Liquid distributor for thin-film, tube-bundle apparatus

Claim 1

Tube-bundle, thin-film apparatus for the treatment of a liquid including a shell, a horizontal tube plate supported in said shell and a vertically arranged thin-film tube-bundle depending therefrom, wherein the improvement comprises a liquid distributor having: (a) a bell having a lower edge resting on the top of said horizontal tube plate, said bell having an open top and openings in the edge resting on said tube plate and an outer diameter less than the inner diameter of said shell to provide an annular zone above said tube plate between the bell and the shell; (b) a foraminous collar mounted in the shell adjacent the top of said bell and adapted to feed liquid to said annular zone; (c) a conduit extending through the wall of said shell and communicating with said foraminous collar to supply liquid thereto, said liquid flowing into the annular zone and onto the plate wherein said liquid flows through the openings in the edge and creates a liquid head in the bell; (d) distribution sleeves extending through and projecting above said tube plate and connected to the respective tubes comprising said tube bundle, each of said sleeves being formed from a cylindrical pipe and attached at its lower end to its associated tube and having an inside diameter smaller than the inside diameter of said associated tube, and having at least one set of bores extending through its wall tangentially to the inner surface of said sleeve wall above said tube plate and below the liquid head so that liquid may be fed through said distributor sleeves and along the inside thereof to their respective associated tubes and caused to flow over the inner surfaces of said tubes in thin films.