EP0240340A2
Expired / Lapsed
EP
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Method and reaction apparatus for effecting controlled chemical reactions
Assignee: Waste Treatment Patents & Research Nv
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Filing: 1987-04-01
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2007-04-01
Abstract
Abstract An influent waste stream or first reactant is directed through conduit 12, heat interchanger 14, and conduit 16 to a long tubular coil 18 within containment vessel 20. A second reactant may be added to the influent waste stream through conduit 22. If it is desired to use reaction system 10 for wet oxidation of a waste influent consisting of dilute organic waste, air or pure oxygen would typically be injected into the waste stream through conduit 22. The containment vessel 20 is partitioned to form a series of successive compartments which are substantially filled with a heat exchange fluid 24. Fluid 24 is pumped from reservoir 26 through conduit 28 into the individual compartments of vessel 20. By closing valve 30 in conduit 28 and opening valves 32 and 34, fluid 24 is directed through conduit 36 to a heat exchanger 38 where it is heated to a start-up temperature which will permit a reaction to occur in the waste stream within tubular coil 18. The heated fluid 24 leaves heat exchanger 38 through conduit 40 and is returned to vessel 20 through conduit 28. Alternatively, it may be necessary to extract heat from fluid 24 after the reaction within tubular coil 18 becomes autogenic. If so, fluid 24 may be circulated through heat exchanger inserted into conduit 44 for cooling it to the desired temperature. The level of fluid 24 within each compartment of vessel 20 may be selectively controlled by operating any one of the valves 42 to permit the draining of fluid 24 through conduit 44 to reservoir 26. Further, if fluid 24 reaches a boiling temperature, pressurized vapour may be released through any one of the pressure relief lines 46 or the vapour may be circulated to a condenser for return to the system. While the heat exchange fluid 24 disclosed in Figure 1 is a liquid. a gaseous or vapor heat exchange fluid may also be utilized. If a gaseous heat exchange fluid is used, a fan or blower would be connected to the system at the location of reservoir 26. After the waste stream has been reacted within tubular coil 18, it passes through conduit 48 to separator 50 where the vapour effluent exits through conduit 52 and the liquid effluent exits through conduit 54 to interhchanger 14. As the liquid effluent passes through exchanger 14, its temperature is used to heat or cool the waste stream influent also passing therethrough.
Inventors
- 👤 Jack Edward Binning
- 👤 Hermann Walter Peterscheck
- 👤 Francis Michael Ferraro
- 👤 Franklin Berger Carlson
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-08 19:05
CPC Classifications
B; B01; B01J; B01J3/00; B01J19/00; B01J19/24; B01J19/2415; B01J19/243; B01J3/04; B01J3/042; C; C02; C02F; C02F11/00; C02F11/06; C02F11/08; C02F11/083; B01J2219/00; B01J2219/00049; B01J2219/00051; B01J2219/00074; B01J2219/00076; B01J2219/00083; B01J2219/00087; B01J2219/00099; B01J2219/00121; B01J2219/00159; B01J2219/00162; B01J2219/00182
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 20
Claim 1
Independent Claim
199 words
A method of effecting chemical reactions in a long thin-walled tubular coil arranged generally around a horizontal axis, said coil having generally upwardly and downwardly extending portions and generally horizontal intermediate portions,and the coil being contained in a fluid heat transfer medium, which method comprises the steps of flowing a liquid influent stream having a first reactant into the coil under a predetermined pressure; flowing a gaseous influent having a second reactant into the coil under a predetermined pressure; controlling the feed and flow rates and relative volumes of the liquid and gaseous influents at said predetermined pressures to produce two-phase plug and slug flow of the gaseous and liquid influents through the coil, including plug flow gaseous bubbles flowing upwardly through the liquid at a first velocity in the upwardly extending coil portions, plug flow gaseous bubbles flowing downwardly through the liquid at a second slower velocity in the downwardly extending coil portions and disrupting the plug flow gaseous bubbles in the intermediate generally horizontal portions, providing intimate mixing of the gaseous and liquid phases of said reactants; and heating the heat transfer medium to initiate the chemical reaction of the reactants in the liquid and gaseous influents.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
199 words
A method of effecting chemical reactions in a long thin-walled tubular coil arranged generally around a horizontal axis, said coil having generally upwardly and downwardly extending portions and generally horizontal intermediate portions,and the coil being contained in a fluid heat transfer medium, which method comprises the steps of flowing a liquid influent stream having a first reactant into the coil under a predetermined pressure; flowing a gaseous influent having a second reactant into the coil under a predetermined pressure; controlling the feed and flow rates and relative volumes of the liquid and gaseous influents at said predetermined pressures to produce two-phase plug and slug flow of the gaseous and liquid influents through the coil, including plug flow gaseous bubbles flowing upwardly through the liquid at a first velocity in the upwardly extending coil portions, plug flow gaseous bubbles flowing downwardly through the liquid at a second slower velocity in the downwardly extending coil portions and disrupting the plug flow gaseous bubbles in the intermediate generally horizontal portions, providing intimate mixing of the gaseous and liquid phases of said reactants; and heating the heat transfer medium to initiate the chemical reaction of the reactants in the liquid and gaseous influents.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
48 words
A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the chemical reaction is exothermic, the method including heating the heat transfer medium to initiate the exothermic chemical reaction of the reactants in the thin-walled tubular coil, and removing heat from the heat transfer medium when the reaction becomes autogenic.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
31 words
A method as claimed in claim 2, wherein the reaction products of the exothermic reaction include a gaseous reaction product, the method including maintaining the gaseous plug flow through the coil.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
124 words
Apparatus for effecting chemical reactions comprising a containment vessel; a long thin-walled tubular coil in the containment vessel for flowing an influent fluid stream through the coil within the containment vessel at a selected flow rate to cause plug or slug flow of the influent fluid stream through the coil; means for controlling the temperature of the fluid stream within the tubular coil to add heat when the temperature of the fluid stream is below a predetermined temperature or remove heat when the temperature of the fluid stream is above a predetermined temperature, to cause a chemical reaction within the fluid stream resulting in heated fluid and reaction products; and means for receiving the heated fluid and reaction product effluent from the tubular coil.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
124 words
Apparatus for effecting chemical reactions comprising a containment vessel; a long thin-walled tubular coil in the containment vessel for flowing an influent fluid stream through the coil within the containment vessel at a selected flow rate to cause plug or slug flow of the influent fluid stream through the coil; means for controlling the temperature of the fluid stream within the tubular coil to add heat when the temperature of the fluid stream is below a predetermined temperature or remove heat when the temperature of the fluid stream is above a predetermined temperature, to cause a chemical reaction within the fluid stream resulting in heated fluid and reaction products; and means for receiving the heated fluid and reaction product effluent from the tubular coil.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
34 words
Apparatus as claimed in claim 4, including multiple extraction points along the length of the tubular coil for extracting gas or solids from the fluid stream at one or more of said extraction points.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
57 words
Apparatus as claimed in claim 4 or 5 wherein the containment vessel includes a series of compartments for dividing the tubular coil into sections and means for controlling the temperature of the fluid stream within each section of said coil to permit different temperature gradients to be applied to successive sections of the coil across its length.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
153 words
Apparatus as claimed in claim 6 wherein the tubular coil comprises an inner tube and an outer tube, which is concentrically arranged relative to the inner tube such that said inner tube is located inside the outer tube, to allow the influent fluid stream to flow through the inner tube in a first direction and to return stream in a second opposite direction within the annulus formed between the outer periphery of the inner tube and the inner periphery of the outer tube, enabling the concentration of the fluid stream to be controlled such that an exothermic chemical reaction occurs as the fluid stream flows in the first direction and thereafter may continue as the fluid flows in the second direction whereby, as the fluid flows in the second direction, the heat generated by the chemical reaction in the fluid stream is used to heat the fluid stream flowing in the first direction.
Claim 10
Independent Claim
72 words
A method for effecting a chemical reaction, comprising the steps of flowing a reaction mixture into the bore of a long tubular reactor having a plurality of generally elliptical portions each having a substantially vertical upcomer portion and a substantially vertical downcomer portion; inducing a chemical reaction of the reaction mixture in the tubular reactor to produce at least one reaction product; and flowing the reaction product out of the tubular reactor.
Claim 11
Independent Claim
72 words
A method for effecting a chemical reaction, comprising the steps of flowing a reaction mixture into the bore of a long tubular reactor having a plurality of generally elliptical portions each having a substantially vertical upcomer portion and a substantially vertical downcomer portion; inducing a chemical reaction of the reaction mixture in the tubular reactor to produce at least one reaction product; and flowing the reaction product out of the tubular reactor.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
28 words
A method as claimed in claim 8, further including the step of heating the reaction mixture with heating means as the reactant is flowed into the tubular coil.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
38 words
A method as claimed in claim 8 or 9, wherein the flowing step produces plug flow and slug flow of the reaction mixture during the step of flowing said reaction mixture into the bore of the tubular reactor.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
86 words
A method as claimed in claim 8, 9 or 10 wherein the tubular reactor comprises an inner tube and an outer tube which are concentrically arranged with the inner tube located inside the outer tube and wherein the flowing step includes the step of flowing the reaction mixture through the inner tube in a first direction and returning the reaction product in a second opposite direction within the annulus formed between the outer periphery of the inner tube and the inner periphery of the outer tube.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
49 words
A reaction apparatus in which high temperature, high pressure chemical reactions are carried out, comprising a long tubular coil having a bore extending therethrough and including a plurality of generally elliptical loops, each of said elliptical loops having a substantially vertical upcomer portion and a substantially vertical downcomer portion.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
49 words
A reaction apparatus in which high temperature, high pressure chemical reactions are carried out, comprising a long tubular coil having a bore extending therethrough and including a plurality of generally elliptical loops, each of said elliptical loops having a substantially vertical upcomer portion and a substantially vertical downcomer portion.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
31 words
A reaction apparatus as claimed in claim 12, further including a containment vessel in which the tubular coil is at least partially disposed, the containment vessel having at least one compartment.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
51 words
A reaction apparatus in which high temperature, high pressure chemical reactions are carried out, comprising a long tubular reactor having a bore therethrough, the tubular reactor being in the form of a continuous elliptical serpentine tube having a plurality of substantially vertical portions, defining upcomer and downcomer portions, and interconnecting portions.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
51 words
A reaction apparatus in which high temperature, high pressure chemical reactions are carried out, comprising a long tubular reactor having a bore therethrough, the tubular reactor being in the form of a continuous elliptical serpentine tube having a plurality of substantially vertical portions, defining upcomer and downcomer portions, and interconnecting portions.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
31 words
A reaction apparatus as claimed in claim 14, further including a containment vessel in which the tubular coil is at least partially disposed, the containment vessel having at least one compartment.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
No citation records indexed.
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