Scrubber for the desulfurization of flue gases

A scrubbing column for the desulfurization of a flue gas of fossil-fuel combustion comprising:

• a substantially cylindrical upright tower having a head at an upper end and a sump at the lower end thereof;
• means for feeding said flue gas to said tower at a location above said sump whereby said flue gas rises in said tower to said head;
• means for scrubbing the flue gas rising in said tower with a scrubbing liquid, said scrubbing liquid being collected in said sump, said scrubbing liquid constituting a suspension of calcium sulfite and/or calcium sulfate;
• a liquid separator in said head, said liquid separator comprising a substantially cylindrical crown of angularly separated registers surrounding a central plenum communicating with said registers, said crown of registers being surrounded by a discharge passage whereby flue gas from said tower enters said plenum, radially traverses said registers and flows through said passage, each of said registers comprising a plurality of impingement-baffle separators traversed in succession by the flue gas and spaced from one another;
• and
• an outlet on said head radially offset from the liquid separator and communicating with said passage, said passage being of increasing flow cross section in the direction of said outlet, each of said impingement-baffle separators comprising a plurality of vertically oriented baffle plates, each being of zigzag cross section in radial direction and provided with means for enabling collected water to pass downwardly.