Apparatus for mixing a liquid phase and a gaseous phase

In an apparatus for mixing a liquid phase and a gaseous phase, particularly a fermentor for biologically growing microorganisms, a combination comprising a vessel having an interior adapted to contain a liquid phase;

• a hollow tubular guide baffle in said vessel, said baffle having one open end region which communicates with the interior of said vessel and another spaced open end region which converges in direction away from said one open end;
• a rotary impeller mounted in said vessel for rotation about an axis, said impeller having an axial inlet which communicates with said other open end region of said baffle, a plurality of peripheral outlets which communicate with the interior of said vessel, and a venturi-shaped passage intermediate said inlet and said outlets, said venturi-shaped passage having an upstream converging portion, a downstream diverging portion, and a throat portion intermediate said upstream and downstream portions;
• drive means for rotating said impeller about said axis and for expelling liquid phase from said outlets by centrifugal action, said drive means generating a suction force in said venturi-shaped passage which is operative for drawing additional liquid phase in a path from the interior of said vessel through said hollow baffle towards said axial inlet and from there through said venturi-shaped passage towards said outlets for expulsion from the latter into the interior of said vessel;
• and gas-admitting means including a hollow supply conduit mounted coaxially in said hollow baffle and communicating with a source of gaseous phase, and also including a plurality of tubular nipples mounted on and communicating with said supply conduit, said tubular nipples having elongated tubular end portions which extend into said venturi-shaped passage in direction transversely of said path and which are inclined at an angle of inclination relative to said axis of rotation, each tubular end portion terminating in a beveled discharge port which is inclined at a substantially constant slope relative to the elongation of the respective tubular end portion and which lies in a plane that extends substantially normally of said axis, each discharge port facing downstream of said path and communicating with a different location of said venturi-shaped passage and at a different portion of said path so that the suction force generated in said venturi-shaped passage draws the gaseous phase from the source through said supply conduit towards said nipples and from there through said tubular end portions towards said discharge ports for discharge across different transverse sections of said venturi-shaped passage for mixing with the liquid phase flowing through the latter without requiring the gaseous phase to be in pressurized condition.

In an apparatus for mixing a liquid phase and a gaseous phase, particularly a fermentor for biologically growing micro-organisms, a combination comprising a vessel having an interior adapted to contain a liquid phase;

• a hollow tubular drive baffle in said vessel, said baffle having one open end region which communicates with the interior of said vessel and another venturi-shaped open end region, said other venturi-shaped end region having an upstream converging portion, a downstream diverging portion, and a throat portion intermediate said upstream and downstream portions;
• a rotary impeller mounted in said vessel for rotation about an axis, said impeller having an axial inlet which communicates with said downstream diverging portion of said other venturi-shaped end region, and a plurality of peripheral outlets which communicate with the interior of said vessel;
• drive means for rotating said impeller about said axis and for expelling liquid phase from said outlet by centrifugal action, said drive means generating a suction force in said other venturi-shaped end region which is operative for drawing additional liquid phase in path through said one open end region and from there through said other venturi-shaped end region towards said axial inlet to be expelled from said outlet into the interior of said vessel;
• and gas-admitting means including a hollow annular supply conduit surrounding said throat portion on said baffle and communicating with a source of gaseous phase, and also including a plurality of tubular nipples mounted on said other venturi-shaped end region of said baffle and communicating with said annular supply conduit, said tubular nipples having elongated tubular end portions which extend into said other venturi-shaped end region in direction transversely of said path and substantially normally of said axis, each tubular end portion terminating in a bevelled discharge port which is inclined at a substantially constant angle of inclination relative to the elongation of the respective tubular end portion, each discharge port facing generally downstream of said path and communicating with a different location of said other venturi-shaped end region and at a different portion of said path so that the suction force generated in said other venturi-shaped end region draws the gaseous phase from the source through said annular supply conduit towards said nipples and from there through said tubular end portions toward said discharge ports for discharge across different transverse sections of said other venturi-shaped end region for mixing with the liquid phase flowing through the latter without requiring the gaseous phase to be in pressurized condition.