Direct contact condenser

A direct contact condenser comprising:

• a horizontally elongated housing;
• partition means extending longitudinally within said housing and also extending from a top portion toward a middle portion of said housing for defining a steam inlet means in the top of said housing, downward passage means, lateral passage means, and collectively upward passage means for establishing the sequential steam flows within said housing;
• first overflow means extending longitudinally within said housing at its top portion above collectively upward passage means for temporarily accumulating cooling liquid fed to said condenser and for allowing excess accumulated cooling liquid to overflow;
• second overflow means extending longitudinally within said housing under said first overflow means and above said collectively upward passage means for temporarily accumulating the cooling liquid supplied from said first overflow means, for allowing the cooling liquid to fall in multiple streams into said collectively upward passage means to cause direct heat exchange between the falling cooling liquid and the steam, and for causing excess cooling water accumulated by said second overflow means to overflow;
• means for supplying the cooling liquid overflowing from said second overflow means to said downward passage means to cause direct heat exchange between the cooling liquid and the steam in said downward passage means when excess accumulated cooling liquid overflows from said second overflow means.