Apparatus for forming a gas-solids suspension

Claim 1

APPARATUS FOR FORMING A GAS-SOLIDS SUSPENSION, SAID APPARATUS COMPRISING: A VENTURI THROAT ZONE; A FIRST CONDUIT, UPSTREAM OF SAID VENTURI THROAT ZONE, WITH AN INNER PERIPHERY CURVED IN ITS ENTIRETY; A GAS SOURCE IN COMMUNICATION WITH SAID FIRST CONDUIT; A SECOND CONDUIT, DOWNSTREAM OF SAID VENTURI THROAT ZONE, WITH AN INNER PERIPHERY CURVED IN ITS ENTIRETY; A VENTURI APPROACH ZONE BETWEEN SAID FIRST CONDUIT AND THE VENTURI THROAT ZONE; A VENTURI RECOVERY ZONE BETWEEN SAID SECOND CONDUIT AND THE VENTURI THROAT ZONE; SAID VENTURI ZONES AND SAID CONDUITS DEFINING A PATH FOR MOVEMENT OF GAS FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE FIRST CONDUIT TO THE END OF THE SECOND CONDUIT; SAID VENTURI THROAT ZONE HAVING A PAIR OF FLAT PARALLEL SIDES AND A PAIR OF CURVED SIDES EACH EXTENDING BETWEEN SAID FLAT SIDES; SAID VENTURI APPROACH ZONE HAVING A PAIR OF FLAT SIDES, CONVERGING FROM THE FIRST CONDUIT TO THE VENTURI THROAT ZONE, AND A PAIR OF CURVED SIDES EACH EXTENDING BETWEEN SAID FLAT SIDES; SAID VENTURI RECOVERY ZONE HAVING A PAIR OF FLAT SIDES, DIVERGING FROM THE VENTURI THROAT ZONE TO THE SECOND CONDUIT, AND A PAIR OF CURVED SIDES EACH EXTENDING BETWEEN SAID FLAT SIDES; EACH FLAT SIDE ON THE VENTURI THROAT ZONE BEING CONTINUOUS WITH A RESPECTIVE FLAT SIDE ON THE VENTURI APPROACH ZONE AND WITH A RESPECTIVE FLAT SIDE ON THE VENTURI RECOVERY ZONE; EACH CURVED SIDE ON THE VENTURI THROAT ZONE BEING CONTINOUS WITH A RESPECTIVE CURVED SIDE ON THE VENTURI APPROACH ZONE AND WITH A RESPECTIVE CURVED SIDE ON THE VENTURI RECOVERY ZONE; THE CROSS-SECTIONAL AREA OF SAID VENTURI THROAT ZONE BEING LESS THAN THE CROSS-SECTIONAL AREA AT ANY OTHER LOCATION ALONG SAID GAS PATH; THE DISTANCE BETWEEN PARALLEL FLAT SIDES OF THE VENTURI THROAT ZONE BEING LESS THAN THE SMALLEST INTERIOR DIMENSION, MEASURED IN A DIRECTION TRANSVERSE TO THE DIRECTION OF GAS FLOW, AT ANY OTHER LOCATION ALONG SAID GAS PATH; A FIRST FLAT SIDE OF SAID VENTURI THROAT ZONE HAVING A WIDTH, MEASURED IN A DIRECTION TRANSVERSE TO THE DIRECTION OF GAS FLOW THROUGH THE VENTURI THROAT ZONE, SUBSTANTIALLY GREATER THAN SAID DISTANCE BETWEEN THE PARALLEL FLAT SIDES OF THE VENTURI THROAT ZONE; A TUBE HAVING ONE END JOINING THE VENTURI THROAT ZONE AT SAID FIRST FLAT SIDE; AND AN OPENING IN SAID FIRST FLAT SIDE DEFINED BY THE JUNCTION THEREWITH OF SAID ONE END OF SAID TUBE; SAID GAS PATH EXTENDING IN AN UPWARD DIRECTION; SAID TUBE EXTENDING ANGULARLY FROM SAID JUNCTION WITH THE VENTURI THROAT ZONE, AND IN AN UPWARD DIRECTION.