Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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Title o~ the Invention
Distributor/collector assembly
Background o the Inven-tion
This invent:ion relates -to a cliskrib~1-tor/collec-tor
assembly suitable Eor use as a dis-tribu-tor (or collector) in a
column type of catalyst reactor, deodorizing apparatus or the like
device.
The conventional column type catalyst reac-tor includes, a
number of catalyst support grids provided in a reactor column.
Catalyst la~ers are disposed on -these catalyst support grids and
distributors are suspended in the space above the catalys-t layers
to distribute fluid (liquid or gas) over the catalyst layers (for
convenience of explanation, description of the distributors will
be made hereinafter as distrlbuting liquid). The liquid is
dripped through numerous apertures formed in the distributors over
the catalyst layers and is subjected to a desired reaction through
the catalyst layers and then the liquid after reaction is taken
ou-t of the reactor column through an outlet.
As will be understood from the above, the conventional
catalyst reactor is of such a construction that the distributors
are provided separatedly from the catalyst support grids. Such
construction, however, requires a large number of -the catalyst
support grids if there are many catalyst layers whic~ results in a
high manufacturing cost. Besides, if the number of the catalyst
layers increases, space required for providing the distributors
increases as well resulting in requiremen-t of a huge reactor
column with a substantial portion of its inside space being not
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utilized for packing catalyst. Moreover, mounting of the prior
ar-t distributors i.n the reactor column requires precision of the
highest degree Eor the liquid must be evenly dis-tribUtecl from the
distributors and the labor cost spent for -the moun-ting of the
distributors amounts -to a considerable sum.
Summary of the Invention
It i.s, therefore, an object of the presenet invention to
provide a distributor which has eliminated the above described
disadvantages of the prior art distributor in the column type
catalyst reactor. According to the invention, a novel buried type
distributor having both a fluid distribution (or collection)
function and a catalyst retention function is provided. By
disposing this distributor in the catalyst layer in a buried
state, the catalys-t support grids which have been indispensable in
the conventional reactor column are obviated, the labor cost for
mounting the distributors in the reactor column is saved for the
mounting position of the distributor according to the invention
does not require such a high degree of precision as in the case oE
the prior art distributor, and moreover, the ef~iciency of space
utilization in the reactor column is greatly improved for the
catalyst does not have to be separated in plural layers even if
the distributors are provided in plural stages.
In disposing a distributor in catalyst in a buried state,
there arises the problem that while the ~uried distributor must
have a suf~iciently rugged construction to bear a heavy load
imposed by the catalyst, the construction must not allow
occurrence of a turbulent flow or driEt of the liquid which is to
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be evenly distributed. There also arises the problem,
particularly in the catalyst reactor wherein catalyst is
circulated in a system incLuding the reactor., -tha-t -the distributor
must be of a construction which will not allow clogging of -the
catalyst in openings Erom which the liquid is to be distributed.
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The above described problems can be completely overcome by
the distributor/collector assembly according -to the invention
which comprises a screen cylinder composed of a plurality of
elongated support rods arranged cylindrically with a sui-table
S distance between ad~acent rods and a wire screen member wound
helically on said cylindrically arranged support rods, a tube
disposed in said screen cylinder and formed wi-th a multiplicity
of apertures for distributing or collecting fluid which flows
through said wire screen member of said screen cylinder, and a
plurality of support discs provided in said screen cylinder wi-th
a suitable distance therebetween in such a manner that said
support rods of said screen cylinder are supported on the outer
periphery of said support discs, each of said support discs
being formed with an opening for being fitted with said tube
lS and supporting said tube in said screen cylinder in such a
manner that space is defined between said tube and said wire
screen member of said screen cylinder.
Preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described
with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Brief Description of the Drawings
In the accompanying drawings,
Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view of a prior art column
type catalyst reactor;
Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the
aistributor/collector assembly according to the invention in a
state in which a part of the screen cylinder is removed for the
convenience of illustration;
Fig, 3(a) is a front vertical section of an example of a
column type ca-talyst reactor in which the distributor/collector
assembly according to -the invention is provided;
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Fig. 3(b) is a cross sectional view of the catalyst reactor
taken along lines ~-A in Fig. 3ta);
Fig. 3(c) is a vertical sectional view of -the catalys-t
reactor taken along lines B-B in Fig. 3(a);
Fig. ~ is a view showing a st.ate in which liquid is diPfused
from the distributor 21 shown in Figs. 3(a)-3(c); and
Figs. 5, 6, 7 and 8 are perspective views showing, a part
thereof being also removed, other embodiments of the distributor
assembly according to the invention.
Description of Preferred Embodiments
Flg. 2 shows a basic embodiment of the distributor/collector
assembly according to the invention generally designated by a
reference numeral 10. A reference numeral 18 designates a screen
cylinder composed of elongated support rods 11 and a wire screen
member 12. The support rods 11 are arranged cylindrically with
a suitable distance between adjacent rods. The wire screen member
12 is of a wedge shape cross section and is wound helically on the
cylindrically arranged support rods 11 with a suitable pitch.
Slits 12a are formed between respective adjacent wire portions.
The width of each slit 12 is determined depending upon the size
of a catalyst particle.
A plurality of support discs 17 are provided in the screen
c~linder 18 with a suitable distance between adjacent support
discs 17 in the axial direction of the screen cylinder 18. The
25 support discs 17 are disposed in such a manner that the support
rods 11 of the screen cylinder 18 are supported on the outer
periphery of the respective support discs 17. Each of the
support discs 17 is formed with a central opening 17a~
~ tube 13 is fitted in the central openings 17a of the
support discs 17. The support discs 17 therefore supports the
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tube 13 in such a manner that space is defined between the tube
13 and the wire screen member 12 of the screen cylinder 18. The
-tube 13 is formed with a multiplicity of small apertures 13a for
distributing or collecting fluid which flows through -the slits
12a of the wire screen member 12. The support discs 17 in this
example are further formed with openings 17b which are formed
equidistantly in the disc portion about the central opening 17a
for communicating spaces in the screen cylinder 18 which are
separated from one another by -the support discs 17.
It will be apprecia-ted from the above description that the
combination of the screen cylinder 18, the perforated tube 13
and the support discs 13 provi.des a unique structure in which
the support discs 17 perform the dual functions of (l) support-
ing the screen cylinder 18 against load applied inwardly from
outside thus serving as reinforcing elements for the screen
cylinder 18 and (2) supporting the tube 13 in the center of the
screen cylinder 18 without requiring any other supporting
devices.
Reverting to Fig. 2, a branch tube 14 is connected to the
tube 13 which in turn is connected throuyh a coupling 16 to a
pipe 15 of a system in which the cylindrical screen assembly
is used. The ends of the screen cylinder 18 and the tube 17
- are respectively closed by suitable closing members.
For making the distributor/collector assembly 10, the
support discs 17 are first fitted with the perforated tuhe 13,
the support rods ll are welded with a suitable interval there-
between to the support discs 17 by, e.g., spot welding, and
finally the wire screen member 2 is wound on the support rods
11 with a predetermined pitch and welded thereon by, e.g., spot
welding. Alternatively, the wire screen member 12 may be pressed
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to the support rods 11 by utilizing elasticity of the wire
screen member 12. In this case, the welding of the wire screen
member 12 to the support rods 11 may be omitted.
An ex~mple of using the assembly 10 in the column type
catalyst reactor is shown in Figs. 3(a)-3(c). In this example,
distributors 21 comprising a plu~ality of -the assemblies 10 are
disposed in upper and lower stages in a single layer of catalyst
25 packed in a column 20. Each of the distribu-tors 21 includes
the assemblies 10 arranged in parallel across the pipe 15 and
connected to the pipe 15 through the branch tube 14 and the
coupling 16. Each of the assemblies 10 is closed at both ends
thereof by closing members 23 and mounted on a flange 20a secured
to the inner wall of the column 20. A single layer of catalyst
support grids 22 are provided in the lower portion of the column
15 20. The catalyst 25 is filled into the column from an inlet 20c
of the column 20 until the distributors 21 in the respective
stages are completely buried in the catalyst.
The liquid to be reacted is caused to flow through the pipe
15 into the perforated -tube 13 of each assembly 10 and diffused
20 into the catalyst 25 through the apertures 13a of the tube 13.
This state is shown in Fig. 4. As will be seen from this
figure, since there is space defined between the tube 13 and
the wire screen member 12, the liquid is diffused more evenly
over a wider range of the catalyst layer than in a case where
the tube 13 is buried in the catalyst layer in direct contact
with the catalyst. It is also an advantage of the assembly of
the present invention that the slits 12a of the wire screen
member 12 are uniformly provided and there is no substantial
barrier that will obstruct the diffusion of the liquid through
the slits 12a in all directions so that no turbulence or drift
of the liquid takes place in the distribution.
The liquid diffused into the catalyst 25 flows down in the
catalyst layer and the expected reaction takes place during this
flowing down of -the liquid. The llquid, having completed the
reaction, is received in the catalyst support grids 22 and taken
out of the co]umn 20 through openinys 22a of the grids 22 and
an outlet 20d of -the column 20.
In the iIlustrated example, only one catalyst layer is
provided and, since separation of the eatalyst layer is unneces-
sary, the space inside of the column 20 can be utiliæed forfilling of the eatalyst to a maximum extent so that a maximum
spaee efficiency ean be realized~ Moreover, sinee only one
layer of the eatalyst support grids suffices/ the cost for the
provision of the catalyst support grids can be saved. In the
illustrated example, two stages of the distributors 21 are
provided. It will be apparent, however, -that the above
deseribed advantages will beeome more prominent if there are
an increased number of stages of the distributors 21.
The distributor/eollector assembly aceording to the inven-
tion ean be used only as a distributor but also as a collector.For example, the distributor 21 in the lower stage in the eolumn
shown in Figs. 3(a)-3(e) may be used as the colleetor for
collecting the liquid which has flown down ater completing
reaction into the tube 13 through the slits 12a and taking out
the liquid out of the column 20 through the pipe 15. In this
case, the catalyst support grids 22 are not required and the
outlet 20d of the column is closed. It is also possible to use
the distributor/collector assemblies of the respective stages
as the distributors for a certain period of time and, after
completion of reaction, use the same assemblies as the collectors
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to collect the liquid after completion of the reaction.
The arrangement of the distributor/collector assemblies is
not limited to the horizontal disposition as shown in Figs.
3(a)-3(c) but the assemblies may be disposed vertically, or
obliquely and crosswisely or in a staggered arrangement.
Modified embodi~ents oE the cylindrical screen assemblies
according to the invention are shown in Figs. 5, 6, 7 and 8.
Throughout these embodiments, the same componen-t parts as in
the embodiment shown in Fig. 2 are designated by the same refer-
ence numerals and detaileddescription thereof will be omitted.
In the embodiment shown in Fig. 5, a pair of support beams30 are fitted in slits 17c of the support discs 17 to connect
these support discs 17 together and thereby to increase the
strength of the distributor/collector assembly 10.
In khe embodiment shown in Fig. 6, beams of a relatively
large width are used as support beams 31A and 31B. A sub-
stantial portion of each of the beams 31A and 31B extends
outside of the outer periphery of the support discs 17. The
screen cylinder 18 is divided into two portions along a plane
including its axis and the respective divided portions are
welded to the support beams 31A and 31B on opposite sides thereof.
In the embodiment shown in Fig. 7, the space inside of the
screen cylinder 18 is separated into two parts by a support beam
32 and two tubes 13-1 and 13-2 are provided in the respective
parts.
In the embodiment of Fig. 8, wire screens 12-1 and 12-2
are provided concentrically with the screen cylinder 18.
Different kinds of catalysts are filled in the space between
the inner wall surface of the column 20 and the outer wire
screen 12-1, the space between the outer wire screen 12-1 and
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the inner wire screen 12-2 and the space between -the inner
screen 12-2 and the screen cylinder 18. The assembly is used as
a vertical type dis-tributor. The liquid ejected from the
apertures 13a of the tube 13 is diffused -through the screen
cylinder 18, the inner wire screen 12-2 and the ou-ter wire screen
12-1 ancl reactions are carried out while -the liqui.d flows through
the different catalyst layers.
The screen cylinder 18 in the above described embodiments
are all of a circular cross section. The configuration of the
screen cylinder 18 is not limited to this but may be of an
elliptic, octagonal, hexagonal or the like cross section. The
configuration of the support discs 17 can also be varied depend-
ing upon the configuration of the screen cylinder 18. The wire
screen member 12 should preferably be of a wedge-shape cross
section but wires of other cross section may be used if they
are capable of effectively preventing clogging of the slits 12a
by catalyst particles.
In the above described embodiments, the distributor/col-
lector assembly 10 is utilized as the distributor or collector
in the catalyst reactor. The distributor/collector assembly 10
can be utilized as a dis~ributor or collector for various uses
in other chemical processes such, for example, as a deodorizing
apparatus.
