High-vacuum multistage distillation method and apparatus

Claim 1

FRACTIONAL DISTILLATION APPARATUS COMPRISING A SUBSTANTIALLY VERTICAL TUBULAR MEMBER HAVING AN INNER VAPORIZING SURFACE, MEANS FOR FORMING A FILM OF DISTILLAND ON SAID SURFACE, MEANS FOR HEATING SAID SURFACE, A ROTOR SHAFT WITHIN SAID TUBULAR MEMBER SUBSTANTIALLY CO-AXIAL, THEREWITH AND HAVING A BORE COMMUNICATING TO THE OUTSIDE OF THE TUBULAR MEMBER, A PLURALITY OF THIN-WALLED CONDENSERS SPACED FROM SAID SHAFT TO PROVIDE FLOW SPACES FOR THE FLOW OF COOLING FLUID AND ROTATABLE WITH THE SHAFT, SAID CONDENSERS BEING DISTRIBUTED OVER THE MAJOR PORTION OF THE LENGTH OF SAID TUBULAR MEMBER, EACH CONDENSER HAVING AN OUTER CONDENSING SURFACE THAT EXTENDS UPWARDLY AND OUTWARDLY FROM THE AXIS OF THE SHAFT, MEANS FOR ROTATING THE SHAFT TO THROW CONDENSATE UPWARDLY AND TOWARD SAID VAPORIZING SURFACE BY THE RESULTANT CENTRIFUGAL FORCE AND INTERFACIAL TENSION, A SUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTAL ANNULAR WALL SURROUNDING SAID SHAFT BETWEEN EACH ADJACENT PAIR OF CONDENSERS FOR SEPARATING SAID FLOW SPACES FROM EACH OTHER, SAID WALLS HAVING OPENINGS INTERCONNECTING SAID FLOW SPACES IN A SERIES FOR THE FLOW OF COOLING FLUID SUCCESSIVELY THROUGH SAID FLOW SPACES, A COMMUNICATING PASSAGEWAY BETWEEN THE BORE OF THE SHAFT AND A FLOW SPACE NEAR ONE END OF THE SHAFT, CONDUIT MEANS CONCENTRIC WITH SAID SHAFT AND ISOLATED FROM SAID BORE COMMUNICATING WITH THE FLOW SPACE NEAR THE OTHER END OF THE SHAFT AND WITH THE OUTSIDE OF THE TUBULAR MEMBER, AND MEANS FOR CIRCULATING COOLING FLUID FROM THE OUTSIDE OF THE TUBULER MEMBER THROUGH SAID BORE, FLOW SPACES AND CONDUIT MEANS AND THENCE TO THE OUTSIDE OF THE TUBULAR MEMBER.