CA1052686A - Packing material - Google Patents

Abstract

Packing Material Abstract of the Disclosure A new packing material for liquid/gas contact reaction apparatus, in particular for gas purifying systems,is provided. The packing material consists of a plurality of parallel rods which are so arranged on a basket-shaped carrier and so dimensioned that it has an approximately spherical or spheroid form. The carrier consists preferably of parallel rings of staggered diameters.
The packing material according to the invention has an extraor-dinarily high degree of efficiency and is very easy and relative-ly cheap to manufacture.

Description

~05;~686 Packing matçrials are used in the most diverse forms wherever as large a surface area as possible is to be produced within a given volume.
Packing material in the form of wire-like structures has proved especially effective for gas purifying systems, since the ratio between the volume they occupy and that filled with material is extremely high. One of the best known packing materials of this kind so far is described in United States Patent 2,867,425. It is made of plastic and has the shape of a helix the ends of which are joined. This known packing does have the disadvantage, however, that it is relatively difficult to manufacture on account of its complicated form and is correspondingly expensive.
It is the principal object of the invention to provide a packing material that does not possess this disadvantage.
According to the present invention there is provided a packing material for a liquid-gas contact apparatus comprising a carrier consisting of rings of staggered diameter which are arranged parallel to each other and spaced apart coaxially and a plurality of substantially parallel rods posi-tioned on said rings so as to extend from two opposite sides of said carrier, said rods being approximately evenly distributed over the whole surface of a cross sectional area perpendicular to said rods, said cross sectional area being of substantially circular or elliptical shape, and the length of said rods decreasing from the center of said cross sectional area towards the periphery thereof in such a manner that the unit ~s substantially spheri-cal or spheroidal.
The invention is described here~nafter in more detail by means of an embodiment illustrated in the drawings.
Figure la shows an elevation vertically to the rods, Figure lb a sectional view taken along the line Ib-Ib in Figure 2 and Figure 2 shows the embodiment in view parallel to the rods.
As illustrated in the drawings, the packing consists of a plurality of parallel rods 1 of circular section which are arranged on a carrier 2.

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10~'~686 The carrier 2 is axially symmetric with respect to an axis which is parallel to the rods 1. The rods 1 are so arranged on the carrier 2 and their respective lengths are so dimensioned that the packing envelope 3 has an approximately spherical shape. Another packing envelope 3, for example a spheroidal one, would of course also be possible.
The carrier comprises three parallel rings 2a, 2b and 2c and a disc 2d. The three rings and the disc are held together by ribs 2e and in such a manner that they form a substantially conical basket. This arrangement en-sures that the spaces between a pair of rings and a pair of ribs are not too small and consequently that they have no great resistance toflow. The largest ring 2a is provided on its periphery with radical prolongations each of which carrier a rod 1 at its extremity.
Instead of a conical basket, a spherical or pyramidal basket can be used as carrier for the rods. In the case of a pyramidal basket, the parallel rings can have the form of polygons, e.g. triangles, squares or hexagons. It is advantageous to provide at least two rings with more than three rods each.
The packing material described hereinbefore can be very easily manufactured of, e.g. polyethylene or polypropylene, by injection moulding, since the mould required is itself relatively simple. The mould need consist only of two parts, the joint face being conical and coinciding with the ex-ternal surface of the ribs 2e. The cavities which are negative to the rings and ribs are then simply annular grooves or grooves which run in the direc-tion of the generatrices of both mould joint faces. Parallel boreholes in both halves of the mould correspond to the rods. The boreholes can by cylindrical or preferably conical ~~o facilitate removal from the mould.
In order that the packing material described herein can reliably perform the task required of it, the spaces between any two parallel rQds should not be less than about twice the diameters of the rods. Preferably 3Q the spaces are from about twice to ten times the diameters of the rods. In addition, the interstices of the basket-shaped carrier, i.e. the spaces _ 3 _ ~: ~

~OS'~686 which are defined by a pair of rings and a pair of ribs, should be as large as possible. If these conditions are fulfilled, the packing has no pro-nounced privileged directions with respect to the resistance to flow, i.e.
it is approximately equally effective in any orientation.
Measurements in gas purifying systems have shown that, with respect to the degree of absorption attained therewith, the packing material accord-ing to the invention is under normal conditions at least on a par with the known helical packing mentioned at the outset, and especially at higher velocities of flow and lower concentrations of the substances to be purified, even superior to it.

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Claims (3)

THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:

1. A packing material for a liquid-gas contact apparatus comprising a carrier consisting of rings of staggered diameter which are arranged parallel to each other and spaced apart coaxially and a plurality of sub-stantially parallel rods positioned on said rings so as to extend from two opposite sides of said carrier, said rods being approximately evenly dis-tributed over the whole surface of a cross sectional area perpendicular to said rods, said cross sectional area being of substantially circular or elliptical shape and the length of said rods decreasing from the center of said cross sectional area towards the periphery thereof in such a manner that the unit is substantially spherical or spheroidal.

2. The unit of claim 1, which comprises at least two rings in said carrier and at least four rods on each ring.

3. The unit according to claim 2, wherein the spaces between any two rods are from two to ten times the diameter of said rods.