U.S. patent application number 09/842224 was filed with the patent office on 2002-10-31 for reactor and method for fly stream gasification.
This patent application is currently assigned to Noell-KRC Energie- und Umwelttechnik GmbH. Invention is credited to Adler, Dietmar, Degenkolb, Dietmar, Gorz, Jurgen, Schingnitz, Manfred.
Application Number | 20020157312 09/842224 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 25286804 |
Filed Date | 2002-10-31 |
United States Patent
Application |
20020157312 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Adler, Dietmar ; et
al. |
October 31, 2002 |
Reactor and method for fly stream gasification
Abstract
A reactor for the gasification of carbon-containing fuels,
residues and waste by an oxygen-containing oxidizing agent in a
reaction space designed as a fly stream reactor, at pressures of
between ambient pressure and 80 bar, preferably between ambient
pressure and 30 bar, the reaction space contour being delimited by
a refractory lining within a pressure casing, wherein the
temperature of the pressure casing can be regulated, the pressure
casing having cooling ducts affixed to an outer surface
thereof.
Inventors: |
Adler, Dietmar; (Siebenlehn,
DE) ; Gorz, Jurgen; (Freiberg, DE) ;
Degenkolb, Dietmar; (Freiberg, DE) ; Schingnitz,
Manfred; (Freiberg, DE) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Thomas C. Pontani, Esq.
Cohen, Pontani, Lieberman & Pavane
Suite 1210
551 Fifth Avenue
New York
NY
10176
US
|
Assignee: |
Noell-KRC Energie- und
Umwelttechnik GmbH
|
Family ID: |
25286804 |
Appl. No.: |
09/842224 |
Filed: |
April 25, 2001 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
48/197FM ;
422/198; 422/200; 422/201; 423/650; 48/197R; 48/199FM |
Current CPC
Class: |
C10J 3/56 20130101; C10J
2300/0973 20130101; C01B 2203/0883 20130101; C10J 2300/0946
20130101; C10J 2200/09 20130101; C01B 3/36 20130101; C01B 2203/0255
20130101; C10J 3/74 20130101; C10J 3/54 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
48/197.0FM ;
48/197.00R; 48/199.0FM; 422/198; 422/200; 422/201; 423/650 |
International
Class: |
C10J 003/00 |
Claims
We claim:
1. A gasification reactor vessel, comprising: a pressure shell,
said pressure shell having an encircling body wall and shell ends
at each of opposite ends of the body wall; a plurality of cooling
ducts extending around an outer surface of said body wall, said
ducts being fixedly connected to said outer surface, interior
spaces of said cooling ducts communicating with said outer surface;
a fluid supply conduit communicating with said cooling ducts; a
fluid discharge conduit communicating with said cooling ducts; and
a lining of a refractory encircling an inner surface of said
encircling body wall.
2. A gasification reactor vessel according to claim 1, wherein each
cooling duct comprises a pair of spaced webs fixedly connected at
common edges of each to said body wall outer surface, and an
arcuate segment joining opposite edges of said webs.
3. A gasification reactor vessel according to claim 2, wherein the
webs of each duct are fixedly connected to said body wall outer
surface with welded connections.
4. A gasification reactor vessel according to claim 2, wherein said
ducts extend longitudinally of said body wall, said fluid supply
and fluid discharge conduits are annular and located, respectively,
at one of two opposite ends of said shell body.
5. A gasification reactor vessel according to claim 4, wherein said
ducts each are spaced on said body wall outer surface circularly
from ducts adjacent thereto.
6. A gasification reactor vessel according to claim 4, wherein said
ducts are arrayed circularly around said body wall outer surface
with each duct in abutment with ducts adjacent thereto.
7. A gasification reactor vessel according to claim 2, wherein said
ducts extend circularly around said body wall outer surface, said
fluid supply and fluid discharge conduits being annular and
disposed, respectively, at one of two opposite ends of said shell
body.
8. A gasification reactor vessel according to claim 7, wherein said
ducts are arranged obliquely of a central axis of said body
wall.
9. A gasification reactor vessel according to claim 8, wherein said
ducts extend in a spiral course around said body wall outer
surface.
10. A gasification reactor vessel according to claim 7, wherein
each duct encircles said body outer wall surface spaced from ducts
adjacent thereto.
11. A gasification reactor vessel according to claim 1, wherein
said refractory lining comprises at least two separate concentric
layers of refractory material.
12. A gasification reactor vessel according to claim 11, wherein
the refractory material is at least one of a ceramic and
polytetrafluoroethylene.
13. A method for gasification of ash-free and low ash fuels,
residues and waste comprising: reacting said fuels, residues and
waste with an oxygen-containing oxidizing agent in a reaction space
of a pressure vessel of a fly stream reactor, said pressure vessel
having a refractory lining therein: and regulating a temperature of
said pressure vessel so that said temperature is above a dew point
temperature of any water contained in a gas atmosphere present in
said reaction space.
14. A method according to claim 13 further comprising setting a
pressure of the coolant flowable in said ducts irrespective of a
pressure present in said reaction space, whereby the temperature of
said pressure vessel can be regulated for maintaining said pressure
vessel temperature above a dew point temperature in the reaction
space.
15. A method according to claim 13, wherein the temperature of said
pressure vessel is regulated to be more than at least about
5.degree. C. above the dew point of any gas atmosphere water
present in said reaction space.
16. A method according to claim 13, wherein said pressure vessel
has cooling ducts on an outer surface of said pressure vessel for
regulating the temperature of said pressure vessel with coolant
flowable through said ducts, and regulating pressure vessel
temperature with coolant which is above or below coolant boiling
point.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The invention relates to a reactor for the gasification of
ash-free or low-ash fuels, residues and waste in a fly stream
reactor, and to a method for operating the reactor.
[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0004] As used herein, "fuels, residues and waste" are intended to
refer to those without or with only a low ash content, such as
oils, tars, liquid fractions from the waste and recycling economy,
such as used oils, PCB-containing oils, plastic fractions, residues
and waste from the chemical industry, such as, for example,
nitrogen-containing, sulfur-containing or halogen-containing
hydrocarbons, hydrocarbon mixtures and also petroleum coke from
crude oil processing.
[0005] In gas generating technology, the autothermic fly stream
gasification of solid, liquid and gaseous fuels has been known for
many years. In this context, the ratio of fuel to oxygen-containing
gasifying agents is selected such that, for the sake of the quality
of the synthesis gas, higher carbon compounds are split up
completely into synthesis gas components, such as CO and H.sub.2,
and the inorganic constituents are discharged as molten slag (J.
Carl, P. Fritz, NOELL-KONVERSIONSVERFAHREN, EF-Verlag fur Energie-
und Umwelttechnik GmbH 1996, p. 33 and p. 73).
[0006] In this case, according to various systems introduced in the
technology, gasifying gas and the molten inorganic fraction, for
example slag, can be discharged or separated jointly from the
reaction space of the gasification apparatus, this being gathered
from DE 19718131.7 A1.
[0007] For the internal delimitation of the contour of the reaction
space of the gasification system, systems either provided with a
refractory lining or cooled have been introduced and are known, for
example, from DE 4446803 A1.
[0008] Gasification systems provided with a refractory lining have
the advantage of low heat losses and therefore afford an
energy-efficient conversion of the gasification substances
supplied. Their use is concentrated on ash-free or low-ash
gasification substances.
[0009] According to the prior art, gasification reactors are
designed in such a way that one or more layers of refractory
material for delimiting the reaction space, which has a temperature
of 1000-1600.degree. C., are arranged within a pressure casing for
insulation and thermal protection. To protect the pressure casing
against excessively high temperatures, a water jacket may be
arranged inside or outside the latter.
[0010] If the water jacket is arranged inside the pressure casing
in the way described by way of example in DE 198 29 385 C1, a
considerable outlay in regulating terms is involved in causing the
pressure in the water jacket to follow changes in pressure in the
reaction space, such as occur particularly during start-up and
run-down operations, in order to prevent destruction on account of
too high a pressure difference. Moreover, the constraint to
maintain a maximum pressure difference between the reaction space
and the water jacket detracts from the possibility of regulating
the temperature in the water jacket in such a way that the dew
point of the moist gases of the reaction space is not reached on
the inner surface of the water jacket. Falling short of the dew
point leads to condensation and the formation of acids and
therefore to corrosion on the reaction space side of the water
jacket.
[0011] It is also customary to provide gasification reactors with a
pressureless water jacket outside the reactor pressure casing. In
this case, the temperature of this water jacket may amount to a
maximum of 100.degree. C. and there is a great risk of the
formation of condensate on the inside of the pressure casing and
therefore of corrosion. Special corrosion protection measures, such
as coatings on the pressure casing, afford only partial
success.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0012] The object of the invention is to provide both an apparatus
and method which, while being simple and reliable to operate,
protects the pressure casing of the gasification reactor against
corrosion and, in all operating states, rules out the condensation
of water in the reaction space of the reactor pressure vessel and
therefore the formation of aggressive acids.
[0013] According to the invention, it is provided that the reaction
space contour of the pressure vessel be delimited for the
gasification process by a refractory lining within the reactor
pressure casing and for cooling ducts to be mounted on the outside
of the reactor pressure vessel casing in order to regulate its
temperature, the pressure and temperature of which ducts can be
set, irrespective of the pressure and temperature on the inside of
the reactor pressure casing or in the reaction space.
[0014] The apparatus according to the invention is suitable for the
gasification of ash-free or low-ash fuels, waste and residues,
irrespective of their concentrations of water and acid-forming
components, such as sulfur or halogens, and their consistency.
[0015] The invention provides apparatus in the form of a
gasification reactor vessel and includes a pressure shell, which
pressure shell has an encircling body wall and shell ends at each
of opposite ends of the body wall. The pressure shell has a reactor
space which operates under pressures of between ambient pressure
and 80 bar, said reactor space being delimited by a reaction space
contour which has a refractory lining inside the pressure casing
and is distinguished in that the temperature of the pressure casing
can be regulated. The wall of the gasification reactor is built up
from the outside inward, in such a way that ducts are arranged on
the outside, the pressure shell or casing surrounding the reaction
space further inward and a refractory lining being present on the
inside, different materials constituting the refractory lining. The
refractory lining may consist of a plurality of layers, the
material of which may consist of ceramic, Teflon
(polytetrafluoroetheylene) or the like.
[0016] The method of operating the pressure vessel requires that
the ducts on the outside of the pressure casing, an interior of
which ducts is in communication with an outer surface of the
pressure shell, consist of pairs of webs fixed at common edges as
by welding to the shell body outer surface and which are closed by
means of semicircular or arcuate segments. Water which serves for
cooling the pressure casing is conducted through the ducts.
[0017] Further, in operating the reactor vessel and its cooling
wall, it is required that the temperature in the pressure shell be
regulated in such a way that it is more than 5 degrees Celsius
above the dew point of the gas atmosphere present in the reactor
space of the gasification reactor vessel.
[0018] It is advantageous, furthermore, that the ducts for
regulating the temperature of the pressure casing are operated
above or below the boiling point of the coolant.
[0019] The various features of novelty which characterize the
invention are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed
to and forming a part of the disclosure. For a better understanding
of the invention, its operating advantages, and specific objects
attained by its use, reference should be had to the drawing and
descriptive matter in which there are illustrated and described
preferred embodiments of the invention.
[0020] Other objects and features of the present invention will
become apparent from the following detailed description considered
in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It is to be
understood, however, that the drawings are designed solely for
purposes of illustration and not as a definition of the limits of
the invention, for which reference should be made to the appended
claims. It should be further understood that the drawings are not
necessarily drawn to scale and that, unless otherwise indicated,
they are merely intended to conceptually illustrate the structures
and procedures described herein.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0021] In the drawings:
[0022] FIG. 1 is a half section showing through the reactor;
[0023] FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken on the line A-A in FIG. 1;
and
[0024] FIG. 3 is a side view of the reactor equipped with oblique
or spiral arranged ducts.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENTLY PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0025] FIG. 1 shows a longitudinal section and FIG. 2a cross
section through the gasification reactor vessel. The conversion of
the fuels, residues and waste into a H.sub.2-rich and CO-rich crude
gas by means of the oxygen-containing oxidizing agent takes place
in the reaction space 1. The gasifying media are supplied via
special burners which are fastened to the burner flange 2. Via the
crude-gas outlet 3, which is provided with a special apparatus, the
crude gasification gas leaves the reaction space 1, if appropriate
together with a small fraction of liquid slag, and passes on for
further gas treatment. The gasification reactor 1 is encased by the
pressure shell or casing 4 which absorbs the differential pressure
between the reactor interior and the 10 outside atmosphere. For the
thermal protection of said pressure casing, a refractory lining 6,
7, which can consist of the concentric layers 6 and 7 or else of a
plurality of layers, is mounted on the inside. Outside the pressure
casing 4 are arranged water-carrying ducts 5, e.g., extending
longitudinally of the shell body wall and which are operated at
pressures and temperatures independent of the pressure and
temperature in the reaction space 1.
[0026] Consequently, both cooling of the pressure casing 4 during
normal operation and heating, for example in the start-up mode, are
possible. Furthermore, the pressure and temperature in the ducts 5
can be regulated in such a way that the temperature of the water
does not fall short of the dew points on the inside of the pressure
casing 4 and therefore no condensation occurs. The ducts 5 have an
annular water supply 8 and an annular water discharge 9. The ducts
5 completely surround or encircle the pressure casing 4 and consist
of webs 10 which are welded onto the pressure casing 4 and are
closed off by means of semicircular or arcuate segments 11. These
arcuate segments 11 may be next to one another, wherein the ducts
are in abutment as shown on the right side of FIG. 2. However,
circular spacing may also be arranged between the ducts, the
adjacent segments 11 then being arrayed as shown on the left side
of FIG. 2.
[0027] In a further exemplary embodiment, water is supplied to the
reaction space 1 according to FIG. 1 due to the moisture content of
the fuels, residues or waste. Likewise, for example, steam is added
to the reaction space 1 as an atomizing agent or as a moderator for
the gasification reaction. As a result of the thermodynamic
equilibrium of the gasification reactions, a defined steam content
of the gasification gas is established, which condenses when it
falls short of the saturation temperature. This condensed steam
releases acid constituents from the gas atmosphere, such as halogen
acids, sulfuric acids or hydrocyanic acid, and therefore has an
extremely corrosive effect. In order to prevent steam from
condensing on the pressure casing 4, thus leading to destruction by
corrosion, its wall inclined toward the gasification space must
have a higher temperature than would correspond to the dew point.
If the reactor pressure is, for example, 30 bar and the steam
content of the gas 50% by volume, the steam partial pressure is 15
bar.
[0028] According to the steam pressure curve of the water, the
boiling or dew point is 198.degree. C. If the temperature of the
pressure casing 4 is below 198.degree. C., steam impinging onto it
condenses into water, with the consequences indicated. If the
temperature of the pressure casing 4 is higher than 198.degree. C.,
for example by 5.degree. C., steam impinging onto it cannot
condense. By modifications to the water content of the gasification
substances and during start-up and rundown processes, widely
different steam contents in the gasification gas and therefore dew
points can be established. Thus, by the temperature of the pressure
casing 4 being regulated, there is the possibility of avoiding a
shortfall of the dew point.
[0029] The pressure in the reaction space 1 according to Examples 1
and 2 in relation to the outside atmosphere is absorbed by the
pressure casing 4. There is therefore the possibility of setting
the pressure in the ducts 5, irrespective of the pressure in the
reaction space 1, in such a way that the pressure casing 4 acquires
the desired temperature. The relation between pressure and
temperature in the water-carrying ducts 5 is determined by the
steam pressure curve of the water. The desired temperatures can be
regulated by the pressure in the ducts 5 being fixed and by a
preheating or cooling of the circulating water flowing through the
ducts 5. At the same time, in a desired way, the liquid can remain
liquid or boil, depending on the setting of the temperature and
pressure in the ducts 5.
[0030] Vertically or obliquely arranged, e.g., spiral course ducts
5 between the water supply 8 and water discharge 9 are shown in
FIG. 3.
[0031] The invention is not limited by the embodiments described
above which are presented as examples only but can be modified in
various ways within the scope of protection defined by the appended
patent claims.
[0032] Thus, while there have shown and described and pointed out
fundamental novel features of the invention as applied to a
preferred embodiment thereof, it will be understood that various
omissions and substitutions and changes in the form and details of
the devices illustrated, and in their operation, may be made by
those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the
invention. For example, it is expressly intended that all
combinations of those elements and/or method steps which perform
substantially the same function in substantially the same way to
achieve the same results are within the scope of the invention.
Moreover, it should be recognized that structures and/or elements
and/or method steps shown and/or described in connection with any
disclosed form or embodiment of the invention may be incorporated
in any other disclosed or described or suggested form or embodiment
as a general matter of design choice. It is the intention,
therefore, to be limited only as indicated by the scope of the
claims appended hereto.
* * * * *