Rotating nozzle sparging system for suspension fertilizer tanks

A sparging system for agitating a body of liquid in a tank and for removing deposits which may have settled from the liquid on to the tank bottom comprising:

• hollow vertical shaft means having an upper end and a lower end;
• a fixed sleeve having a bore which surrounds an upper portion and forms therewith an annular chamber;
• means above and below said chamber forming seals between said sleeve and said hollow shaft means;
• a compressed gas supply pipe connected to said annular chamber so that said supply pipe is in communication with the bore of said hollow shaft;
• a power-driven shaft disposed above and coaxial with said hollow shaft means and connected thereto;
• a horizontal header carried by a lower portion of said hollow shaft means, said header being in communication with the bore of said hollow shaft means;
• and a plurality of nozzles carried by said horizontal header in spaced-apart positions along the length of said header, each of said nozzles includes a hollow housing defining a chamber and having a nozzle outlet facing downwardly so as to direct jets of compressed gas against the bottom of the tank, a closure member mounted in said chamber for movement toward and away from said outlet and arranged to be biased toward said outlet by the pressure of the liquid in the tank, and mechanical biasing means applying a closing force on said closure member, said closure member being responsive to a predetermined high gas pressure in said chamber to move to an open position whereby the respective nozzle outlet does not become clogged with deposits when the system is not operating.

A sparging system for agitating a body of liquid in a tank and for removing deposits which may have settled from the liquid on to the tank bottom comprising:

• a hollow vertical shaft of length sufficient to extend from above the surface of the body of liquid to essentially the bottom of the tank, said shaft being mounted for rotation about its axis;
• drive means for rotating said shaft about its axis;
• means for supplying compressed gas to the interior of said shaft;
• a horizontal header carried by said shaft at the lower end thereof and communicating with the interior of said shaft;
• a plurality of nozzles carried by said header is spaced-apart positions therealong, each of said nozzles having an outlet facing downwardly and in the direction of rotation so as to direct jets of compressed gas on to the bottom of the tank, said nozzles being arranged so that their jet patterns sparge overlapping annular areas of the tank bottom during rotation of said hollow shaft, each of said nozzles including a hollow housing defining a chamber and having a nozzle outlet therethrough, a closure member mounted in said chamber for movement toward and away from said outlet and arranged to be biased toward said outlet by the pressure of the liquid in the tank, mechanical biasing means applying a closing force on said closure member, said closure member being responsive to a predetermined high gas pressure in said nozzle to move to an open position whereby the respective nozzle outlet does not become clogged with deposits when the system is not operating.