Method and apparatus for contacting liquids and gases

Claim 2

A liquid and gas contact apparatus comprising: (a) a contact body having a plurality of pleated porous media elements, each element being formed in a generally zig-zag configuration with pleats and upper and lower tips; (b) air passages formed between said pleats, each air passage extending generally in a single straight line direction from an air inlet side to an air outlet side of said contact body; (c) screen means for supporting said elements one above another in a generally horizontal disposition with all of said air passages being parallel to one another; and (d) means for supplying water to an uppermost element to saturate all of said elements with water and to establish a downward flow of water through said elements; and (e) said screen support means leaving a major portion of the generally horizontal cross-section area of said media elements open to permit water flow directly between adjacent vertically spaced media elements directly through substantially the entire cross-section of each media element and each of said media elements having a porosity sufficient to enable substantially all of the water supplied to an uppermost element by said water supply means which flows to a lowermost element to flow directly through the materials of said media elements through substantially the entire cross-section of each media element.

Claim 3

A liquid and gas contact apparatus in accordance with claim 1 including a contact body housing and a plurality of said contact bodies, said housing supporting at least two of said contact bodies in a side-by-side relationship to form a first layer of contact bodies and at least two additional contact bodies in a side-by-side relationship above said first layer of contact bodies.

Claim 4

A liquid air gas contact apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein said support means supports each of said elements in a disposition slanted downwardly toward said air inlet side by an angle less than 30° above a horizontal plane.

Claim 7

A method in accordance with claim 4 wherein step (a) includes arranging said elements so that the pleats of all the elements are substantially parallel to one another and all the lower tips are substantially horizontal.

Claim 8

A method in accordance with claim 5 wherein step (a) includes arranging said elements so that all of said lower tips slant downwardly toward said air inlet side by an angle less than 30° above a horizontal plane so that excess water which does not flow through the elements flows downwardly toward said air inlet side.

Claim 9

A method in accordance with claim 6 including the steps of: (a) collecting the water flowing through said elements in a water reservoir below said elements; and (f) pumping water from said reservoir to supply water to said uppermost element.

Claim 10

A liquid and gas contact apparatus comprising: (a) a contact body having a plurality of pleated porous media elements disposed one above another between a top and a bottom of said contact body; (b) each of said media elements being formed in a generally zig-zag configuration with a plurality of pleats having upper tips and lower tips, each pleat and tip extending in a generally linear first direction from an air inlet side to an air outlet side of said elements; (c) a plane passing medially of said upper and lower tips of an element forming a medial plane of a respective element; (d) air flow passages being formed between the pleats of said elements, all of said air flow passages extending in said generally linear first direction; (e) screen means for supporting said elements within said contact body in a disposition in which the medial plane of each element passes transversely of a vertically extending plane, said vertically extending plane being transverse to said first direction; (f) means for supplying water to the top of said contact body to saturate said elements with water and to establish a downward flow of water through said media elements; and (g) said screen support means leaving a major portion of the surface area of the upper and lower tips open to permit water flow between adjacent vertically spaced media elements directly through substantially the entire cross-section of each media element and each of said media elements having a porosity sufficient to enable substantially all the water supplied to the top of said contact body by said water supply means which flows to the bottom of said contact body to flow directly through the material of said media elements through substantially the entire cross-section of each media element.

Claim 11

A liquid and gas contact apparatus comprising: (a) a contact body having a plurality of pleated porous media elements disposed one above another between a top and a bottom of said contact body; (b) each of said media elements being formed in a generally zig-zag configuration with a plurality of pleats having upper tips and lower tips, each pleat and tip extending in a generally linear first direction from an air inlet side to an air outlet side of said elements; (c) a plane passing medially of said upper and lower tips of an element forming a medial plane of a respective element; (d) air flow passages being formed between the pleats of said elements, all of said air flow passages extending in said generally linear first direction; (e) screen means for supporting said elements within said contact body in a disposition in which the medial plane of each element passes transversely of a vertically extending plane, said vertically extending plane being transverse to said first direction; (f) means for supplying water to the top of said contact body to saturate said elements with water and to establish a downward flow of water through said media elements; and (g) said screen support means leaving a major portion of the surface area of the upper and lower tips open to permit water flow between adjacent vertically spaced media elements directly through substantially the entire cross-section of each media element and each of said media elements having a porosity sufficient to enable substantially all the water supplied to the top of said contact body by said water supply means which flows to the bottom of said contact body to flow directly through the material of said media elements through substantially the entire cross-section of each media element.

Claim 12

A liquid and gas contact apparatus in accordance with claim 8 wherein said element support means supports said elements in a disposition in which said medial plane of each element slants downwardly toward said air inlet side so that excess water which does not saturate into the elements flows toward said air inlet side.

Claim 13

A liquid and gas contact apparatus in accordance with claim 9 wherein the downward slant of said elements is no greater than 30° above a horizontal plane intersecting an element.

Claim 14

A liquid and gas contact apparatus in accordance with claim 8 wherein said porous media elements are sufficiently porous to allow substantially all of the water flowing from the top of said contact body to the bottom of said contact body to flow through said elements.

Claim 15

A liquid and gas contact apparatus in accordance with claim 11 wherein the material forming said elements has a permeability between 150 and 700 feet per minute to air supplied to the material at a one-half inch pressure drop through the material and a pore size between 150 and 300 microns.

Claim 16

A liquid and gas contact apparatus in accordance with claim 8 including means for holding the upper and lower tips of each element in a spaced relationship, said tip holding means comprising a separate upper screen fixedly secured to a majority of said upper tips of each element and a separate lower screen fixedly secured to a majority of said lower tips of each element, said screens being formed of a material generally more rigid than the material of which the elements are constructed.

Claim 17

A liquid and gas contact apparatus in accordance with claim 13 wherein said element support means includes a frame member having a generally rectangular open box configuration with substantially open top, bottom, front and back faces, and a plurality of element support members spaced vertically from one another and secured within said frame member, said front face forming an air inlet at the air inlet side of said elements and said back face forming an air outlet at the air outlet side of said elements, a plurality of elements being stacked one upon another on each support member so that the upper screen of an element supporting another element above it contacts the lower screen of the element supported above it, said first direction extending between the front and back faces of said frame.

Claim 18

A liquid and gas contact apparatus in accordance with claim 14 wherein said frame member includes a pair of side members interconnected along said front face by a plurality of front crossbars and interconnected along said back face by a plurality of back crossbars, said front and back crossbars being arranged in opposing pairs, and each element support member including a plurality of transverse bars extending between and connected to a pair of front and back crossbars and a support screen secured to the top of said transverse bars of each element support member, the lower screen of a lowermost media element stacked on an element support member contacting and being supported by the support screen of said last-mentioned element support member.

Claim 19

A liquid and gas contact apparatus in accordance with claim 15 wherein each support screen is slanted downwardly toward said air inlet at an angle no greater than 30° above a horizontal plane intersecting a support screen.

Claim 20

A liquid and gas contact apparatus in accordance with claim 15 including a front screen secured to the front face and a back screen secured to the back face of said frame member.

Claim 21

A liquid and gas contact apparatus in accordance with claim 8 including a contact body housing and a plurality of said contact bodies, said housing supporting said plurality of contact bodies.

Claim 22

A liquid and gas contact apparatus in accordance with claim 18 wherein said housing includes a pair of upright sidewall members interconnected by a base member, said base member having a sufficient length to support a plurality of contact bodies in a side-by-side relationship between said upright sidewall members, said sidewall members having a sufficient height to support a plurality of contact bodies one upon another, said water supply means including a water reservoir having an upper surface disposed below said contact bodies, a plurality of water supply conduits extending between and being supported by said sidewall members above said contact bodies, each water supply conduit having a plurality of apertures for spraying water on said contact bodies, and means for pumping water from said reservoir to said water supply conduits.

Claim 23

A liquid and gas contact apparatus in accordance with claim 19 wherein said water supply means includes a water inlet at one side of said reservoir adjacent one sidewall member and a water outlet at an opposite side of said reservoir adjacent the other sidewall member, said base member including an apertured screen extending between said sidewall members and forming a portion of the upper surface of said reservoir, said pumping means including a water pump supported adjacent one of said sidewall members, and tubing means providing fluid communication between said reservoir and said pump and between said pump and said supply conduits.

Claim 24

A liquid and gas contact apparatus comprising: (a) a plurality of contact bodies, each contact body having a frame member and a plurality of pleated porous media elements disposed one above another between a top and a bottom of said frame member; (b) a contact body housing having a pair of upright sidewall members interconnected by a base member; (c) a plurality of said contact bodies supported in a side-by-side relationship upon said base member to form a first layer of contact bodies between said sidewall members, and additional contact bodies supported in a side-by-side relationship upon said first layer of contact bodies to form at least one additional layer of contact bodies; (d) each of said media elements being formed in a generally zig-zag configuration with a plurality of pleats having upper tips and lower tips, each pleat and tip extending in a generally linear first direction across an element; (e) air flow passages being formed between the pleats of said element, all of said air flow passages extending in said generally linear first direction; (f) said contact body housing having an air inlet side at an end of said air flow passages and an air outlet side at an opposite end of said air flow passages, each of said air flow passages extending in said generally linear first direction between said air inlet and air outlet sides of said contact body; (g) means for holding the upper and lower tips of each element in a spaced relationship, said tip holding means including a separate lower screen secured to substantially all the lower tips of each element and a separate upper screen secured to substantially all the upper tips of each element; (h) each frame member including a plurality of element support members, each element support member supporting a stack of elements in a disposition in which all of said upper and lower screens are transverse to a vertical plane, said vertical plane being transverse to said first direction and said first direction extending between said air inlet side and said air outlet side; (i) water supply conduits being disposed above said contact bodies for supplying water to said contact bodies; (j) a water reservoir disposed below and in fluid communication with said contact bodies through said base member; (k) means for pumping water from said reservoir to said water supply conduits and contact bodies to saturate all of said elements with water and to establish a downward flow of water through said media elements; and (l) each of said screens leaving a major portion of the tips to which it is attached open to permit water flow between adjacent vertically spaced media elements directly through substantially the entire cross-section of each media element and each of said media elements having a porosity sufficient to enable substantially all the water supplied to the top of the uppermost contact bodies by said pump means which flows to said base member to flow directly through the material of said media elements through substantially the entire cross-section of each media element.

Claim 25

A liquid and gas contact apparatus comprising: (a) a plurality of contact bodies, each contact body having a frame member and a plurality of pleated porous media elements disposed one above another between a top and a bottom of said frame member; (b) a contact body housing having a pair of upright sidewall members interconnected by a base member; (c) a plurality of said contact bodies supported in a side-by-side relationship upon said base member to form a first layer of contact bodies between said sidewall members, and additional contact bodies supported in a side-by-side relationship upon said first layer of contact bodies to form at least one additional layer of contact bodies; (d) each of said media elements being formed in a generally zig-zag configuration with a plurality of pleats having upper tips and lower tips, each pleat and tip extending in a generally linear first direction across an element; (e) air flow passages being formed between the pleats of said element, all of said air flow passages extending in said generally linear first direction; (f) said contact body housing having an air inlet side at an end of said air flow passages and an air outlet side at an opposite end of said air flow passages, each of said air flow passages extending in said generally linear first direction between said air inlet and air outlet sides of said contact body; (g) means for holding the upper and lower tips of each element in a spaced relationship, said tip holding means including a separate lower screen secured to substantially all the lower tips of each element and a separate upper screen secured to substantially all the upper tips of each element; (h) each frame member including a plurality of element support members, each element support member supporting a stack of elements in a disposition in which all of said upper and lower screens are transverse to a vertical plane, said vertical plane being transverse to said first direction and said first direction extending between said air inlet side and said air outlet side; (i) water supply conduits being disposed above said contact bodies for supplying water to said contact bodies; (j) a water reservoir disposed below and in fluid communication with said contact bodies through said base member; (k) means for pumping water from said reservoir to said water supply conduits and contact bodies to saturate all of said elements with water and to establish a downward flow of water through said media elements; and (l) each of said screens leaving a major portion of the tips to which it is attached open to permit water flow between adjacent vertically spaced media elements directly through substantially the entire cross-section of each media element and each of said media elements having a porosity sufficient to enable substantially all the water supplied to the top of the uppermost contact bodies by said pump means which flows to said base member to flow directly through the material of said media elements through substantially the entire cross-section of each media element.

Claim 26

A liquid and gas contact apparatus in accordance with claim 21 wherein said support members support said elements in a disposition in which all of the upper and lower screens slant downwardly toward said air inlet side at an angle less than 30° to a horizontal plane whereby excess water which does not saturate into the elements flows toward said air inlet side.