Gas-liquid contacting tray with improved inlet bubbling means

In a gas-liquid contacting tray of the slotted sieve-type for use in a distillation column to effect intimate contact between rising vapor and liquid flowing across a gas-liquid contacting member of the tray having main flat top and bottom surfaces from a liquid inlet adjacent one edge of the contacting member along a liquid flow path on said main top surface including a diverging flow section adjacent said inlet to a liquid discharge adjacent an opposite edge of said contacting member, with a plurality of fixed sized openings distributed across the contacting member and extending therethrough with walls normal to said main flat top and bottom surfaces for gas flow, and a plurality of elevated portions formed from said member across said surfaces each with an upper surface raised from said main flat top surface having a front leading edge separated from said main flat top surface to form an elongated slot opening therewith of greater width than height, the raised upper surface being inclined to said main top surface and having a back edge integral with such surface and each elevated portion being spaced from adjacent elevated portions by said main flat top surface entirely surrounding such elevated portion, the improvement comprising:

• (a) a first imperforate wall member contiguously associated and coextensive with an edge of said inlet surface transverse to the liquid flow path and extending substantially vertically upwardly from such edge to a substantially uniform height;
• (b) an intermediate wall member with main flat top and bottom surface contigously associated and coextensive with the upper edge of said first wall member extending horizontally therefrom in the direction of said liquid discharge to a substantially uniform extent, with a plurality of fixed size openings uniformly distributed across said intermediate wall member and extending therethrough with walls normal to said main flat top and bottom surfaces for gas flow, to initiate bubbling in liquid flowing across said intermediate wall member from said inlet surface over said first imperforate wall member;
• (c) a second imperforate wall member contiguously associated and coextensive at its upper edge with the downstream edge of said intermediate wall member and extending substantially vertically downwardly therefrom and contiguously associated and coextensive at its lower edge with said one edge of said contacting member, whereby liquid which has been flowed across said intermediate wall member and in which bubbling has been initiated is introduced to said gas-liquid contacting member for flow thereacross to said discharge, and
• (d) a band portion of said contacting member adjacent to said liquid inlet and extending therefrom downstream for distance of from 20% to 50% of the length of the tray diametral streamline from said liquid inlet surface to the tray transverse center line and extending transversely outwardly from the tray diametral streamline for distance at least 25% of the transverse length of said liquid inlet surface, with angular orientation of slot openings in said contacting member first band portion with respect to and away from the tray diametral streamline such that the slot angle of individual slots is greater than the angle formed by the diametral streamline and a tangent line at the contacting member outer edge at the point of intersection with said liquid inlet surface.