Drying apparatus and method

Claim 1

A DRYING APPARATUS FOR A FLUID COMPOSITION COMPRISING A VERTICAL CASING; AN UPPER TUBE SHEET IN SAID CASING DEFINING A DISTRIBUTION CHAMBER THEREABOVE; A LOWER TUBE SHEET IN SAID CASING; A BOTTOM WALL SPACED FROM SAID LOWER TUBE SHEET DEFINING A PLENUM CHAMBER THEREBETWEEN; A PLURALITY OF HEAT-EXCHANGE TUBES SUPPORTED IN SAID TUBE SHEETS AND EXTENDING THERETHROUGH WITH THEIR UPPER ENDS IN A SUBSTANTIALLY COMMON HORIZONTAL PLANE SPACED ABOVE SAID UPPER TUBE SHEET; A DISTRIBUTING FERRULE SEATED AROUND THE UPPER END OF EACH OF SAID TUBES IN SAID DISTRIBUTION CHAMBER, SAID FERRULES HAVING SECANTLY DISPOSED AXIALLY EXTENDING SLOTS SPACED ABOUT THE PERIPHERY THEREOF, EACH OF SAID SLOTS EXTENDING FROM BELOW THE UPPER END OF ITS ASSOCIATED TUBE AND HAVING ITS UPPER END SPACED ABOVE SAID TUBE END TO PROVIDE EFFECTIVE LOWER ENDS OF SAID SLOTS IN SUBSTANTIAL ALIGNMENT; MEANS FOR SUPPLYING A HEATED FLUID TO THE CASING BETWEEN SAID TUBE SHEETS FOR HEAT EXCHANGE WITH SAID TUBES; MEANS FOR SUPPLYING FLUID COMPOSITION TO SAID DISTRIBUTION CHAMBER. SAID FERRULES ADMITTING CONTROLLED AMOUNTS OF FLUID COMPOSITION TO SAID TUBES DURING OPERATION TO FORM A SUBSTANTIALLY UNIFORM FILM ON THE INNER PERIPHERAL SURFACE THEREOF; MEANS FOR SUPPLYING HEATED INERT GAS TO SAID PLENUM CHAMBER, THE INERT GAS SUPPLIED TO SAID PLENUM CHAMBER PASSING UPWARDLY THROUGH SAID TUBES IN COUNTER-CURRENT CONTACT WITH THE FILM OF FLUID COMPOSITION DURING OPERATION THEREOF; AN OUTLET ADJACENT THE BOTTOM WALL OF SAID PLENUM CHAMBER FOR FLUID COMPOSITION DISCHARGED FROM SAID TUBES; AND AN OUTLET IN SAID DISTRIBUTION CHAMBER FOR DISCHARGING INERT GAS PASSING UPWARDLY THROUGH SAID TUBES.