Process for conditioning a gas stream charged with solid particles and/or vapors

Claim 1

A process for conditioning a gas charged with solid particles, comprising the steps of passing the gas through a conditioning tower which receives the gas through a tower inlet and discharges the gas through a tower outlet; spray injecting water into the gas in the conditioning tower by means of nozzles so that the injected water is evaporated in the tower without contact with walls of the tower; said nozzles being such that, at reduced water flows, smaller droplets are produced than are produced at greater water flows; measuring the temperature of the gas passing through the tower inlet; calculating, during operation and as a function which varies in a predetermined manner in accordance with the measured inlet temperature, a maximum water flow value equal to or less than the maximum water flow which can be completely evaporated within the conditioning tower at a predetermined gas flow without any non-evaporated droplets reached the tower outlet; further calculating during operation a target outlet temperature which is greater than the dewpoint temperature and which is a function varying in predetermined manner in accordance with the calculated maximum water flow value and based upon constructional data for the conditioning tower; measuring the temperature of the gas passing through the power outlet: and controlling the water flow to the nozzles to be less than or equal to the lesser of (1) the calculated maximum water flow value, and (2) a water flow which results in the measured outlet temperature being equal to the target outlet temperature.