very large percentage of, the
liquid hydrocarbon constituents, are obtained in the form partly of gas, and in
considerable part in the form of new, and valuable, liquid bye-products which are
of a novel character, consisting in considerable part of unsaturated hydrocarbons
of hitherto unknown series, and containing also benzole, toluol, xylol, and the
like.
According to my invention the liquid hydrocarbon is subjected to a gradual rise
of temperature which should not exceed about 1000° C. or a dull red heat. This
can be effected by arranging a series of retorts in reversely inclined positions, so
that they slope alternately in opposite directions, the lower end of each of the
retorts above communicating with the upper end of the retort beneath it, the series
of retorts being heated by a furnace in such a way that the lowermost retort is
subjected to a temperature of, or about 1000° C. and the uppermost retort is heated
to a temperature of, say not much more than 300° C. at the most; the retorts in
the series being subjected to a gradually increasing temperature from the highest
to the lowest. The oil may be fed directly into the uppermost retort, but it is
preferably fed first into pipes which may be set in the brickwork, or placed above
the bighest retort, so as to be heated by the otherwise waste heat, so that in passing
The oil
through these pipes the oil is preheated before it enters the upper retort.
thus admitted to the retorts is gradually vapourised and partly gasified and the
vapours oil and gas pass down through the upper retort and into the next, and
therethrough into the next again, and so on through the series, and they leave the
last retort after being vapourised, and gasified, the pipe by which they leave the
said last retort dipping into a catch-box for the heavier condensed matter, a rising
pipe opening from this box and conveying the vapours and gas to a pipe which
conducts them to the condensers and apparatus where the aforesaid new bye-
products are mostly deposited, the permanent gas passing to a gasometer, or place
of utilization, or storage. The bye-products so obtained are very suitable for
enriching ordinary coal gas, but they can be used for the manufacture of aniline
dyes, or for other purposes to which they are or may be, applicable.
By conducting the process as described no, or but little, carbon will be formed.
in the retorts.
Dated this 5th day of December 1894.
JOHNSONS & WILLCOX,
47 Lincoln's Inn Fields, Agents

page_text: Improvements in and Apparatus for the Treatment of Liquid
Hydrocarbons, and the Production therefrom of Gas and
Valuable Bye-products.
1, PAUL DVORKOVITZ, of Devonshire Chambers, 16 Bishopsgate Street
Without, in the City of London Chemist, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
The object of my invention is to provide efficient means whereby gas, and
valuable bye-products, can be obtained from petroleum, or other liquid hydro-
carbons in such a manner that practically all, or a very large percentage of,
the liquid hydrocarbon constituents, are obtained in the form partly of gas and
in considerable part in the form of valuable, liquid bye-products which are in part
of a novel character, consisting of unsaturated hydrocarbons of hitherto unknown
series and containing also benzole, toluol, xylol and the like.
According to my invention the liquid hydrocarbon is subjected to a gradual
rise of temperature which should not exceed about 1000° C., or a dull red heat.
This can be effected by arranging a series of retorts so that liquid will flow down
through them.
For this purpose they are preferably placed in reversely inclined
positions, so that they slope alternately in opposite directions, the lower end of
each of the retorts above communicating with the upper end of the retort
beneath it, the series of retorts being heated by a furnace in such a way that the
lowermost retort is subjected to a temperature of, or about, 1000° C. and the
uppermost retort is heated to a temperature of, say, not much more than 300° C.
at the most (bit it may be lower for example as low as 150° F. or lower) the
retorts in the series being subjected to a temperature gradually increasing from the
highest to the lowest. The oil may be fed directly into the uppermost retort but
it is preferably fed first into pipes which may be set in the brickwork or placed
above the highest retort, so as to be heated by the otherwise waste heat, so that in
passing through these pipes the oil is preheated before it enters the upper retort.
The oil thus admitted to the retorts is gradually vapourized and partly rasified and
the oil and vapours and gas pass down through the upper retort and into the next,
and therethrough into the next again, and so on through the series and the
products leave the last retort after being vapourized, and gasified the pipe by
which they leave the said last retort being the only outlet from the retort al
dipping into thelon or the heavier condensed matter, a rising pipe opening
from this ex and conveying the vajours and gas to a pipe which conducts them to
the condensers and apparatus where the atoresaid new and other bye-products are
mostly deposited the permanent gas passing to a gasometer, or place of utilization,
or storage. The bye products, so obtained, are very suitable for enriching ordinary
coal gas, but they can be used for the manufacture of aniline dyes, or for other
purposes to which they are, or may be applicable.
By conducting the process as described no, or but little, carbon will be formed
in the retorts.
The accompanying drawings represent apparatus suited for carrying out the
treatment of petroleum or other liquid hydrocarbon according to my invention.
Figure 1 is a front elevation, Fig. 2 a longitudinal section and Figure 3 a
transverse section shewing three tiers of retorts but less or more can also be used
as desired.
The retorts A are shewn as being in inversely inclined positions (although
as the object of the arrangement is to allow the oil to flow down through
them they may even be horizontal). The lower end of each retort communicates

page_text: with the retort next beneath it by the pipes a.
The said retorts A are contained
in a chamber connected with a furnace B the said chamber being arranged with
Hues or passages so that the heated products from the furnace B pass upwards
and in their passage act upon the exteriors of the retorts in such manner that the
lower retorts are heated to a greater degree than are the upper retorts the
temperature gradually increasing from the upper retort to the lower one in
the manner herein before stated. The retorts are preferably of considerable width
and small depth in transverse section as shewn in Figure 3.
C are pipes which are contained in the upper part of the chamber above the
retorts or in a flue leading from the said chamber the said pipes conducting the
petroleum or other liquid hydrocarbon to be treated into the inlet therefor in
the uppermost retort. The oil and the vapours and gas generated then pass down
through the series of retorts (in each tier as this description applies to each tier
whether one or more be used) and the final products pass out through the pipe d
dipping into the catch box e which receives any heavy condensed matter a rising
pipe conveying the products to the condensers and apparatus where the
unsaturated hydrocarbons which are a principal product of the process are mostly
deposited the permanent gas passing to a gasometer or place of utilization or
storage.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed declare that what I
claim is
1. The treatment of petroleum or other liquid hydrocarbon, by passing it
through an arrangement of zig-zag retorts connected together so as to form a
continuous passage with its exterior exposed to heat throughout its length, and
having an inlet for the liquid hydrocarbon at top, and an outlet only at bottom for
the products of the treatment, the retorts being maintained at, or about, the
temperature herein before stated, so that there are produced gas, and liquid bye
products of the character hereinbefore stated, with but a small amount of pitch,
but with no coke, all substantially as herein before described.
2. The production of liquid unsaturated hydrocarbons of the character herein-
before stated and suitable for use in the manufacture of aniline dyes, for enriching
lighting and heating gas, or for other purposes, the said unsaturated hydrocarbons
being produced by treating petroleum or other liquid hydrocarbon in retorts
arranged as herein before described, and subjected to, or about the temperatures
herein before stated.
3. The arrangement and combination of parts constituting the apparatus
herein before described and shewn in the accompanying drawings for treating
liquid hydrocarbons as and for the purposes herein before described, and whether
one tier, or several tiers, of such retorts be used in the arrangement.
Dated this 7th day of March 1895.
JOHNSONS & WILLCOX,
Agents.