Counterflow liquid-granular material transfer process and apparatus

Claim 2

An installation as defined in claim 1, wherein said at least one of said columns is the fixing column, and in which said periodically operative feeding means feeds each batch of collected solid particles and a given volume of the liquid into such chamber above the mass of particles therein, said feeding means feeding the liquid, at least, tangentially into such chamber.

Claim 3

An installation providing a closed circuit for treating liquids and solid particles, comprising a substantially vertically disposed tubular fixing column and a substantially vertically disposed tubular elution column separate and spaced from one another, a tubular casing enclosing the lower portion of said elution column and forming with the latter a tubular chamber for holding a mass of the solid particles, means for rapidly injecting tangentially into such chamber above the mass of particles therein a given volume of liquid under a given pressure to effect a forward upward movement of a given volume of the material in such elution column, said injecting means being constructed and arranged to repeat at intermittent intervals the injection of a constant given volume of liquid under constant given pressure to effect an intermittent forward motion of given volumes of the material in said elution column, first intermediate means located between said columns for intermittently collecting batches of the solid particles discharged from said fixing column and comprising a first particle collection chamber and a second particle collection chamber both located between said tubular holding chamber and said fixing column, means operable to feed intermittently batches of particles from said fixing column to said second collection chamber and from the latter to said first collection chamber, means operable to treat the particles in said second collection chamber in the intervals between such intermittent batch feed thereof, said first collection chamber communicating with said holding chamber at a place positioned above the portion of the mass of particles remaining therein after operation of said injecting means, and constructed and arranged to feed the particles by gravity onto such mass portion, and means for controlling the discharge from such first particle collection chamber and into said holding chamber of a given volume of particles to form the mass of particles required therein prior to each operation of said injecting means, a second intermediate means located between said columns and including means for collecting the solid particles discharged from the upper end of the elution column, and means operative periodically to feed a batch of said collected solid particles and a given volume of liquid into said fixing column.

Claim 4

An installation providing a closed circuit for treating liquids and solid particles, comprising a substantially vertically disposed tubular fixing column and a substantially vertically disposed tubular elution column separate and spaced from one another, a tubular casing enclosing the lower portion of said fixing column and forming with the latter a tubular chamber for holding a mass of the solid particles, means for rapidly injecting tangentially into such chamber above the mass of particles therein a given volume of liquid under a given pressure to effect a forward upward movement of a given volume of the material in such fixing column, said injecting means being constructed and arranged to repeat at intermittent intervals the injection of a constant given volume of liquid under constant given pressure to effect an intermittent forward motion of given volumes of the material in said fixing column, and comprising a receiver tank having a solid particle entry port and a solid particle discharge port located intermediate said elution and fixing columns, means for alternately connecting the entry port of said tank to the discharge end of said elution column and the discharge port of said tank to the tubular chamber of said fixing column, first means operative intermittently to cause said elution column to discharge batches of solid particles of given volume into said connecting means and to said tank, and second means operative periodically to cause the transfer of solid particles fed to said intermediate tank to said fixing column as a liquid stream, said first operative means being constructed and arranged to cause said elution column to discharge a plurality of batches of the solid particles to said intermediate tank between each of the operations of said second operative means, said second operative means being constructed and arranged to transfer the entire volume of solid particles in said intermediate tank as a liquid stream in each operation thereof, and means including at least one receiver tank for collecting solid particles discharged from the upper end of said fixing column and feeding them into the lower portion of said elution column.

Claim 5

An installation for treating liquids and solid particles comprising an upstream tubularly shaped column providing a chamber for a bed of the solid particles, a downstream tubularly shaped column providing a chamber for a bed of the solid particles, a receiver tank having a solid particle entry port and a solid particle discharge port located intermediate said upstream and downstream columns, means connecting the entry port of said intermediate tank to the discharge end of said upstream column and the discharge port of said intermediate tank to the entry end of said downstream column and including means for isolating one of said intermediate tank ports when the other of its said ports is operative for the passage of solid particles therethrough, first means operative periodically to cause said upstream column to discharge a batch of solid particles of given volume into said connecting means and to said intermediate tank, and second means operative periodically to cause the transfer of solid particles fed to said intermediate tank to said downstream column, one of said upstream and downstream columns being a fixing column and the other being an elution and washing column, and each of such columns including a cylindrical tubular body, and a base portion constructed to form an annular chamber for the entry of the solid particles to be moved up inside the column, said fixing column including a top portion constructed to form an annular chamber for receiving the solid material spilling over from the top of said column and to be discharged therefrom.

Claim 6

An installation as defined in claim 6, in which said elution and washing column is the upstream column and said fixing column is the downstream column, and in which said connecting means comprises a first pipe having a valve located between said upstReam column and said intermediate tank and through which the solid particles move by gravity from such column to such tank, and a second pipe having a valve between said intermediate tank and the annular chamber at the base of said fixing column, said second pipe discharging tangentially into such annular chamber.

Claim 7

An installation as defined in claim 7, in which said first operative means includes means for rapidly injecting a given volume of liquid under a given pressure into the annular chamber at the base of said elution and washing column, and in which said second operative means includes means for injecting a given volume of liquid under a given pressure into said intermediate tank.

Claim 8

An installation as defined in claim 6, in which said fixing column is the upstream column, and said elution and washing column is the downstream column, and in which said connecting means comprises a first pipe having a valve extending from said annular chamber at the top of said fixing column to said intermediate tank, a storage hopper communicating with the annular chamber at the base of said elution and washing column, and a second pipe having a valve extending between said intermediate tank and said storage hopper.

Claim 9

An installation as defined in claim 9, including means for washing the solid particles in said intermediate tank by fluidization.

Claim 10

An installation as defined in claim 9, in which said storage hopper includes means for detecting when the level of the mass of solid particles therein falls to a given level, and means controlled by said detecting means to effect the operation of said second operative means and thereby cause an additional supply of solid particles to said storage hopper.

Claim 12

The method defined in claim 12, in which said one column is the elution column and the collection and delivery of solid particles therefrom includes the steps of passing a plurality of batches of constant given bulk volume of solid particles from the upper portion of such elution column at periodic intervals to a second chamber for collection thereof and isolating the latter from said fixing column during the period in which such plurality of batches are moving from such elution column to such second chamber, the total volume of such batches in such period not exceeding a set maximum volume smaller than the capacity of the second chamber, and then isolating said second chamber from said elution column and transferring the entire volume of material fed to the second chamber during such period from said second chamber to the fixing column.

Claim 13

The method defined in claim 12, in which said one column is the fixing column and the collection and delivery of solid particles therefrom includes the steps of passing a bulk batch of the solid particles from said fixing column to a second chamber located between said columns and connected to but isolated from said elution column during the passage of such bulk batch thereto, treating such bulk batch of solid particles in said second chamber while isolating the latter from both said fixing and elution columns, and then feeding the solid particles treated in said second chamber in small batches of constant given bulk volume to said first chamber communicating with the lower portion of said elution column.

Claim 14

An installation providing a closed circuit for treating liquids and solid particles, comprising a substantially vertically disposed tubular fixing column and a substantially vertically disposed tubular elution column separate and spaced from one another, a tubular casing enclosing the lower portion of at least one of said columns and forming with the latter a tubular chamber for holding a mass of the solid particles, means for rapidly injecting tangentially into such tubular chamber above the mass of particles therein a given volume of liquid under a given pressure to effect a forward upward movement of a given volume of the material in such one column, said injecting means being constructed and arranged to repeat at intermittent intervals the injection of a constant given volume of liquid under constant given pressure to effect an intermittent forward motion of given volumes of the material in said one column, a first chamber located between said columns for intermittently collecting batches of solid particles discharged from such one column for delivery to the other column, and a second chamber located between said columns for intermittently collecting batches of solid particles discharged from the other column for delivery to said tubular chamber.