The Boc Group, Inc.

Venkat Natarajan

Donald P Satchell, Jr

Richard Henry Clarke

Kevin McKeigue

Paul Alfred Sweeney

A heat exchanger for use within a sump to condense an vapor and to vaporize the liquid. The heat exchanger includes a core having alternating passages to vaporize the liquid and to condense the vapor. Liquid is distributed into passages through a liquid distributor and the passages involved in vaporizing the liquid are provided with a down flow, stage and one or more thermosiphon stages situated below the down flow stage. In such manner, part of the liquid is vaporized within the down flow stage and the remainder is vaporized within the thermosiphon stage or stages.

Heat exchanger

A heat exchanger for exchanging heat between first and second fluids. A plurality of vertically oriented passages are defined between alternating first and second passage walls. The first and second passages are provided for bringing the first and second fluids into a heat transfer relationship. To this end, the first passage incorporates an inlet and an outlet, for instance, to admit gaseous nitrogen into the top of the first passages and to discharge condensed nitrogen from the bottom of the first passages. An inlet is provided to introduce the second fluid into the second passages. The second fluid, which is a liquid is to be at least in part vaporized within the second passages. Liquid film, composed of the liquid, is distributed within the second passages by way of an arrangement of slotted dividing bars having staggered slots along the length of such slotted dividing bars to urge liquid against the passage walls defining the passages. Additionally, or in place of the dividing bar arrangement, a multi-domain corrugated fin material arrangement can be provided to effect a liquid film distribution within the second passages.

A heat exchanger is provided which is suitable for use as a condenser/reboiler in a double distillation column. The heat exchanger has alternating first and second passages and a reservoir located above the first and second passages for receiving a first fluid and for containing a froth. A series of orifices can be provided by a distributor tray to provide flow communication between the reservoir and the first passages to allow at least a liquid phase of the froth to weep into the first passages and to be partly vaporized through indirect heat exchange with a second fluid flowing through the second passages. The partial vaporization produces a vapor phase of the froth which can at least in part escape from the orifices and interact with the first fluid to thereby form the froth. A remaining part of the liquid phase, not vaporized through the indirect heat exchange, is discharged from the bottom of the first passages into a sump. The weeping inlet of the liquid phase into the first passages allows for the automatic replenishment of the first passages due to flow mal-distribution.

Heat exchanger and double distillation column

A structured packing for producing intimate contact between liquid and vapor phases formed of a plurality of juxtaposed sheets through which the liquid phase descends as a film. The sheets have corrugations to define flow channels through the sheets for the vapor phase to ascend through the structured packing and contact the liquid phase. The sheets have a plurality of elongated projections, situated on one or both sides of each of the flow chapels and/or each of the sheets. The projections are configured and oriented to produce turbulent mixing in the vapor phase as it ascends though the packing. This turbulence inhibits the formation of a concentration gradients within the vapor phase in directions normal to the walls of the flow chapels. The elongated projections are spaced apart from one another so that the turbulence and the vapor phase subsides between the elongated projections.

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Scotch Plains, NJ, United States of America

Venkat Natarajan