ART
BEAUTY & WELLNESS
CRAFT
CULTURE & HISTORY
ENTERTAINMENT
ENVIRONMENT
FOOD & DRINKS
REVERSE ENGINEERING
SCIENCES
SPORTS
TECHNOLOGY
WEARABLES
Steam Still: a Horizontal Still with Steam Coils and Scrubbing Tower (Bell, 1923)
A refinery still heated only by steam: a horizontal riveted shell with closed steam coils and open steam sprays in the bottom, and a tower of broken stone or tile on top where rising vapour meets the incoming feed. Used to re-run naphtha and kerosene and to strip naphtha from lubricating stocks without a fire.
Variable: batch, semi-continuous, or continuous with four baffled compartments. Bell's Fig. 39 still is 10 x 30 ft.
Source: H. S. Bell, American Petroleum Refining (1923), pp. 105-109. Unknown: plate thickness. Picture: Fig. 39 of the book.
Expert
Unknown
Instructions
1
1
Build the shell
Build the shell
Rivet a horizontal cylindrical shell (Fig. 39: 10 x 30 ft) with the plate seams running straight round it (Fig. 36), cheaper than a fire still's layout; hemispherical heads are an expense with no clear reason. Fit a manhole, a drain, flanges for oil and steam and a nozzle for the tower.
Materials for this step:
Mild Steel Plate1 shell, heads
Mild Steel Angle Iron1 piece
Steel Rivets1 pieceTools needed:
Punch Press
Riveting Hammer
Unknown Dimensions2
2
Fit coils, sprays and baffles
Fit coils, sprays and baffles
Lay closed steam coils in the bottom with open steam sprays beside them. For continuous running, divide the shell into four compartments with cross baffles, leaving small openings at the bottom so condensed water drains to the water pot at the rear. Give the coils 62.5 sq ft of heating surface per 100 gallons taken overhead per hour: 33 % in the first compartment, 28 % in the second, 22 % in the third, 17 % in the rear. A semi-continuous still needs no baffles.
Materials for this step:
Steam Coil1 62.5 sq ft per 100 gal/h
Steel Pipe (thick-walled, threaded ends)1 open sprays, header
Steam Valve2 piecesMild Steel Plate1 bafflesTools needed:
Riveting Hammer3
3
Add the scrubbing tower
Add the scrubbing tower
Mount a combined scrubbing and dephlegmating tower on the still, filled with broken stone or tile. The feed enters at its top and trickles down against the rising vapour and steam, which condenses the heavier fractions and carries them back to the still; the vapour goes on to the condensers.
Materials for this step:
Mild Steel Plate1 towerSteel Rivets1 piece
Crushed Stone1 broken stone or tileTools needed:
Riveting Hammer4
4
Set it
Set it
Settings are simple: brick cross piers or steel frames, with brick or concrete dividing walls between stills where they must carry the tower and heat exchangers. Pipe the residual outlet with a valve.
Materials for this step:
Brick1 cross piers
Gate Valve1 residualTools needed:
TrowelMaterials
9- 1 towerPlaceholder
- 1 piecePlaceholder
- 1 piecePlaceholder
- 1 62.5 sq ft per 100 gal/hPlaceholder
- 1 open sprays, headerPlaceholder
- 2 piecesPlaceholder
- 1 broken stone or tilePlaceholder
- 1 cross piersPlaceholder
- 1 residualPlaceholder
Connected Blueprint Materials
This blueprint makes
CC0 Public Domain
This blueprint is released under CC0. You are free to copy, modify, distribute, and use this work for any purpose, without asking permission.
Support the Maker by purchasing products through their Blueprint where they earn a Maker Commission set by Vendors, or create a new iteration of this Blueprint and include it as a connection in your own Blueprint to share revenue.