Apparatus for treating granular material

Claim 1

APPARATUS FOR TREATING GRANULAR MATERIAL WITH A GASEOUS MATERIAL COMPRISING A VERTICALLY ELONGATED HOUSING, A PLURALITY OF HOPPERS WITHIN THE UPPER END OF SAID HOUSING HAVING NARROW ELONGATED DISCHARGE OUTLETS AT THIER LOWER ENDS, MEANS FOR INTRODUCING SAID GRANULAR MATERIAL INTO THE UPPER ENDS OF SAID HOPPERS, A SERIES OF INCLINED TRAYS ARRANGED IN A VERTICAL TIER BELOW EACH OF SAID HOPPERS, AND ALTERNATELY INCLINED IN OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS SO AS TO FORM A CONTINUOUS ZIGZAG PATH FOR PASSING SAID GRANULAR MATERIAL DOWNWARDLY THROUGH SAID HOUSING, THE UPPERMOST SAID TRAYS BEING ADAPTED TO RECEIVE SAID GRANULAR MATERIAL FROM SAID HOPPERS AS A WIDE LATERALLYCONFINED MOVING LAYER AND A CONVEY SAID MOVING LAYER DOWNWARDLY BY GRAVITY FLOW, THE LOWER END OF EACH OF SAID TRAYS BEING ADAPTED TO DISCHARGE SAID GRANULAR MATERIAL AS A DOWNWARDLY MOVING COLUMN ONTO THE UPPER END OF THE TRAY NEXT BELOW, THE SIDE WALLS OF SAID HOUSING FORMING ONE OF THE VERTICAL CONFINING SURFACES FOR DISCHARGED GRANULAR MATERIAL DECENDING UPON THOSE TRAYS WHOSE UPPER ENDS ARE ADJACENT TO SAID HOUSING WALLS, AND THE UPPERMOST EDGES OF TRAYS WHOSE UPPER ENDS ARE SPACED INWARDLY FROM SAID HOUSING WALLS BEING UPTURNED TO FORM VERTICAL CONFINING SURFACES FOR THE MATERIAL DESCENDING THEREON FROM THE TRAYS ABOVE, MEANS AT THE DISCHARGE ENDS OF THE LOWERMOST OF SAID TRAYS FOR REMOVING SAID GRANULAR MATERIAL FROM SAID HOUSING, MEANS FOR INTRODUCING STREAMS OF GASEOUS MATERIAL AT VERTICALLY SPACED POINTS ALONG A SIDE THEREOF, MEANS EXTENDING LENGTHWISE OF SAID HOUSING FOR CIRCULATING A CONFINED FLUID HEAT EXCHANGE MEDIUM, SAID GASEOUS MATERIAL BEING CIRCULATED IN PATHS EXTENDING ALTERNATELY BACK AND FORTH ACROSS SAID HOUSING BETWEEN SAID TRAYS AND INCLUDING SAID MEANS OF CIRCULATING A CONFINED FLUID HEAT EXCHANGE MEDIUM, AND MEANS FOR WITHDRAWING GASEOUS MATERIAL FROM SAID HOUSING.