US 5,312,524 AGranted

Distillation system for recovery of industrial process liquids

AssigneeFilter Tech, Inc.

InventorLyle B. Barcomb

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Abstract

A distillation system for recovery of volatile components of contaminated liquids used in an industrial process includes a tube assembly including outer tubes to which hot bottoms liquids are supplied and inner tubes to which process liquids are supplied for transfer of heat from the bottoms to the process liquids. From the tube assembly the two liquids are discharged into the still through separate, elongated, parallel discharge pipes. The process liquids discharge pipe is positioned above the bottoms liquids discharge pipe and an elongated, metal, angle plate is positioned as an inverted V between the two discharge pipes. Efficiency is improved over prior systems wherein process liquids are added to the still without being preheated by the bottoms fluids, and without the unique still intake manifold.

Claims15

Dependent claims

A distillation system for recovery of process liquids used for cooling and lubricating purposes in an industrial process, said system comprising:

a) a still (28) having an enclosed chamber which is maintained at a sub-atmospheric pressure for vaporization of the more volatile components of heated process and recycled bottoms liquids discharged into said chamber, said still having first (29) and second (30) outlets for said volatile components in vaporized and bottoms in liquid states, respectively;
b) a condenser (16) for receiving vaporized components from said first outlet and returning said components to the liquid state as recovered distillate;
c) a heater (24) including a bank of tubes (42, 44, 46) having a first inlet (38) connected for receiving said bottoms liquids from said second outlet, a third outlet 49 communicating with a connecting tube (50), and means for heating bottoms liquids passing through said bank of tubes from said first inlet to said third outlet;
and
d) a tube assembly (22) including at least one elongated outer tube (86, 90) and at least one elongated inner tube (92, 94, 98, 100) positioned within and extending axially of said outer tube, said outer tube having a second inlet 51 connected via said connecting tube to said third outlet for receiving heated bottoms liquids from said bank of tubes, and a fourth outlet (52) connected via a first line (54) to discharge said bottoms liquids into said still, and said inner tube having a third inlet (82) connected for receiving said process liquids from said industrial process and a fifth outlet (84) connected via a second line (26) to discharge said process liquids into said still, whereby said process liquids are heated within said inner tube by heated bottoms liquids in said outer tube prior to discharge into said still.

2 more elements

In a distillation system for recovery of contaminated process liquids used in an industrial process, said system including a still (28) to which heated process and bottoms liquids are separately delivered for vaporization of volatile components, a condenser 16 wherein vapors from the still are returned to the liquid state as recovered distillate, a heater to which bottoms liquids from the still are delivered for heating while passing through a tube bank (42, 44, 46) from an inlet to an outlet thereof prior to return to the still, and air evacuation means (56) for maintaining a sub-atmospheric pressure within the still, a preheater tube assembly (22) comprising:

a) at least one elongated, outer tube (86, 90) having an inlet and an outlet;
b) means (50) for connecting said outer tube inlet to said tube bank outlet for passage of bottom liquids heated in said tube bank into said outer tube;
c) means (54) for connecting said outer tube outlet to said still for discharge of heated bottoms liquids therein;
d) at least one elongated, inner tube (92, 94, 98, 100) positioned within said outer tube and having first (82) and second (84) portions extending exteriorly of said outer tube, said first and second portions providing an inlet and an outlet, respectively, for said inner tube;
e) means (12, 20) for connecting said inner tube inlet to a source of said contaminated process liquids for passage of said process liquids into said inner tube, whereby process liquids in said inner tube are heated by bottoms liquids in said outer tube;
and
f) means (26) for connecting said inner tube outlet to said still for discharge of heated process liquids therein.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.