Device for admixing a gaseous and a liquid phase

Claim 1

In a device for admixing a liquid and a gaseous medium, particularly in a reaction vessel or a fermentor, a combination comprising an upright vessel for the liquid medium; a substantially cylindrical tubular baffle extending in said vessel upwardly from a lower region thereof, said cylindrical tubular baffle having a lower open end and an upper end portion provided with a constricted region which bounds a throat; admitting means for admitting the gaseous medium into said cylindrical tubular baffle in the region of said throat, said admitting means including a substantially barrel-shaped elongated hollow gas-admitting body located in said upper end portion of said cylindrical tubular baffle coaxially with said throat, and defining a substantially Venturi-shaped annular gap in said throat with said constricted region, said hollow gas-admitting body having an interior containing a replenishable volume of the gaseous medium and a plurality of small-sized gas outlet openings penetrating said hollow gas-admitting body in a common plane which extends normal to the longitudinal axis of said hollow gas-admitting body, said openings being directed outwardly of said hollow gas-admitting body so as to communicate said interior of the latter with said Venturi-shaped annular gap to thereby supply the gaseous medium into said Venturi-shaped annular gap in direction toward said constricted region of said cylindrical tubular baffle; and impeller means located in the region of said lower open end of said cylindrical tubular baffle and operative for drawing the liquid medium downwardly through said cylindrical tubular baffle and through said annular gap so that underpressure caused by Venturi effect develops in the liquid medium flowing through said Venturi-shaped annular gap and draws the gaseous medium in form of a fine dispersion through said plurality of small-sized gas outlet openings into said Venturi-shaped annular gap.