Gas separation: apparatus – Apparatus for selective diffusion of gases – Plural separate barriers
Patent
1997-08-27
1999-04-06
Spitzer, Robert
Gas separation: apparatus
Apparatus for selective diffusion of gases
Plural separate barriers
96 11, 21032175, 21032184, B01D 5322, B01D 6308
Patent
active
058912223
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to an apparatus for separating components of mixtures of materials, by means of membrane elements which are spaced mutually apart and superposed, which membrane elements are in the form of pockets, flattened tubes, or the like, and which elements have a bore to allow outflow of the permeate, said apparatus being comprised of: along the surfaces of flow chambers for said mixture which chambers are formed between two membrane elements or between a membrane element and a guide element (or redirecting element).
An apparatus of this type is known (Ger. OS 40 30 657). This known apparatus is intended for high permeate flows. The superposed membrane arrangement is mounted in the apparatus with the aid of inner rings which are partially engaged on each side by one of the membrane elements and a drainage structure, respectively. The inner rings serve as spacers between the membrane elements, and in combination with the drainage structures form a superposed membrane arrangement which is resistant to pressure. In applications where the permeate flow is relatively small, wherewith the permeate outflow cross section of the known drainage structure is not fully exploited, the productivity per unit of apparatus volume of an arrangement of this type is unsatisfactorily low, with attendant high costs.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An underlying problem of the present invention is to devise an apparatus which can achieve separation of, e.g., water vapor or steam from a flow of natural gas, under conditions of relatively low permeate flows compared to permeate flows for which other apparatuses of the described general type are designed; wherewith one may employ a smaller permeate flow cross section, and wherewith the proposed apparatus will be simple, easy, and inexpensive to fabricate, assemble, and prepare for use.
This problem is solved according to the invention in that a ring-shaped support element is disposed between each pair of successive membrane elements, and between each guide element (or redirecting element) and its neighboring membrane element (or its respective two neighboring membrane elements), which support element extends around the bore of the membrane element and/or guide element (or redirecting element). The seal between the support element and the membrane element (or guide element/redirecting element) is provided by a sealing element disposed at the outer periphery of the support element.
The inventive apparatus is particularly advantageous in that it is easy and simple to realize, and in that it provides a pressure-resistant superposed membrane arrangement suitable for, e.g., gas separation, which arrangement has a much higher numerical density of membrane elements in the superposed membrane arrangement (higher effective membrane area per unit volume of apparatus) than is afforded by known apparatuses, and wherein the necessary compressive holding forces and the stresses due to pressure drop do not cause compression of the membrane elements in the region of the smallest permeate cross section. As a result, problems due to dimensional and structural changes associated with shifting and "setting-in" are reduced. Stated differently: The axial forces to form the pressure-tight superposed membrane arrangement are propagated in a manner such that one avoids extraordinary stress on the inventive membrane elements (which elements do not have the drainage structures present in known elements), in the region of the permeate outflow cross section. Accordingly, the membrane elements are not constricted in said permeate outflow region. In the known apparatus, the axial forces for a membrane element are sustained via the inner ring, two drainage-structure rings, and two membranes disposed therebetween; in contrast, according to the invention there is no compliant intermediate element comprised of membrane(s), as part of the force-sustaining structure, and the five abutting surfaces according to the known apparatus are replaced by a single abutting surfaces. As a resu
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Hilgendorff Walter
Kahn Gerhard
GKSS-Forschungszentrum Geesthacht GmbH
Spitzer Robert
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