Offshore Distributor Tray With Compartmentalized Walls
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional gas/liquid distributor trays in offshore gas treatment and CO2 capture units are disrupted by wave motion, leading to uneven liquid distribution and reduced efficiency due to reliance on gravity and increased bulkiness of alternative solutions.
Innovation Solution
A distributor tray design featuring perforated walls that create compartments for liquid distribution and retention, maintaining a homogeneous liquid level even during inclination, with gas and liquid passage means like chimneys and orifices, and a secondary distribution system for improved radial dispersion.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional distributor trays with chimneys are used in offshore columns, then liquid distribution is achieved under normal conditions, but wave motion causes uneven liquid distribution and reduced efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The distributor tray is divided into multiple compartments by vertical walls extending from the tray bottom to above the liquid guard level. These compartments (distribution compartments and retention compartments) segment the liquid flow paths, preventing wave-induced liquid from traveling across the entire tray and causing uneven distribution. Each compartment acts independently, maintaining stable liquid levels despite tray inclination.
Solution Approach 2:
The vertical walls act as intermediary structures between the liquid phases, physically blocking the propagation of wave-induced liquid across the tray. These walls serve as mediators that isolate different regions of the tray, ensuring that liquid in one compartment does not directly affect liquid levels in adjacent compartments, thereby maintaining distribution uniformity.
2Reliability
If alternative distribution systems are used to resist wave motion, then distribution stability improves, but device bulkiness increases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of using tall vertical structures extending far above the tray (third dimension), the invention uses vertical walls that extend only to the liquid guard level, creating compartments within the tray plane. This dimensional approach provides wave resistance through compartmentalization rather than through height, reducing overall device volume while maintaining stability.
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
The solution ensures consistent and efficient liquid distribution across the tray, reducing the impact of wave motion and maintaining performance without the bulkiness of previous solutions, as demonstrated by a lower imbalance index and improved distribution efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
The operation of these distributors is mainly based on gravity, and a liquid guard level of homogeneous height 'h' has to form on the distributor tray. The square of the velocity of flow of the liquid through orifices 5 in the lower part of tray 2 is proportional to the height of the liquid guard level (UL2∝gh).
Implementation Method 2
Each chimney 4 allows passage of the gas, according to the counter-current or co-current operating mode, from the lower part of the column to the upper part of column 1, or from the upper part to the lower part.
Data Source
AI summary
The invention is a distributor tray having at least one perforated wall defining compartments. The distributor tray has at least one distribution compartment through which gas and the liquid flows through the tray, and at least one retention compartment through which the liquid cannot flow through the tray. The at least one retention compartment is on the periphery of the tray. The invention also relates to a column for heat and/or material exchange between a gas and a liquid equipped with a distributor tray, to a floating barge including the column and to the use of the column.