Sulzer Chemtech Ag

Sulzer Chemtech Usa, Inc.

Sulzer Management Ag

Mark William Pilling

Markus Friedrich Fischer

Sven Glüer

Peter Wilkinson

Stefan Tobias Hirsch

Dale E Nutter

Dale Edward Nutter

Ryan E Anderson

Bartele Griepsma

Daniel Richard Summers

Raymond Plüss

Giuseppe Mosca

Elena Tacchini

Christina J Campbell

Sven GLÜER

Peter Mervyn Wilkinson

A vapor-liquid contact tray apparatus includes a tray having a plurality of apertures for passage of fluid through the tray. The apertures are arranged in a first group of three adjacent rows extending substantially parallel to a main liquid flow path of the tray. Apertures of the middle row are offset along the main liquid flow path on the tray from adjacent apertures of the other two rows to form a triangular pattern of adjacent apertures across the three adjacent rows. The apertures have a length and a width, each length is oriented substantially parallel to its row and each width is oriented substantially perpendicular to its row. Centers of adjacent apertures within each row are separated by a first spacing which is equal to or between 2.5 and 4.5 times the average length of the apertures in that row. Adjacent rows are separated by a second spacing which is equal to or between 1.5 and 2.5 times the average width of the apertures of the adjacent rows.

Aperture layout for vapor-liquid contact tray

A hybrid Contact tray for a mass transfer column is provided. The tray has a deck for passage of liquid along a liquid flow path thereon. The deck also has a plurality of orifices for passage of ascending vapor through the tray deck. The contact tray includes a cross-current vapor-liquid mixing section having a first portion of the plurality of orifices and a co-current vapor-liquid mixing section having at least one co-current mixing device associated with a second portion of the plurality of orifices. The co-current mixing device includes a conduit having: a vapor inlet in fluid communication with one or more of the second portion of orifices; a froth inlet in fluid communication with the liquid flow path; a fluid outlet; and a packing material within a co-current flow path of vapor and liquid within the conduit disposed after the vapor and froth inlets and before the fluid outlet.

Hybrid contact tray for a mass transfer column

A hybrid contact tray for a mass transfer column is provided. The contact tray includes a tray deck for passage of liquid along a liquid flow path thereon. The tray deck has a plurality of orifices for passage of ascending vapor through the tray deck, a cross-current vapor-liquid mixing section having a first portion of the plurality of orifices, and a co-current vapor-liquid mixing section including at least one co-current mixing device associated with a second portion of the plurality of orifices. The tray deck also has features capable of altering liquid head levels with respect to the plurality of orifices such that the liquid head level within the co-current vapor-liquid mixing section is greater than the liquid head level within the cross-current vapor-liquid mixing section.

The valve cover has a guide vane extending laterally and downwardly from the central portion towards and in spaced relation to the tray deck for deflecting a majority of the vapor passing upwardly through an orifice downward towards the tray deck. A de-entrainment device with a downwardly angled deflector in vertical alignment with an orifice in the tray deck may be integrated or not with the valve cover below the tray deck.

Contact tray for a mass transfer column

The valve cover has a pair of tabs at the ends that are inserted into end sections of an orifice in the tray deck. The tabs of the valve cover abut against the underside of the tray deck while a pair of sloped portions of the valve cover rest on the top side of the tray deck in order to hold the valve cover in place.

A vapor-liquid contact tray apparatus having a tray with a fluid infeed section and a fluid travel section together with downcomer which is in fluid communication with the fluid travel section of the tray. A redirecting baffle is positioned at an inlet opening of the downcomer and push valves are provided in the fluid travel section of the tray. The push valves are preferably arranged in one or more zones of high concentration of push valves relative to one or more bubbling aperture zones with a lower concentration of push valves or no push valves. The redirecting baffle is provided in the downcomer and extends above the tray to capture fluid flowing horizontally off of the tray (e.g., exiting from a weirless or weir interface) and into a preferably concave upper portion of the redirecting baffle for controlling and redirecting the high momentum flow into and through the downcomer. A plurality of redirecting baffles are featured in one embodiment together with apertured straight sections extending down into the downcomer as in down to the half way mark of downcomer depth or further down including out of the bottom of the downcomer.

Tray apparatus, column with same and method of assembling and using

The tray has an infusion field of infusion tab valves adjacent the inlet to dissipate the momentum of the liquid flowing across said infusion field. Each valve includes a vertically upstanding wall of a height to obstruct the flow of liquid and the valves are disposed in a staggered array. An adjacent bubbling area has openings for the passage of an ascending flow of vapor into contact with the liquid/vapor mixture flowing across the area. Each infusion tab valve may also have a push valve incorporated therein.

Tray for a mass exchange column

The valve for a contract tray employs an aperture in a deck that is of rectangular or trapezoidal shape with upstanding walls at the sides of the aperture. The valve body is disposed in the aperture with a cover above the aperture and legs that extend downwardly to interfit with at least the upstream end of the walls to block the liquid flow. The valve body may be fixed or movable. In the movable embodiment, the valve body is seated on the walls about the aperture to close the aperture. The ascending vapor lifts the valve to allow bubbling of the vapor in the liquid on the deck.

Valve for a contact tray

A stepped downcomer with intermediate step platform and a step wall extending down. Extensions extend out from step wall ends toward the tower wall. A main panel extends from the interior edge of the platform up to the above positioned tray. The liquid-vapor mix flows into contact with the step platform and travels off the platform. The liquid also flows down along the extensions into contact with the inlet region of the lower tray, by-passing the platform. The lower edge of the step wall and lower edge of the extensions control fluid flow traveling under the lower edging from the inlet side of the downcomer apparatus to the active area of the tray. The relative level of the edges can be varied to suit use. The flow control region can additionally include baffles, slots, doors and other flow control devices.

Stepped downcomer apparatus and vapor-liquid contact apparatus with same

Vapor-liquid contact apparatus for chemical processing includes a vessel containing a plurality of spaced horizontal trays which support a vapor-liquid mixture, and downcomers which carry liquid down from one tray to another. Each tray has an infeed area, a bubbling area which has apertures for introducing vapor into the vapor-liquid mixture on the tray, and a liquid exit opening at the downstream end of the bubbling area. The downcomer receives the vapor-liquid mixture from the bubbling area, and it has a floor which increases the residence time of the vapor-liquid mixture in the downcomer. The floor forms an outlet which feeds liquid to the infeed area of a subsequent tray. The downcomer outlet is an elongated slot formed between a convex outer edge of the floor and a convex outer edge of the downcomer cross-section. To provide more uniform flow across the width of a bubbling area, the outlet slot which feeds the bubbling area is not wider, and is preferably narrower, at its centerline than at locations which are laterally spaced from the centerline.

Growing community of inventors

Jenks, OK, United States of America

Mark William Pilling