Patented June 24, 1930. 1 766,209 UNITED: STATES PATENT OFFICE WALTER C. BAILEY, OF NORWALK CALIFORNIA CONTINUOUS CRACKING STILL Application filed September 20, 1926. Serial No. 136, '464. My invention relates to thc@ distilling of gasoline or other etroleum spirit from cruide petroleum. The ordinary niethod of distillation. consistg of,subjecting the pefi.-oleum to hikh tempera;tures around 5000 F. to 7150 thus causing a vaporizati6n of the lower ravity constituents. Th6 - vapors thus pro-' duced are colle@ted and condensed. Acom10 mgn fori-ii of sfill consis'ts of a shell supported @bove a fu@nace, in which shell a -body of petroleum is maintained. .1 have observed that the rate--of distilldtion depends very - much upon 'the amount of ex15 posed surface of the roleum and that as the exposed surface is increased the rate of distillation also increases. It is one of the objects of this invention to area of 'surfice is exposed. In my invention I form the petroleum into thin film by pagsing sinall elements. 25 preferably in the iorm of balls coniinuo-usly throiigh the still. As the balls- pass. througrh the still, through which petroleum is also conti nuously passing, the petroleum adher@s to the surfaces of the balls, there -beISO iii a th'm layer formed thereon. - As these 9 balls roll through the stifl the petroleum which adheres thereto is quiekly @nd, thoroughlv cracked, so that. a maximum of petrofeum spirit is derived froin a oiveii 35 quantity of petroleum: It- is accordinglv one of the' objects of this invention to @rovide a stir in which balls or otlier elements ar6- passe(l'.through the still f6r the purpose of breakina up 40 petroleum so that films are- formed and so that a inaximum area of petroleum surface is ex osed. In the common formof still in @vhich tlie petroleum is refained in a body, the sliell 45 be(,olnes Iiighly he ed a d the carbori wiil at n collect on the interior face there6f, causilig what is ordinarily termed , "coking". If coking takes place to any great extent, serious damage rnay.re.-,ult to the still -since 50 the layer of carbon forms an insulation and causes a localized overheatifig of the sh@ll an(i veiy oft@-,n a blowing out of the shell because of, the weakenect tensile stre.ngth when the shell is ver hot. y it is 6ne of the objects of this iiiveiition 55 to provide a still in which the ciir on is continuoiisly remov6d therefrom., One of the larg6 -problems in constructin a till using balls continuously passed sl g therethrough was to maiiitain a, fluid-tight oo seal ai the feed and discharge of the still.It is an object cif t-his invention.t6 provide. a still of the'eha'racter mentioned havipg a feed device for fied-ing balls.or other suitable film forming elen-ients into the still 05 and 'also maintainiing a -fluid-tight seal so that substantially no va rs will escape. Po A still further object of this 'Inventio is I aving a ( . lee in provide a sti I h lischarge dev' provide a method- -of and tipparatus for di@s-. to -provide a still having a discharge device 20 tilling petroleum in whi.ch the petroleuni for discharging the balls froin the still and 70 i .sformed into thin films, so'that a large, also maintaining a fluid-tig@t. seal' so that no vapor w.ill escape. A further object of; this invention is to w.hich the rate of discharge of the filni 75 forming ements iiiay be reoated. The still of n-i@ invention incliides a long cylindrical shell having bearings which support'a shaft to which paddles are secured. Oii6 problem to cont(@iid with in a still of this 80 nature is that of the expansion and contraction of. the shaft. It is iaecessary that the bearings for the shaft be so formed that the shaft: when it expands. or contracts may I a ar- 85 niov e without@ bind'ng the sh ft in the be ings. It is accordinkly an 6bject of thi.s invention fo provide, a novel bearing arrangement :ind support for. a shaft e@ttending through' t4e gtill, which will p.ermit-relative axia;l 90 mov ement between the shaft and the bearing support. Ot her objects and advantages of the inventi on will be made evident hereinafter' Re fer rin(,. to the' drawings in. which 1 95 illust rate :a I)referred form of my invention.- Fig . -I - is a vertical loncrituduial section take n througb a @till emadying the features of my invention. Fig. 2 i8 4n end view of the -feed,.6nd of lw

1,766,209 Fig. 1, -being taken as indicated b the plates 34 supporib a paddle shaft 36. The arrow 2 of Fig. 1. Y Fio,. 3 is an end view of the discharge end of ela. 1, being taken as indicated by the arroW3 of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a vertical section taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. l,' this view ghowing the furnace, still and separator of the invention in section. 10 Fig. 5 is a cross section taken on the line 5--5 of Fig. 4, this view showing a cross se.ction.ol a dome of the furnace and the separator. Fig. 6,is an enlaroed fragmeiitary seciion 15 takon at the inlet end of the still, showing the details of the interior of the still. Fig..T is a section taken on the line 7-7 of Fig. 6. Fig. 8 is a section taken oii the line 8-L-8 20 of Fig. 6. Fio-. 9 is a section taken on the line 9-9 of Fig. 1, showing the feed aevice of, the invention. Fig. 10 is a secti6n imilar to Fig. 9, this 25 -view showing t;he part@ of the feed devic6 in different positions. Fig. .11, is a section taken on the line 1111 of. Fig. 1, showing the discharge device of the invention. 3,o Fig. 12 is a section taken on the line 1212 of Fig. 9, showin6, a latch arrangement of t@e invention. Fig. 13 is a secti on taken on the, lifie 1813 of Fig. 12, showing a latch rele@se cam. 35 Referring in deta@il tothe draw.ings, 20 is a furnace wnich may be formed of fire-brick or any other suitabl6 niaterial. The furnace 20 is provided 'with a pluralii@ of fire.boxes 21 in which burners 22 are located. 40 The A.re-boxes 21 are distributed alon- the 'length of the furnace 20 so that diferent portions of the furnace may have individua'i. temperature control. I have found that it is desirable for an,economica.1 cracking of 45 petroleum that the temperatures at differ6nt locations in the furnace be substantially diff@reiat. The control of the temperature, howevor, is optional The main portion of the furnace'20 pro50 vides a heatin@ chamber 23 through whibh a still 24 extends. At one end of the furnace 20 is an outl@i dome 2@ whieh i s con nected to a stack 26 through which the products of combustion may pass to the 55 atmosphere The still 24 has a sh6ll 28 which extends through openings 29 in end walls 30 of the still and which is siipported between the end walls 30 by piles, 31. Attached to the 60 ends of the shell 28 which project to the exterior of the furnace 20 are end plates 34. Ref"rring to Fig. 6, the end plates 34 support bearings 35 which are formed integral' the@ewith and concentric with the a@cis of 65 the shell 28., The bearings 35 of the, end paddle shaft 36 is, square and is turned down to provide end journals 37 which extend through the bearings 35. In order to provide a tight seal at the bearings 35, stuffing 70 boxes 38 are provided. At different iniervals throughout the length of the shell 28 webs 39 areprovided,. the webs 39 carrying bearing supports .40. rr The bearing supports 40, as il.Iiistrated i 7 Fig. 8, have T-shaped slots 41- ijito which T formations 42 of bearings 4.3 exten,(I. The bearings 43 surround cylindrical jotirnal portions 45 of the shaft 36, which are fornied expressly for the bearings 43 betweei) s(luare 50 portions of the shaft. The bea.Eiii(ys 43@ being confined. to the journals 4@") calinot move relative to the shaft 36; however the. manner in which the bearings are L'o.rried b the bearing supports. 40 permit -the bear- 85 y ings to move axiallty with the shaft 36 iii the event of expansion and contraction. L;ibric@tion for th6 boarinls 43 is provided b y graphit6 tubes 47 Which extend inward through the shell 28 as illustrated in' Fic,. oo 8. As a means of keeping the sb aft as oo c as p,ossible in oraer that its @ r@sistance to, torque may be maintained @i,s high as possible@ I provide an opening 48 thi-oiigh -the shaft 36 through 'which a eircula.tioil of cooling water may be maintained. Pipes 50 are attached to the opposite eincls of the shaft-36'by suitable boxes 51 wherebv i. eirculation may be established. The sliaft 36 supports paddle.arms 55. As illustrated-in loo Fig. 7, the paddle arms 55 have bet@ings 56 which are provided with rect,,tn ular 9 openings which fit snugly around @-,Iie rectangular por.tions of the shaft 36. I'Iiis provides adequate loeldng of th6 arms and tlle 105 shaft 'so that there cELn be no relative iolation bet ween these pa@rts.. The oute r 'eiids of ti@e. arms 55 are provided with paddles 57, the outer faces of whi6h roove very close to the inner fa;ee of'the shell 28. The pad- 110 dles 57, as shown best in, Figs.- 6 aiid 7, are arranged at ninety degrees to -each other and are disposed at angles of forty-five degrees with a horizontal . line . so that the tendeney is to force the petroleum and balls u,:;ed from 115 the inlet end of the still to th6 exhati,@t, end thereol' the shaft being rotated as indicated -7 by an arrow 59 of Fig. 7. - Placed at inter@vals, preferably below the bearing 4,1,, are dams 49. The shaft 36 is driven b-v means 120 of a sprocket wheel 60 which is' ecured thereto at the exhaust end of the still 21, as shown in Fizs. 1 and 3. The sprocket NV]ieel 60 is operat@'d by a chain 61 which is driven by means of a sprocket 62 secu'red to a shaft 125 63. 'The drawings illustrate a conipleteldistilling apparatus but in this description only those Dtrts essential to the invention or essentiat to the understanding of the@ operation of 'the still will be described; there- 130

forle, it will be understood that the different sprockets and chains as shown, and the di:fferent other mechanisms will, n'ot be desciibed unless it is n6ces@ary for a full and @'complete understanding of the invention. . The balls used in ihe apparatus are -introduced into the inlet by mean'g of a feed device generally denoted by the nuiiieral 65. The details of this device are s-hown cleai.-ly in Figs. 9 and 10. The feed end 6f the shell 10 28 is- p@ovided with a @ mouth 66 tlirough which b@lls are indicated at 67 may pass to the interior of th6 shell 28. A petroleum inlet 68 is also i;Fovided which conne6ts Yiith the mouth 66, a-nd through which pet.roleum' to be cracked is introduced into the still. The feed device 65 is supported by a frame construction 69 located at the feed end of the still. Supported by the frame 69 is :a.lower body 72:having 9 flange outlet 20 73 which is attached to the upper end of the mouth 66. The flange outlet 73 provides a passage 74 which connects to the mouth ,G6. A horizontal lower cylindeir 75 is pro vided, to the ri@,rht end of which the p@s25 sage 74 is coiinected. Exte ; nded into the4 lower cylinder 75 from the left open end thereof is a lower piston 7'7 having a cross@head 78 which is attached to a cbnnecting tod 79, the cross-head operatiiig in guides 30 78a.. The opposite end of the conn@,eting rod a@ 79 is ittach@-d to a crank 19 . The crank 79a is mounted on a shaft 80 which is driven from a sprockbt 81 mounted on the shaft 36 of the still 24 a chain 82, a@nd a sprocket 83 secured to the.shaft 80. 'The lower'piston 77,, as will be evident, -is driven from the shaft 36 and in synchronism therewith. The lower piston 77 moves horizontall@ from the 40 'position shown in. Fig. 9 into the position shown in Fig. 10 and vice versa. - The right end of the lower cylinder @5 is 6losed by a plug 85 whi . ch is screwed in place as shown. Placed in the right ond of the lower cylinder 45 75 to the right of the lower piston 771i@s a lower plunier 86. The lower.plun-aer 86 is carried on thd inner end of a rod 87@-which e:ktends outward through the plug 85. The outer end of the rod 87 is provided with a 50 yoke 89.to which tension springs 90 are connected. The tension springs 90 are also secured to the lower body 72 and t@ey exert a resilient piessure on the rod 87 in a leftward direction at all times. The rod 87 is 55 provided With a sto 91 Which engages the p end o.f - the plug 85 when the plunger is in the position shown in Fig. 9. The plunger 86 moves from the, p6sition shown in Fig, 9 into the position shown in Fi . 10 and v' 9 ice Go versa. Supported above the lower body @2 is an lip1per body 94.. The upper body 94 has an upper fylinder 95, the left end of which is connected to the lower cyliiider 75, at 65 a point axially spaced from the discharge 1,7ee,209 3 outlet 74 by means of an intermedi@te opening 96' which is formed by extensions 97 and 98 of the lbwer and upp,er bodies ires , pedtively. Eitended into the right open end of the upper cylinder 95 is an upper piston 100 which has, a cross-head 101 which is TO supported by guides 102. The cross-head 101 is attached t6@ the cross-head. 78 of the lower piston 77, by meilns of a 6onnector 104. The iipper piston 100 is operated bi@'tween the po8itioii shown in Figs. 9 and 10 directly fiohi. the lower piston '77. Placed in the'upp(@r cylinder 95 at the left side 6f the upper piston 100 is an upper pl'unger 105. Extending from the upper plunger 105 is an upper rod 106, this upper rod 106 extending otitward ihrolioh a @lug 107 which closes the left end of tlie-.cyllnder 95. The outer end of the rod - 10'6 is provided with a yoke 108 to which'springs 109 are secured. 85 The springs 109 are 'also connected to the left end of the upper body 94 and exert at. all times a resilient pressute oin the rbd 106 in a rightwaid directi))n. The upper plunger 105 mo'ves from the'position shown in Fig. 9 into the position shown in Fig. 10@ a stop 110 90 limiti ng the rightward movement thereof Th e upper- body 94 is provided with a feed pass age- Ill which communicates with the upp er cylinder 95 above the outlet pa@sage 95 74 of the lower cylinder 75. A hopppr 113 is supportibd by the upper.b,ody 94 for feeding,t he balls 67 into the. feed device 65., W hen the device. is in the I position shown in Fig. 10, the left end of the upper p , iston 10 100 4nd the!right oiad of th6 up er plunger 105 fo'rm a space immediately betcow:the feed Pass ao_,e 111. The right end of the lower isto n p 77 and the leit end gf the lower pl@ nger 86 define a space in the lower cylin-, 105 der 75 immediately above the outlet passage 74. When the pai,ts ate in the @osition's just desc ribed and shown in Fig. 10, the balls 67 niay drop -into the upper cylinder 95 - betw een the upper piston and upperplungpr 110 100 and 105. The parts then move -ilito the POsi tions shown in Fig. 9. . The upper pis@@ ton and plunger, as shown in Fig. 9, de..ne an opening above the intermediate opening 96, and the lower @iston and plun-"er form llr, a space immediately below the int@rmediate openinlr 96. When the parts aie movino, from t@e position shown in Fig. 10 into tite position shown in Fig. 9, the balls between the upper piston and plunger Iceep the parts 120 separated until they reach the osition p shown in Fig. 9. The balls at this t'mp- may drop from the space between,the upper piston and'plunger throiigh the intermediate. opening 96 into th@ space between the lower 125 piston and plunoer. When the parts r-eturn to the ' o@ition shown in Fig. 10, the balls p between the lower piston and plunger drop through tlie'inlet pas8age 74 into the feed end o the still. 130 0

1,766,209' The purpose of the, lower and uppe-r ,plunaers'86 and 105 is to form a seal between the differerit cylinders aiid open. , passages, ings of the feed device. For example, refei@rina to Fi(y. 9, the loii-er pltinger 86 forms a seal iii the lowei- cylinder 75 S6 that no vapoi@ can pass throtigh the lower cylinder 15 into the interinediate opening 96 wheil the arts ai-e in the po8ition shown in Fig. p l'O 9. On the other hand,,tlie uppe@ plunger 10.5 forms a seal between the intermediate enlna 96 and the feed o@enin(,, III wlieii, t,@ie pa@ts are iii the position shown in,Fig. 10.. It is very difficult and very important 15 to mainfain a vapo.r seal dt the feed device; therefor'o, evei@y precaution miist be used. Thb arran-ement sho*n will be very satisfactory in zn pi-eventing a material escape of vapor,througli the cylinder8 and passages 20 of the feed 6evie.e. The upper.plungei, 105 is resiliently held to the right by the spri'lgs 'O' and the lower plunger 86 is resiliently held to the left by springs 90. T& pressure of these 25 @espective plungers in the direction of the pistons; 100 and 't.7 i-'Iay be sufficierit to retdin: the balls . in the spaces tlierebetween Nvhen the respective parts move above the connectiiig openings. For this reason' it'is 3a desirable t6 piovide latch arrangements w Iiicli - ",ill prevent the plungers 105 and 86 froin moving froni the positions near the opeiiiiias 96 and 74 respecti'vely, until after n a slight inovement of the pistons has taken 35 place. Referrin to Figs.. 9 to 13 inclusive, extending,,I'rom tli6 frame@work are arms 116 to the outer ends of which latches 117 are pivoted. Extending inward from the latches 117 are cirms 118 which are 40 adapted- to engalye the stops 91 and 110. It will bb not@d7that the -dpper latch'117 extends downward, whereas the lowei latch 117 extends upward. The free ends of !the, latch@es 117 are adapted to engage cams 45 119. The cams 119 iiiay be,formed on the cross-bar 104 or any of the other parts wllicli iiiove with the pistons. As sbowril. iii Fig. 12, the latch 117 'theroof is extended inwa _ rd aiid en ages the stop 110. 9 5o The tipper plunger 105 is, therefore, locked in the position shown in. Fig. 9. When.the 110 is enga-ed by. tjie arm 118 U'ntil the 1-aised portion of the cam 119 engage@ the 55 arm 118 and fhrows it outward against. the action of a spring 120. At this time the stop 110 will be released and the plunger 105 inty move in a rightward direction. It 60 will be seen that the upper.piston 100 will inove sliqlitly to the right before a 1"6vement of the upper plunger 105 occurs. If the frictional pressure of the plunger and .Piston agaiiist the balls iii the space there - 65 betweeii is stifficient to hold them in this space, the pressure will be released at this time and the balls may -fall into the space between the lower piston and plunker. It should be understood that the relative movement between the piston and the plunger 70 iieed only be a thirty-second or sixteenth of an inch so that there will be ample time for the balls to f all from the upper space into the lower space and be carried by the -lower piston riahtward in the lower cylinder so 75 that they ZD may drop tbrough the outlet passa(,e74. Aftertheballshavedropped.from the' space be.tween either of the pairs of pistons and plunoers, the plunger of this pair will immediately -move 'into tight contact 80 with the adjacent end of its cooperating piston so that a seal may be in-imediately formed. The lower body 72 is @provided with a plug 122 wheieby the outlet passage 74 may 85 be reached for inspection or cleaning -and the upper body 94 is provided with a p@ug 123 whereby the intermed opening 96 may be reached for iii or cleaning. The balls 67 arb fed h pper 113 by 90 me@ans of elevator bue 5 as show-n in Fig. 2. These elevator biiekets 125 are attached to a chain 126 which extends aroiind sprock@ts i27 and 128. The prockets 127 ,tnd 128 are driven -b@ nieans of a chain 129 95 which extends around a sprocket 130 oii the shaft 80. The buckets 125 pick up balls from a supply hopper 132. The bucket. elevator arraiigement is so timed that a buoket full of balls will be delivered to the hopper 100 113 upon each full reciprocation of the feed'. device, 65. One bucket full is just sufficient to fill the, space between the plungprs and pistons.' This timed feed arrangment is provided so that there will bo absolutel@ 105 n6 danger of any clogging in the feed device 65. The balls and carbon forii -ied in the still are withdrawn from the,still at the outlet eiid thereof tbrough.a I)assage.135 forined 110 in an outlet iiipple 136. This is sb.owli in Fig. 11. Attached to the lower end of the outlet nipple 136 is a body 137 of an outlet device 138 of the invention. The body 137 has a cylinder 139 whic,-Ii is coiinected to the 115 outlet 135 b3, means of an opening 140. Extended into the riglit'eiid of the eyiinder which is supported by slides 143, these slides 143 being attached to the body 137. 120 TIie positiori of the gauge 141 is controlled , py means of a lever 144. An openin 146 9 is formed through the gauge 141 and exr tended th ough this openina 146 is a, re- ciprocating door 148. The ri@ght end of the 125 door 148 is attached to a connecting i@od 149. which is iii turn secure . d to a crank 150. As shown . n F' 3, the crank 150 is operated by rn lf'a sprocket 151 over which eans, o a chain 152 extends. The chain 151) also 130 n-iechani@m is moved t6 the right, the stop. 139 is a LauLre 141 having a cross-head 142

1,766,209 extends over a-sprocket 154 whic.h is supported by ineans of arms 155, the arms 155 extendirig downward fron@ the shaft 36 as' shown in Fig. 1. The spro6ket 154 @ is in turn driven by means of a spro I cket 156 iiiounted on the shaft 36. Wh@n the crank separator through a vapor outlet pip6 170 which extends -downward from the upper end thereof. It should be noted that the separator 168 is placed in the doine 25 so that iio condeiisation will talte place therein. The vapor outlet 170 ex-tends to suitable, eco-lidensing ap paratus whereby the vapors are condensed or further -treated. 60 The operation of the invention is substantially. as forows: In starting iip..the apparatus,, the burners in the fire-boxll@s are first ligbted and the still raised, t6 propet temperature. The 6 5petroleuift tb@ be @cra'cked is supplied to the' forth so that the lower end of the opening 140 is alternately opened and closed so th@t 10 @alls'@nd carbon may, pass into the 'ylinder c 139@ The gauge- 141 may b6 moved into a suitable position so that the effecvive size of the lower end of the opening 140 may be regulated so that the proper amount of balls 15 and carb,oia may pass @nto the cylindei, 139. The discharge, of balls and carbon is controlled so that the opening 140 ar-d the outlet 135 are kept full so that a bd,ll and carbon seal will be provided which will pre20 vent an escape of va or through tlle di@- p charge device. The balls and carbon are deliverecl to a hopper 160 and are then carried by a bucket elevator 161 delivered to an inlet hopper 26 162 of a screening devic6 163. The screening device 163 is mounted above the furiiaci,. and may, be any suitable type. The purpos6 of the screening device is @to separate the caxbon from the balls. The ca)rbon@ is di-@- 30 charged from the ser6ening devie.e 163. through a - carbon - o-utlet 144. The balls which have been freed of carbon are delivered from the outlet end of the screening device 163 through a chtte 1 - 65. The chute 35 165 extends to the supply hopper 132 Nvhich supplies balls to the fe6d elevator. Vapor released from'the petroleum is ivithdrawn from the outlet end of the stiu, as shown in Fig. 1, through a pipe 167 Q which connee@.-s to the per end of a cyc 4 UP lone separator 168. As shown in Figs. 1. 4 and 15, the pipe-16'i is connected tangent@ally to the. upper endz of the separator 168 so that a cyclonic or vortex actioil. i s - obtained 45 This throws any @ solid. particles @ silch as carbon which may I be carried in I t'n4@ vap . ot. to the outside of the chamber'of the separator, which solid particles @ fall to tho' bottoin of the separator and niay be witlidrawn '50 the@efrom through. an outl6t - L69. The inlet end of the still through the passage 68 which communicate$ wit-h t@he mouth 66.. The balls 67 are at this time fed into the mouth 66 by the feed device 65 according to.the operati6n previously described. The balls and petroleum pass. through the still TO ing manner: Referring, to Fio,. 6, thb level of the petrol6um is indicaced by a, dotted lind, 17'5. This level 175 gtadually slopes towards the bottom of the shell 28 of the still so that it meets the bottom at the discharge, -end there-. of. In oth@ei, 'words the feeding is.so arranged that'the petroleum will not be fed so 150 operates, th6 door 148 moves back and -'and the petroleum is tr6ated in, the followv ftpors 'pass fron-i the upper part of the in and forming a seal. The discharge defaster than it can be cracked in the still. TIAs is done so that petroleum will not be fed fr@om the still through thc- discharoe device. The shaft 36 havmg been.previouslyset into operation moveg the.paddles 57 as indicated by t.he arrow 59 in Fig. 7. This agitates. the petroleum and the balls, and cause,s the petroleum to form thin films on the surfac6s of the ball.s. This provides a maximum are.% pf exposure and consequent90 ly a rapid cracking of the p6troleu-m. The action of t-he paddles is su6h as to lift the balls covered with petroleum from the main bod@ of petroleum so they are exposed to a very high temperature and s'o that the petroleum spirit may easily separate from the petroleum. The d ams 49 c6ntrol th-e movement of the, balls 67 so that they wil.1 not Pass too rapidly through tho still. The, balls are liftedover the d-ams by the paddleei loo 57. lt should be noted that the paddles 57, ar6 so placed, that they tend to force the petroleum and the balls towards the, exhaust end of the still. As the balls reach the exhaust end of the still, they become. covered 105 with carboiri and as the exhaust end of the still is reached, the petroleum level, as pre-. viouslydescribed, decreases so that the extreme e-xhaust end is dry. A-ny carbon which may collect o-n the interior of the shell 28 is removed by,the percussing action of 110 t@e balls a rainst the sher as they are passed 9 theret hrough. T.he carbon and balls 6@ pass into the outlet 135 as shown in Fig. 11, collecting there- 115 vice is reculated so that the balls and carbon are v@ithd@rawn at substdntially the same rate Of speed qs they passed into the upper end of the outlet 135. This timing may be ac- 12,0 curate ly accomplislied by operating the lever, 144 and thus proporly Dositioning the door 141. The seal of carbo@ and ballg prevents any escape of vapor from the stiu through thd discharge deiice. 125 The balls and carbon as previously explaine d, fall into the hopper 160 and are delive red by means of the bucket elevator 161 to the screening device 163 where the carboll is sei-)arated from the balls. The 130-