US3969450A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Heat-exchanger trays and system using same
Assignee: Standard Oil Co
•
Filing: 1973-11-14
•
Granted: 1976-07-13
•
Expires: 1993-11-14
Abstract
Abstract A novel distillation tray useful as a horizontally disposed internal for a distillation column, especially a cryogenic distillation column, has a set of parallel horizontal pipes spaced from one another to support a pool of down-flowing liquid and to provide passage of up-flowing vapor through the spaces. At each end the pipes are connected to and communicate with a manifold. A number of these trays in a vertically tiered array are connected to one another as an assembly in the column. The assembly of the trays is provided by the manifolds at the two ends of the sets of pipes. In one construction the manifold for one set of pipes has an upward vertical extension that is also one manifold of the adjacent upper tray, while the other manifold for the first set of pipes has a downward vertical extension that is also one manifold of the adjacent lower tray. In another construction the manifold at one end of a set of pipes is connected to a pipe extending upwardly to the manifold of the adjacent upper tray, while the manifold at the other end is connected to the pipe that extends upwardly from the manifold at that end of the adjacent lower tray. The manifold of the lowermost tray that is not in communication with the manifold of the tray immediately above it is connected to a pipe extending through the wall of the column. The manifold of the uppermost tray of such assembly that is not in communication with a manifold of the tray below it is connected to a pipe extending through the column wall. Alternatively, that uppermost manifold has an opening to the chamber of the column so that fluid after passage through the assembly of trays is then introduced directly into the column as a feed for the column. As a second alternative, the set of pipes of the top tray of the assembly in the stripping section of a column can be short to feed the fluid to the chamber of the column. Columns containing the assembly of the trays in the stripping section and/or rectifying section are especially useful in novel distillation systems.
Inventors
- 👤 Robert J. Hengstebeck
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-31 04:33
CPC Classifications
F; F25; F25J; F25J3/00; F25J3/02; F25J3/0295; B; B01; B01D; B01D3/00; B01D3/14; B01D3/16; B01D3/166; B01D3/32; F25J3/0204; F25J3/0219; F25J3/0228; F25J3/0233; F25J3/0238; F25J3/0242; F25J3/0252; F25J5/00; F25J5/002; F25J5/007; F28; F28D; F28D7/00; F28D7/16; F28D7/1615; F28D7/1623; F25J2200/00; F25J2200/50; F25J2200/80; F25J2200/90; F25J2205/00; F25J2205/02; F25J2205/04; F25J2210/00; F25J2210/12; F25J2215/00; F25J2215/62; F25J2270/00; F25J2270/90; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S62/00; Y10S62/902; Y10S62/903
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 31
Claim 1
Independent Claim
228 words
A heat-exchanger tray for a distillation column, said heat-exchanger tray being hollow and constructed: to provide a pair of horizontal manifolds at opposite margins; to provide within the portion of said tray between said manifolds a number of walls to form a number of spaced chambers communicating said pair of manifolds with each other; and to have vertical openings in said tray between those of said walls that provide adjacent chambers of said chambers, said walls between adjacent chambers being spaced from each other so that said vertical openings between said spaced walls is such that when said tray is installed and used as a distillation tray in a distillation column a pool of down-flowing liquid is formed above the entire area of said portion of said tray between said pair of manifolds and that pool of liquid is supported on that portion of said tray primarily by said walls forming said chambers while up-flowing vapor can pass through said openings, and each of said manifolds having an opening for passage of fluid to or from said tray so that fluid can pass from one of said manifolds through said chambers in said portion of said tray between said pair of manifolds to the other of said manifolds with indirect heat exchange of the up-flowing vapor and pool of down-flowing liquid with the fluid flowing through these chambers.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
228 words
A heat-exchanger tray for a distillation column, said heat-exchanger tray being hollow and constructed: to provide a pair of horizontal manifolds at opposite margins; to provide within the portion of said tray between said manifolds a number of walls to form a number of spaced chambers communicating said pair of manifolds with each other; and to have vertical openings in said tray between those of said walls that provide adjacent chambers of said chambers, said walls between adjacent chambers being spaced from each other so that said vertical openings between said spaced walls is such that when said tray is installed and used as a distillation tray in a distillation column a pool of down-flowing liquid is formed above the entire area of said portion of said tray between said pair of manifolds and that pool of liquid is supported on that portion of said tray primarily by said walls forming said chambers while up-flowing vapor can pass through said openings, and each of said manifolds having an opening for passage of fluid to or from said tray so that fluid can pass from one of said manifolds through said chambers in said portion of said tray between said pair of manifolds to the other of said manifolds with indirect heat exchange of the up-flowing vapor and pool of down-flowing liquid with the fluid flowing through these chambers.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
103 words
An assembly of the heat-exchanger trays of claim 1 in which said trays are arranged in a vertically tiered array spaced from one another with one manifold of each tray being at a vertical plane and the other of each pair of manifolds of the trays being at another vertical plane, said assembly further including a number of vertical conduit means each connected to opposed vertical openings of two adjacent manifolds in the same plane in an alternating manner so that flow of fluid passes through one tray in one direction between its manifolds and passes in the opposite direction through adjacent trays.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
247 words
A heat-exchanger tray for a distillation column comprising: a set of parallel horizontal pipes spaced from one another; a first manifold connected to one end of each of said set of pipes and having: a horizontal set of openings to provide communication between said first manifold and said one end of said set of pipes; and another opening for passage of fluid into said first manifold for passage through said set of pipes from said first manifold; and a second manifold connected to the other end of each of said set of pipes and having: a horizontal set of openings to provide communication between said second manifold and said other end of said set of pipes; and another opening for passage of fluid out of said second manifold received from said set of pipes at said other end of said pipes, said spaced parallel horizontal pipes of said set thereby being located at a portion of said tray between said first and second manifolds and being spaced from each other so that the spacing between adjacent pipes is such that when said tray is installed and used as a distillation tray in a distillation column a pool of down-flowing liquid is formed above the entire area of said portion of said tray between said first and second manifolds and that pool of liquid is supported primarily on that portion of said tray by said pipes while up-flowing vapor can pass through said spaces between said adjacent pipes.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
247 words
A heat-exchanger tray for a distillation column comprising: a set of parallel horizontal pipes spaced from one another; a first manifold connected to one end of each of said set of pipes and having: a horizontal set of openings to provide communication between said first manifold and said one end of said set of pipes; and another opening for passage of fluid into said first manifold for passage through said set of pipes from said first manifold; and a second manifold connected to the other end of each of said set of pipes and having: a horizontal set of openings to provide communication between said second manifold and said other end of said set of pipes; and another opening for passage of fluid out of said second manifold received from said set of pipes at said other end of said pipes, said spaced parallel horizontal pipes of said set thereby being located at a portion of said tray between said first and second manifolds and being spaced from each other so that the spacing between adjacent pipes is such that when said tray is installed and used as a distillation tray in a distillation column a pool of down-flowing liquid is formed above the entire area of said portion of said tray between said first and second manifolds and that pool of liquid is supported primarily on that portion of said tray by said pipes while up-flowing vapor can pass through said spaces between said adjacent pipes.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
64 words
The heat-exchanger tray of claim 3 wherein: said first and second manifolds are pipes; said another opening in said first manifold pipe and said another opening in said second manifold pipe are located at an intermediate position of the length of said manifold pipes; and one of said another opening in one of said first and second manifold pipes faces in a vertical direction.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
22 words
The heat-exchanger tray of claim 4 wherein said another openings of said first and second manifold pipes face vertically in opposite directions.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
34 words
The heat-exchanger tray of claim 5 wherein the spacing between adjacent pipes of said set of pipes is such that the tray can function as a cross-flow type of tray in a distillation column.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
49 words
The heat-exchanger tray of claim 6 wherein said another openings in said first and second manifold pipes are centrally located and further including a vertical tube mounted on said manifold pipe having said another opening facing upwardly and communicating with that manifold pipe through its said central another opening.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
53 words
The heat-exchanger tray of claim 3 wherein said first and second manifolds are constructed to have vertical extensions in opposite directions, said extension of each manifold having a horizontal set of openings facing in the same direction as said set of horizontal openings providing communication between that manifold and said set of pipes.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
164 words
The heat-exchanger tray of claim 3 in which: there are two groups of at least two of said set of parallel horizontal pipes at different levels; each of said first and second manifolds has at least two vertically spaced horizontal sets of openings at which one group of said sets of pipes are connected to said manifolds to provide communication between said manifolds and that group of sets of pipes; said manifolds have vertical extensions in opposite directions with each extension having at least two vertically spaced horizontal sets of openings facing the vertical plane passing through the other manifold; and one of these extensions of said manifolds being connected to one end of the other group of said sets of pipes to communicate that manifold also with that other group of sets of pipes, whereby fluid can pass through one group of sets of pipes in one direction and can pass through the other group of sets of pipes in the opposite direction.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
90 words
The heat-exchanger tray of claim 9 wherein the pipes of each set of pipes at each level are staggered with respect to the pipes of the sets of pipes at adjacent levels and the spacing between pipes in each set are such that when the tray is installed in the chamber of a distillation column liquid in the chamber flows generally downward between the pipes of the set and between different levels of the sets countercurrent to upward flow of vapor in a manner generally obtained by conventional shower-type trays.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
253 words
An assembly of the heat-exchanger trays of claim 3 in which: said trays are arranged in a vertically tiered array with the set of parallel horizontal pipes of each tray spaced from and extending parallel to the set of parallel horizontal pipes of each adjacent tray; the first manifold of each tray is at a vertical plane passing through the second manifold of each adjacent tray, said vertical plane being transverse to the longitudinal axes of the pipes of said sets of parallel horizontal pipes of said trays; and the second manifold of said each tray being at a vertical plane passing through the first manifold of each adjacent tray, said vertical plane being transverse to the longitudinal axes of the pipes of said sets of parallel horizontal pipes of said trays, and said assembly further including: conduit means communicating the first manifold of each intermediate tray at its another opening with the second manifold of an adjacent intermediate tray at its another opening; conduit means communicating the second manifold of the uppermost intermediate tray at its another opening with the first manifold of the uppermost tray of the assembly at its another opening; and conduit means communicating the first manifold of the lowermost intermediate tray at its another opening with the second manifold of the lowermost tray of the assembly at its another opening, whereby fluid passing through said assembly flows through each set of said sets of pipes in a direction opposite to the adjacent set of said sets of pipes.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
45 words
The assembly of heat-exchanger trays of claim 11 wherein: said manifolds are pipes; each of said conduit means are tubes; and said other openings of said manifold pipes to which they are connected are at an intermediate position of the length of their manifold pipes.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
134 words
The assembly of heat-exchanger trays of claim 12 wherein: said another openings in said manifold pipes communicating adjacent trays through said tubes are centrally located in their respective pipes; said tubes are vertical tubes; said spacing between adjacent pipes of each of said set of pipes of said trays is such that the tray can function as a cross-flow type of tray when the assembly is mounted in a distillation column; and said another opening in said first manifold pipe of the lowermost tray of said assembly of trays faces away from that tray in a direction to communicate that manifold pipe with a pipe extending through the wall of the distillation column for communication between that manifold pipe and a location exterior of the column when the assembly is installed in the column.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
71 words
The assembly of heat-exchanger trays of claim 13 wherein said another opening in said second manifold pipe of the uppermost tray of said assembly of trays faces away from that tray in a direction to communicate that manifold pipe with a pipe extending through the wall of the distillation column for communication between that manifold pipe and a location exterior of the column when the assembly is installed in the column.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
48 words
The assembly of heat-exchanger trays of claim 14 wherein said another opening in said first manifold pipe of the lowermost tray and said another opening in said second manifold pipe of the uppermost tray of said assembly of trays face away from those trays in a horizontal direction.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
279 words
The assembly of heat-exchanger trays of claim 11 wherein: each tray has a group of at least two of said sets of parallel horizontal pipes at different levels; said first and second manifolds, that are in a vertically tiered arrangement in each vertical plane transverse to the longitudinal axes of said sets of pipes of said trays, are constructed in a manner to provide a number of vertically tiered chambers so that, except for the first manifold of the lowermost tray and the second manifold of the uppermost tray, each chamber provides in its upper portion a first manifold for one tray and in its lower portion the second manifold of the adjacent lower tray; each chamber having said upper and lower portions includes a wall having in its upper portion a group of at least two horizontal sets of openings at which one end of a group of said sets of pipes of said one tray are connected to that wall and having in its lower portion at least two horizontal sets of openings at which one end of the group of said sets of pipes of said adjacent lower tray are connected to that wall; said chamber providing said first manifold of said lowermost tray includes a wall having at least two horizontal sets of openings to provide communication between said manifold and an end of the group of said sets of pipes of said lowermost tray; and each chamber providing said second manifold of said uppermost tray having at least two horizontal sets of openings to provide communication between said manifold and an end of the group of said sets of pipes of said uppermost tray.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
128 words
The assembly of heat-exchanger trays of claim 16 wherein the pipes of each set of pipes are staggered with respect to pipes of an adjacent set of the same group and the pipes of the lowermost and uppermost sets of pipes of each group are staggered with respect to the pipes of the adjacent set of another group and the spacing between pipes in each set is such that, when the assembly is installed in the chamber of a distillation column, liquid in the chamber flows generally downward between the pipes of each set, between pipes of adjacent sets of pipes and between adjacent pipes of adjacent sets of pipes of adjacent groups countercurrent to upward flow of vapor in a manner generally obtained by conventional shower-type trays.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
283 words
The assembly of heat-exchanger trays of claim 17 having: a first pair of vertical opposed plates parallel to said sets of pipes and extending the height of the assembly; a second pair of vertical opposed plates normal to said first pair of vertical opposed plates, extending the height of the assembly, and connected to said first pair of plates at their vertical ends to provide by said pairs of plates a vertical chamber that is rectangular in horizontal cross section; a third pair of vertical opposed plates between and spaced from said second pair of vertical opposed plates, said third pair of plates having said horizontal sets of openings for said chambers of said manifolds to which the ends of said groups of sets of parallel horizontal pipes are connected; a first set of narrow horizontal plates between and connected to one plate each of said second and third pairs of plates to provide a set of said manifolds that are in a spaced tiered arrangement and that are communicating with one end of said sets of pipes; and a second set of narrow horizontal plates between and connected to the other plates of said second and third pairs of plates to provide the other set of manifolds that are in a spaced tiered arrangement ant that are communicating with the other end of said sets of pipes, said second set of narrow plates being located at levels that are different from the levels of location of said first set of narrow plates so that the tiered manifolds provided by the second set of narrow plates is vertically staggered with respect to the tiered manifolds provided by said first set of narrow plates.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
61 words
A distillation column containing: a vertical vessel; the assembly of heat-exchanger trays of claim 11 within a section of the vessel; and inlet conduit means extending through the wall of said vessel and connected to that manifold of one outermost tray of said assembly other than the manifold connected to said conduit means communicating that tray with an adjacent intermediate tray.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
56 words
The distillation column of claim 19 wherein said assembly is located in the stripping section of the column and the other outermost tray of said assembly is open to the chamber of said vessel so that fluid passing through said inlet conduit means and then through said assembly passes directly into the chamber of said vessel.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
47 words
The distillation column of claim 20 wherein: said manifolds are pipes; each of said conduit means connecting said manifolds are tubes; and said other openings of said manifold pipes to which said tubes are connected are at a central position of the length of their manifold pipes.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
105 words
The distillation column of claim 20 and further including: a second said assembly of heat-exchanger trays located within the rectifying section of the column; inlet conduit means extending through the wall of said vessel and connected to that manifold of the uppermost tray of said second assembly other than the manifold connected to said conduit means communicating that tray with the adjacent intermediate tray; and outlet conduit means extending through the wall of said vessel and connected to that manifold of the lowermost tray of said second assembly other than the manifold connected to said conduit means communicating that tray with the adjacent intermediate tray.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
79 words
The distillation column of claim 19 and further including outlet conduit means extending through the wall of said vessel and connected to that manifold of the other outermost tray of said assembly other than the manifold connected to said conduit means communicating that tray with the adjacent intermediate tray so that fluid introduced by said inlet conduit means to said assembly passes by said outlet means, after indirect heat exchange with fluid in the chamber, out of said vessel.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
58 words
The distillation column of claim 23 wherein: said assembly is located in the stripping section of the column; said manifolds are pipes; each of said conduit means connecting said manifolds are tubes; and said other openings of said manifold pipes to which said tubes are connected are at a central position of the length of their manifold pipes.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
105 words
The distillation column of claim 24 and further including: a second said assembly of heat-exchanger trays located within the rectifying section of the column; inlet conduit means extending through the wall of said vessel and connected to that manifold of the uppermost tray of said second assembly other than the manifold connected to said conduit means communicating that tray with the adjacent intermediate tray; and outlet conduit means extending through the wall of said vessel and connected to that manifold of the lowermost tray of said second assembly other than the manifold connected to said conduit means communicating that tray with the adjacent intermediate tray.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
58 words
The distillation column of claim 23 wherein: said assembly is located in the rectifying section of the column; said manifolds are pipes; each of said conduit means connecting said manifolds are tubes; and said other openings of said manifold pipes to which said tubes are connected are at a central position of the length of their manifold pipes.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
197 words
The distillation column of claim 20 wherein: said manifolds are pipes; each of said conduit means connecting said manifolds are tubes; the spacing between adjacent pipes of said set of pipes of each tray is such that the tray can function as a cross-flow type of tray; and said vessel being cylindrical at the location of said assembly of heat-exchanger trays, and further including: a pair of plates for each tray mounted at opposite margins of each tray to close off the space between said manifold pipes and said portion of said wall of said column; an inlet weir mounted on each tray and extending from one end of one manifold pipe to one end of the other manifold pipe, extending parallel to said set of pipes of that tray, and spaced from the adjacent pipe of that set; an outlet weir for each tray mounted at the other end of both manifold pipes, extending parallel to said set of pipes, and spaced from the adjacent pipe of said set of pipes; and a horizontal plate for each inlet weir closing the space between said inlet weir and the adjacent portion of said wall of said vessel.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
61 words
A distillation column containing: a vertical vessel; the assembly of heat-exchanger trays of claim 16 within a section of said vessel; and inlet conduit means extending through the wall of said vessel and connected to that manifold of the outermost tray of said assembly other than the manifold connected to said conduit means communicating that tray with an adjacent intermediate tray.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
93 words
A distillation column containing: a vertical vessel having a section that is rectangular in horizontal cross section; the assembly of heat-exchanger trays of claim 18 located at that rectangular section of said vessel with the walls of said vessel at that section constituting said first and second pairs of vertical opposed plates of said assembly; and inlet conduit means extending through one of said second pair of walls to communicate with the chamber providing either the first manifold of said lowermost tray or the chamber providing said second manifold of said uppermost tray.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1979-07-13 | 1980-01-12 | 1980-07-13 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1983-07-13 | 1984-01-12 | 1984-07-13 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1987-07-13 | 1988-01-12 | 1988-07-13 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |