Apparatus for recovery of solvent vapor in a drying process

An apparatus for the treatment of articles with a solvent, comprising:

• a receptacle for said articles having an inlet and an outlet for an air circulation in a closed path through said receptacle;
• a pipe system having a plurality of branches connected to said inlet and said outlet;
• a condenser and a heater connected in series in one branch of said pipe system;
• a blower in said pipe system having an intake side directly connected to said outlet;
• an adsorber in a second branch of said pipe system between a discharge side of said blower and said condenser in said one branch, said heater being connected to said inlet, said pipe system having a third branch connected in shunt between said inlet and said outlet, and a fourth branch connected in shunt across said adsorber;
• and
• valve means between said branches for forming:
• a first closed circulation path from said outlet directly to said blower, from said blower through said fourth branch, from said fourth branch through said condenser and said heater in series, and then to said inlet and through said receptacle for removing residual solvent from said articles in a stream of air displaced along said first path and recovering solvent from the stream displaced along said first path by condensation, said adsorber being closed off from said first path,
• a second closed circulation path from said outlet directly to said blower and then to said adsorber before returning to said receptacle for removing solvent vapor from an air stream circulated along said second path by adsorption, and
• a third closed circulation path from said air heater through said third branch to said blower and then from said blower through said adsorber and said condenser to desorb solvent from said adsorber and recover the desorbed solvent by condensation.

An apparatus for the treatment of articles with a solvent, comprising:

• a receptacle for said articles having an inlet and an outlet for an air circulation in a closed path through said receptacle;
• a pipe system having a plurality of branches connected to said inlet and said outlet;
• condenser and a heater connected in series in one branch of said pipe system;
• a blower in said pipe system having an intake side and a discharge side;
• an adsorber in a second branch of said pipe system between said intake side of said blower and said receptacle, said discharge side of said blower being connected with said condenser of said one branch, said heater being connected to said inlet, said pipe system having a third branch connected in shunt between said inlet and said outlet, and a fourth branch connected in shunt across said adsorber;
• and
• valve means between said branches for forming:
• a first closed circulation path from said outlet directly to said blower through said fourth branch, from said blower through said condenser and said heater in series, and then to said inlet and through said receptacle for removing residual solvent from said articles in a stream of air displaced along said first path and recovering solvent from the stream displaced along said first path by condensation, said adsorber being closed off from said first path,
• a second closed circulation path from said outlet directly to said adsorber and then to said blower before returning to said receptacle for removing solvent vapor from an air stream circulated along said second path by adsorption, and
• a third closed circulation path from said air heater through said third branch to said adsorber and then from said adsorber through said blower and said condenser to desorb solvent from said adsorber and recover the desorbed solvent by condensation.

An apparatus for the treatment of articles with a solvent, comprising:

• a receptacle for said articles having an inlet and an outlet for an air circulation in a closed path through said receptacle;
• a pipe system having a plurality of branches connected to said inlet and said outlet;
• a condenser and a heater connected in series in one branch of said pipe system;
• a blower in said pipe system having an intake side directly connected to said outlet;
• an adsorber in a second branch of said pipe system between a discharge side of said blower and said condenser in said one branch, said heater being connected to said inlet,;
• and
• valve means between said branches for forming:
• a first closed circulation path from said outlet directly to said blower, from said blower through said condenser and said heater in series, and then to said inlet and through said receptacle for removing residual solvent from said articles in a stream of air displaced along said first path and recovering solvent from the stream displaced along said first path by condensation, said adsorber being closed off from said first path,
• a second closed circulation path from said outlet directly to said blower and then to said adsorber before returning to said receptacle for removing solvent vapor from an air stream circulated along said second path by adsorption, and
• a third closed circulation path from said air heater to said blower and then from said blower through said adsorber and said condenser to desorb solvent from said adsorber and recover the desorbed solvent by condensation, said receptacle being closed off during displacement of air along said third closed circulation path.