Froth Absorber With Pulsing Screens For Mass Transfer
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional absorbers have limitations such as static, fixed surface areas, short fluid contact times, high material costs, susceptibility to fouling, and channeling issues, which reduce absorption efficiency and require expensive materials.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a froth-based absorber that induces and maintains 'solvent pulsing' using a novel array of screens to create a dynamic, rapidly changing surface area, maximizing turbulence and mass transfer efficiency through solvent plug pulsing, concurrent flow, and continuous surface regeneration.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If static, fixed surface area packing is used, then absorption occurs on a stable surface, but mass transfer efficiency is limited and surface area cannot be dynamically increased
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transforms the static packing surface into a dynamic system by introducing pulsing liquid flow that continuously renews the liquid-gas contact surface. The liquid is pulsed through the packing at controlled frequencies (0.1-10 Hz), creating time-varying surface areas that enhance mass transfer. This dynamic approach allows the system to overcome the limitation of fixed surface area while maintaining operational stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements periodic liquid pulsing through the packing bed to create cyclic renewal of the absorption surface. By applying periodic flow at optimized frequencies, the system creates alternating phases of surface formation and renewal, which prevents surface saturation and maintains high mass transfer driving forces throughout the absorption process.
2Productivity
If counter-flow arrangement is used, then concentration gradient is maximized, but contact time between fluids is minimized
Solution Approach 1:
The patent superimposes periodic liquid pulsing on the counter-flow arrangement, creating cyclic variations in liquid holdup and flow velocity. This periodic action allows the system to periodically increase contact time while maintaining the concentration gradient benefits of counter-flow, as the pulsing creates temporary stagnation zones where extended contact occurs without compromising overall flow direction.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent dynamically adjusts liquid flow characteristics through pulsing, creating time-varying contact conditions that complement the static counter-flow geometry. The dynamic flow patterns create alternating phases of high-velocity transport (maintaining gradient) and low-velocity contact (extending contact time), effectively resolving the contradiction between gradient maintenance and contact time extension.
3Productivity
If large surface area packing is used, then absorption capacity increases, but susceptibility to fouling and clogging increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs periodic liquid pulsing that creates cyclic washing actions through the packing bed. During each pulse cycle, high-velocity liquid flow periodically flushes accumulated fouling materials from the packing surfaces, preventing long-term fouling buildup. This periodic cleaning action maintains absorption capacity over extended operation while using moderate total liquid flow rates.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses dynamic flow patterns created by pulsing to prevent fouling, rather than relying on static high surface area alone. The time-varying flow velocities create alternating high-shear cleaning phases and low-shear absorption phases, which maintain surface cleanliness while preserving absorption capacity, effectively decoupling these two requirements.
4Productivity
If significant height of packing is used, then absorption efficiency improves, but material cost and device complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses periodic liquid pulsing to enhance mass transfer rates within a reduced packing height. The pulsing creates cyclic renewal of liquid-gas interfaces and prevents boundary layer saturation, effectively increasing the utilization efficiency of each unit height of packing. This allows achieving the same overall absorption efficiency with shorter, less complex packing structures.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the temporal parameters of liquid flow (introducing pulsing frequency and amplitude) to enhance mass transfer efficiency per unit height. By optimizing pulsing parameters, the system achieves higher effective mass transfer coefficients that compensate for reduced packing height, thereby reducing material requirements and device complexity while maintaining absorption efficiency.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach increases mass transfer efficiency by over 25%, prevents clogging, reduces material requirements, and allows for larger, more efficient absorber designs with improved gas and liquid distribution, effectively addressing the limitations of prior art absorbers.
Implementation Method 1
These plugs maximize turbulence and prevent channeling, increasing mass transfer by more than 25% compared with the same absorber which does not utilize solvent pulsing
Implementation Method 2
a gas is then driven upwardly through the packing, and a selected component of the gas is absorbed into the surface of the solvent
Implementation Method 3
Solvent bubbles and droplets are intentionally caused to burst and are formed and shattered, at a rapid rate
Data Source
AI summary
An absorber is provided which uses a liquid solvent formed into a myriad of bubbles and micro-droplets. The solvent froth is a solvent for a selected component in an incoming gas stream. A plurality of spaced apart screen assemblies is placed in a reaction vessel. Using screens having cross-sections that are substantially rectangular wave in design together with proper operating parameters, the phenomenon of solvent plug pulsing is induced and maintained, maximizing efficiency of the absorber.