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US 5,628,901 AGranted
Vessel for treating liquids
AssigneeCastrol Industrial North America Inc.
InventorsWilliam L. Lawrence, Robert D. Coyle
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A single vessel with no moving parts is constructed to perform the functions of coalescing, vacuum dehydration, and thin film evaporation.
Claims8
A device for separating a liquid into its parts, comprising:
- an enclosed, hollow vessel including a wall;
- a stationary, porous medium suspended in the vessel;
- a port part-way up the vessel;
- a spiral baffle along the wall of said vessel with a small gap between said spiral baffle and the wall to keep fluid in a thin film along the wall;
- a top opening near the top of the vessel, said top opening being in fluid communication with said porous medium, such that any liquid entering the vessel through the part-way up port must pass through said porous medium in order to leave the vessel through said top opening;
- a bottom opening near the bottom of the vessel;
- and
- an injection system for injecting fluid near the top of said vessel at point along the wall of said vessel in a substantially horizontal direction tangent to the wall of said vessel;
- said device alternately functioning as a continuous coalescer, such that a liquid-liquid mixture entering through the part-way up port will be separated by the porous medium, with the light liquid leaving through the top opening and the heavy liquid leaving through the bottom opening;
- and as a continuous evaporator.
7 more elements
A device for separating a liquid into its parts, comprising:
- an enclosed, hollow vessel;
- a stationary, porous medium in said vessel;
- a port part-way up the vessel;
- a bottom opening near the bottom of the vessel;
- a top opening near the top of the vessel, said top opening being in fluid communication with said stationary porous medium, such that any liquid entering the vessel through the part-way up port must pass through said porous medium in order to leave the vessel through said top opening;
- and
- a jacket around said vessel for receiving fluid to control the temperature inside said vessel;
- said device functioning as a continuous coalescer, wherein a liquid-liquid mixture entering through the part-way up port is separated by the porous medium, with the light liquid leaving through the top opening and the heavy liquid leaving through the bottom opening, and further comprising:
- an inlet pipe near the top of said vessel;
- and
- a distribution means between said inlet pipe and said porous medium, such that, if liquid enters said vessel through said inlet pipe, it is distributed over the top of said porous medium by said distribution means.
8 more elements
A device for separating a liquid into its parts, comprising:
- a substantially cylindrical, enclosed, hollow vessel including a wall;
- a stationary, porous medium in said vessel;
- a port part-way up the vessel;
- a bottom opening near the bottom of the vessel;
- a top opening near the top of the vessel, said top opening being in fluid communication with said stationary porous medium, such that any liquid entering the vessel throught the part-way up port must pass through said porous medium in order to leave the vessel through said top opening;
- and
- a jacket around said vessel for receiving fluid to control the temperature inside said vessel;
- said device alternately functioning as:
- a) a continuous coalescer, wherein a liquid-liquid mixture entering through the part-way up port is separated by the porous medium, with the light liquid leaving through the top opening and the heavy liquid leaving through the bottom opening, and
- b) a continuous evaporator, wherein a liquid-liquid mixture is heated by the fluid in the jacket and separated into its parts by boiling off the more volatile component which passes through the porous medium and out the top opening;
- and further comprising
- an injection system on the same side of said porous medium as said part-way up port for injecting fluid near the top of said vessel at points along the wall of said vessel in a substantially horizontal direction tangential to the wall of said vessel, so as to form a thin film of fluid along the wall of said vessel for continuous thin film evaporation.
9 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.