Distilling column

Claim 1

A distillation column comprising a vertical elongated housing, said housing having a plurality of serially arranged distilling trays vertically spaced apart from each other therein, said plurality of trays being free of attachments to the inner wall of said housing forming an annular slit between said inner wall and said trays, said plurality of trays being centrally traversed by an aligning rod, said rod being concentrically surrounded by a sleeve between each pair of adjacent trays, each of said trays having a downpipe eccentrically passed therethrough forming a liquid outlet of the accompanying tray and a liquid inlet of the next following tray; distillation column wherein said trays are provided around their peripheries with a plurality of spacers spaced from each other at equal distances around the peripheries of said trays, said spacers bearing against the inner wall of said housing forming said annular slit substantially uniform in width and being interrupted by said spacers; an annular insert arranged concentrically to said rod is secured to each of said trays so as to form a chamber surrounding the liquid inlet and the liquid outlet of the respective tray, said insert having a first aperture in the range of said liquid inlet and a second aperture in the range of said liquid outlet; and a partition plate is asymmetrically secured to the insert dividing said chamber into a first compartment containing the liquid inlet and a second compartment containing the liquid outlet and the aligning rod whereby the liquid conveyed to each of said trays is forced to flow from the liquid inlet compartment through the first aperture between said insert and the inner wall of said housing thereby to come in contact with vapor matter ascending through said slit, and then through the second aperture into the second compartment to run off via said downpipe.