Deagglomerator and method for deagglomerating particulate material

A deagglomeration device for aerodynamically affecting size reduction in agglomerations of particulate material comprising means for injecting a particulate material into a flow of fluid, means for entraining said particulate material in said flow of fluid, means for injecting additional fluid into said flow of fluid with a flow component transverse to said flow of fluid whereby a portion of said flow of fluid defines a peripheral vortex flow and another portion of said flow of fluid defines a central axial flow, the volume of fluid in said vortex flow decreasing downstream of the injection of said additional fluid, the volume of said fluid in said central axial flow increasing downstream of the injection of said additional fluid.

A deagglomeration device for aerodynamically affecting size reduction in aggregations of particulate material comprising a body having a central passage extending therethrough, an inlet port, and an exit port, said central passage connecting said inlet and exit ports, said central passage having a first conical converging section connected to said inlet port, a plurality of cylindrical sections coaxially aligned with said converging section, said cylindrical sections being arranged end to end in order of increasing diameter between said converging section and said exit port coaxially therewith, a plurality of tangential injection passages, each injection passage tangentially intersecting said central passage, at least one of said injection passages intersecting each of said cylindrical sections.

A method of aerodynamically deagglomerating aggregations of particulate material comprising

• introducing a particulate into a flowing fluid, entraining said particulate material in said flowing fluid, tangentially injecting additional fluid into said flowing fluid thereby forming a peripheral vortex flow and a central axial flow, repeating said injecting steps a plurality of times, alternating the direction flow of said vortexes, and dispersing said fluid and entrained particulate into a generally homogeneous fluid a plurality into a generally homogeneous fluid a plurality of magnitudes larger in volume.

A method of aerodynamically deagglomerating aggregations of particulate material comprising passing a fluid through a passage, introducing a particulate material into said fluid, entraining said particulate material in said fluid, creating aerodynamic fluid shear forces by directing said fluid through a converging section of said passage, a cylindrical section of said passage and a diverging section of said passage thereby causing velocity differentials and boundary layer phenomenon, injecting additional fluid into select sections of said passage with a flow component transverse to said fluid flow thereby producing a peripheral vortex flow adjacent to the wall of said passage and a central axial flow and creating additional aerodynamic fluid shear forces upon said particulate material, and outletting said entrained particulate from said passage.