US 4,462,339 AGranted

Gas cooler for production of saturated or superheated steam, or both

AssigneeTexaco Development Corporation

InventorsFrederick C. Jahnke, James R. Muenger

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Abstract

A gas cooler and process are provided for extracting heat from the hot raw gas stream from the partial oxidation of a hydrocarbonaceous or carbonaceous fuel, and the simultaneous production of a separate stream of saturated or superheated steam, or separate streams of both. The gas cooler comprises a vertical pressure vessel with an upper central outlet through which saturated steam may be removed and a closed bottom. A refractory lined hot gas inlet chamber is attached to the bottom of the pressure vessel. A coaxial vertical water-tight cylindrically shaped central chamber is supported within the vessel and defines an annular elongated passage with the inside walls of the vessel. A plurality of bundles of helical tubes through which the hot gas flows are spaced in the annular passage and are serially connected to a helical bundle of gas tubes that is supported in the central chamber. Concurrent indirect heat exchange between boiler feed water and the hot gas takes place in the annular passage or evaporative section to produce saturated steam. Countercurrent indirect heat exchange between saturated steam and partially cooled gas takes place in the central chamber to produce superheated steam. Advantageously, the gas cooler may be easily turned up or down with load by closing off one or more of the helical tubes. Further, along with the efficient cooling of a hot gas stream containing entrained matter, saturated or superheated steam, or both may be simultaneousy produced in the same vessel.

Claims27

Dependent claims

A gas cooler for cooling a hot raw gas stream comprising:

(1) a closed vertical cylindrically shaped pressure vessel with an upper central outlet for the passage of saturated steam;
(2) a refractory lined hot gas inlet chamber with a gas inlet, said gas inlet chamber being attached to the bottom end of said pressure vessel;
(3) a vertical coaxial cylindrically shaped elongated central chamber which is closed at the bottom and open at the top, means for supporting said central chamber above the bottom of said vessel thereby providing a water chamber between the bottoms of the pressure vessel and the central chamber, an inlet in the side wall of said water chamber for introducing water in liquid phase into the pressure vessel, said central chamber defining with said vessel along its length an annular elongated passage that communicates at the bottom with said water chamber and near the top of the vessel with a connecting passage that communicates with the top of said central chamber and said upper central outlet;
said central chamber being provided near its bottom with outlet means that passes through the wall of the vessel with a gas-tight seal and through which superheated steam may be discharged;
(4) a plurality of vertical bundles of helical tubes with at least one helical tube in each bundle, said bundles of helical tubes being supported in said annular passage, each of said bundles of tubes extending lengthwise in a portion of said annular passage leaving a free annular space above said bundle of tubes for the passage of saturated steam, and wherein each of said helical tubes has a gas outlet section at the upper end and a gas inlet section at the bottom end and each gas inlet section extends through the bottom end of said vessel and into said hot gas inlet chamber;
means for cooling the gas inlet section of each helical tube in each bundle of helical tubes in the annular passage;
and
(5) a central bundle of helical tubes extending vertically in said central chamber, said central bundle of tubes comprising at least one concentric ring of helical tubes with at least one helical tube in each ring;
wherein the downstream end of each helical tube in the central bundle is provided with a gas outlet means through which cooled raw gas may be passed, and the upstream end is provided with a gas inlet which is in communication with the gas outlet end of a helical tube from a bundle of helical tubes in the annular passage, and the gas inlet end of each helical tube in the central bundle of helical tubes is at the lower end of the central bundle of helical tubes;
and means for controlling the level of the water in the vessel.

7 more elements

In a process for producing steam by the indirect heat exchange between H.sub.2 O and the hot raw gas stream produced in a partial oxidation process, the improvement which comprises:

(1) continuously introducing boiler feed water into a vertical annular passage located between the inside wall of a closed vertical pressure vessel and the outside wall of a coaxial vertical cylindrically shaped elongated central chamber which is open at the top and closed at the bottom, and contacting said boiler feed water with the outside surfaces of a plurality of vertical bundles of helical tubes spaced in said annular passage, with each tube bundle comprising at least one helical coil;
(2) continuously passing a hot raw gas stream from the partial oxidation of a gaseous or liquid hydrocarbonaceous fuel or a solid carbonaceous fuel with a free-oxygen containing gas in the presence of a temperature moderator through said helical tubes in indirect heat exchange with said boiler feed water so as to boil said water and to produce saturated steam;
and
(3) discharging all of the saturated steam from (2) through an upper outlet at or near the top of said pressure vessel;
or alternatively discharging at least a portion of the saturated steam from (2) down through said central chamber and over a central bundle of helical tubes contained therein and comprising a plurality of helical tubes whose inlets are connected to the outlets of the helical tubes in said annular passage, and discharging the remainder of said saturated steam, if any, from said upper outlet in the vessel;
simultaneously passing the partially cooled raw gas stream leaving the helical tubes in the annular passage in (2) through the helical tubes in said central helical bundle of tubes in indirect heat exchange with said saturated steam when present, thereby cooling said raw gas stream and producing superheated steam when heat exchange between said raw gas stream and said saturated steam has taken place;
and removing from said pressure vessel at least one stream of cooled raw gas, and a separate stream of saturated or superheated steam, or alternatively separate streams of saturated and superheated steam.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 06/527,452Filed 29 Aug 1983
Granted: 31 Jul 1984
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification5 codes

F28D 7/024
The conduits being helically coiled: the conduits of only one medium being helically coiled tubes, the coils having a cylindrical configuration
F22B 1/1892
The heat carrier being a hot gas, e.g. waste gas such as exhaust gas of internal-combustion engines: systems therefor not provided for in…
F28D 2021/0075
Other heat exchangers for particular applications; Heat exchange systems not otherwise provided for: for syngas or cracked gas cooling systems
F28D
Heat-exchange apparatus, not provided for in another subclass, in which the heat-exchange