Abstract: Granular matter placed in a vertical cylinder rotated back and forth between limiting angles creates a sidewards flying bed. A spoke is connected at one between a vertical drive shaft rotating the cylinder and a first hinge. A drive rod is connected between the first hinge and a second hinge on a rotating flywheel. Rotation of the flywheel causes the drive shaft to rotate through an angle varying back and forth between limiting angles. The cylinder's speed of rotation varies. During most of the time centrifugal forces greater than gravity act upon the granular material, causing the material to form a layer on the inner wall of the cylinder. In at least a portion of the recurring time intervals the acceleration and deceleration produce tangential forces greater than the centrifugal forces acting upon the layer, causing the granular material to fly sidewards in a direction tangential to the cylinder's circumference.

Abstract: The instant invention achieves uniformity of spills of granular material from fluid-entry faces of a panel bed by fixing the bed's position in space, and providing a constant push in a vertical direction on a deflector (preferably downward), the deflector moving in contact with the panel bed's fluid-exit wall when the bed is employed for filtration or countercurrent contacting. The constancy of the push causes the deflector's motion to occur at a constant combination of speed and displacement of the fluid-exit wall toward the fluid-entry faces of the panel bed, the combination causing a body movement of the granular material toward the fluid-entry faces, thereby causing spills of granular material to occur from the faces, renewing the faces. The constancy of the combination in the deflector's motion guarantees that the spills are uniform.

Abstract: There is provided method and apparatus for creating a longitudinally disposed, sharp pulse of liquid, useful for pulseback renewal of liquid-entry faces of a panel-bed liquid filter or a panel-bed liquid-powder contactor. Perforations are disposed along the wall of a tank in a path generally parallel to the tank's axis. Stoppers are provided for stoppering the perforations. With the perforations so stoppered, a liquid is introduced at high pressure into the tank. Thereafter, a quick unstoppering of the perforations releases the liquid from the tank in form of a longitudinally disposed, sharp pulse of liquid moving in a direction perpendicular to the tank's axis. If the tank is placed vertically alongside or within a space that in normal operation receives liquid from a panel bed, the sharp pulse can effectively pulseback the panel bed.

Abstract: There is provided method and apparatus for creating a longitudinally disposed, sharp puff of gas, useful for puffback renewal of gas-entry faces of a panel-bed gas filter or a panel-bed gas-powder contactor. Perforations are disposed along the wall of a tank in a path generally parallel to the tank's axis. Stoppers are provided for stoppering the perforations. With the perforations so stoppered, a gas is introduced at high pressure into the tank. Thereafter, quickly unstoppering the perforations releases the gas from the tank in form of a longitudinally disposed, sharp puff of gas moving in a direction perpendicular to the tank's axis. If the tank is placed vertically alongside or within a space receiving gas from a panel bed, the sharp puff can effectively puffback the panel bed.