Improved Process and Apparatus for Gasifying Petroleum and other Hydrocarbons.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 28th Nov., 1899-Accepted, 20th Jan., 1900
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improved Process and Apparatus for Gasifying Petroleum and other
Hydrocarbons.
A communication from CHARLES DE HAUPT, Rue de la Sablonniere, Brussels,
in the Kingdom of Belgium, Exchange Agent.
I, ALFRED JULIUS BOULT, of 111, Hatton Garden, in the City of London,
Chartered Patent Agent, 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 present invention relates to a process, and apparatus to be used for the
application of the process, for converting petroleum and other hydrocarbons
into gas capable of acting as a motive force or for lighting, heating, metallurgical
and like purposes. This new process differs essentially from all similar pro-
cesses at present employed in that in these processes air has always been more
or less completely saturated with vapours of hydrocarbons for the purpose of
producing carburetted air, while in the present process the hydrocarbon is trans-
formed into gas and not into vapour; moreover this chemical transformation
allows also the recovery of bye-products. This new process consists mainly in
circulating a mixture, in suitable proportions, of superheated steam and finely
divided or vapourised hydrocarbon, in a suitable conduit heated by any source
of heat to a temperature of sufficient intensity to bring about the decomposition
of the steam into hydrogen and oxygen. When bearing in mind that hydro-
carbons in general, and especially petroleum, as well as the residues obtained
by refining the latter, are almost exclusively composed of hydrogen and
carbon, it will be easily understood that under the influence of the
high temperature produced in the conduit the carbon of the hydrocarbon will
burn with the oxygen from the steam, the latter acting as the agent of combus-
tion, thereby forming oxide of carbon which will then be mixed with the hydrogen
resulting partly from the decomposition of the steam and partly from that of the
hydrocarbon. There is thus obtained a gas composed principally of oxide of
carbon and of hydrogen, the caloric value of which is therefore very high.
In order to cool and purify this gas and also to extract the secondary products
which are held in it in suspension it will be sufficient to cause the gases to pass
through any suitable apparatus, as are at present in use and employed for the
same purpose, in purifying lighting gas, water gas, oil gas and the like.
The partial combustion of the carbon, which results in the formation of oxide
of carbon, produces a certain amount of heat, which added to the exterior heat
facilitates the decomposition of the water.
This amount of interior heat may be still further increased by introducing
into the heated conduit, at the same time that the mixture of steam and hydro-
carbon is admitted, a certain quantity of air, which will allow of burning com-
pletely a part of the carbon thereby forming carbonic acid gas, which, with the

page_text: nitrogen of the air becomes mixed with the combustible gas made of oxide of
carbon and hydrogen.
By increasing thus the inner heat it is possible to reduce the outer heat, and
consequently to reduce the wear-and-tear of the apparatus.
In the accompanying drawing is represented, by way of example, the construc-
tion of such a gasifier.
:
The gasifier represented in the drawing is specially suitable for motors, and
consists essentially of a conduit a in the form of a serpentine tube (or any other
suitable form may be employed), in which the gasification is effected and which
therefore constitutes the gasifier, a second serpentine tube b representing only a
generator of steam of any suitable form, which may be completely independent
of the serpentine a. The serpentines a and b are enclosed within a common
casing, intended to concentrate the heat generated by the burner 7.
During the suction period of the motor the water arrives in a liquid state
through the conduit j, and passes through a nozzle or injector device m of very
small cross section, the opening of which is regulated by means of screw i, the
water finally arriving in a state of very fine sub-division in the serpentine b
where it is vaporized.
The steam produced in the serpentine 6 passes through a tube c into the
petroleum conduit d, thereby vaporizing a great portion of it.
The mixture of steam and petroleum and vapours of petroleum thus formed
passes through the injector device e of very small cross section, where the heavy
oils of petroleum which have not been vaporized are finely divided, since the
vapours draw in, as occasion arises, a certain quantity of air through the orifice f,
the section of which can be modified by means of a set screw g.
The mixture arrives finally in the serpentine a and owing to the very high
temperature of the latter the chemical transformation indicated above is effected.
The gas thus produced passes throug the tube h to the purifying apparatus and
to the motor. When it is required to store up the gas in a gasometer or reservoir
of any description the steam should be preferably produced under pressure by
means of a generator independent of the gasifier and provided with a steam
reservoir.
The steam of the generator by passing into an injector similar to those used
in locomotives sucks up and carries with it in the well known manner, the
petroleum and, if necessary, a certain quantity of air into the gasifier.
The steam generator may be of any desired kind and the gasifier may be of
any suitable shape or form, as for instance, of straight tubes similar to those
used in boilers and connected by means of collars. It is also advantageous in
order to be able to store up in the gasifier the greatest possible degree of heat,
while at the same time reducing the amount of wear-and-tear to cover the tubes
inside and outside with some refractory material.
The lamp represented in the drawing is specially suitable for motors, and
may be supplied either with petroleum or with the gas produced, or may be
replaced by any other suitable heating device.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention as communicated to me by my foreign correspondent and in what
manner the same is to be performed declare that what I claim is:-
1. Gasifying petroleum and other hydrocarbons by circulating a mixture of
superheated steam and finely divided or vaporized hydrocarbon in suitable pro-
portions in a conduit suitably heated by any source of heat to a temperature
sufficiently high to produce decomposition of the steam, the oxygen of which
combines with the carbon of the hydrocarbon so as to form an oxide of carbon
which becomes mixed with the hydrocarbon evolved by the process, substantially
as described.
2. In a gasification process for petroleum and other hydrocarbons as specified
in Claim 1, the introduction into a mixture of steam and vaporized or finely

page_text: divided hydrocarbon of a supply of air for the purpose of producing a partial
combustion intended to increase the tmperature of the mixture during its passage
through the heated conduit, substantially as described.
3. Apparatus for the gasification of petroleum and other hydrocarbons com-
prising two serpentines or other tubes, one serving as a steam generator, and
the other as a gasifier, the gasifier tube being provided with a hydrocarbon
feeding tube provided with an injector device, an air-inlet and a regulating
screw for the purpose of either completely closing or regulating the opening of said
air-inlet, and the steam generator tube being provided with a water feeding tube
provided with an injector device and a regulating screw for regulating the open-
ing in the said device, the generator tube communicating with the tube through
which the hydrocarbon passes to the gasifier the end of the latter tube forming
a conduit, for the gas produced, to the cooling, purifying or like apparatus.
4. Apparatus for gasifying petroleum or other hydrocarbon substantially as
described or illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
Dated this 28th day of November 1899
BOULT, WADE & KILBURN,
Agents for the Applicant.