Direct contact gaseous to liquid heat exchange and recovery system

In a process which includes the steps of:

• providing a plurality of dry cans in a drying process from which vapor-saturated air emanates, the improvement comprising the procedural combination of steps of:
• containing said emanating vapor-saturated air and directing said air to an upstanding heat exchanger comprising a means for receiving said contained air;
• directly contacting said vapor saturated air in a heat exchange zone within said heat exchanger with a relatively cooler spray of liquid, said contacting step occurring as the result of a plurality of spray heads located along a substantial length of said heat exchange zone for dispersing significant amounts of said relatively cooler liquid substantially throughout the direct contact heat exchange zone in said heat exchanger, the dispersing step providing a plurality of liquid phase droplets from a plurality of spray heads in said heat exchange zone to form a repetitive plurality of liquid phase barriers for intimate contact with said substantially saturated vapor within said heat exchange zone;
• collecting relatively warm liquid resulting both from the agglomeration of sprayed relatively cool liquid and condensing of at least a portion of the saturated vapor to a receiver zone of said heat exchanger;
• exhausting air from the heat exchanger which is relatively cool compared to the substantially saturated inlet air;
• and
• conveying said exhausted air to a room as a supplemental source of room heating.

In a process which includes the steps of:

• steam-dying fabrics in a dye steamer and, as a result, producing vapor-saturated gas at an elevated temperature, the improvement comprising:
• containing said vapor-saturated gas and directing said gas to an upstanding heat exchanger comprising a means for receiving said contained gas;
• directly contacting said vapor saturated gas in a heat exchange zone within said heat exchanger with a relatively cooler spray of liquid, said contacting step occurring as the result of a plurality of spray heads located along a substantial length of said heat exchange zone for dispersing significant amounts of said relatively cooler liquid substantially throughout the direct contact heat exchange zone in said heat exchanger, the dispersing step providing a plurality of liquid phase droplets from a plurality of spray heads in said heat exchange zone to form a repetitive plurality of liquid phase barriers for intimate contact with said substantially saturated vapor within said heat exchange zone;
• collecting relatively warm liquid resulting both from the agglomeration of sprayed relatively cool liquid and condensing of at least a portion of the saturated vapor to a receiver zone of said heat exchanger;
• exhausting a gas from the heat exchanger which is relatively cool compared to the substantially saturated inlet gas;
• and
• recovering heat from said relatively warm liquid by using said liquid in an associated process.