US 5,470,478 A · Apparatus and method for stripping and absorption of volatile materials

Abstract

The invention pertains to the removal of volatile organic compounds (VOC), generally speaking from industrial fluids, but with special emphasis on water. The dominant feature of the invention is to resort to physical processes such as stripping, absorption and flash evaporation. so that no environmentally undesirable by-products will be formed. Basically the process achieves in one single tower structure air stripping of the contaminated fluid (water) and subsequent removal of the contaminants from the spent stripping air by controlled and special contacting of the contaminated air with certain low volatility solvents in film tray contacting equipment, which can be used with special advantages to permit removal of the VOC from the spent air, as well as for the recovery of the VOC from the VOC-rich solvents.

Claims27

Dependent claims

A method of removing a volatile material from a liquid using a vertical tower structure containing a stripping zone, comprising feeding liquid containing the volatile material to the top of said stripping zone, introducing an inert gas to the base of said stripping zone to remove the bulk of said volatile material from said liquid feed, the tower containing an absorption zone into the base of which said inert gas carrying volatile material is caused to flow, said absorption zone being irrigated at the top with a solvent by which the bulk of said volatile material is removed from said inert gas without said solvent combining chemically with the volatile material or with any of its components in order to preclude any follow-up chemical processing, for substantial recovery and substantial restoration of the solvent to is original condition, removing the cleaned inert gas from the top of said absorption zone, and removing said solvent which now carries the bulk of said volatile material from the base of said absorption zone through a trap and/or pumping means.

Apparatus for removing a volatile material from a liquid comprising:

a vertical tower structure containing a stripping zone having feeding means for feeding liquid containing the volatile material into the top of said stripping zone and means for introducing an inert gas into the base of said stripping zone to remove the bulk of said volatile material from this liquid feed into said inert gas;
the tower also containing an absorption zone having flow means for causing said inert gas carrying volatile material to flow into the base of said absorption zone and including irrigation means at the top of said absorption zone for irrigating said absorption zone with a solvent by which the bulk of said volatile material is removed from said inert gas without creating any follow-up by-products, and further including exhaust means at the top of said absorption zone tier exhausting the cleaned inert gas from the top of said absorption zone, and drain means at the bottom of said absorption zone for draining said solvent carrying the bulk of said volatile material through a trap and/or pumping means connected to said drain means.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Apparatus and method for stripping and absorption of volatile materials

Life of this patent

Apparatus and method for stripping and absorption of volatile materials

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims27