Downflow Patents (Class 159/27.4)
  • Patent number: 8241459
    Abstract: A vessel header comprising a plurality of lateral flow tubes arranged in a parallel configuration and entering the vessel header through alternating header penetrations with a single header penetration per lateral flow tube. A method of increasing the throughput of a polymerization reaction comprising conducting the polymerization reaction in a reaction vessel comprising a plurality of lateral flow tubes arranged in a parallel configuration and entering the vessel header through alternating header penetrations with a single header penetration per lateral flow tube wherein the polymerization reaction displays an increase in throughput of 10% and a decrease in volatiles of from 5% to 10% when compared to a polymerization reaction carried out in a reaction vessel lacking a plurality of lateral flow tubes arranged in a parallel configuration and entering the vessel header through alternating header penetrations with a single header penetration per lateral flow tube.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 21, 2006
    Date of Patent: August 14, 2012
    Assignee: Fina Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: John Tomlinson, Roy Kennedy, Jose M. Sosa
  • Patent number: 7658817
    Abstract: An industrial evaporation apparatus having a specified structure in which there are guides that do not themselves have a heat source, a flow path controlling member having a function of making the liquid fed onto a perforated plate from a liquid receiving port flow mainly from a peripheral portion toward a central portion of the perforated plate is provided in a liquid feeding zone, and formula (1) to (5), or formula (1) to (10), or formula (1) to (12), are satisfied.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 29, 2005
    Date of Patent: February 9, 2010
    Assignee: Asahi Kasei Chemicals Corporation
    Inventors: Shinsuke Fukuoka, Hiroshi Hachiya, Kazuhiko Matsuzaki
  • Patent number: 7258765
    Abstract: Vaporization chambers (distillation “pots”) are disclosed in which the liquid contained in such a pot is heated and circulated to establish thermal uniformity of the liquid and to route the circulated liquid past a thermally conductive member that contacts the liquid. The thermally conductive member extends from a location on a wall of the pot in a portion of the pot that holds the liquid as the liquid is being heated in the pot and conducts thermal energy directly from the liquid to a location outside the pot corresponding to the location on the wall. The pot desirably is divided into an upper portion and lower portion, wherein the liquid circulates from the lower portion to the upper portion and from the upper portion to the lower portion during heating. During this circulation, bubbles formed in the liquid can be routed into the upper portion in a manner resulting in fracture of the bubbles and recovery of liquid entrained in the bubbles, thereby preventing foam accumulation in the pot.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 12, 2003
    Date of Patent: August 21, 2007
    Assignee: Drawform, Inc.
    Inventor: Robert D. Westcott
  • Patent number: 7112262
    Abstract: A device is disclosed for downward flow evaporation of a liquid substance and subsequent condensation of the vapor formed, which includes a plurality of vertical evaporator tubes housed in a common casing in side-by-side relationship, a distributor tank which is arranged above the evaporator tubes and from which the substance contained therein can be fed to the evaporator tubes with production of a film of the substance running down the tube surface of the evaporator tubes, a heat exchanger arrangement arranged in the casing and having a plurality of vertical condensation tubes having a surface upon which the vapor can be condensed, receiving trays housed below the evaporator tubes and below the condensation tubes in the casing to separately receive unevaporated concentrate of the substance which runs down the tube surface of the evaporator tubes or condensed distillate of the substance which runs down the tube surface of the condensation tubes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 9, 2002
    Date of Patent: September 26, 2006
    Assignee: GEA Wiegand GmbH
    Inventor: Daniel Bethge
  • Publication number: 20040245084
    Abstract: The invention concerns a downward flow evaporator, with internal condensation, comprising at least a vertical evaporator tube (12) housed in a casing (10), and a dispensing vessel (16) arranged above the evaporator tube (12), from which a liquid to be evaporated can be brought to the evaporator tube (12), producing a downward flowing film in its tubular housing. In order to ensure condensation of the vapour formed during evaporation of the liquid, there is provided a heat-exchanging device (18, 52), whereof the condensation surfaces consist, in accordance with the invention, of at least a condensation tube (18) arranged vertically in the evaporation tube (12), and having substantially the same axis. Above said pair of tubes (12, 13) are housed reception means (20, 22) in the casing (10), capable of collecting separately, the non-evaporated liquid concentrate, flowing from the evaporator tube (12), and the condensed liquid distillate, flowing from the condensation tube (18).
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 25, 2004
    Publication date: December 9, 2004
    Inventor: Daniel Bethge
  • Patent number: 6780281
    Abstract: A strand devolatilizer that includes a degassing container, a product inlet, a product distributor, a product outlet and a vapor outlet is disclosed. The product distributor is in the form of a tube distributor with at least one distributor tube (1) and a plurality of die tubes (2) arranged in parallel, each containing a plurality of apertures (15) in the tube wall. The die tubes (2) are preferably arranged in several planes one above the other and staggered laterally relative to one another.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 22, 2002
    Date of Patent: August 24, 2004
    Assignee: Bayer Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Thomas Elsner, Jürgen Heuser, Christian Kords, Klemens Kohlgrüber
  • Patent number: 6635148
    Abstract: A method for refining an easily polymerizable matter while preventing an easily polymerizable matter-containing substance from being polymerized and an apparatus for use in the method are disclosed. The method and apparatus for refining and separating the easily polymerizable matter-containing substance by the use of a distillation column provided with a heat exchanger set the linear velocity of a vapor in a connecting line intervening between the distillation column and the heat exchanger at a level of not less than 5 m per second and the retention time of the vapor at a level of not more than 3 seconds.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 29, 2000
    Date of Patent: October 21, 2003
    Assignee: Nippon Shokubai
    Inventors: Takeshi Nishimura, Yukihiro Matsumoto
  • Patent number: 6464943
    Abstract: A laboratory evaporator device is disclosed which is modular in form so that the modular member supporting depending, upraised hollow needles or tubes through which evaporating fluid is conducted, may be individually sterilized and cleansed to thereby forestall cross-contamination. The laboratory device is simple in use, of relatively low cost and is of rugged construction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 7, 1999
    Date of Patent: October 15, 2002
    Inventor: Felix H. Yiu
  • Patent number: 6309513
    Abstract: A large and economical type of multi-stack vertical tube evaporator (MS-VTE) is disclosed having units of multiple stacks of vertical tube bundles or stages mounted in a single vessel, and having its liquid feed pumped to the uppermost VTE bundle stack or stage and having the feed then cascading downward through the lower bundle stacks in series flow, and wherein all the tube bundles are heated with the same waste steam of no or low $-value, e.g. with turbine reject steam in parallel flow under vacuum into the steam-sides of all tube bundles in the unit through a common steam conduit; and wherein the feed liquid is progressively evaporated from stage to stage or stack to stack and the vapors produced in the tubes of each bundle during the partial evaporation of the feed are separated between the stacks and condensed by parallel flow into one or more condensers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 2, 1998
    Date of Patent: October 30, 2001
    Inventor: Hugo H Sephton