GB734185A - Improvements in installations for contacting liquids and gases particularly applicable to water cooling towers - Google Patents

Abstract

<PICT:0734185/III/1> <PICT:0734185/III/2> <PICT:0734185/III/3> <PICT:0734185/III/4> Apparatus for bringing liquids into contact with gases, e.g. to rectify vapours, or evaporate liquid from solutions, comprises parallel, sloping tunnels 12 one above another so that the roof 11 of each forms the floor of the tunnel above it, means for feeding liquid tranquilly on to all the floors simultaneously at their upper ends and for receiving tranquilly liquid discharged from each tunnel, and draught means to impell gas through the tunnels simultaneously. In the form shown, air flow is induced by a fan 13, and water is supplied by a pipe 16 to headers 15 having openings or slits near the floor surfaces. Troughs 17 receive the water and deliver it to a pipe 18. Each floor may be flat or stepped as in Fig. 5 or 6. In a modification, transverse baffles in the tunnels deflect the air towards an intermediate fan at one side. Two or more sets of tunnels, each with its own fan, may be arranged one above another, the water flowing from one to the next below. The water flow may be transverse to the air flow (Fig. 4, not shown). The wetted floors are composed of laterally-extending slats. The slats may be perforated and have a lower layer of felted vegetable fibres, or may be formed as frames or a gridwork of wire or expanded metal carrying absorbent material such as textile or glass fabric, asbestos, nylon cloth, &c. The air flow may be produced by natural draught. The Provisional Specification also describes a cooling tower, Fig. 1 (Provisional), with a forced upward draught of air from fans connected to passages 9, 91. The liquid descends on spiral flow beds 4, 41 in the annular space between the casing 1 and core 2. In a modification, the tower is of oblong section with rounded ends.