Method and apparatus for mixing gas with liquid
US6103128A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Apr 27, 1999 |
| Grant date | Aug 15, 2000 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 27, 2019 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC B)Performing Operations; Transporting
- CPC primaryB01F23/23
- WIPO fieldChemical engineering
- WIPO sectorChemistry
Abstract
A mixing device in the form of a centrifugal pump is used to mix gas (typically air) with liquid (typically effluent water, dispersion water, or waste paper pulp suspension, etc.). The pump is provided with a common inlet conduit for both the liquid and the gas so that liquid and gas flow freely and in an arbitrary ratio into the pump, that is there is no controlling or adjusting of the flows. The gas is allowed to either dissolve in the liquid or be mixed as small bubbles with the liquid, and any surplus gas is separated from the mixing device (e.g. by holes in the pump impeller leading to a rear portion of the pump which is attached to a vacuum source, such as a liquid ring pump). The liquid and gas dissolved therein, and small bubbles mixed therein, are discharged from the mixing device at a pressure that is raised from the inlet pressure, due to the action of the impeller, which pressure development enhances the dissolution of gas in the liquid. Treatment chemicals, such as flotation-enhancing chemicals, can be added to the liquid before it enters the centrifugal pump, and the outlet from the pump may be connected to a flotation tank or the like.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.