Water and air separation device for removing air from a whitewater spray

Water and air separation device for removing air from a whitewater spray ejected from a forming wire in a forming section of a paper machine, the water and air separation device (100) comprising:

• an entry portion (10) having a receiving inlet (11) for receiving whitewater spray comprising whitewater and air,
• a guide portion (20) for guiding whitewater from the entry portion to a calming section, the guide portion (20) comprising:
• a housing (24),
• a separation chamber (40) in the housing,
• an inlet (21) in a front side (26) of the housing,
• a plurality of guide channels (12) that extend from the receiving inlet (11) of the entry portion (10) into the separation chamber (40) through the inlet (21) of the guide portion (20) for transporting whitewater spray into the separation chamber, wherein each of the plurality of guide channels (12) comprises a deflected downstream portion (142) for deflecting the whitewater spray,
• a liquid outlet (22) connected to the housing (24) for discharging whitewater from the separation chamber, and
• a gas outlet (23) connected to the housing (24) for allowing air to escape from the separation chamber, and
• wherein:
• the guide portion (20) further comprises a first separation plate (41) arranged to extend from an upper end (28) of the separation chamber (40) downwards into the separation chamber (40) and to divide the separation chamber (40) into a first section (A) adjacent to the front side (26) and a second section (B) adjacent to a rear side (27) that is opposite to the front side (26), the first separation plate (41) having a front face (42) facing the front side (26) of the separation chamber (40), said front face (42) extending at a first angle (α) in relation to the vertical axis (V),
• the guide portion (20) further comprises a second separation plate (44) that is arranged from the upper end (28) of the separation chamber (40) to extend at a second angle in relation to the vertical axis (V) and downwards into the first section (A), the second angle being greater than the first angle so that whitewater coming into contact with the second separation plate (44) is deflected into the separation chamber (40), and
• the first separation plate (41) has a first height (h1) along a vertical axis (V) that is smaller than a chamber height (ch) of the separation chamber (40) along the vertical axis, so that a connecting passage (46) is formed for allowing whitewater to pass into the second section (B) underneath the first separation plate (41) and thereby separate the whitewater from air of the whitewater spray.