Brazed plate-type heat exchanger for nonadiabatic rectification

Claim 1

A plate-type heat exchanger comprising: a plurality of elongated vertically extending sheet-like metallic plates of generally similar configuration in side-by-side, spaced, face-to-face parallel relationship; metallic sealing means for sealingly connecting adjacent plates along their margins whereby a vertical passageway is defined between each pair of said adjacent plates, certain first passageways for a first heat exchange fluid being interleaved with other second passageways for a second gaseous heat exchange fluid for heat transfer therebetween by heat conduction through said plates; each of said first and second passageways containing a metallic corrugated fin packing braze bonded on opposite sides to and extending between the faces of said adjacent plates whereby said adjacent plates are structurally connected by said fin packing and whereby said fin packing conducts heat between said passageways and said plates; flow director means associated with each of said second passageways for directing a liquid in a descending serpentine flow path having a plurality of substantially horizontal legs disposed at progressively descending levels and each crossing horizontally at least a portion of said associated second passageway; said horizontal legs of said serpentine flow path being in substantially open fluid communication with said associated second passageway; said horizontal legs being in fluid communication with each other by downcomers and at least one of said horizontal legs being in fluid communication at one end to a substantially horizontal leg above and at the other end to a substantially horizontal leg below said one leg by said downcomers whereby liquid passing in said serpentine flow path may traverse said associated second passageway several times to become in part contacted with the gas flowing in said associated second passageway and that liquid flowing in said second associated passageway in a direction opposite to the gas flow therein may be removed by passing into said serpentine flow path at one elevation and recontacted with the gas flowing in said second associated passageway at a lower elevation to thereby establish a stable reflux of the fluids within