Fluid contacting apparatus

Claim 1

A MULTI-STAGE APPARATUS FOR CONTACTING TWO INCOMPLETELY MISCIBLE FLUIDS OF DIFFERENT SPECIFIC GRAVITIES IN A COUNTERCURRENT RELATION BETWEEN STAGES AND IN CONCURRENT RELATION WITHIN EACH STAGE, WHEREIN ONE OF THE FLUIDS IS PRESENT AS A CONTINUOUS PHASE AND THE OTHER FLUID AS A DISCONTINUOUS PHASE, WHICH COMPRISES, IN COMBINATION: A PLURALITY OF VERTICALLY SPACED SUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTAL ELONGATED TUBULAR MEMBERS, A PLURALITY OF RETURN BEND TUBULAR CONDUITS CONNECTING ADJACENT HORIZONTAL TUBULAR MEMBERS SEQUENTIALLY AT ALTERNATE ENDS THEREOF, THEREBY FORMING A CONTINUOUS SERPENTINE TUBULAR PASSAGE THROUGH THE PLURALITY OF SAID SUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTAL TUBULAR MEMBERS AND SAID RETURN BEND CONDUITS, A PLURALITY OF SUBSTANTIALLY VERTICALLY DISPOSED TRANSFER CONDUITS, EACH CONNECTING A HORIZONTAL TUBULAR MEMBER WITH AN ADJACENT HORIZONTAL TUBULAR MEMBER AT POINTS AJDACENT THE ENDS THEREOF THAT ARE LONGITUDINALLY OPPOSITE THOSE ENDS OF THE SAME HORIZONTAL TUBULAR MEMBERS THAT ARE JOINED BY A RETURN BEND CONDUIT, EACH SAID TRANSFER CONDUIT TERMINATING AT THE UPPER INSIDE SURFACE OF THE LOWER HORIZONTAL TUBULAR MEMBER, AND AT THE LOWER INSIDE SURFACE OF THE UPPER TUBULAR MEMBER, TO WHICH THAT TRANSFER CONDUIT IS ATTACHED, A FIRST INLET CONDUIT FOR INTRODUCING CONTINUOUS PHASE FLUID INTO A FIRST HORIZONTAL TUBULAR MEMBER AT ONE END OF THE APPARATUS, A FIRST OUTLET CONDUIT FOR WITHDRAWING CONTINUOUS PHASE FLUID FROM THE LAST HORIZONTAL TUBULAR MEMBER AT THE OPPOSITE END OF THE APPARATUS, A SECOND OUTLET CONDUIT FOR WITHDRAWING DISCONTINUOUS PHASE FLUID INTO SAID LAST HORIZONTAL TUBULAR MEMBER, A SECOND OULET CONDUIT FOR WITHDRAWING DISCONTINUOUS PHASE FLUID FROM SAID FIRST HORIZONTAL TUBULAR MEMBER, AND DISPERSION MEANS ASSOCIATED WITH EACH TRANSFER CONDUIT AND WITH SAID SECOND INLET CONDUIT, EACH OF SAID HORIZONTAL TUBULAR MEMBERS BEING OF SUFFICIENT LENGTH TO PERMIT SEPARATION OF A DISPERSION OF SAID FLUID PHASES DURING LONGITUDINAL FLOW THROUGH SAID MEMBER, WHEREBY WHEN THE INLET CONDUIT FOR THE LIGHTER OF THE SAID PHASES IS POSITIONED IN THE LOWERMOST HORIZONTAL TUBULAR MEMBER AND THE INLET CONDUIT FOR THE HEAVIER PHASE IS POSITIONED IN THE UPPERMOST HORIZONTAL TUBULAR MEMBER, SAID CONTINUOUS PHASE FLUID WILL FLOW BY GRAVITY DIFFERENCE THROUGH SAID ENTIRE OULET CONDUIT, AND SAID DISCONTINUOUS PHASE TO SAID FIRST FLOW THROUGH SAID SECOND INLET CONDUIT AND THE FLUID WILL FLOW THROUGH SAID SECOND INLET CONDUIT AND THE DISPERSION MEANS ASSOCIATED THEREWITH INTO SAID LAST HORIZONTAL TUBULAR MEMBER, BE DISPERSED IN CONTINUOUS PHASE FLUID IN SAID LAST TUBULAR MEMBER, BE SEPARATED FROM CONTINUOUS PHASE FLUID DURING FLOW LONGITUDINALLY THROUGH SAID LAST TUBULAR MEMBER, COLLECT AS A SEPARATE PHASE ADJACENT THAT INNER SURFACE OF SAID LAST TUBULAR MEMBER THAT COMMUNICATES WITH THE TRANSFER CONDUIT CONNECTING THE LAST TUBULAR MEMBER WITH THE ADJACENT TUBULAR MEMBER OF THE SERIES, AND PASS SEQUENTIALLY THROUGH EACH TRANSFER CONDUIT AND ASSOCIATED DISPERSING MEANS, BEING ALTERNATELY DISPERSED IN THE CONTINUOUS PHASE FLUID AND SEPARATED THEREFROM IN EACH OF SAID HORIZONTAL TUBULAR MEMBERS IN THE MANNER AFORESAID, AND FINALLY FLOWING FROM THE FIRST TUBULAR MEMBER THROUGH SAID SECOND OUTLET CONDUIT.