Liquid film producing process and apparatus for fluid-liquid contacting
First Claim
1. A fluid-liquid contacting apparatus comprising:
- a housing having a bottom and a tray mounted therein, said tray separating an upper section of the housing for holding liquid and an enclosed lower section for liquid-fluid interaction; and
at least one line of substantially uniformly spaced, thin, straight film guides in close proximity extending downwardly from said tray towards said bottom, thereby defining a grille for establishing a flowing liquid film across a substantial section of said lower section, the liquid flowing in panes between adjacent film guides during use of the apparatus;
a fluid inlet at one side of said lower section of the housing and fluid outlet at an opposite side of said lower section; and
means for causing a fluid to flow across said lower section from said fluid inlet through said grille and said panes of flowing liquid, and to said fluid outlet;
wherein a narrow slit is formed in said tray along said at least one line of film guides for enabling liquid in the upper section to flow to the lower section and form said panes, whereby said fluid flowing through the lower section can efficiently interact with said liquid film during use of said apparatus by flowing through said liquid film.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Processess and apparatus are provided to generate and use continuous and controlled liquid film for industrial and commercial applications requiring fluid-liquid contacts. In one version, a housing has a bottom and a tray mounted therein. The tray separates an upper section for holding liquid from a lower section for liquid-fluid interaction. Uniformly spaced, thin, straight film guides in close proximity extend downwardly from the tray towards the bottom. A narrow slit is formed in the tray along each line of film guides for enabling liquid in the upper section to flow to the lower section in the form of a flowing liquid curtain. The fluid can be a gas entering and exiting the housing through ports provided therein. In a preferred embodiment, a vertically extending tubular member is mounted centrally within several closed loops of film guides and extends through the tray. An adjustable sleeve is mounted on top of the tubular member and the tops of the film guides are secured to this sleeve. The invention may be used in a liquid-gas contacting column that comprises an upright vessel with a liquid inlet at the top and liquid outlet in a bottom portion. A series of trays are mounted one above the other in the vessel.
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Citations
17 Claims
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1. A fluid-liquid contacting apparatus comprising:
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a housing having a bottom and a tray mounted therein, said tray separating an upper section of the housing for holding liquid and an enclosed lower section for liquid-fluid interaction; and at least one line of substantially uniformly spaced, thin, straight film guides in close proximity extending downwardly from said tray towards said bottom, thereby defining a grille for establishing a flowing liquid film across a substantial section of said lower section, the liquid flowing in panes between adjacent film guides during use of the apparatus; a fluid inlet at one side of said lower section of the housing and fluid outlet at an opposite side of said lower section; and means for causing a fluid to flow across said lower section from said fluid inlet through said grille and said panes of flowing liquid, and to said fluid outlet; wherein a narrow slit is formed in said tray along said at least one line of film guides for enabling liquid in the upper section to flow to the lower section and form said panes, whereby said fluid flowing through the lower section can efficiently interact with said liquid film during use of said apparatus by flowing through said liquid film.
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2. A gas-liquid contacting apparatus comprising:
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a housing compartmentalized by a tray mounted therein into an upper zone for holding a liquid and an enclosed lower zone for liquid-gas interaction; said tray having at least one narrow slit therein for enabling liquid contained in the upper zone to flow to the lower zone; and at least one line of substantially uniformly spaced, elongate, thin film guides mounted in close proximity in the housing and extending from said at least one slit in the tray and substantially into and across the interaction zone, thereby defining a grille for establishing a flowing film of liquid over a substantial area in the interaction zone, said film guides being arranged in sufficient proximity to one another that said liquid is able to flow in panes between adjacent guides; at least one gas inlet or in said housing on one side of said grille; at least one gas outlet port in said housing on an opposite side of said grille; and motive means for causing said gas to flow through said grill and through said panes of flowing liquid, whereby said gas can interact with the liquid of said film. - View Dependent Claims (3, 4)
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5. A gas-liquid contacting apparatus comprising:
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a housing compartmentalized by a tray mounted therein into an upper zone for holding a liquid and a lower zone or liquid-gas interaction; said tray having at least one narrow slit therein for enabling liquid contained in the upper zone to flow to the lower zone; and at least one line of substantially uniformly spaced, elongate, thin film guides mounted in close proximity in the housing and extending from said at least one slit in the tray and substantially into the interaction zone, thereby defining a grille for establishing a flowing film of liquid over a substantial area of the interaction zone, said film guides being arranged in sufficient proximity to one another that said liquid is able to flow in panes between adjacent guides, a vertically extending tubular member mounted centrally within said at least one line of film guides and extending through said tray, said at least one line forming a closed loop, whereby a gas present in said interaction zone can interact with the liquid of said film. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A liquid-fluid contacting apparatus comprising:
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a vessel having at least one liquid inlet in a top portion thereof and at least one liquid outlet in a bottom portion thereof, said vessel also having at least one gas inlet and at least one outlet for a gas or vapour; a series of trays each mounted horizontally and adapted to hold a body of liquid thereon; at least one module mounted on each tray with each module comprising at least one line of substantially uniformly spaced, elongate, thin film guides mounted in close proximity and extending from at least one slit formed in the plane of the respective tray by the module and substantially into a liquid-fluid interaction zone below the respective tray, said film guides defining a grille for establishing a flowing film of liquid over an area in the interaction zone, said at least one module and said film guides being constructed and arranged so as to cause said gas or vapour passing through said interaction zone from said at least one gas inlet to said at least one gas outlet to flow through said grille and through said flowing film of liquid; wherein in use of the apparatus, liquid entering through said at least one liquid inlet flows from each tray downwards to said bottom portion of the vessel by passing through one or more modules and gas or vapour passing through said interaction zone interacts with the liquid films formed by said modules. - View Dependent Claims (13)
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14. A process for contacting a liquid with a gas or vapour for interaction therebetween, said process comprising:
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providing a housing with a tray mounted therein, said tray separating said housing into an upper section and a lower section for liquid-gas or liquid vapour interaction; delivering said liquid to said upper section; delivering said as or vapour through a gas inlet into said lower section; permitting said liquid to flow from the tray in the form of a liquid film down a line of thin, straight film guides positioned in close proximity to but spaced apart from one another, said film guides extending downwardly from said tray and into said lower section, said liquid covering the film guides and flowing in panes extending between adjacent film guides; and passing said gas or vapour through said film guides and through said liquid film for a desired interaction between said liquid and said gas or vapour. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17)
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Specification