Imperforate bowl: centrifugal separators – With means for exchanging heat – Comprising or including means for cooling
Patent
1997-12-03
2000-05-16
Walker, W. L.
Imperforate bowl: centrifugal separators
With means for exchanging heat
Comprising or including means for cooling
494 64, 494 83, 494900, 494 24, 55406, 55408, B04B 1502, B01D 4512
Patent
active
060630191
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
This invention relates to particle and light and heavy fluid separators, and more particularly to fluid and particle centrifuges for removing or separating elements suspended in a gaseous, liquid or solid medium and various combinations thereof.
Centrifuges or, as they are often and sometimes called, cyclones are devices for separating or removing elements suspended in a gaseous, liquid, or solid medium and various combinations thereof, to be generally referred to herein as fluids. Thus centrifuges can be used to separate gases from gases, liquids from liquids, gases from liquids and particulate matter from gases and liquids, as well as particulate matter from particulate matter.
The centrifuge may use various carrier materials such as gas, liquids, solids, or a combination of any of these and in any order to provide different molecular weights in the materials to be separated.
Some suggested applications of centrifuges are the clean up of VOC in the printing and packaging industries, the clean up of water and re-usable water, and the desalination of water, clean room technology as an alternative to full filter systems, high speed power generation, recovery of printing fluids, and many others.
There have been many proposals for centrifuges, and of particular interest in connection with the present invention are the prior proposals in DE-A-2920096, DE-U-9415521, GB-A-2176719, ASME Transactions (Volume 94, No 3--pp211-222), DE-A-2529779, Chemie-Ingenieur-Technik Volume 31, No 2--p75), GB-A-879118, FR-A-2414368, and FR-A-1325893.
The disclosures in the above-mentioned prior art references disclose several and varied aspects relating to centrifuges, but they do not achieve the object of the present invention.
The residence or dwell time of the fluids, solids or fluids and solids in the centrifuge has an effect on the degree of separation achieved, and the present invention is, inter alia, concerned with this aspect of a centrifuge.
Centrifuges incoporate a shaft in the form of a centrifuge tube which is rotated, during operation of the centrifuge, at very high speeds in order to achieve the required degree of separation in the material(s) being treated. The centrifuge tube, supported for rotation in bearings, has a tendency to vibrate at its natural frequency or `first whorl frequency`, and where such frequency is below the desired operational rotational speed of the centrifuge tube, there can be problems in reaching this operational speed without causing damage to the shaft and/or other parts of the centrifuge.
Foil bearings have been used to support the centrifuge tube, see for example the above-mentioned prior art reference ASME Transactions, such bearings being located at either side of a centrally located turbine used to drive the centrifuge tube, and whilst the use of these bearings has in general been found to be satisfactory, there are still problems when the centrifuge tube approaches and/or reaches its natural frequency or `first whorl frequency`.
Ideally, the rotational speed of the shaft at its natural frequency or `first whorl frequency` would be above the desired operational speed of rotation of the shaft or centrifuge tube, and the present invention seeks to provide a centrifuge having a shaft or centrifuge tube having this desirable characteristic.
According to the present invention there is provided a centrifuge including a non-rotatable containment vessel, a rotatable centrifuge tube within said vessel, an inlet assembly for dirty gas, an outlet assembly for clean gas, and an outlet assembly for dirty gas, said inlet assembly for the dirty gas and said outlet assembly for the dirty gas being located in close mutual proximity and at or towards one end of the centrifuge tube, the outlet for the clean gas being located at the opposite end of said centrifuge tube, the flow of gas entering the centrifuge tube being reversed within said centrifuge tube so as to increase the residence time of the dirty gas within said centrifuge tube, said centrifuge tube incorporating a high speed disc alternator a
REFERENCES:
patent: 3506314 (1970-04-01), Gross et al.
patent: 5163986 (1992-11-01), Bielefddt
Licht, L. (1972) ASME Transactions 94:211-22.
Martin, H. (1959) Chemie-Ingenieur-Technik 31:73-132 (with English translation).
Cecil Terry K.
Walker W. L.
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