US1911026A - Apparatus for generating power, gas, and liquid hydrocarbons - Google Patents

Description

May 23, 1933. 5 LUCKE 1,911,026

APPARATUS F01? GENERATING POWER, GAS AND LIQUID HYDROCARBONS Filed Sept. 20, 1927 Fig! a I Z 2 4;

40 Qmzvmais 1 32 4f 2 I I I 7 fml a a INVENTOR ATTORN EY! Patented May 23, 1933 UNITED. STATES ?ATENT OFFICE CHARLES E. L'UOKE, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO THE BAIBGOCKeu WILC'OX COMPANY, OF BAYONNE, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY APPARATUSFOR GENERATING POWER, GAS, AND LIQUID HYDROCABBO'NS Application filed September 20, 1927. Serial No. 220,670.

,This invention relates to apparatus by which illuminating gas may be produced from coal and steam also generated, which may be used for the purpose of generating electric power or for other purposes. By this invention, the proportion of gas to steam that is generated from coal can be varied to suit the demand. The invention is especially applicable to'pulverized coal, but is not restricted to this sort of coal. The invention will be understood from the description in connection with the accompanying drawing in which Fig. 1 is a side view partly in section through an arrangement of apparatus for carrying out the invention, Fig. 2 is a similar view showing a modification, and Fig. 3 is a section along the line 33 of Fig. 1.

In the drawing, reference character 4 indicates a furnace of a boiler that may be provided with water wall tubes 5 connected to the circulation system of the boiler. A boiler 6 of the Babcock & Wilcox type is shown located above the furnace 5, and the outlet for waste gases is indicated at 7. lit is to be understood that boilers of other types may be used, however.

A coal bin 9 in which a supply of pulverized coal may be stored is provided with a valved discharge outlet 10, through whicha regulated quantity of coal can be fed to a hopper 11, from which the coal enters the feeder 12 by which the coal is introduced into the carbonizing or gasifying chamber 13, such as the McIntyre retort or other well known type ,of heater in which stirring can take place. This chamber is provided with stirrers 14 mounted upon a central shaft 15 that is driven by means of the motor 16. Air manifolds 17 are provided along the sides of the chamber 13. These manifolds may be supplied with air from any convenient source, and branch pipes .18 lead therefrom to the fuel burners 21 for the cylinder. Gas manifolds 19 are provided along the sides of the cylinder 13 from which branch pipes 20 lead to the fuel burners 21. When coal that can be coked is used it should be stirred while it is being heated to keep it pulverized as explained in the patent to Rodman #1,433,039.

A discharge conduit 22 is provided at the rear end of the chamber 13 and a weighted valve 23 at the lower end thereof permits the discharge of material into a heat exchange device 24 that is provided with staggered baflles 25, over which the material passes slowly downwardly into the valved pipe 26 that leads to the receptacle 27. A screw conveyor 28,-driven by the motor 29, discharges fuel from the receptacle 27 into the fuel burner 30 at the front of the furnace 4.. A branch conduit 32, provided with a' valve 33, leads directly from the bin 9 to the receptacle 27.

A discharge pipe 35 for volatile matter leads from the upper side of the end of the chamber 13 opposite the conduit 22 into an densates and uncondensed gases is provided at the lower portion of the condenser 36, and a tar trap 41 with a valved discharge outlet 42 is provided on the lower side of the pipe 40. A pipe 43 for uncondensed gases leads from the upper side of the pipe 40 to an exhauster or fan 44, from which a pipe 45 leads to the lower portion of the heat exchanger 24 and apipe 46 leads from the upper portion of this heat exchanger into the condenser 36.

In the modification shown in Fi 2, a pipe 50 is provided below the conduit 2 and divides into two valved branches one of which 52 leads directly to the burner 30, and the other 51 through a cooler to a storage bin.

The operation is as follows: The coal,

which is preferably pulverized, is discharged from the bin 9 into the hopper 11, and thence passes through the feeding device 12 into the chamber 13, where sufiicient heat is applied to distil the volatile while it is being stirred.

By stirring or agitating the coal while it is being carbonized, the coke itself is produced in powdered form without forming lumps and flows through the outlet conduit 22 and cooler 24 into the receptaele 27, from which The tubes 37 70 it ,is fed by means of the feeder 28 into the furnace 4, where it undergoes combustion, the hot products therefrom passing over the boiler heating surfaces and then out through the outlet 7.

At the same time, volatile products from the coal evolved by heating the coal while it is in the carbonizing chamber 13, pass out through the pipe 35 and over the tubes'37 of the condenser 36, where valuable liquid products are condensed and discharged through the pipe 40, together with uncondensed gases, and the liquids and gases are separated from each other and sent to places of storage or use. The tar products that settle in the tar trap 41 are withdrawn from time to time through the pipe 42. A portion of the cooled uncondensed gases pass through the pipe 43, pump 44, pipe 45 and upwardly through the cooler 24 for the pulverized solid material in contact with the descending coke, thus cooling the coke and heating the 'gas which passes through the pipe 46 and again over the outside surfaces of the tubes 37 of the condenser 36.

Air entering the upper ends of the tubes 37 cools the same to cause the condensation of condensates in the condenser, while at the same time the air itself becomes heated and passes from the pipe 39 into the furnace 4 as combustion air, returning to the boiler furnace all the sensible heat of .coke and volatile from the carbonizing chamber 13. Where the return of this heat is not important, other condenser or coke cooler arrangements may be used and water may be used in the condenser.

When there is a large demand for power from the steam as compared tothe demand for as, a corresponding amount of raw fuel can e by-passed from the bin 9 through the pipe 32 directly into the receptacle 27 without being subjected to the heat treatment by which gas would have been produced, so that the proportion of gas made from the coal to the amount of steam generated therefrom, can be varied from the maximum amount of gas that can be distilled off from the coal in the coking cylinder 13 to zero amount of gas when all of the coal is introduced directly into the receptacle 27 from the bin 9. At a time when the demand for gas is zero, none be fed directly to the furnace 4 without being cooled while the remainder is passed through the heat exchange device 24.

With some coals, especially those that do not tend to become sticky when'heated to distil the volatile constituents, the stirring in the heating chamber may be unnecessary and any non-stirring form of heater may be sub-. stituted.

I claim:

A retort adapted for carbonization of coal, an air heater having an air heating chamber and a second chamber in heat exchange relation therewith, an air inlet for said air heating chamber, a conduit communicating said retort with said second chamber, -a gas outlet for said second chamber, a heat exchange chamber, a duct for conveying solid matter from said retort to said heat exchange chamber, a duct for conveying a fluid from said gas outlet to said heat exchange chamber, a duct for conveying a fluid from said heat exchange chamber to said conduit, a combustion chamber, a duct for conveying solid matter from said heat exchange chamber to said combustion chamber, and a duct for conveying air from said air heating chamber to said combustion chamber.

CLAUDE E. LUCKE.

of the coal would be coked and variations in as domestic fuel.

In the modification Showiiin' Fig. 2, any proportion of the coke that 'is produced can cenrmcarn 0F CORRECTION. 3

' Fatent No. 1 %L026. May 23, 1933.

CHARm E, LUGKE.

it is hereby certified that error vappears in the printed specification of the above numbered patent requiring correction as iollows: Page 2, line 94. for "Claude E. Lucite" read "Charles E. Lucke"; and that the said Letters Patent should he read with this correction therein that the same may conform to the record of the casein the Patent Office.

Signed and sealed this 8th day of August, A'. D. 1933.

7 M. J. Moore.

(Seal) 4 Acting Commissioner of Patents.

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