Chiller with means for mixing hot vapors with cold or refrigerated liquid
AssigneePhillips Petroleum Company
InventorEdgar C. Cowling
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A shell-tube bundle heat exchanger is so arranged as to leave a section within the shell devoid of tubes. Into said section relatively hot vapors are introduced to be mixed with chilling medium within said shell and surrounding said tubes. A baffle means is provided to prevent liquid disturbed by introduction of the vapors from transmitting disturbance to the cooling medium surrounding the tubes. In one embodiment, propane vapors under pressure are introduced under the surface of cold liquid propane in a horizontal gas chiller. A stilling leg or vertical baffle is located between the tubes and the point of introduction of the vapors introduced through a slotted vapor inlet pipe. A liquid level sensing and/or control means is also baffled away from the point of introduction of vapors.
Claims17
A method for admixing a chilling liquid medium, being used to chill a nest of tubes in a shell and tube type heat exchanger, and a hot vapor introduced into said chilling medium, which comprises disposing said exchanger in a substantially horizontal position and having said tubes extend only a portion of the length of said shell, introducing chilling liquid medium into said shell into direct contact with said tubes, maintaining a level of said liquid in said exchanger sufficient to cover said tubes but such that a vapor collecting space exists above said level so that vapor from said liquid can be collected from said surface and removed from said shell at a upper locus thereof, providing in such shell a hot vapor receiving section horizontally removed and baffled away from said tubes by a baffle extending from a low point in said liquid medium to a level above said tubes, but below the level of the surface of said liquid medium and introducing said hot vapors directly into said liquid in said section, whereby a mixture of hot vapors and liquid formed in said section overflows the top of said baffle into the surface of the liquid substantially above said tubes.
A method for admixing a chilling liquid medium, being used to chill a nest of tubes in a shell and tube type heat exchanger, and a hot vapor introduced into said chilling medium, which comprises disposing said exchanger in a substantially horizontal position and having said tubes extend only a portion of the length of said shell, introducing chilling liquid medium into said shell into direct contact with said tubes, maintaining a level of said liquid in said exchanger sufficient to cover said tubes but such that a vapor collecting space exists above said level so that vapor from said liquid can be collected from said surface and removed from said shell at a upper locus thereof, providing in such shell a hot vapor receiving section horizontally removed and baffled away from said tubes by a baffle extending from a low point in said liquid medium to a level above said tubes, but below the level of the surface of said liquid medium and introducing said hot vapors into said liquid in said section, whereby a mixture of hot vapors and liquid formed in said section overflows the top of said baffle into the surface of the liquid substantially above said tubes;
- and wherein there is provided in said shell baffled away from said hot vapor receiving section a liquid level sensing and maintaining section which maintains said level of said liquid in said exchanger sufficient to cover said tubes and to maintain said vapor collecting space.
A method for introducing hot vapors into a horizontally disposed elongated shell and tube type heat exchanger adapted to receive hot vapors to be chilled by a chilling medium in the exchanger, said exchanger containing cooling tubes extending from an end portion of said exchanger and in which a fluid introduced into said tubes is cooled by chilling medium which is introduced through an inlet at said end portion of said exchanger into said shell directly into contact with said tubes, comprising providing a section within said exchanger shell at the other end thereof horizontally removed from said tubes and baffled away from said tubes, providing a hot vapors inlet to said section and introducing the hot vapors substantially upwardly directly into said chilling medium in said section whereby the disturbance of chilling medium in said shell surrounding said tubes is prevented.
A shell and tube type heat exchanger, said shell being substantially horizontally disposed and having positioned therein a nest of tubes, chilling introducing means for introducing chilling medium into said shell into contact with said tubes, said tubes being adapted to be cooled directly by chilling medium introduced to within said shell through said introducing means to surround said tubes, said tubes extending within said shell from one end portion thereof toward but not completely to the other end thereof leaving a section at the other end of said shell not containing any portion of said nest of tubes, means for maintaining said tubes substantially submerged in chilling medium liquid within said shell and a level of liquid surrounding said tubes below the upper portion of said shell to provide a vapor removal and collection from the surface of said liquid, an inlet for hot vapors in direct open communication with said section at said other end of said shell adapted for the direct introduction of vapor into liquid in said section and a baffle in said section disposed between said inlet and said nest of tubes whereby to prevent any of said hot vapors from causing disturbance of chilling medium in said shell surrounding said tubes.
A shell and tube type heat exchanger, said shell being substantially horizontally disposed and having positioned therein a nest of tubes adapted to be cooled by chilling medium within said shell surrounding said tubes, said tubes extending within said shell from one end thereof toward but not completely to the other end thereof leaving a section not containing any portion of said nest of tubes, means for maintaining said tubes substantially submerged in chilling medium liquid within said shell and a level of liquid surrounding said tubes below the upper portion of said shell to provide a vapor removal and collection from the surface of said liquid, an inlet for hot vapors in open communication with said section and a first baffle in said section disposed between said inlet and said nest of tubes whereby to prevent any of said hot vapors from causing disturbance of chilling medium in said shell surrounding said tubes, a second baffle between said other end and said inlet, and a level sensing means between said second baffle and said other end.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.