Seal for rotary apparatus for gas-liquid contacting

Claim 1

In apparatus for contacting a liquid with a gas of the kind including a casing, a hollow rotary member within the casing, a stationary liquid inlet in communication with the interior of the rotary member, a stationary liquid outlet in communication with the casing, and a gas inlet and a gas outlet so disposed as to deliver and withdraw gas respectively from said apparatus, the arrangement being such that liquid flowing from the liquid inlet passes radially outwardly through the rotary member by centrifugal force during rotation of the rotary member and then to the liquid outlet and such that gas entering through the gas inlet passes through the rotary member in contact with the liquid and then to the gas outlet: an improved liquid seal assembly in the casing for preventing gas entering the gas inlet from bypassing the rotary member and flowing directly into said gas outlet, said seal assembly including means defining an annular liquid chamber coaxial with respect to the axis of rotation of the rotatable member and rotatable with the member so that liquid is held therein by centrifugal force during rotation, a disc-shaped gas barrier projecting into said chamber and dividing the chamber into a first leg which communicates with said casing and a second leg which communicates with the interior of said rotary member, and a conduit having an open end in communication with that leg of said annular liquid chamber which is on the gas inlet side of the gas barrier at a location spaced from the axis of rotation a distance slightly less than the radially outermost point of said barrier, said conduit having a second open end disposed outside said sealing chamber.