Multistage vortical mass contact between media

Claim 1

A MULTISTAGE VORTICAL MASS CONTACTOR COMPRISING AT LEAST FIRST AND SECOND VORTICAL CONTACT STAGES, EACH OF SAID STAGES COMPRISING A VANED LOUVERED WALL ARRANGED IN OVERALL CIRCULAR CONFIGURATION WITH THE VANES THEREOF ORIENTED AT AN ANGLE BETWEEN TANGENITAL AND ORTHOGONAL TO SAID CIRCULAR CONFIGURATION, THE TWO LOURVERED WALLS BEING SUBSTANTIALLY CONCENTRIC AND BEING SUBSTANTIALLY COPOLANAR WITH ONE BEING LOCATED INSIDE THE OTHER END SPACED RADIALLY INWARD THEREFROM DEFINING AN ANNULAR SPACE BETWEEN SAID WALLS, HOUSING MEANS AT THE AXIAL ENDS OF SAID WALLS CLOSING THE AXIAL ENDS OF SAID ANNULAR SPACE, THE INNER WALL DEFINING A CYLINDRICAL SPACE, ADDITIONAL HOUSING MEANS CLOSING ONE AXIAL END OF SAID CYLINDRICAL SPACE, SAID CYLINDRICAL SPACE HAVING AN OPENING AT THE OTHER AXIAL END THEREOF, THE VANES OF BOTH SAID WALLS EXTENDING SUBSTANTIALLY THE FULL AXIAL LENGTH OF THE RESPECTIVE WALLS AND BEING SPACED FROM EACH OTHER CIRCUMFERENTIALLY ABOUT SAID WALLS TO PROVIDE OPENINGS THEREBETWEEN THAT EXTEND UNINTERRUPTEDLY FOR SUBSTANTIALLY THE FULL AXIAL LENGTH OF THE RESPECTIVE WALLS, SAID VANES HAVING APERTURES THEREIN, MEANS FOR FORCING A FIRST, CONTINUOUS PHASE MEDIUM TO FLOW FROM THE EXTERIOR OF SAID OUTER LOUVERED WALL THERETHROUGH AND INTO SAID ANNULAR SPACE AND THENCE THROUGH THE INNER LOUVERED WALL INTO SAID CYLINDRICAL SPACE AND THENCE THROUGH SAID OPENING, WHEREBY A VORTICAL FLOW OF SAID MEDIUM IS ESTABLISHED IN EACH OF SAID STAGES, AND MEANS FOR INTRODUCING A SECOND MEDIUM INTO THE FLOW OF SAID FIRST MEDIUM, WHEREBY SAID SECND MEDIUM IS SUSPENDED IN PARTICULATE FORM IN SAID FIRST MEDIUM AND IS CAUSED TO CIRCULATE AS AN ANNULAR CLOUD IN EACH OF SAID STAGES WITH LARGER PARTICLES MIGRATING RADIALLY OUTWARDLY IN SAID CLOUDS AND SMALLER PARTICLES MIGRATING RADIALLY INWARDLY IN SAID CLOUDS, AND WITH A PORTION OF SAID LARGER PARTICLES MIGRATING RADIALLY OUTWARDLY FROM SAID CLOUDS AND THROUGH SAID APERTURES IN SAID VANES OF SAID LOUVERED WALLS AND A PORTION OF SAID SMALLER PARTICLES MIGRATING RADIALLY INWARDLY FROM SAID CLOUDS ENTRAINED IN THE FLOW OF SAID FIRST MEDIUM.

Claim 9

A method of effecting mass contact between a first material in continuous phase and a second material in discontinuous phase particulate form having a substantially greater density than said first material, comprising feeding said first material through at least two vortex generating chambers wherein each chamber is defined by a louvered wall of substantially circular overall configuration and whose louvers are oriented between tangent and orthogonal to said circular configuration, said chambers being substantially concentric and substantially coplanar with one being located inside and radially inward of the other, the inner chamber having an exit port at one axial end thereof, said first material being fed through the outer louvered wall into the outer chamber forming an inwardly spiraling vortical flow in said outer chamber and then through the inner louvered wall into the inner chamber forming an inwardly spiraling vortical flow in said inner chamber and then being fed through said exit port, introducing said second material into the feed path of said first material to suspend particles thereof in said first material, and forming a cloud of said suspended particles circulating in an annular zone in each of said chambers, each said cloud having a distribution of particle sizes with larger ones of said particles migrating outwardly and smaller ones of said particles migrating inwardly of said annular zone, a portion of said larger ones of said particles being caused to migrate outwardly through the louvered wall of the respective chamber, and a portion of said smaller ones of said particles being caused to migrate inwardly and out of the respective chamber with the flow of said first material.

Claim 10

A method of effecting mass contact between a first material in continuous phase and a second material in discontinuous phase particulate form having a substantially greater density than said first material, comprising feeding said first material through at least two vortex generating chambers wherein each chamber is defined by a louvered wall of substantially circular overall configuration and whose louvers are oriented between tangent and orthogonal to said circular configuration, said chambers being substantially concentric and substantially coplanar with one being located inside and radially inward of the other, the inner chamber having an exit port at one axial end thereof, said first material being fed through the outer louvered wall into the outer chamber forming an inwardly spiraling vortical flow in said outer chamber and then through the inner louvered wall into the inner chamber forming an inwardly spiraling vortical flow in said inner chamber and then being fed through said exit port, introducing said second material into the feed path of said first material to suspend particles thereof in said first material, and forming a cloud of said suspended particles circulating in an annular zone in each of said chambers, each said cloud having a distribution of particle sizes with larger ones of said particles migrating outwardly and smaller ones of said particles migrating inwardly of said annular zone, a portion of said larger ones of said particles being caused to migrate outwardly through the louvered wall of the respective chamber, and a portion of said smaller ones of said particles being caused to migrate inwardly and out of the respective chamber with the flow of said first material.