Sieve type distillation tray with curved baffles

Claim 1

In a fractionation column comprising circular edged liquid-gas containing trays of the sieve type which are suited for effecting intimate contact between rising vapor and liquid flowing across the trays from an inlet to an outlet and the liquid flowing downwards in a generally helical pathway in said column, the improvement which comprises a plurality of segment zones on said trays, each segment zone substantially isolated from liquid contact with the other, the segment zones having a liquid inlet end weir and a liquid outlet end weir which are substantially parallel to each other; a plurality of baffles within each of said segment zones, said baffles extending vertically from the floor of said trays and defining a generally arcuate liquid pathway from one end weir portion to another, said baffles being spaced apart from each other at substantially equal distances thereby defining a multiplicity of liquid flow paths within smaller segment stages with substantially the same cross sectional area between the end weir portions of each segment zone; and a plurality of perforations in the floor of the trays uniformly distributed within each segment zone to permit passage of vapor through the trays for contact with the liquid.