US1868737A - Process of destructively distilling bitumen - Google Patents

Description

July 26, 1932. EGLQFF 1,868,737

PROCESS 0F DESTRUCTIVELY DISTILLING BITUMEN Original Filed Dec. 50, 1925 6 I Wr mess: flab;

Patented July 26, 1932 UNITED- STATES PATENTOFFICE GUSTAV EGLOFF, or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR T UnivmsAL on. r aonm's'rs COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION or sou'rn DAKOTA rnoonss or DESTRUCTIVELY'DISTILLINGBITUMEN' I Application filed December 3o, 1925, Serial No. 78,296. Renewed April 24, 1928.

.This invention refers to a process of destructively' distilling bitumen, and refers more particularly to such materials as bituminous or anthracite coal, natural asphalt,

shales or the like.-

The object of the invention is to first dissolve out of the bituminous material as much as feasible of its hydrocarbon constituents, and then subject such constituents to crackm ing conditions of temperature and pressure.

In order to moreclearly understand the present invention,'I have shown the accompanying drawing, which is asomewhat diagrammatic side elevational view, partly in vertical section, and with parts broken away. Referring to the drawing, 1 designates a furnace in which is-mounted the coil 2. To the'inlet side of-the coil 2 is connected 9. feed line 3 leading to feed pump 4 connected to any suitable source of raw oil supply. The

delivery side ofthe-coil is connected to transfer line 5 having throttle valve 6 to .a chamber 7 which may in a sense he called a dissolving chamber, which chamber 7 may be mounted in a suitable furnace 8 provided with manholes 9 and 10, in which may be inserted the coal or other bituminous material. The upper end of the chamber 7 is connected by delivery line 11 having throttle valve 12 to a reaction chamber 13, which reaction chamber 13, may if desired, be mounted in a suitable furnace 14, whereby it may be externally heated. The chamber 13 is provided with suitable manholes 15 and 16, liquid drawofi pipes 17 controlled by suitable throttle valves 18, and also at its upper end with a vapor outlet pipe 19 having throttle valve 20, which pipe leads to a dephlegmator 21. The upper part of the dephlegmator is connected by vapor outlet pipe 22 having throttle valve 23 to water condenser 24, and thence to pipe 25 having throttle valve 26, to the top of receiver 27. This receiver 27 is provided with liquid drawoif pipe 28 having throttle valve 29, gas outlet pipe 30 having throttle valve 31.

The lower end of the dephlegmator is provided with a drawoif pipe 33 for the reflux condensate, which pipe has throttle valve 34, and is provided with' the branch having throttle valve 36, and 37 having throttle valve 38. ,The'branch 37 leads to storage or elsewhere,- while the branch 35 is connected to-thehot oil pump 39 provided with by-pass 40 and the valves 41, 42 and 43 as shown.

If desired, the fresh charging stock instead of being directed from the-pump 4 to the feed line 3- may be-in' whole ,or in part,

diverted through. the line fl havingthrottlevalve 45, the :upp'er.v part .of which "line 44:

delivers the oil into the dephlegmator 21 as shown. I

The process, may be earned out as follows:

The chambers .7 and 13 may be charged with bituminous material, as for example, bituminous coal or the .othermaterials heretofore referred to, and if desired, may be heated to a temperature of say 900 F., more or less. The oil is fed through the coil either directly, or in-whole or in part through the dephlegmator in the manner heretofore described, and may be heated 'to a temperature of say-850 F., more or less, and subjected to a pressure of say 800 pounds. The oil in this highly heated condition, passesto the dissolving chamber 7 where the oil comes lnto intimate contact with the hydrocarbonaceous constituents of the bitumen, and this petroleum oil preferably in a more or less liquid condition, together with the dissolved out bituminous .material and such part of the bituminous material as may be distilled out in the form of vapors, passes through the pipe 11 to the reaction chamber 13. Here by suitably controlling the valve 12, the pressure may be reduced to say 200 pounds, and such pressure maintained through the balance of the system to and including. the receiver.

The oil and vapors in the reaction chamber 13 may be maintained at a temperature of say 850 to 900 F., where further destructive distillation of the petroleum oil and the hydrocarbonaceous materials from the bitumen takes place. The vapors generated in the chamber 13 pass out into the dephlegmator where the insufficiently cracked portions thereof are condensed, and either drawn out where they may be separately cracked, or

:myself 'to those temperatures-and otherwise collected, or they may be returned through the line 35 back to the coil 2 for further cracking.

The pressure distillate collected in the receiver will be a mixture of products from the cracked petroleum oil, and fromthe cracked carbonaceous constituents" distilled and cracked out of the bituminous materials, .Thecracked distillate colle ted inthe receiver will containmore or less nitrogen and phenolic compounds obtained'from the dehydrocarbonastructive distillation ofsuch ceous constituents of the bitumen.

The temperatures and pressurescited, are

illustrative merely, and I do not wish to limit pressure,

as they mayvary-widely. l

I claim as-iny invention i 1. A process for distilling bitumen, consisting in subjecting'vpetroleum oil to cracking conditions of temperature and pressure, passing the oil so trea'ted ltoia chamber containing bituminous -=material, causing the heated oil to come into intimate contact with such bituminous material so as to-dissolve out l and distill ofi'f hydrocarbonaceous= constituents ofsai'dzbituminous material, passing the petroleum and the material so dissolved and I distilledout, a reactionachamber:wherethe mixture is subjected to cracking =conditions,

removing the vapors generated rtherefrom, and condensing and collecting them, and maintaining asu'peratmosphericpressure on the material in the first mentioned chamber, and a lower pressureon the mixture of oil and hydrocarbonaceous constituents in said reaction-chamber.

2. A'process for producing acracked low boilingipoint distillate from hydrocarbon liquids and solids, comprising maintaining 'a lnass of hydrocarbon solids in an enlarged zoneundercrackingconditionsoftemperature and pressure,separately heatinghydrocarbon liquids to acracking temperature under a superatmospheric pressure and introducing such heated hydrocarbon liquids, while at a cracking temperature, to said mass of hydrocarbon solids, to dissolve substantial quantities of the carbonaceous constituents therefrom, passing the liquid hydrocarbon oil and the carbonaceous constituents dissolved from ture and pressure, separately heating hydrocarbon liquids to a cracking temperature under a superatmospheric pressure and introducing such heated hydrocarbon liquids, while at a cracking temperature, to said mass of hydrocarbonsolids, to dissolve substantial quantities of the carbonaceous constituents therefrom, passing the liquid hydrocarbon oil and the carbonaceous constituents dissolved from such hydrocarbon solids in said enlarged zone, while in a 'commingled state, ,toa zone maintained under alower pressure than the pressureinaintained in said enlarged zone, wherein substantial vaporization of the hydrocarbon 011 and carbonaceous --constituents is effected, subjecting such va- --pors to reflux condensation, to condense therefrom those fractions having 'a boiling point higher "than the boiling point of the desired product, uniting thereflux conden-' sate separated "from the vapors -with the hydrocarbon liquids bein'g separately subjected to -cracking conditions of temperature and pressure, to supply a substantial portio'n of such hydrocarbonzliq id 4. A Process for-producingcracked low -boiling distil-late from hydrocarbon liquids and solids comprisingmaintaining a mass of hydrocarbon solids in an -enlarged zone under cracking conditions of "temperature and pressure," heating hydrocarbon liquids to -a cracking temperature"extraneous 'of-said =enlarged zone, and introducing the heated hydrocarbon liquids while at a-cracking temperature into the mass-of hydrocarbon solids in said enlarged zone :Whereby hydrocarbons are removed from saidsolids, passing prodmoved from said solids-from said enlarged ucts -of reaction including hydrocarbons rezone through a'zone of'reaction maintained under cracking conditions of temperature 'and pressure whereby conversion of said product is effected, and removing vapors from said zone of reaction and inrecovering therefrom those constituents having the desired boiling point. 5. A process of producing low boilingdis- *tillates from hydrocarbon oils and solids which comprises raising the hydrocarbon oil to cracking temperature,-bringing the heated hydrocarbon oil constituents while at cracksolids by said heated hydrocarbon oil coning temperature into direct contact with said solids under conditions permitting dissolution of hydrocarbon constituents from said stituents, passing the resultant mixture of 'into a reaction zone maintained under crack- 'ing conditions of temperature and pressure hydrocarbon oil constituents and hydrocarbon constituents removed from said solids and wherein conversion of saidmixture is effected, removing vapors from said zone and subjecting the same to condensation.

6. A process for treating hydrocarbon oil and solid bituminous material which comrises introducing solid material to an en- .arged zone, separately heating the oil to cracking temperature under superatmospheric pressure, then discharging the thus heated oil while at cracking temperature into intimate contact with the solid material in said enlarged zone, maintaining the contents of said enlarged zone at crackin temperature and under superatmospheric pressure whereby hydrocarbons are separated from the solid material by means of the heated oil, removing said separated hydrocarbons from the enlarged zone in admixture with the heated oil constituents and introducing the mixture to a second zone, maintaining said second zone at cracking temperature and effecting cracking of the mixture therein, and removing the cracked mixture from said second zone and recovering the same as the product of the process.

7. A process as defined in claim 6 further characterized in that the mixture removed from said enlarged zone contains liquid hydrocarbons and in that said second zone is maintained under a sufficiently lower pressure than said enlarged zone to effect substanlt)ial vaporization of such liquid hydrocarons.

8. A process for treating hydrocarbon liquid and solid bituminous material which comprises introducing the solid material to an enlarged zone, separately heating the liquid to cracking temperature under a superatmospheric pressure adequate to retain a substantial portion thereof in liquid phase, then discharging the thus heated liquid, while at cracking temperature and while a substantial portion thereof is still in liquid condition, into intimate contact with the solid material in said enlarged zone, maintaining said enlarged zone under conditions of temperature and superatmos-pheric pressure adequate to cause the heated liquid to dissolve hydrocarbon constituents out of the solid material, removing the resultant solution from said enlarged zone and introducing the same to a second zone maintained under a sufliciently lower pressure than said enlarged zone to effect substantial vaporization of the solution therein, and removing and condensing the vapors from said second zone.

9. A process for treating hydrocarbon liquid and solid bituminous material which comrises introducing the solid material to an enarged zone separately heating the liquid to cracking temperature under a superatmospheric pressure adequate to retain a substantial portion thereof in liquid phase, then discharging the thus heated liquid, while at cracking temperature and while a substantial portion thereof is still in liquid condition, into intimate contact with the solid material in said enlarged zone, maintaining said enlarged zone under conditions of temperature and superatmospheric pressure adequate to GUSTAV EGLOFF.

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