Exhaust gas desulfurization apparatus

Claim 1

An exhaust gas desulfurization apparatus comprising: a housing having a plurality of gas inlets and outlets; a cylindrical cage mounted rotatably about a substantially vertical axis within said housing, said cylindrical cage including a perforated cylindrical outer shell, a concentric perforated inner shell, an imperforate top section, an imperforate bottom section and a concentric perforated shell placed intermediate the inner and outer cylindrical shells and defining, respectively, inner and outer packing sections, said cage further including a plurality of vertically disposed, radially extending sealing partitions defining a plurality of chambers within each of said inner and outer packing sections; a gas-removing adsorbent placed stationarily with respect to and within the inner packing section; a particulate separating packing placed stationarily with respect to and within the outer packing section, said particulate separating packing having a smaller particle size than said gas removing adsorbent; a means for replacing said gas-removing adsorbent; a means for replacing said particulate separating packing independent of said gas-removing adsorbent; an inner casing secured within said housing between the vertical axis and the concentric inner shell, said inner casing and corresponding sections of said housing being divided into an adsorption zone, a desorption zone, a cooling zone and a gas-removing adsorbent and particulate separating packing replacement zone, a first means for sealingly engaging said housing with the perforated cylindrical outer shell; and a second means for sealingly engaging said inner casing with the concentric inner shell, said first and second sealing means provided to sealingly separate the inner casing, the corresponding sections of said housing and some of the plurality of chambers into said zones, whereby rotation of said cylindrical cage between each of said zones permits removal of particulate and gaseous contaminants from an exhaust gas introduced into said apparatus through one of said plurality of gas inlets such that the gas passes sequentially through said particulate separating packing contained in the outer packing section and thereafter through the gas-removal adsorbent, desorption of said adsorbent, cooling of said adsorbent and selective replacement of said gas-removal adsorbent and said particulate separating packing.