GB1349164A - Centrifugal gas separator - Google Patents

Abstract

1349164 Centrifugal separators TOKYO SHIBAURA ELECTRIC CO Ltd 16 June 1971 [17 June 1970] 28166/71 Heading B2P A centrifugal gas separator has a rotary separating chamber 10 with an inlet 22a for a gas mixture feed spaced from the axis of rotation of the chamber. The chamber 10 is constituted by a drum located in a housing 11 and having shafts 16, 17 supported in bearings 14, 15. The top lid 19 of the drum may be made of a single plate or, as shown, of two discs, the lower disc being an integral part of an inner cylindrical member 21 fixedly secured to the wall 18 of the drum to provide an annular clearance 22 and the inlet 22a. The shaft 16 is hollow and communicates with a central hole 19a and radial conduits 19b in the lid 19, the outer ends of the conduits 19b opening into the annular clearance 22. Passages 19c are provided in the lid 19 for discharge of separated lighter gas into an upper chamber 27. The bottom lid 20 of the drum 10 has passages 20a for discharge of separated heavier gas into a lower chamber 28. A cooler 31 and a heater 32 are provided respectively in chambers 27 and 28 for cooling the lids 19, 20 so that thermal convection is achieved and a counter-current established in the drum interior as indicated by the arrows. Baffle members 23, 24 are mounted on the housing 11 to provide a gas seal between the chambers 27 and 28, pressurized gas, e.g. helium, being supplied through an inlet 26 to the annular space 25 for that purpose. In a modification, Fig. 4 (not shown), the hollow shaft (16) extends axially through the top lid (19), which is made of a single plate, to the central portion of the drum where it is connected to a cross-like pipe distributor having radially outer outlets openinging close to the inner surface of the drum wall. In a further modification, instead of passages being provided in the lids 19, 20 for the discharge of separated gases, the shaft 17 is also hollow and a stationary pipe passes through each shaft 16, 17 with a clearance, extends into the drum, bends at right angles and has its inlet opening at a point which is at half the radius of the drum. A disc-shaped baffle member having passages therethrough may be disposed across the drum near each stationary pipe to form a disturbance-free collecting chamber for each separated gas. In this case, the baffles 23, 24 and the supply of helium gas in the space 25 are dispensed with.