Chemistry: electrical and wave energy – Processes and products – Electrostatic field or electrical discharge
Patent
1984-10-18
1986-01-28
Niebling, John F.
Chemistry: electrical and wave energy
Processes and products
Electrostatic field or electrical discharge
204170, 204171, 204172, 204173, 48 65, C25C 324
Patent
active
045669619
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
It is known to use the energy produced by an electric arc (allowing temperatures from 3000.degree. to 10,000.degree. K. and more to be obtained) in order to favour chemical reactions which are difficult to carry out at ordinary temperatures. French Pat. No. 1 561 404 discloses a process for cracking liquid hydrocarbons in a electric arc. This process is carried out with electrodes immersed in the liquid and requires an apparatus for rapidly rotating an electrode relative to a fixed electrode.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,384,467 discloses the conversion of coal using an electric arc furnace. There is no disclosure relevant to the conversion of liquid products.
The process produces mainly hydrogen with some methane and acetylene. Reaction products may be recycled through a passage in the cathode. There is no disclosure of feeding in a gas which does not consist mainly of hydrogen or of injecting coal particles in finely divided form into the arc. The coal particles are fed into the arc as a layer by means of a screw conveyor.
German Pat. No. DE-A-26 39 807 discloses a hydrocarbon conversion process using an electric arc within a distillation column. Lubricating oil is treated with a gas containing hydrogen to give products of lower boiling point. The specification states that the energy of the arc causes splitting of molecular hydrogen into active hydrogen and of hydrocarbons to radicals which then combine in the vicinity of the arc to form new hydrogen rich compounds. No details are given of the construction of the apparatus nor is anything said which suggests that the manner of introducing the hydrocarbon and the hydrogen into the arc is important.
DE No. 369 367 again discloses the reaction of hydrocarbons and hydrogen in a electric arc. The arc is maintained under water and no details are given of the manner of operating the process.
CH No. 132 904 discloses the combination of hydrogen with hydrocarbons by splitting of hydrogen into atomic hydrogen in an electric arc. The hydrocarbon is passed together with hydrogen into the arc. The preferred process is a discontinuous process in which hydrogen is first introduced and dissociated and then hydrocarbon vapour is introduced. Such a discontinuous process is not commercially practical.
The conventional treatment of crude petroleum uses various different conversion processes enabling light hydrocarbons such as fuel oil, gas oil and gasoline to be obtained. In each process a distinction can be made between those which utilise the action of temperature (thermal processes) such as thermal reforming, thermal cracking, and steam cracking, and catalytic processes such as catalytic cracking which can be carried out in a fluidised bed or hydrocracking carried out in the presence of hydrogen.
All these currently used processes do not allow high conversions to light saturated hydrocarbons, liquid at ambient temperature, to be obtained directly. They give rise to heavy residues often with a high metal content. They are not adapted to treating products very rich in carbon such as coal or heavy petroleum residues.
Furthermore, catalytic processes are very sensitive to impurities such as metals, sulphur or nitrogen and require significant purification or hydrocracking treatments or require complex operations of regenerating the catalyst and/or burning of coke in fluidised bed catalytic cracking apparatus.
According to the process of the present invention the process for the electric arc conversion of carbonaceous materials to lower molecular weight products is characterised in that a feed containing a substantial proportion of a C.sub.1 -C.sub.4 saturated hydrocarbon is brought into contact with an electric arc and a feed containing a higher molecular weight carbonaceous material is brought into contact with hot gas derived from the C.sub.1 -C.sub.4 hydrocarbon in the vicinity of the electric arc.
The process of the present invention presents the advantage by comparison with catalytic cracking of not requiring very narrow hydrocarbon fractions and of not being adversely affected by th
REFERENCES:
patent: 3384467 (1968-05-01), Ammann
patent: 3870611 (1975-03-01), Vestal
patent: 4472172 (1984-09-01), Sheer
Diaz Henri
Jorgensen Pierre
Vernet Pierre
Niebling John F.
The British Petroleum Company p.l.c.
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