Improvements in the Distillation of Hydrocarbon and other Oils.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 28th Apr., 1890
Complete Specification Left, 24th Jan., 1891-Accepted, 7th Mar., 1891
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Distillation of Hydrocarbon and other Oils.
I, CARL MARLA PIELSTICKER, of Suffolk House, Cannon Street, in the City of
London, and County of Middlesex, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention to be as follows:
My invention relates to improvements in the distillation of hydrocarbon (and other
oils) by means of which not only the operation of distillation is conducted in a con-
tinuous manner but also a lighter oil of one uniform gravity is obtained as the
product of such distillation than the heavier gravity of the raw material subjected
to distillation.
According to Letters Patent granted to me in Great Britain under number 1706
and dated April 10th 1882 the hydrocarbon oil was forced under pressure by means
of a force.pump, or otherwise, into a coil open at the other end, in which the oil was
heated to its distilling point, the heated oil entering from the coil into a heated
retort in which it vaporised and again condensed in a cooler connected with the
retort.
In employing this apparatus it was found that it was difficult to so regulate the
temperature of the coil that all the oil at once assumed vapour form on entering the
retort, while at other times the coil became so superheated that a portion of the oil
became converted into permanent gas.
In this my improved apparatus this difficulty is avoided by maintaining the coil
at a uniform temperature and by keeping the heated oil inside the coil under a
certain regulated pressure before it can enter the retort in which it becomes
volatilized.
My improved apparatus is constructed in the following manner-
The oil to be distilled is contained in a tank, in which it is heated by means of a
steam coil. From this tank the oil is forced by means of a pump, or by means of a
steam injector, or otherwise, into a coil made of iron and placed in a heating furnace.
The coil is contained in an iron cylinder, which latter is filled with a metal or a
salt of known melting point, so that the coil and the oil passing through the latter
can assume the same temperature as the bath of molten metal or salt surrounding
the coil. In preference I make use of a coil which consists of a number of iron
pipes, say ten feet long and one inch (more or less) in diameter, the ends of which
are open, and the whole of the pipes cast into a solid block of iron. The ends of
the pipes are closed by means of an iron cover, which is provided with channels, so
that the pipes form one continuous coil which cover can be easily removed and the
pipes be occasionally cleared of the carbon deposited inside from the heated oil, by
simply forcing an iron rod through the length of each pipe forming the coil.
This construction of the heating coil is a matter of great importance, since it is
impossible to clear an ordinary coil of the requisite length from any solid matter
adhering inside.
Between the force pump and the heating coil I place a pressure gauge to indicate
the pressure prevailing in the coil, and a valve to prevent any pressure resulting
from the heated oil inside the coil to act directly on the force pump.
An expansion joint is provided between this valve and the coil to allow for any
expansion of the latter when heated. The other end of the coil leads directly into
a retort placed in a furnace which retort is provided with a cooler, or condensor.
Between the lower end of the coil and the retort I place a pyrometer, to indicate the
temperature of the heated oil and further a valve which is weighted to lift auto-
matically and which then connects the coil with the retort, when the requisite

page_text: pressure resulting from the high temperature of the oil equal to its distilling point
inside the coil is reached.
When this valve is thus lifted the contents of the coil are ejected automatically
in the liquid state into the heated retort, in such a ratio as to distil over just as fast
as they are injected. A steam jet inside the retort may assist in drawing the
vapours more quickly into the condensor.
When it is intended to produce still lighter gravity oils or even permanent gas,
for the production of which the temperature of the coil and retort has to be kept
higher and the distillation inside the retort conducted more slowly or retarded by
means of baffle plates fitted inside the retort, a second self lifting valve might be
placed between the outlet of the retort and the condensor.
Dated this 28th day of Anvil 1800
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Distillation of Hydrocarbon and other Oils.
I, CARL MARIA PIELSTICKER, of Suffolk House, Cannon Street, in the City of
London, Engineer, 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:—
My invention relates to improvements in the distillation of hydrocarbon (and other
oils) by means of which not only the operation of distillation is conducted in a con-
tinuous manner but also a lighter oil of one uniform gravity is obtained as the
product of such distillation than the heavier gravity of the raw material subjected to
distillation.
According to Letters Patent granted to me in Great Britain under No. 1706
and dated April 10th 1882 the hydrocarbon oil was forced under pressure by means
of a force pump, or otherwise, into a coil open at the other end, in which the oil was
heated to its distilling point, the heated oil entering from the coil into a heated
retort in which it vaporised and again condensed in a cooler, connected with the
retort.
In employing this apparatus it was found that it was difficult to so regulate the
temperature of the coil that all the oil at once assumed vapour form on entering the
retort, while at other times the coil became so superheated that a portion of the oil
became converted into permanent gas.
The oil to be distilled was contained in a tank, in which it was heated by means
of a steam coil. From this tank the oil was forced by means of a pump, or by means
of a steam injector, or otherwise, into a coil made of iron and placed in a heating
furnace. The coil was contained in an iron cylinder, which latter was filled with a
metal or a salt of known melting point, so that the coil and the oil passing through
the latter could assume the same temperature as the bath of molten metal or salt
surrounding the coil.
On the accompanying drawings
Figure being an elevation showing general arrangement of oil tank, pump, and
heating coil.
Figure 2 an elevation showing the arrangement of a retort and condenser.
It will be seen that I now make use of a coil A which is formed, of a number of
iron pipes, say ten feet long and say an inch and a half more or less, in diameter,
the ends of which are open and the whole of the pipes embedded or inserted into a
solid block of iron or refractory material B provided with longitudinal channels,
through their entire length into which the pipes fit.
The ends of the pipes are closed by means of an iron cover C which is provided
with channels E so that the pipes A. form one continuous coil. In this case the
cover C can be easily removed and the pipes be occasionally cleared of the carbon
deposited inside from the heated oil; by simply forcing an iron rod through the
length of each pipe forming the coil.

page_text: This construction of the heating coil is a matter of great importance, since it is
impossible to clear an ordinary coil of the requisite length from any carbon adhering
inside. Moreover the coil being loosely inserted into the block of iron or of
refractory material B the whole length of the coil is permitted free expansion and
the joints are in consequence kept tight.
I have found that by passing the oil through the coil with great velocity I in a
great measure prevent the deposition of carbon or heavy matter which would
soon choke up the coil. I now find it preferable to attain this object by graduating
the diameter of the pipes A forming the coil, for instance if the entire length of the
coil is two hundred feet, I construct the first fifty feet of two inch pipes, the second
fifty feet of one and a half inch pipes and the last hundred feet of one inch pipes. I
may however decrease the diameter of the coil only towards or at the inlet D into
the retort.
I may provide an expansion joint between the pump and the coil to allow for any
expansion of the latter when heated. The other end of the coil leads directly into
a retort placed in a furnace which retort is provided with a cooler or condenser. A
steam jet inside the retort may assist in drawing the vapours more quickly into the
condenser.
When it is intended to produce still lighter gravity oils or even permanent gas.
for the production of which the temperature of the coil and the retort has to be kept
higher and the distillation inside the retort conducted more slowly or retarded by
means of battle plates fitted inside the retort, a valve G may be placed between the
outlet of the retort and the condenser as shown in Figure 3.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. In apparatus for the continuous distillation of hydrocarbon and other oils and
liquids a heating coil consisting of a series of pipes A encased or embedded in a
block or blocks of cast-iron or refractory material B, the ends of the pipes being
closed and connected by removable covers C having channels or bends E substan-
tially as hereinbefore described and illustrated Figures 1 and 2 of the drawing.
2. In apparatus for the continuous distillation of hydrocarbon and other oils and
liquids constructed as hereinbefore described and claimed, the goose neck F con-
necting the retort with the condenser provided with the valve G for retarding the
flow of gas or vapour from the one to the other substantially as described and
illustrated Figure 3 of the drawing.
Dated this Twenty-fourth day of January 1891.