Packing element for heat and mass transfer towers

Abstract

A tower (A) for effecting heat transfer or chemical reactions contains a packing (B) formed from a multitude of packing elements (2, 28). Each element includes a peripheral wall (10, 30) and a convoluted interior wall (12, 32) that spirals inwardly from the peripheral wall toward the center of the element, thus forming a convoluted passage (14, 34) through the element. The convoluted passages in the elements capture the flow of fluid through the packing so that less fluid follows voids between the elements and more flows through the elements. Moreover, the convoluted interior wall of each element provides a large surface area for heat transfer or chemical reactions.

Description

RELATED APPLICATION[0001]This application derives priority from and otherwise claims the benefit of U.S. provisional application 61 / 080,050 filed 11 Jul. 2008, which application is incorporated herein by reference.TECHNICAL FIELD[0002]This invention relates in general to towers for effecting heat transfer or chemical reactions and, more particularly, to packing elements for such towers and to the towers containing such packing elements.BACKGROUND ART[0003]Many industrial processes utilize towers that contain random packings to effect the transfer of heat between the packing and gases that flow through such towers or to facilitate chemical reactions between different fluids that flow simultaneously through such towers. The traditional packing takes the form of saddle-shaped elements that are literally dumped into a tower where they assume random orientations. Where the tower is used for heat transfer, hot gases flow over and around the elements and elevate the temperature of the elem...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

"The patent text describes a new type of packing element for towers used in industrial processes for heat transfer or chemical reactions. These packing elements are designed to improve the efficiency of heat transfer and mass transfer by creating a more uniform flow of fluids and capturing the cross flow of fluids over the upstream faces of the elements. The packing elements consist of circular or wafer-shaped elements with a convoluted interior wall and spiraling end surfaces. These elements are arranged in a random pattern in the tower, but the design ensures that the pressure drop is reduced and the flow of fluids is enhanced. The invention also includes a new method for packing the tower with these elements, which involves incorporating monolith or structured media to improve the utilization of the heat or mass transfer characteristics of the elements. Overall, the new design improves the performance of towers for heat transfer and chemical reactions."

Problems solved by technology

But the passages, being small, tend to restrict the flow of fluid and fail to capture the cross flow of fluid over the upstream faces of the elements.

As a result, the large surface areas created by the septa are rendered less effective.

The pressure drop and flow through the cells are not uniform, and this, in turn, results in poor utilization of the heat or mass transfer characteristics of the block-like elements.

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