Hydrocarbon/oxygen industrial gas mixer with coarse water droplet environment to reduce ignition potential

• Main Authors: LIPP CHARLES W, KLING THOMAS J, FEY VICTOR R, RANGITSCH MICHAEL J, ANDRESEN HARVEY E, MAYER JOHN R, CHRISTENSON CHRISTOPHER P, BRITTON LAURENCE G, HUTCHISON MICHAEL L
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 18.12.2012
• Subjects: CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROCESSES, e.g. CATALYSIS OR COLLOIDCHEMISTRY; CHEMISTRY; HETEROCYCLIC COMPOUNDS; METALLURGY; MIXING, e.g. DISSOLVING, EMULSIFYING, DISPERSING; ORGANIC CHEMISTRY; PERFORMING OPERATIONS; PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL; THEIR RELEVANT APPARATUS; TRANSPORTING

A hydrocarbon-containing gas is mixed with an oxygen gas in a gas mixer in the presence of coarse water droplet environment, e.g., a rainy or driving rainstorm environment in which the water droplets generally have a size greater than 200 microns SMD. The water droplets surround and contact entrained particles in either the oxygen gas stream or the hydrocarbon-containing gas stream. The water acts to suppress, prevent and quench ignition of the hydrocarbon gas in the mixer which would otherwise be caused by energetic collisions between such particles and structures within the gas mixer. In one configuration the gas mixer includes water pipes having coarse water droplet-producing nozzles at the peripheral end thereof concentrically located within oxygen supply pipes. Additionally, nozzles introduce coarse water droplets into a pipe carrying the hydrocarbon gas and forming a mixing chamber for the hydrocarbon and oxygen gases.