Improvements in or relating to furnaces and processes for the thermal treatment of hydrocarbons

摘要

Acetylene is produced by projecting a flame, formed by the incomplete combustion of hydrocarbons, into a combustion chamber together with a dynamic screen of liquid which is projected along lines parallel to the direction of flame propagation in order to form dynamic walls for the combustion chamber, which walls carry away particles of carbon and prevent their deposition on the fixed walls of the combustion chamber. A disc-like distributer 1 is traversed by parallel channels 2 through which the mixture of hydrocarbons and oxygen pass and are ignited on entering the combustion chamber 5. A hollow metal ring 3 with slits 4, along the outer edge of the distributer, directs liquid into the chamber from a duct 6. Water, injected through means 7, chills the reaction products. Flashback is prevented by cooling the distributer by passing liquid through pipes 8. In a modification, Fig. 2, the gas mixture enters an expansion chamber 19, then through a distributer 11 via channels 12 to the combustion chamber. Liquid from a duct 16, passes to a ring 13 on the edge of the distributer and thence both through slits 14 to form part of the dynamic screen and pipes 18 to a similar ring 131 at the other end of the distributer and slits 141 to form the remainder of the dynamic screen. Water, through jets 17, chill the reaction products. The fluid for the screen may be water or a heavy oil. The chilling water can subsequently be used for preheating the gas mixture. The liquid screen may be formed on the inner side of a metal sheet or gauze placed inside the chamber, or a metal sheet can be applied directly to the inner walls of the chamber and the liquid screen produced thereon.