Fluid treatment process and apparatus
First Claim
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1. Apparatus for treating a fluid to remove a component therefrom, by a process in which the fluid is passed through a bed of particulate material capable of taking up the component from the fluid, wherein the apparatus comprises:
- a vessel containing a said bed of particulate material, said material being an ion exchange resin that is both capable of taking up said component from the fluid and capable of being regenerated in place, and the volume of which changes appreciably in use, the vessel having first and second ports for permitting flow of fluid through the bed from said first port to said second port and reverse flow for regeneration of said resin.means confining the bed within the vessel so that the bed defines first and second end faces, a substantially constant bed depth between said faces of less than about 30 inches, and a cross-sectional area which is constant or increases uniformly from one face to the other, said confining means including headers at the respective bed end faces, each including fluid flow passageways providing communication between the bed and the relevant one of said ports, the passageways being arranged to distribute fluid flowing from a said port into the bed substantially evenly over the cross-sectional area of the bed at said face;
said resin being fully confined by said confining means in an overpacked condition, the particle size and the degree of overpacking of said resin being selected to provide for substantially even distribution of fluid across the cross-sectional area of the bed in flowing between said bed end faces.
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Abstract
An apparatus and process for treating a fluid by passing the fluid through a bed of particulate material such as an ion exchange resin capable of taking up from the fluid a component to be removed therefrom. Substantially uniform fluid flow distribution across the cross-sectional area of the bed is achieved by employing resins of fine particle size which are maintained in an overpacked condition.
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Citations
18 Claims
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1. Apparatus for treating a fluid to remove a component therefrom, by a process in which the fluid is passed through a bed of particulate material capable of taking up the component from the fluid, wherein the apparatus comprises:
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a vessel containing a said bed of particulate material, said material being an ion exchange resin that is both capable of taking up said component from the fluid and capable of being regenerated in place, and the volume of which changes appreciably in use, the vessel having first and second ports for permitting flow of fluid through the bed from said first port to said second port and reverse flow for regeneration of said resin. means confining the bed within the vessel so that the bed defines first and second end faces, a substantially constant bed depth between said faces of less than about 30 inches, and a cross-sectional area which is constant or increases uniformly from one face to the other, said confining means including headers at the respective bed end faces, each including fluid flow passageways providing communication between the bed and the relevant one of said ports, the passageways being arranged to distribute fluid flowing from a said port into the bed substantially evenly over the cross-sectional area of the bed at said face; said resin being fully confined by said confining means in an overpacked condition, the particle size and the degree of overpacking of said resin being selected to provide for substantially even distribution of fluid across the cross-sectional area of the bed in flowing between said bed end faces. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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- 10. A process for treating a fluid to remove a component therefrom, in which the fluid is passed through a bed of a particulate material in the form of an ion exchange resin that is capable of both taking up the component from the fluid and of being regenerated in place and the volumne of which changes appreciably in use, wherein the bed comprises particles of substantially uniform size maintained in an overpacked condition between first and second end faces of the bed, the bed defining a substantially constant depth between said faces of less than about 30 inches and a cross-sectional area which is constant or increases uniformly from one face to the other, and wherein the fluid is passed through the bed by distributing the fluid substantially uniformly across one of said end faces, permitting the fluid to flow through the bed and collecting the fluid substantially uniformly across the other said end face, the size of the particles in the bed and the degree of overpacking being selected to provide for substantially even distribution of fluid across the cross-sectional area of the bed in flowing between said bed end faces, and the process being operated at a capacity of less than about 35% of the maximum capacity of the process.
Specification