Horizontal Axial Bed Adsorber with Deflector and Membrane
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing fluid treatment installations face issues with mal-distribution and increased dead volumes, particularly in radial bed adsorbers, which lead to pressure drops and attrition problems, limiting their effectiveness and increasing costs.
Innovation Solution
The proposed solution involves a horizontal fluid treatment installation with a deflector and membrane system, where the particulate material is supported at a natural slope angle, and the deflector is welded to the shroud, with perforated volumes and expanding foam materials to minimize dead volumes and attrition, and a flexible membrane to prevent fluidization and maintain bed integrity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If high flow rates are used in axial bed adsorbers, then productivity increases, but pressure drops and attrition problems worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The adsorber is divided into multiple beds arranged in parallel, with each bed handling a portion of the total flow. This segmentation allows high overall productivity while maintaining acceptable flow rates and pressure drops in each individual bed, preventing excessive attrition.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention transitions from vertical to horizontal flow configuration. By flowing fluid horizontally through the adsorbent bed rather than vertically, the system achieves better flow distribution, reduced channeling, and lower pressure drops while maintaining high productivity.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If the diameter of the adsorber is increased to push back the fluidization limit, then attrition is reduced, but the length of the bed must be reduced which creates distribution problems
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of using a single large-diameter bed that would be difficult to distribute evenly, the system uses multiple smaller beds in parallel. Each bed has optimal dimensions for uniform flow distribution, while collectively they handle the required flow rate and prevent fluidization-induced attrition.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses multiple beds with slightly excess capacity each, allowing operation at lower flow rates per bed that prevent fluidization. This partial action in each bed avoids the need for large diameters while maintaining overall productivity.
3Productivity
If radial bed adsorbers are used to limit pressure drops, then productivity is improved, but dead volumes increase
Solution Approach 1:
The invention adopts horizontal flow through axial beds instead of radial flow. This dimensional change eliminates the dead volumes inherent in radial configurations while maintaining low pressure drops through optimized horizontal bed design and multiple parallel paths.
4Object-affected harmful factors
If metal balls are added to the upper part of the adsorbent to push back attrition limit, then attrition is reduced, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Rather than modifying the adsorbent bed structure with additional components like metal balls and flexible grids, the system segments the flow into multiple parallel beds. This simpler approach prevents fluidization and attrition through flow distribution alone, avoiding the complexity of weighted adsorbent systems.
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 configuration reduces mal-distribution and dead volumes, eliminating the theoretical attrition limit and providing a more compact and cost-effective solution compared to traditional axial and radial bed adsorbers, while maintaining process efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
a membrane made of an elastic material... the membrane makes it possible to compensate for vertical settlement
Implementation Method 2
delimited by lower surfaces forming with a horizontal plane an angle greater than the natural slope angle of the particulate material
Implementation Method 3
The two volumes V3a and V3b comprise a material with an accessible porosity of less than 10%; the material included in the two volumes V3a and V3b is an expanding foam in its polyurethane form
Implementation Method 4
adsorption processes can be used. They generally use several adsorbers filled with selective adsorbent materials with respect to at least one of the constituents of the feed stream
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2~3
AI summary
Installation for the treatment of at least one fluid, comprising at least in a section of a horizontal shell (1): - at least one first particulate material filling a volume (V2) - at least one deflector comprising 2 volumes V3a and V3b delimited by the inner envelope of the shell and on the other hand by lower surfaces S3a and S3b forming with a horizontal plane an angle (a) greater than the natural angle of slope of the first particulate material - at least one volume (V4) formed: ■ of a membrane attached to the two volumes (V3a) and (V3b) of the deflector over the entire length of the section of the shell, and ■ of a second particulate material of a density greater than the density of the first particulate material filling the volume (V2); the second particulate material being contained in the space formed by the membrane and the inner shell of the ferrule, the volumes V3a, V3b and V4 being located in the upper half of the horizontal ferrule section.