Distillation: apparatus – Apparatus – Systems
Reexamination Certificate
2000-05-31
2001-08-07
Yildirim, Bekir L. (Department: 1764)
Distillation: apparatus
Apparatus
Systems
C202S118000, C202S136000, C585S241000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06270630
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is directed to a process and apparatus for producing hydrocarbons from residential trash or waste and/or organic waste materials, in particular, to a process and apparatus for producing hydrocarbons from residential trash or waste and/or organic waste materials by pyrolysis and catalytic cracking.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
With the progress of the society and the improvement of people's life, organic components in residential trash or waste are continuously increasing, and are therefore seriously harmful to the environment. It has become a popular topic in the world to treat residential trash or waste and/or organic waste materials and make them harmless and reused.
The composition of residential trash or waste is very complicated. The burning-process in the prior art is of higher costs. Tail gases resulting from the process pollute the air. Another process in the prior art, the burying-process, occupies many cultivated lands, pollutes water resource under the ground and the materials cannot be reused.
Several technical solutions to these problems have been disclosed in the art. Chambers in U.S. Pat. No. 4,235,676 teaches an apparatus for producing hydrocarbons from waste plastics and industrial and residential waste. Said apparatus comprises a vacuum system and a fixed reactor. The problem to use the apparatus is that production cannot be successively undergone. In addition, the reactor is readily coked, and it is very hard to discharge residues generated from the reaction out of the reactor.
EP-A-0607862 (applicant being Mazda Motor Corporation) discloses a process and apparatus for producing hydrocarbons from waste plastics and waste rubbers. A vertical reactor is used therein. However, this publication does not show how to discharge the residues from the reaction. All the processes stated above cannot simultaneously and successively treat residential trash or waste and/or organic waste materials with a complex composition.
PCT/CN97/00124 filed by the applicant discloses a process and apparatus for producing hydrocarbons from organic and polymeric waste materials. A horizontal rotary reactor is utilized therein. The reactor should be maintained at a high temperature to keep the performance of the reaction of cracking because all reactions are carried out in one reactor. However, the high temperature to be used therein is critical to the quality of the reactor. It is difficult to rotate the reactor if it is made of the normal steel. In this case, the temperature of the reaction should be lowed to keep the reactor in shape. Thus, the reaction of cracking is not complete and the materials cannot be fully decomposed. In addition, the materials are intermittently charged and the residues from the reaction are also intermittently discharged.
The invention is hereby provided to solve these problems in the prior art.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, an object of the invention is to provide a process and apparatus for producing hydrocarbons from residential trash or waste and/or organic waste materials. Particularly, the invention provides a process and apparatus for producing hydrocarbons from residential trash or waste and/or organic waste materials by virtue of two-step cracking at different temperatures with successive feeding and discharging.
According to the invention, the process comprises two steps. The first cracking is performed in the first reactor (horizontal spiral reactor) which is designed in a larger size so that more materials can be treated. The specific size of the reactor depends on the properties of the materials to be treated. For example, the reactor, in general, is designed to be of 1.0-3.0 meters in diameter.
Gaseous components from the first cracking reaction are discharged out of the reactor after the reaction is complete. Resultant residues enter the second reactor (spiral stirring reactor) to undergo the second cracking reaction. The second reactor may be designed in a small size because the volume of the materials has been greatly decreased after the first cracking. The size of the second reactor may be varied depending on the properties of the materials and the condition of the treatment. In general, the second reactor may have a diameter as ½ of the first reactor, such as 0.5-1.5 meters.
Although the temperature to be maintained in the second reactor is much higher than in the first reactor, the second reactor is not readily deformed at such a higher temperature because it is kept stationary and its volume is relatively small. It has no influence on the reaction of cracking even if the second reactor becomes little deformed. The invention, therefore, overcomes the problems in the prior art.
The present invention provides a process for treating residential trash or waste and/or organic waste materials comprising the steps of:
feeding the materials into a horizontal rotary reactor to perform the first cracking reaction; and
charging the residues from the first cracking into a spiral stirring reactor to perform the second cracking reaction.
Said process further comprises a step to collect gaseous hydrocarbons from the first and second cracking reactions.
In said process, the materials may be pretreated, if desired.
In said process, the reactions of the first and second cracking comprise pyrolysis and/or catalytic cracking.
Said cracking reaction is carried out at an atmospheric pressure or higher. In general, the cracking is performed at a pressure of 0.02-0.6 MPa. The temperature of the first cracking is maintained at 350-600° C., and that of the second cracking at 600-1200° C. Preferably, the temperature of the first cracking is kept at 400-500° C. and that of the second cracking at 600-800° C.
Catalyst SR-1 is employed in the catalytic cracking.
The invention further provides an apparatus for treating residential trash or waste and/or organic waste materials, which mainly comprises a horizontal rotary reactor and a spiral stirring reactor.
Said horizontal rotary reactor comprises a cylindrical housing; a circular gear wheel, looping on the outer wall of the cylindrical housing; a spiral strip steel, fixed on the inner wall of the cylindrical housing; a feeder, arranged at an end of the horizontal spiral reactor; and the first treatment chamber, installed at another end of the horizontal rotary reactor (terminal end). Said horizontal rotary reactor further comprises a device for internal heating.
Said feeder comprises a screw feeder or a reciprocating feeder.
Said spiral stirring reactor comprises a cylindrical housing, one end of which is connected with the first treatment chamber; a spiral stirrer, installed in the cylindrical housing; the second treatment chamber, arranged at another end of the cylindrical housing; and a spiral drainer, installed at the bottom of the second treatment chamber.
A fixed bed is installed in the interior upper part of said first and second chambers respectively.
The apparatus according to the invention, if desired, further comprises a pretreatment device, by which the moisture in the materials can be removed.
The pretreatment device may be designed a shape like the first reactor. The temperature therein may be maintained by hot gases and is not needed as high as in the first reactor.
The apparatus according to the invention further comprises a device for collecting hydrocarbons, which may be a conventional device for separating oil and water in the art. For example, it may include a condenser, a tank for collecting hydrocarbons and a water-sealed tank.
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Sughrue Mion Zinn Macpeak & Seas, PLLC
Yildirim Bekir L.
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