Gas and liquid contact apparatus – Fluid distribution – Pumping
Reexamination Certificate
2000-05-16
2001-11-13
Bushey, C. Scott (Department: 1724)
Gas and liquid contact apparatus
Fluid distribution
Pumping
C261S077000, C261S126000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06315273
ABSTRACT:
Previous Provisional Applications in Australia:—PP0646 December 1997, PP2070 March 1998, PP7452 December 1998
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY FUNDED RESEARCH OR DEVEL
Not Applicable
REFERENCE TO A MICROFICHE APPENDIX
Not Applicable
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to improvements in method and apparatus for circulating fluids by gas injection and illuminating the mixture and relates particularly to the extraction of a component of the gas, for example the extraction of carbon dioxide from air, and converting the extracted component into a useful product without creating more of the component than is extracted.
For many people a need has arisen to lower and/or control the amount of carbon dioxide in the biosphere. At this time in history such a need may not be proven but it would be perhaps unwise to ignore the situation. Other long term habitats such as undersea vessels and space stations benefit from carbon dioxide control.
The manipulation of other substances such as carbon monoxide and sulphur dioxide and the manipulation of liquid and solid particulate material is envisaged.
It is perhaps worth noting here that the following terms have been used in patents and in the industry generally:—reaction vessel, processing tank, fermenter, photoreactor, biophotoreactor, biophotolysis, photometabolic, flow through reactor, transparent, translucent, circulating liquids and contacting with a gas, perfusion apparatus, air lift, riser, traverser, downcomer, side arm, side tube, external loop and more.
This inventor invented the word themma to give the present invention a name but this inventor is having some problems registering themma as a Trade Mark in various parts of the world.
The term reactor seems to have come into general use.
Illumination is a term used in the title of the present invention, but if it can be seen it is illuminated and if parts of a system are transparent then the contents will be illuminated. Some molecules are very sensitive to illumination. Some molecules absorb at one wavelength and emit at another. Some materials absorb energy of one type and emit another type.
For the purpose of describing the present invention the term illumination preferably includes:—the electromagnetic spectrum, photons, laser beams, electrostatic fields, magnetic fields, sound waves, irradiation (which is apparently ultra violet radiation), wave energy, direct currents, alternating currents, nuclear radiation, subatomic particles, atomic particles and particles larger than atomic ones.
There have been many proposals to contact gases with liquids but these have mainly been high pressure high energy input devices designed to absorb oxygen. For example one previous device (Australian Patent No. 69,062/74) proposes injection of air at an oxygen transfer rate of sixteen kilograms per hour per cubic metre with a power transfer ratio of one point nine kilograms per kilowatt hour, into the base of a fermenter eighty metres tall.
There have been many proposals to illuminate reactors but none of these have taken energy and/or, say, carbon dioxide input/output into main consideration. For example one previous device (U.S. Pat. No. 4,010,076) proposes illumination of algae to produce NADPH and proposes illumination of bacteria to produce molecular hydrogen, nanogram quantities in ninety minutes under fourteen 100 watt lamps, neither situation involving a reagent gas. All of the above proposals have the disadvantage that a gas, such as carbon dioxide in air, cannot be utilized in an efficient, economical and environmentally sensitive manner.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
These problems are overcome by the present invention which provides a means for contacting a gas and a liquid and illuminating and circulating the resultant fluid mixture whereby small bubbles of gas under low pressure are injected into a chamber filled with liquid and the small gas bubbles collect at the top end of the chamber because the chamber is inclined at an angle and has a significant change in dimension, these two together creating a gas trap. Gas escapes from the gas trap at the top of the chamber, predominantly in bubbles larger than the injected bubbles, via an upper riser then via a reservoir to the atmosphere or to a recovery system. The reservoir is connected to the lower end of the chamber by a return tube thus creating a loop for the contents of the system which are transported around the loop by the phenomenon of gas injection. Appropriate parts of the system are illuminated as required, all of the foregoing assisting in creating a low energy low pollution means of extraction of a component without creating more of the component than is extracted.
Further advantages, features and objects of the present invention will become apparent by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings.
REFERENCES:
patent: 1574783 (1926-03-01), Beth
patent: 1917577 (1933-07-01), Doble, Jr.
patent: 2854002 (1958-09-01), De Wall et al.
patent: 3206176 (1965-09-01), Peterson
patent: 3562349 (1971-02-01), Pawloski et al.
patent: 4246890 (1981-01-01), Kraus et al.
patent: 4569804 (1986-02-01), Murphy
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