Devolatilizer rotor assembly

Claim 1

A rotor assembly adapted for use in a wiped film co-current devolatilizer for processing relatively viscous materials and separating the volatiles therefrom comprising: A. a rotably mountable shaft means having generally circularly symmetrical side wall portions, B. a plurality of radially outwardly extending, blade-like members on said side wall portions, 1. each such blade-like member extending circumferentially at an angle ranging from about 10* to 89* with respect to the axis of said shaft means, all such blade-like members having a similar inclination, 2. all such blade-like members being arranged into at least three axially extending, circumferentially spaced, parallel rows, each such row containing about the same number of such blade-like members, the blade-like members in each such row being axially spaced from one another, 3. each blade-like member having a land portion defined at its radial outer, circumferentially located edge, each such land portion being substantially equally radially spaced from said axis, and being adapted to apply both an axial and a circumferential force vector on said viscous material when said rotor assembly revolves on said axis, 4. said blade-like members being so located on said side wall portions that all circumferential regions radially adjacent said rotor assembly are swept by at least one land portion during one revolution of said rotor assembly on said axis, 5. said blade-like members being further so arranged on said side wall portions that the end of a land portion on one blade-like in one row generally either meets or overlaps less than 100 percent upon the beginning of a land portion on another blade-like member in the next adjacent row measured circumferentially in the direction of rotation of said rotor assembly on said axis, C. the ratio of the sum of the surface areas of all said land portions to the sum of all circumferential regions radially adjacent said rotor assembly swept by said land portions in one revolution of said rotor assembly ranging from about 0.003 to 1 to 0.15 to 1, D. the ratio of the diameter of said shaft means to the diameter of the circumferential regions radially adjacent said rotor assembly ranging from about 0.3 to 0.9, E. the ratio of the maximum axial distance of a said row between the first and the last blade-like members therein to the diameter of the circumferential regions radially adjacent said rotor assembly ranging from about 2.5 to 1 to 15 to 1.