FR2884733A1 - Large-scale chemical and/or biological reactor for contact between two fluids has reactor chamber walls of supple material such as resin-coated textile - Google Patents

Abstract

The reactor (1) consists of an elongated and horizontal cylindrical chamber (2) with walls (3) made from a supple material such as a textile coated with polymer resin and with no lining. It can be used as a contact chamber between a gas and a liquid, the latter being injected in the form of a mist of fine droplets. The volume of the reactor chamber during its operation is ensured by the pressure of gas injected at one end and leaving at the other, while during cleaning or maintenance it is supported by rigid curved frame members (5) and spacers. One end of the reactor chamber contains a rigid ring (7) carrying a bubble extractor (8) which allows the liquid to coalesce and pass through a lower outlet (9).

Description

The present invention relates to a chemical and / or biological reactor of

  large dimension for contact between two fluids, and a treatment plant comprising such a reactor.

  The contacting of two elements, within a reactor, in order to react chemically or biologically is a very commonly used technique. Such reactors are used in particular to allow the reaction between two fluids, in the context, for example, of the deodorization or the purification of a gas, such as air polluted by malodorous compounds, to be treated before being rejected. in the air.

  Generally made of rigid materials such as rigid or non-deformable metal or polymer, these reactors nevertheless pose certain problems when the flows of fluids to be treated are important. In the case, for example, deodorization of malodorous gases from a major composting facility, the flow rate of gas to be treated can reach values of the order of 200,000 cubic meters per hour. In this case, a reactor made of rigid material has several disadvantages.

  First of all, the cost of such an installation, which can reach several tens of meters long or a dozen height, is very important, whether made of metal or of rigid polymer, polyethylene type, or polypropylene or polyester. This price is not necessarily affordable for the operator of a composting facility, for example.

  In addition, the mass of such a reactor is high, causing difficulties of installation, maintenance and replacement in case of failure.

  Finally, a rigid structure does not allow easy modification of its dimensions. Indeed, if the flow rate of the fluid to be processed is changing, the operator must either completely replace the reactor, or double it. In addition, the manufacture of a rigid material reactor, having a particular shape, requires formatting metal boiler, plastic, or molding, which increases again the cost of installation.

  An object of the present invention is therefore to provide a chemical and / or biological reactor, the cost of production and commissioning is much lower than the cost of reactors, consisting of rigid materials, currently used, to allow the production of reactors of large dimensions at an affordable cost.

  Another object of the present invention is to provide a chemical and / or biological reactor whose mass is significantly lower than that of a reactor made of rigid material.

  Finally, a final object of the present invention is to provide a chemical and / or biological reactor whose design allows easy modification of its length and shape while maintaining its movable and removable structure characteristics.

  For this purpose, the subject of the present invention is a chemical and / or biological reactor, characterized in that the walls delimiting the volume of said reactor are made of flexible material, of textile type coated with a polymer resin.

  The use of such materials allows a significant improvement over the known reactors in terms of mass, cost and modularity. In a preferred embodiment, the textile used is of polyester type. One of its faces is coated with a PVC-based material and the second of its faces is coated with a silicone-based material. Such a material has a surface density close to 900 grams per square meter, dividing the weight of the entire reactor by at least 5, relative to a reactor of the same size, made of rigid polymer, such as polyethylene, polypropylene , or polyester with a thickness of the order of 10 to 20 mm. In addition the gains in terms of cost are even more important because the realization of a flexible material reactor requires no technical process of shaping.

  According to preferred features of the reactor of the invention: the reactor is used as a contact chamber between two fluids and has no packing; - The reactor is used as a contact chamber between a gas and a liquid and is provided with a diffuser for injecting the liquid inside the enclosure (2) in the form of a mist of fine droplets; the reactor is of elongated shape, the volume maintenance of said reactor during operation being ensured by the pressure of the gas injected at one of its ends and exiting at another end; when stopping the injection of the gas, in particular for cleaning or maintenance, maintaining the volume of said reactor is ensured by the presence of rigid armatures, such as arches and spacers or gallows, advantageously arranged at 1 outside the enclosure, so as not to interfere with the proper operation of the reactor and prevent any deterioration of said reinforcements by the potentially corrosive environment of the gaseous effluent to be treated; - The enclosure of said reactor is provided at one of its ends with a rigid ferrule, carrying a stripper to coalesce said liquid; - A discharge opening of the coalesced fluid is formed in the wall of said shell, below the stripper; the reactor is of approximately cylindrical shape and its design allows it to operate in a horizontal position.

  The present invention also relates to an installation for treating a gaseous flow with a liquid, comprising at least one reactor as described above, in which the gaseous flow is air laden with toxic and / or odorous compounds which are trapped in the washing liquid introduced simultaneously into the reactor.

  According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the gaseous flow is air loaded with biodegradable compounds by microorganisms present (in suspension) in the washing liquid.

  The invention will be better understood on reading the following description illustrated by nonlimiting exemplary embodiments, with reference to the appended drawings, in which: FIG. 1 represents a schematic sectional view of the whole of the chemical and / or biological reactor, according to the present invention.

  FIG. 2 represents a schematic top view of a gas purification plant comprising a reactor according to the present invention.

  As can be seen in the figures, the chemical and / or biological reactor 1 is in the form of a hermetic enclosure 2 whose volume is delimited by flexible walls 3 consisting of a composite membrane formed of a support core. textile, based on polyester son for example, coated on both sides with a polymer resin, for example PVC or silicone or other polymeric material ensuring flexibility, tightness, and the mechanical and chemical resistance of said membrane , which can be assembled by welding.

  The reactor 1 without lining shown in Figure 1 is used in the context of the purification of a gas, by chemical and / or biological reaction with a liquid. In this embodiment, the reactor 1 is here in the general form of a cylinder, positioned horizontally and supported by a rigid structure 10. The gas is injected, by means of a primary fan (not shown), at the gas injection end 4 in said reactor 1.

  The pressure created inside the chamber 2 of the reactor 1 by the injection of the gas, allows the position of the walls 3 of said reactor 1 to be maintained in position. Once injected, the gas to be purified comes into contact with the liquid, beforehand dispersed in the chamber in the form of mist, by means of a pneumatic diffuser 11. The purified gas then escapes through the opening 6 of the reactor 1. This opening 6 is formed in the end opposite the end 4 gas injection. On the other hand, the liquid is retained inside the enclosure by means of a separator 8, located upstream of the opening 6 for exhausting the gas and carried by a rigid shell 7, preferably made of polymer material. such as polypropylene, is assembled to the enclosure 2 by interlocking and mechanical clamping. The liquid then coalesced flows to the right of said devicator before being collected by gravity to an evacuation opening 9, formed in the bottom wall of said ferrule 7.

  When stopping the injection of the gas, maintaining the volume of the chamber 2 of the reactor 1 is ensured by the presence of rigid armatures, preferably external, of the type of arches, arranged at regular intervals around the cylindrical walls 3 of said reactor. This design allows an operator to access (through a hatch or a door not shown formed in the wall 3) easily inside the chamber 2, to perform cleaning for example. This design can also make it possible to modify the shape of the reactor. Indeed, by displacement of the positioning of the armatures 5 initially aligned with each other, it is possible to make an enclosure 2 having a generally elongated curved shape, or any shape easily adapting to the geography of places.

  FIG. 2 represents the general operation of a gas treatment plant by chemical and / or biological reaction, in the reactor 1 as shown in FIG. 1, with a liquid. This is particularly the case for air deodorization facilities collected above composting units for various types of organic waste: in particular animal waste, sludge, green waste, wood waste, methanised products, industrial waste. agro-food, etc.

  Such a facility may also treat air from: slaughterhouses, meat by-product processing facilities, waste treatment facilities, food processing plants, chemical plants, or some large industrial units, such as Fertilizer production, agricultural facilities, especially livestock buildings, plastic and shipbuilding plants, urban wastewater systems and sewage treatment plants.

  In such installations, the air flows to be treated are generally several tens, or even several hundred, thousands of cubic meters per hour.

  In this embodiment, the liquid containing microorganisms, is derived from an activated sludge pool 14 from which a pipe 13 on which are mounted a pump 15 and a valve 16. The liquid is conveyed, via said pipe 13, in entry of at least one pneumatic diffuser 11. In the same way, a pipe 12, provided with a primary fan 17 and a valve 18, conveys the gas, in this case air loaded in particular sulfur and nitrogen compounds, collected from the chamber 19 where s performs the activity generating the olfactory problems from the areas mentioned above and conveyed to the end 4 of the reactor 1 where it is injected inside the chamber 2. A third pipe 20, provided with a secondary fan 21 directs air to the inlet of the pneumatic diffuser 11. The liquid is then sprayed, by the air supplied by the pipe 20, into the chamber 2 of said reactor 1, in the form of a mist. The purified gas then escapes through the gas outlet orifice 6 while the liquid, loaded with the molecules that it has just absorbed in contact with the gas, is recovered by the stripper 8, then collected and evacuated by the opening 9, formed in the shell 7, to be purified in turn in the pool of activated sludge 14 where the microorganisms present degrade the biodegradable compounds. The air injected into the diffuser 11 may be ambient atmospheric air or a fraction of the purified air leaving the reactor 1.

  As an exemplary embodiment, the reactor has a diameter of 2.5 m to 4 m, a length of 16 to 25 m: with a water flow of 100 to 300 m3 / h it is possible to purify from 45,000 to 125,000 m3 / h of polluted air.

  In some cases, the installation of the air treatment method described above may be supplemented with a water purification plant by chemical or biological means.

Claims (10)

  1. Reactor (1) chemical and / or biological, characterized in that the walls (3) defining the volume of the enclosure (2) of said reactor (1) are made of flexible material, textile type coated with a polymer resin.   2. Reactor (1) chemical and / or biological according to claim 1, used as a contact chamber between two fluids lo characterized in that it has no packing.   3. Reactor (1) chemical and / or biological according to claim 2, used as a contact chamber between a gas and a liquid characterized in that it is provided with a diffuser for injecting the liquid inside. of the enclosure (2) in the form of a mist of fine droplets.   4. Reactor (1) chemical and / or biological according to claim 3, of elongated form, characterized in that the volume maintenance of said reactor (1) during operation is provided by the pressure of the gas injected at one of its ends (4), and exiting at another end.   5. Reactor (1) chemical and / or biological according to claim 4, characterized in that, when stopping the injection of the gas, in particular for cleaning or maintenance, the volume maintenance of said reactor ( 1) is provided by the presence of rigid frames (5), type arches and spacers or gallows.   6. Reactor (1) chemical and / or biological according to claim 4, characterized in that the enclosure (2) of said reactor (1) is provided at one of its ends with a shell (7) rigid, carrying a stripper (8) for coalescing said liquid.   7. Reactor (1) chemical and / or biological according to claim 6, characterized in that an evacuation opening (9) of the condensed fluid is formed in the wall of said shell (7), below the stripper.   8. Reactor (1) chemical and / or biological according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it is of approximately cylindrical shape and that its design allows it to operate in a horizontal position.   9. Apparatus for treating a gaseous flow with a liquid, comprising at least one reactor (1) according to any one of claims 3 to 8, wherein the gaseous flow is air loaded with toxic compounds and / or odorants which are trapped in the washing liquid introduced simultaneously into the reactor.   10. Treatment plant according to claim 9 characterized in that the gas stream is air loaded biodegradable compounds by microorganisms present in the washing liquid.