A New or Improved Method of and Apparatus for Distilling Liquid Hydrocarbons.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 1st Aug., 1891
Complete Specification Left, 6th Nov., 1891-Accepted, 12th Dec., 1891
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
A New or Improved Method of and Apparatus for Distilling Liquid
Hydrocarbons.
We, PAUL DVORKOVITZ, of 98 Queen's Road, Finsbury Park, in the County
of Middlesex, Chemist, THE KEROSENE COMPANY, LIMITED, of 3 Crown.
Court, Old Broad Street, and THE TANK STORAGE AND CARRIAGE COMPANY,
LIMITED, of 26 Great Saint Helens, both in the City of London, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
Our invention relates firstly to a method of distilling liquid hydro-carbons and
secondly to apparatus for carrying the said method into effect. By the employment
of our invention certain advantages are obtained.
The main principle involved in that part of our invention which relates to the
method lies in making the process continuous in such manner that no condensation
of the hydrocarbon vapours takes place until they reach the condensers appropriated
to the purpose, or the passages leading to them, the said vapours being passed from
the retorts, hereinafter to be mentioned, to the condensers as rapidly as possible the
high temperature being maintained.
In so far as that part of our invention which relates to the apparatus is
concerned, the main point of novelty lies in the employment of a double set of oil
superheaters a double set of retorts and a double set of condensers together with.
a steam superheater and a device or devices for intimately mixing the oil (and or
oil vapours) and steam in the said retorts all acting as hereinafter to be described
and for the purpose specified.
In carrying our invention into effect we pass crude petroleum or other liquid
hydrocarbon from a tank or other source of material to an oil super heater, of any
convenient construction, in which the oil is heated to a high temperature. From
this superheater (hereinafter for the purpose of distinction termed the oil super-
heater) we pass the heated oil to a retort and deliver it into the said retort
(hereinafter termed the oil retort) preferably by means of a perforated pipe. Here
the oil is met by superheated steam passing say from perforations in a pipe or
pipes connected with a suitable steam superheater the temperature of the said
steam being higher than that of the oil which it encounters. The oil is now split
into two portions one consisting of oil vapour and the other of the tar and other
precipitated matters. The mixed oil vapours and steam now pass through a dome
or pipe of large sectional area and are carried to a condenser, called the first
condenser, where the usual treatment may be adopted.
The precipitated matter in the oil retort, hereinafter called the tar, we now pass
to a second oil superheater either direct or through a condenser and or receiving
tank. We then pass the tar from the said tar superheater to a retort termed the
tar retort in which it encounters superheated steam as before which will carry the
vaporised part of the oil with it to a second condenser as was the vaporised part
in the oil retort. The precipitated matter in the tar retort is collected or removed
in any convenient manner.
The perforated oil and steam pipes referred to constitute a convenient device for
intimately mixing the steam and the oil and or oil vapours in the retorts.
Dated thin 1
TL1001
.
PAUL DVORKOVITZ.
THE KEROSENE COMPANY (LIMITED).
THE TANK STORAGE & CARRIAGE COMPANY (LIMITED).
Frederick Lane,.
Direcs of both Companies.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
A New or Improved Method of and Apparatus for Distilling Liquid
Hydrocarbons.
We PAUL DVORKOVITZ, of 98 Queen's Road, Finsbury Park, in the County
of Middlesex, Chemist, THE KEROSENE COMPANY, LIMITED, of 3 Crown
Court, Old Broad Street, and THE TANK STORAGE AND CARRIAGE COMPANY,
LIMITED, of 26 Great Saint Helens, both in the City of London, 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:
This invention relates firstly to a method of distilling liquid hydrocarbons, and
secondly to apparatus for carrying the said method into effect. By the employment
of this invention certain advantages are obtained.
The main principle involved in that part of this invention which relates to the
method, lies in making the process continuous in such manner that no condensation
of the hydrocarbon vapours takes place until they reach the condensers appropriated
to the purpose or the passages leading to them, the said vapours being passed from
the retorts, hereinafter to be mentioned, to the condensers as rapidly as possible,
the high temperature being maintained.
In so far as that part of this invention which relates to the apparatus is concerned,
the main point of novelty lies in the employment of a double set of oil super-
heaters, a double set of retorts and a double set of condensers, together with a
steam superheater and a device or devices for intimately mixing the oil (and or oil
vapours) and steam in the said retorts all acting as hereinafter to be described and
for the purpose specified.
In carrying the invention into effect crude petroleum or other liquid hydro-
carbon is passed from a tank or other source of material to an oil superheater of
any convenient construction in which the oil is heated to a high temperature.
From this superheater (hereinafter for the purpose of distinction termed the oil
superheater) the heated oil is passed to a retort and delivered into the said retort
(hereinafter termed the oil retort) preferably by means of a perforated pipe. Here
the oil is met by superheated steam passing, say, from perforations in a pipe or
pipes connected with a suitable steam superheater, the temperature of the said
steam being higher than that of the oil which it encounters. The oil is now split
into two portions, one consisting of oil vapour and the other of the tar and or
other precipitated matters. The mixed oil vapours and steam now pass through a
dome or pipe of large sectional area and are carried to a condenser, called the first
condenser, where the usual treatment may be adopted.
The precipitated matter in the oil retort, hereinafter called the light tar, is now
passed to a second oil superheater either direct or through a condenser and or
receiving tank, and thence to a retort, termed the tar retort, in which it encounters
superheated steam as before which will carry the vaporised part of the oil (light
tar) with it to a second condenser as was the vaporised part in the oil retort. The
precipitated matter in the tar retort is collected or removed in any convenient
manner.
The perforated oil and steam pipes referred to constitute a convenient device for
intimately mixing the steam and the oil and or oil vapours in the retorts which
latter are heated to aid in preventing condensation of the said vapours from taking
place.
Having described this invention in general terms so as to define its scope, it will
now be described in detail, and for that purpose reference will be made to the
figures in the accompanying drawing which illustrate one form of apparatus, the
said form being one which has been found to give good results in practising the new
or improved method with oils of a specific gravity of, say, 900 to 960 degrees.
"J

page_text: In the said drawing, Figure 1 is a plan of the apparatus, Figure 2 a side view
of the oil superheater and retort, and Figure 3 a cross section of the said retort.
A is the reservoir of material, say crude petroleum oil. In this reservoir is a coil
of pipe X, through which passes the hot tar from the oil retort, so that the contents
5 of A are heated to a certain extent before leaving the reservoir, thus effecting a
saving of energy. a is a pipe for conducting the crude oil from A to the pump a',
whence the oil passes by the pipe a² to the oil superheater B. This superheater
may be of any convenient known type, and it heats the oil to a high temperature,
say about 600 or 700 degrees Fahrenheit. From the oil superheater B the oil
passes by the pipe b to the perforated pipe 6 in the oil retort C (the temperature
in which is, say, 700 degrees Fahrenheit), where, on issuing from the perforations,
it meets the superheated steam as herein described. D is a boiler or steam
generator serving to produce steam and supply the same through the pipe d to the
steam superheater E. From E the superheated steam issues by the pipe e
bifurcating into the two pipes el and e², of which e¹ leads to the oil retort C in
which it divides into three perforated pipes e³, e, e. From the perforations in
these pipes the steam issues to meet the oil or oil vapours issuing from the
perforations in the pipe b¹, the steam being at a higher temperature than the oil or
oil vapour and splitting it into the two parts herein before referred to. Of these
two parts the precipitated matter, herein termed the light tar, passes to the bottom
of the retort C, and the oil vapours are carried by the steam quickly and without
condensation to the first condenser F through conductors of large sectional area,
in this case through the short domes c, c', and pipes c², c³. In F the vapours are
condensed and treated or collected in any of the usual known
ways.
,
The light tar which collects at the bottom of the oil retort C is conducted by
the pipe through the coil X (where it is partially cooled by transference of a
part of its heat to the crude oil in A) to the tar reservoir G. From G the light
tar is conducted through. the pipe g and pump g¹ to the tar superheater H. From H
the superheated tar, now raised to a temperature of, say, 700 or 800 degrees
Fahrenheit, passes by pipe h to a perforated pipe ¹ in the tar retort J (the
temperature in which is, say, 800 degrees Fahrenheit), the said pipe h¹ corre-
sponding with the pipe in the oil retort C. On issuing from the perforations of
the said pipe it encounters steam passing from E by e, e², and perforated pipes e, e,
corresponding with the perforated steam pipes e³, e, es, in the oil retort C. In the
e8,
said tar retort the steam acts upon the light tar in the same way as it did upon the
oil in the oil retort, splitting it into two parts. The oil vapours are carried by the
steam from the tar retort through the short domes j and j', and pipes and j³ to
the second condenser K, where they are condensed and collected and treated in any
of the usual known ways. The precipitated matter, herein called the heavy tar, is
run off from J to the heavy tar receptacle L by the pipe. Cocks are inserted
n the pipes and j³, at or close to the points at which they issue from their
respective retorts.
In the cases where oils of a lower specific gravity than those just mentioned are.
lealt with, a lower temperature is employed throughout, and generally it is
ecessary to employ temperatures of a higher or a lower degree according as the
ils are heavier or lighter. Thus if crude petroleum of, say, 850 to 900 degrees
pecific gravity is dealt with, the oil in the oil superheater is heated to, say,
00 degrees Fahrenheit, the steam in the steam superheater to, say, 500 degrees
ahrenheit, and the light tar in the tar superheater to, say, 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
n such a case a temperature of, say, 500 degrees is maintained in the oil retort and
f, say, 550 degrees in the tar retort.
It will be noticed from Figure 1 that the steam superheater is placed between
e oil and the light tar superheaters. The object of this is in heating the three
perheaters by one furnace to obtain the steam of a higher temperature than the
I and light tar, the steam superheater being over the hottest part of the furnace,
ad the tar superheater at a part hotter than the part at which the oil
perheater is.

page_text: When it is desired to obtain fractional distillations, so as to grade the products,
any of the usual known devices for obtaining such grading are used in the place of
the short domes as shown in the figures.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what
we claim is :=
.
1st. The new or improved method of distilling liquid hydrocarbons substantially
as set forth.
2nd. The new or improved apparatus for distilling liquid hydrocarbons sub-
stantially as set forth.
3rd. The method of preventing condensation in the retorts substantially as set
forth.
4th. In apparatus for distilling liquid hydrocarbons the combination of a double
set of oil superheaters a double set of retorts and a double set of condensers
together with a steam superheater and a device or devices for intimately mixing the
steam and oil or oil vapours in the retorts substantially as and for the purpose
set forth.
.
5th. The combination of a heated retort and perforated oil (or light tar) and
steam pipes, the said pipes being arranged in the said heated retort, for the
purpose of producing intimate admixture without condensation, substantially as
set forth.
Dated this 5th dov of November 1801
doy of November 1801
day
J. G. LORRAIN, M. Inst. E. E., M. Inst. M. E.,
Norfolk House, Norfolk Street, London, W.C.,
Applicants' Patent Agent.