Unit for degassing liquids

Claim 1

A pipe system for conveying a liquid containing dissolved gases and for simultaneously degassing the liquid while moving through said pipe system, said pipe system comprising a plurality of interconnected pipe elements, each pipe element comprising a pipe body which has a flange at each of its opposite ends and defines an axially extending interior chamber, each said flange being connected to the flange of an adjacent pipe body of said pipe system, two support plates sealingly positioned in said interior chamber near the respective opposite ends of said pipe body, each of said support plates having a plurality of axial holes therethrough, a plurality of tubes positioned in said interior chamber, each of said tubes extending sealingly within and between axial holes in said support plates, said tubes being made of a diffusion membrane material which is porous to the gases in the gas-containing liquid but not the liquid, the tubes of one pipe element being in communication with the tubes of an adjacent pipe element and the pipe body of at least one of said pipe elements including a nipple for connection to a source of vacuum so as to evacuate the interior of the pipe body thereof around said plurality of tubes therein.