Wet scrubber for contaminated gas

Claim 1

A wet scrubber for contaminated gas comprising conduit means including wall means for directing and containing a flow of contaminants in a generally vertical direction, means for moving gas through said conduit means, means for introducing scrubbing liquid into said gas flow in said conduit means under venturi action of said gas comprising a plurality of spaced-apart, parallel, horizontal liquid troughs extending transversely across and dividing said conduit means into a plurality of spaced-apart, separate, venturi-like flow passages for high velocity gas flow, each of said troughs having a concave cross section for holding liquid therein and an underside defining lower wall portions of at least one of said passages, a cover member spaced above each of said liquid troughs in covering relation over the liquid therein and having an upwardly convex cross section and an upper surface defining an upper wall portion of at least one of said flow passages, each trough and cover thereabove defining at least one convergent-divergent side wall of at least one of said venturi-like flow passages and forming a minimum area venturi throat adjacent the upper edge of said trough, said liquid in said trough flowing laterally outward over the upper edge of said trough in response to the suction produced by venturi flow of the gas in the adjacent flow passage, means for supplying scrubbing liquid through the ends of said troughs and means for removing scrubbing liquid from said gas downstream of said flow passages.