US2819049A - Bubble cap towers - Google Patents

Bubble cap towers Download PDF

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Publication number
US2819049A
US2819049A US366472A US36647253A US2819049A US 2819049 A US2819049 A US 2819049A US 366472 A US366472 A US 366472A US 36647253 A US36647253 A US 36647253A US 2819049 A US2819049 A US 2819049A
Authority
US
United States
Prior art keywords
vapor
deck
cap
tube
tray
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired - Lifetime
Application number
US366472A
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English (en)
Inventor
Jr Earl Manning
Jr Cyril J Kaemmerlen
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Shell Development Co
Original Assignee
Shell Development Co
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Priority to NL84921D priority Critical patent/NL84921C/xx
Application filed by Shell Development Co filed Critical Shell Development Co
Priority to US366472A priority patent/US2819049A/en
Priority to FR1110329D priority patent/FR1110329A/fr
Priority to GB19921/54A priority patent/GB747947A/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of US2819049A publication Critical patent/US2819049A/en
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

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    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B01—PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
    • B01D—SEPARATION
    • B01D3/00—Distillation or related exchange processes in which liquids are contacted with gaseous media, e.g. stripping
    • B01D3/14—Fractional distillation or use of a fractionation or rectification column
    • B01D3/16—Fractionating columns in which vapour bubbles through liquid
    • B01D3/18—Fractionating columns in which vapour bubbles through liquid with horizontal bubble plates
    • B01D3/20—Bubble caps; Risers for vapour; Discharge pipes for liquid
    • B01D3/205—Bubble caps

Definitions

  • the invention relates to improvements in contacting towers having tray decks provided with bubble caps or bell caps, suitable for use in contacting liquid with gas, e. g., in fractional distillation of petroleum oils and other liquids, in gas scrubbers, and the like.
  • the cap assembly includes a riser tube communicating with the vapor space beneath the tray deck and extending above the upper level of the deck so as to retain on the deck a body of liquid even without upflow of vapor.
  • the vapor-deflecting cap proper is positioned above the riser tube and has a skirt generally of the same geometric shape as the riser tube, but enclosing a horizontal area greater than that of the riser tube, extending downwards in horizontally spaced relation to the tube so as to provide a down-flow passage.
  • Vapor ascends through the tube and after emerging from the top reverses direction and descends in the down-flow passage between the riser tube and skirt; it eventually flows out beneath the skirt or through openings in the lower part of the skirt into the body of liquid on the tray deck.
  • a further object is to provide a simple, unitary bubble cap device that is easily installed on the deck.
  • the deck has a vapor opening or passageway, the top of which terminates substantially at the level of the deck, i. e., no vapor riser tube that extends above the tray deck is provided, and a vapor-deflecting cap is mounted directly over the passageway, the deck and cap being arranged so that the top of the vapor passageway is in free horizontal communication at the level of the deck with the body of liquid which is supported on the tray deck by the dynamic action of the vapor that escapes laterally from the assembly.
  • the sides of the vapor passageway are preferably smooth and upwardly convergent with a throat near to the top,
  • the deck itself, e. g., by cutting a hole into the deck if of sufiicient thickness, or by punching the deck to form a downwardly projecting lip or flange, or the sides of the passageway may be constituted by a separate tube that extends downwardly through the deck.
  • the cap deflects the vapors laterally outwards and for best results is streamline-d by giving it a downwardly concave ceiling that slopes upwardly and outwardly from the center and advantageously terminates at the highest point thereof at the outer part of the cap and is in free communication with the outside at that height, thereby differing from deflectors that were mounted within bubble caps according to prior designs, wherein the curved surfaces were arched and continued downwardly from the highest parts thereof to merge with the skirt for reversing the direction of vapor flow and inducing the vapor to flow downwards through the down-flow passage between the skirt and the riser tube.
  • the bubble caps according to this invention do not have such downfiow passage.
  • the outline of the cap (in horizontal plan) substantially the same as that of the vapor passage way thereby providing a relatively greater total area of vapor passageway for a tray deck of a given area and further departing from prior arrangements wherein the vapor riser tube had a horizontal area materially smaller than that of the cap.
  • the cap which may be formed separately from or attached permanently to the tube, e. g., made integral therewith, can according to a preferred construction be conveniently secured to the deck by inserting it upwardly through a hole in the deck and sliding one or more wedges hroizontally into slits formed in the cap structure, the wedges then resting on the deck.
  • Figure l is a vertical sectional view through an intermediate portion of a fractionating tower provided with tray decks according to the invention.
  • Figure 2 is an enlarged vertical sectional view of a portion of the deck showing one bubble cap device taken on the broken line 22 of Figure 3;
  • Figure 3 is a view of the cap partly in plan and partly in section taken on the broken line 3-3 of Figure 2;
  • Figure 4 is a horizontal section through a tray deck showing cap device in elevation
  • Figure 5 is a section view similar to Figure 4 showing a modified construction of the cap device.
  • Figure 6 is a vertical sectional view of a further modified construction of the cap device and portion of the deck.
  • 10 represents the shell of a fractionating column having flat, horizontal tray decks 11 extending transversely across the shell in vertically spaced relation and provided with downflow openings 12 situated alternately at opposed sides.
  • the openings 12 are bounded by vertical plates 13 that are sealed at their vertical marginal edges to the shell 10 and extend above the respective trays to form overflow weirs 13a and extend downwardly below the levels of the weirs 13a on the respectively lower decks 11.
  • the decks 11 are thereby adapted to retain bodies of liquid up to the heights of the weirs 13a and the plates 13 form peripherally enclosed liquid downcomers that are immersed within the retained liquid at their lower ends to prevent upfiow of vapor.
  • Each tray deck has one or more bubble cap assemblies 14 constructed in accordance with the invention.
  • the bubble cap device is shown more particularly in Figures 2-4, which illustrate anembodiment wherein the device is unitary and is constructed of a single piece of metal, in addition to one or more locking wedges 15, 15a, etc.
  • the cap device comprises a vertical tube 16, circular in cross section, that extends downwardly from the upper level of the tray deck for a distance at least A of the diameter at the narrowest part of the tube and has inner side surfaces that are smoothly upwardly conver-z gent; preferably, a throat 17 is formed near the top 18 and the tube diverges slightly above the throat.
  • the tube may have a throat diameter of six inches, bottom and top diameters of eight and six-and-onehalf inches, respectively, and a height of oneinch.
  • a top wall 19 for deflecting vapors laterally outwardly.
  • This wall preferably has the ceiling thereof formed as a smooth, concave, upwardly and outwardly inclined deflecting surface 20 that has the outermost part at the highest level thereof and substantially horizontal.
  • the deflecting surface 20 is a surface of revolution about the axis of the vapor opening and has a 90 are as generatrix. This shape diifers from that employed in prior bubble caps having arched ceilings in that the surface does not turn downwardly through any appreciable arc, so that vapor will be discharged laterally in directions that are essentially horizontal.
  • the wall 19 is united to the tube 16 by a small number of, e. g., four, narrow posts 21 that have their external surfaces coincident with a cylinder of diameter equal to the outside of the upper portion of the tube 16. These posts have vertical slots extending down to the level of the tray deck for receiving the locking wedges.
  • the throat of the latter is made as large as possible in relation to the cap; hence, in the preferred embodiment the cap has an external outline that is substantially the same, both with respect to size and shape as the vapor passageway.
  • the external outline of the cap device is circular and the diameter of the upper part exceeds that of the vapor passageway which lies immediately above the throat 17 only by the thickness of the material used in the tube.
  • the top wall according to this embodiment is provided with an annular skirt 22 that extends almost to the tray deck and has suitable openings, such as serrations 23, that extend upwards fully to the deflecting surface 20 to permit vapor to be discharged directly from the said surface.
  • a plurality, e. g., four, lugs 24 are optionally formed integrally with the tube for engagement with the underside of the deck to position the tube entirely beneath the upper surface of the deck.
  • the cap device is attached to the tray deck by inserting it upwardly through a hole in the latter to bring the lugs 24 into abutment with the deck and securing the device by any suitable means, e. g., by inserting a plurality of thin vertical wedges 15, a, etc., radially inwards through slots formed in the posts 21. These wedges rest directly on the tray deck and have tapers less than the friction angle to insure tension under operating conditions.
  • the skirt 22 is omitted and the vapor is free to discharge laterally throughout the full height of the cap device except where obstructed by the narrow posts 21.
  • a further modification shown in this view concerns the wedge arrangement.
  • a single wedge 25 is driven fully across the cap device and has tapered engagements with diametrically opposite posts.
  • the wedge is situated diametrically in relation to the cap device and is thin, so as not to interfere with the free upflow of vapor.
  • the lugs 24 are replaced by an annular flange 24a, which forms the abutment means for engaging the underside of the deck 11.
  • the vapor passageway is formed by punching the tray deck 11 to form an annular lip that projects downwardly to form a short tube- 16a, the resulting vapor passageway again having smooth sides the top 18 of which is at the level of the deck 11.
  • the cap 19 has a. deflectingsurface 20 as described above and is secured to ythe deck -by -postsp21fjthat have; horizontalztabs 26 which arebolte'cl or otherwise fixed to the deck.
  • the cap may be fullyopen ⁇ at the sides. between the f posts, as shown, or provided with askirt as shown in Figures 2-4.
  • the top of the vapor passageway is in free horizontal communication at the level of the top of the tray deck with the body of liquid that accumulates on the deck at least as high as the weir 13a during operation of the column.
  • the column is provided with the usual means, such as a reboiler or vapor inlet at the bottom, for causing vapors to ascend through the vapor openings, and with means for charging liquid at the top, e. g., a reflux condenser, for accumulation on the trays and passage over the weirs 13a and through the downcomer openings 12 onto the respective lower trays.
  • the ascending vapor emerges from the top 18 of each vapor passageway and makes only one, smooth change of direction, assisted by the surface 20, through a right angle;-hence it is discharged substantially horizontally outwards from the cap device both near the deck and at higher levels up to the surface 20 and comes into intimate contact with the liquid, entraining liquid to form a spray or froth that rises above the liquid level.
  • the entry of liquid from the deck into the space beneath the deflecting surface and the consequent downflow of liquid through the vapor passageways are prevented and a contacting body of liquid is built up on the deck when the column is in operation; however, cessation of vapor flow permits the liquid to drain down through the vapor passages.
  • the entraining action is entirely one of carrying the liquid radially outwardly from the vapor caps, as distinguished from devices, such as that of the U. S. Patent No. 2,523,126, wherein the vapor riser tube extends above the tray and liquid is drawn inwards into the tube.
  • the cap should be shaped to distribute the vapor in all directions at which the contacting body of liquid occurs so that the body of liquid on the tray deck is held back equally on all sides. This is achieved by forming the surface 20 as a surface of revolution, as described, although other geometric shapes will be apparent to those skilled in the art and would be used when the vapor passage is not circular.
  • the air flow rates corresponding to measured pressure drops were determined for a standard commercial bubble cap six inches in diameter with a riser tube and having serrated skirt, using a dry column.
  • the flow rates that produce the same pressure drops were determined for bubble cap.
  • assemblies according to the invention by modifying the commercial cap in the following respects:
  • A-l Same as A, but a plug providing a deflecting surface shaped like the surface 20 in Figure 2 was mounted within the cap.
  • A-2 Same as A, but a tube, shaped as shown for the tube 16 and of thin metal, was placed in the vapor opening entirely beneath the deck except for a thin supporting rim resting on the deck.
  • a bubble tower containing a tray deck which includes a flat, horizontal part adapted to support a body of liquid, said deck part having a single, substantially unobstructed vapor passageway extending therethrough and bounded by enclosing side surfaces that are situated substantially entirely beneath the level of the top of said deck part; and a vapor-deflecting cap device positioned directly over said vapor passageway and including a top wall spaced above the said deck part and a small number of narrow, peripherally located support members which collectively occupy only a small fraction of the cap periphery and the interior surfaces of which form substantial vertical extensions of said enclosing side surfaces, said top wall having an area and outline substantially the same as the area and outline of said vapor passageway and providing a downwardly concave, smooth deflecting surface having the lowest part at the center and rising to the outer periphery thereof, the said periphery being the highest part of the surface, to deflect vapor that ascends through the vapor passageway substantially through a right angle, said cap device being later
  • a unitary bubble cap device comprising a single vapor tube adapted to extend through an opening in a tray deck and having positioning means for engaging the under side of the deck so as to position the tube substantially wholly beneath the upper level of the deck, a vapordeflecting cap including a downwardly directed deflecting surface and peripherally located support posts joined to the top of said tube and to the cap, said posts being spaced apart to permit lateral discharge of vapor between them,
  • the lateral external dimensions of said posts and cap being limited to those of the upper part of the tube so that the device can be inserted through said opening from the bottom, and downwardly directed abutment means on the cap device adjacent the upper surface of the tray deck adapted to receive a horizontal wedge for securing the device.
  • a bubble tower the combination of a flat, horizontal tray deck having an opening therein and a bubble cap device including a vapor tube extending through said opening and situated at least partly beneath said tray deck. a vapor-deflecting cap situated above said tray deck and directly above said tube, and a side wall forming an upward extension of said tube and joined to said cap, said side wall having lateral discharge openings, abutment means on said tube in engagement with the under side of said deck, and at least one horizontal wedge resting on the upper side of said deck and extending through an opening in said side wall.

Landscapes

  • Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
  • Chemical Kinetics & Catalysis (AREA)
  • Vaporization, Distillation, Condensation, Sublimation, And Cold Traps (AREA)
  • Closures For Containers (AREA)
US366472A 1953-07-07 1953-07-07 Bubble cap towers Expired - Lifetime US2819049A (en)

Priority Applications (4)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
NL84921D NL84921C (en:Method) 1953-07-07
US366472A US2819049A (en) 1953-07-07 1953-07-07 Bubble cap towers
FR1110329D FR1110329A (fr) 1953-07-07 1954-07-07 Tour de contact à capsules de barbotage
GB19921/54A GB747947A (en) 1953-07-07 1954-07-07 Improvements in or relating to tray decks for bubble cap towers

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US366472A US2819049A (en) 1953-07-07 1953-07-07 Bubble cap towers

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
US2819049A true US2819049A (en) 1958-01-07

Family

ID=23443148

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
US366472A Expired - Lifetime US2819049A (en) 1953-07-07 1953-07-07 Bubble cap towers

Country Status (4)

Country Link
US (1) US2819049A (en:Method)
FR (1) FR1110329A (en:Method)
GB (1) GB747947A (en:Method)
NL (1) NL84921C (en:Method)

Cited By (10)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3779525A (en) * 1971-08-19 1973-12-18 Mitsui Shipbuilding Eng Gas-liquid contacting apparatus
US3779524A (en) * 1971-08-10 1973-12-18 Mitsui Shipbuilding Eng Gas-liquid contacting apparatus
US3779526A (en) * 1971-08-19 1973-12-18 Mitsui Shipbuilding Eng Gas-liquid contacting apparatus
US3779527A (en) * 1970-08-29 1973-12-18 Mitsui Shipbuilding Eng Gas-liquid contacting apparatus
US3794305A (en) * 1971-03-13 1974-02-26 J Montz Gmbh Fa Apertured column tray provided with bubble caps
US3994977A (en) * 1973-05-11 1976-11-30 Basf Aktiengesellschaft Manufacture of formaldehyde
WO1986005202A1 (en) * 1985-02-28 1986-09-12 Verax Corporation Fluidized bioreactor and cell cultivation process
US4978616A (en) * 1985-02-28 1990-12-18 Verax Corporation Fluidized cell cultivation process
WO2017132519A1 (en) * 2016-01-28 2017-08-03 Woven Metal Products, Inc. Tray deck orifice device and methods of repairing a tray deck
US20180216326A1 (en) * 2017-01-31 2018-08-02 Toto Ltd. Water discharge device

Citations (8)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US1878467A (en) * 1928-06-15 1932-09-20 Clarke Nell May Apparatus for treating hydrocarbons
US1918005A (en) * 1932-02-02 1933-07-11 Kenneth M Urquhart Bubble cap
US2084726A (en) * 1936-03-23 1937-06-22 Standard Oil Co California Bubble cap
FR874509A (fr) * 1940-02-26 1942-08-10 Ig Farbenindustrie Ag Plateau pour colonnes d'échange
FR884837A (fr) * 1941-02-25 1943-08-27 Ig Farbenindustrie Ag Procédé et dispositif de rectification de mélanges de liquides
US2480862A (en) * 1946-02-06 1949-09-06 Leon H Johnson Bubble cap assembly for gas or vapor and liquid contact apparatus
US2523126A (en) * 1947-11-20 1950-09-19 Standard Oil Dev Co Apparatus for countercurrent contact of fluid materials
US2547383A (en) * 1947-09-29 1951-04-03 Glitsch Engineering Company Bubble cap riser

Patent Citations (8)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US1878467A (en) * 1928-06-15 1932-09-20 Clarke Nell May Apparatus for treating hydrocarbons
US1918005A (en) * 1932-02-02 1933-07-11 Kenneth M Urquhart Bubble cap
US2084726A (en) * 1936-03-23 1937-06-22 Standard Oil Co California Bubble cap
FR874509A (fr) * 1940-02-26 1942-08-10 Ig Farbenindustrie Ag Plateau pour colonnes d'échange
FR884837A (fr) * 1941-02-25 1943-08-27 Ig Farbenindustrie Ag Procédé et dispositif de rectification de mélanges de liquides
US2480862A (en) * 1946-02-06 1949-09-06 Leon H Johnson Bubble cap assembly for gas or vapor and liquid contact apparatus
US2547383A (en) * 1947-09-29 1951-04-03 Glitsch Engineering Company Bubble cap riser
US2523126A (en) * 1947-11-20 1950-09-19 Standard Oil Dev Co Apparatus for countercurrent contact of fluid materials

Cited By (14)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3779527A (en) * 1970-08-29 1973-12-18 Mitsui Shipbuilding Eng Gas-liquid contacting apparatus
US3794305A (en) * 1971-03-13 1974-02-26 J Montz Gmbh Fa Apertured column tray provided with bubble caps
US3779524A (en) * 1971-08-10 1973-12-18 Mitsui Shipbuilding Eng Gas-liquid contacting apparatus
US3779525A (en) * 1971-08-19 1973-12-18 Mitsui Shipbuilding Eng Gas-liquid contacting apparatus
US3779526A (en) * 1971-08-19 1973-12-18 Mitsui Shipbuilding Eng Gas-liquid contacting apparatus
US3994977A (en) * 1973-05-11 1976-11-30 Basf Aktiengesellschaft Manufacture of formaldehyde
WO1986005202A1 (en) * 1985-02-28 1986-09-12 Verax Corporation Fluidized bioreactor and cell cultivation process
US4978616A (en) * 1985-02-28 1990-12-18 Verax Corporation Fluidized cell cultivation process
WO2017132519A1 (en) * 2016-01-28 2017-08-03 Woven Metal Products, Inc. Tray deck orifice device and methods of repairing a tray deck
US9981235B2 (en) 2016-01-28 2018-05-29 Woven Metal Products, Inc. Tray deck orifice device and methods of repairing a tray deck
US10112164B2 (en) 2016-01-28 2018-10-30 Woven Metal Products, Inc. Tray deck orifice device and methods of repairing a tray deck
US10391465B2 (en) 2016-01-28 2019-08-27 Woven Metal Products, Inc. Tray deck orifice device and methods of repairing a tray deck
US20180216326A1 (en) * 2017-01-31 2018-08-02 Toto Ltd. Water discharge device
US10626584B2 (en) * 2017-01-31 2020-04-21 Toto Ltd. Water discharge device

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
GB747947A (en) 1956-04-18
FR1110329A (fr) 1956-02-10
NL84921C (en:Method)

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