Sparger container for shipment of dry materials

Abstract

A sparger container comprises a pair of opposed end walls, a pair of opposed side walls, and a closed floor. The closed floor has an open-topped, longitudinally-extending channel and two generally planar sides slanting upwardly from the top edges of the channel to the side walls. A sparger system is provided immediately above the floor and includes a generally rectangular network of pipes disposed along the inner perimeter of the side and end walls, and at least one inlet providing fluid communication between a source of pressurized fluid and the pipes. The sparger system can also include a pipe positioned above the channel. Each of the pipes is provided with a plurality of holes therethrough, which are evenly-spaced circumferentially and are positioned at spaced intervals along the lengths of the pipes. An outlet for the container is positioned at one end of the channel and extends through one of the end walls. Alternatively, the channel can be omitted, and the floor includes only two generally planar sides slanting upwardly from the longitudinal center line of the floor to the side walls.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.