Koch-glitsch, Inc.

Charles A Griesel

Izak Nieuwoudt

Clarence A Armbrister

Michael R Resetarits

Johnny B Riter

Ralph H Weiland

Frank E Mattke

A contact tray has a tray deck for receiving a liquid stream and a plurality of valves distributed across the tray deck through which vapor ascends for interacting with the liquid stream. Each valve includes an opening in the tray deck, wall segments that extend upwardly along opposite sides of the opening, and a valve body. The valve body has a trapezoidal valve cover positioned in covering relationship above and extending outwardly beyond the opening and legs that are attached to the valve cover at recesses located at opposite ends of the valve cover. A vent is positioned in one of the legs.

Contact tray for a mass transfer column

A contact tray for use in a mass transfer or heat exchange column and having multiple baffles walls that cause the liquid flowing on an upper surface of a tray deck tray to change its direction of flow and narrow its flow path width and extend the length of the flow path when the liquid flows from an inlet area to an outlet on the tray deck. By narrowing the flow path, the volumetric flow rate of the liquid at any portion of the deck increases and reduces the opportunity for vapor entrainment of the liquid at low liquid flow rates. A downcomer extends downwardly from the outlet to receive liquid when it enters the outlet and then convey it downwardly to a discharge outlet located at a lower end of the downcomer. The downcomer includes an inclined or horizontal portion that causes the discharge outlet to be positioned beneath and in vertical alignment with the inlet area on the tray deck.

Contact tray having baffle wall for concentrating low liquid flow and method involving same

A multi-pass contact tray for use in a mass transfer column has a mixture of fixed valves to movable valves, with the numbers of the respective valves being selected to balance the volumetric flow of vapor through deck segments when the vapor is ascending at volumetric flow rates insufficient to maintain the movable valves in an open position.

Multi-pass contact tray for a mass transfer column and method involving same

A contact tray for use in a mass transfer column and having a tray deck for receiving a liquid stream and a plurality of valves distributed across the tray deck through which vapor ascends for interacting with the liquid stream. Each valve has an opening in the tray deck in the form of a central segment and extensions that extend outwardly from opposite ends of the central segment. The valves each include a valve body with a valve cover positioned in covering relationship above and extending outwardly beyond the opening and legs that are attached to the valve cover at recesses located at opposite ends of the valve cover. The legs extend downwardly through the extensions in the opening and include stops in portions of the legs positioned below the tray deck to permit limited vertical movement of the legs to allow the valve body to move between open and closed positions in response to ascending vapor pressure against an undersurface of the valve cover. Deflectors are positioned at opposite sides of the legs to restrict vapor passage around the legs.

A contact tray for use in a mass transfer or heat exchange column and having a tray deck with an inlet area and a remotely positioned outlet for respectively receiving liquid on the tray deck and then removing the liquid after it has flowed across the tray deck and interacted with another fluid on and above the tray deck. A plurality of barriers are positioned between the inlet area and the outlet. The barriers each have spaced-apart pickets and openings in the spacing between adjacent ones of the pickets. The pickets impede the flow of the liquid and increase the upstream liquid loading on the tray deck as the liquid flows from the inlet area, through the openings, and then into the outlet. At low liquid flow rates, this increase in the liquid loading may significantly increase the vapor handling capacity of the tray.

Contact tray having picketed liquid flow barriers and method involving same

An inlet device for use in a vessel to facilitate separation of a gas phase from a liquid phase in a fluid stream. The inlet device has separation cans positioned at each of the outlet ends of a flow channel. Each separation can has a cylindrical wall and an elongated inlet opening in the cylindrical wall to allow the fluid stream to be introduced in a tangential direction into an open interior region where it swirls to facilitate separation of the gas phase from the liquid phase in the fluid stream. The liquid phase exits the separation can through slots in the cylindrical wall and through an open lower end of the open interior region. The gas phase exits the separation can by ascending upwardly through an open upper end of the open interior region.

Inlet device for separating phases of a liquid stream in a vessel and method involving same

Tray valve

A valve contact tray for use in a mass transfer or heat exchange column and having a plurality of fixed or moveable valves distributed across a tray deck of the contact tray. Each of the valves includes an opening in the tray deck, a valve cover connected to attachment legs, and a weir surrounding the opening. The valve cover is wider than and extends outwardly beyond the underlying opening in the tray deck and has a perimeter region that extends downwardly. A louvered vent opening may be provided in a downstream one of the attachment legs.

Tray valve cover

A cyclone for a cyclone mist eliminator. The cyclone has an inner wall enclosing an inner chamber having an inlet end and an opposed outlet end, an outer wall surrounding and spaced outwardly from the inner wall to create an outer chamber in a spacing between the inner wall and the outer wall, openings foamed in the inner wall to permit fluid in the inner chamber to pass through the openings and into the outer chamber, a swirler positioned at the inlet end of the inner chamber, and a fiber pad positioned in the outer chamber.

Cyclone, cyclone mist eliminator and method of use

A cross-flow tray is provided with a tray deck and groupings of cans separated by weirs. The cans have walls that surround vapor openings in the tray deck. Openings are provided in the walls to allow liquid to enter the cans from the tray deck. Additional openings are provided in the walls to allow liquid to exit the cans. Swirlers positioned within the cans induce a centrifugal swirling motion to the vapor and liquid to facilitate mass transfer and/or heat exchange between the vapor and liquid within the cans.

Cross-flow tray and method employing same

Bubble promoter for a cross-flow tray

A mass transfer column () is provided with an external shell defining an open internal region. Centrifugal contact trays () and return contact trays () are positioned in an alternating and vertically spaced apart relationship within the open internal region. Each contact tray has a plurality of vapor passages () for allowing vapor to flow upwardly through the tray deck to interact with liquid on the surface of the tray deck. At least one center downcomer () extends downwardly at an opening in the return tray deck and has a lower discharge outlet spaced above the centrifugal tray deck for feeding liquid onto the centrifugal tray deck. A rotation-inducing element may be placed within the center downcomer () to induce a rotational motion in liquid exiting the center downcomer (). At least one annular downcomer () extends downwardly the periphery of the centrifugal tray deck and has a lower discharge outlet spaced about the return tray deck for feeding liquid onto the return tray deck. At least one of the centrifugal contact trays is positioned a greater distance above an adjacent return contact tray than the distance at least one of the return contact trays is positioned above an adjacent centrifugal contact tray. The mass transfer column () may further include a single support ring (), one or more baffles () or combinations thereof.

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Bel Aire, KS, United States of America

Charles A Griesel