Gas-liquid contact column apparatus

Claim 1

A CONTACT COLUMN FOR BRINGING A LIQUID DESCENDING IN THE COLUMN INTO INTIMATE CONTACT WITH ASCENDING GASES OR VAPORS, COMPRISING AN OUTER SUBSTANTIALLY VERTICAL CASING, A PLURALITY OF SUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTAL EXCHANGE PLATES ARRANGED ONE ABOVE THE OTHER RESPECTIVELY AT DIFFERENT ELEVATIONS IN SAID OUTER CASING AND RESPECTIVELY HAVING OUTER PERIPHERIES SPACED INWARDLY FROM SAID OUTER CASING, EACH PLATE HAVING A CENTRAL IMPERVIOUS PORTION AND EACH OF SAID PLATES BEING FORMED WITH APERTURES DISTRIBUTED BETWEEN SAID CENTRAL IMPERVIOUS PORTION AND SAID OUTER PERIPHERY THEREOF AND SAID APERTURES BEING INCLINED UPWARDLY AND OUTWARDLY AS WELL AS CIRCUMFERENTIALLY FOR IMPARTING A TANGENTIAL FLOW TO SAID ASCENDING GASES OR VAPORS AND FOR IMPARTING A ROTATIONAL FLOW TO LIQUID ON SAID PLATES WITH RESPECT TO THE COLUMN AXIS, AN INNER CASING COAXIAL WITH AND SPACED INWARDLY FROM SAID OUTER CASING AND CONNECTED TO SAID PLATES AT SAID OUTER PERIPHERIES THEREOF AND EXTENDING VERTICALLY ABOVE AND BELOW THE PERIPHERY OF EACH PLATE, SAID INNER CASING DEFINING WITH SAID OUTER CASING AN ANNULAR CANAL SURROUNDING EACH OF SAID PLATES A HORIZONTAL RING COVERING EACH ANNULAR CANAL ADJACENT AND ABOVE EACH PLATE SO THAT EACH PAIR OF SUCCESSIVE HORIZONTAL RINGS DEFINES THE UPPER AND LOWER LIMITS OF EACH ANNULAR CANAL WITH THE LATTER EXTENDING ABOVE AND BELOW EACH PLATE, SAID INNER CASING BEING FORMED IN THE IMMEDIATE VICINITY OF AND JUST ABOVE EACH PLATE WITH AN INLET MEANS FOR ADMITTING THE ROTATING LIQUID TO EACH OF SAID CANALS, AND A PLURALITY OF RADIALLY DISPOSED RECONDUCTION CONDUITS COMMUNICATING WITH SAID CANALS FOR FEEDING LIQUID UNDER PRESSURE FROM A CANAL COMMUNICATING WITH AND RECEIVING LIQUID THROUGH SAID INLET MEANS SITUATED JUST ABOVE ONE PLATE TO THE CENTER OF THE NEXT LOWER PLATE, FURTHER INCLUDING LIQUID FEED CYLINDERS CENTRALLY DISPOSED WITH RESPECT TO SAID PLATES, SAID RECONDUCTION CONDUITS EXTENDING FROM SAID ANNULAR CANALS INTO SAID LIQUID FEED CYLINDERS, SAID LIQUID FEED CYLINDERS ARE LOCATED ABOVE RESPECTIVE IMPERVIOUS PORTIONS OF SAID PLATES, SAID RECONDUCTION CONDUITS BEING LOCATED BENEATH SAID PLATES AND ADAPTED TO FEED LIQUID TO THE FEED CYLINDER OF THE NEXT LOWER PLATE, AND SAID FEED CYLINDERS BEING RESPECTIVELY FORMED JUST ABOVE SAID PLATES WITH OUTLET MEANS FOR DIRECTING LIQUID OUTWARDLY FROM SAID FEED CYLINDERS RESPECTIVELY TOWARD THE OUTER PERIPHERIES OF SAID PLATES.