Condenser direct-contact

Recovery system SheU-and-tiibe condenser Shell-and-tiibe condenser Direct-contact condenser Shell-and-tiibe condenser... 

This section covers the design of shell and tube exchangers used as condensers. Direct contact condensers are discussed in Section 12.13. 

Heaters and Heat Exchangers Heat Requirement Heater Duty Specified Heater Heater for a Vapor Fraction Cooler/Condenser Direct Contact Heater/Cooler... 

Barometric condenser Direct contact of water and vapor. Where mutual solubilities of water and process fluid permit. 

The final restriction of simple columns stated earlier was that they should have a reboiler and a total condenser. It is possible to use materials fiow to provide some of the necessary heat transfer by direct contact. This transfer of heat via direct contact is known as thermal coupling. 

Compounds having low vapor pressures at room temperature are treated in water-cooled or air-cooled condensers, but more volatile materials often requite two-stage condensation, usually water cooling followed by refrigeration. Minimising noncondensable gases reduces the need to cool to extremely low dew points. Partial condensation may suffice if the carrier gas can be recycled to the process. Condensation can be especially helpful for primary recovery before another method such as adsorption or gas incineration. Both surface condensers, often of the finned coil type, and direct-contact condensers are used. Direct-contact condensers usually atomize a cooled, recirculated, low vapor pressure Hquid such as water into the gas. The recycle hquid is often cooled in an external exchanger. 

If condensation requires gas stream cooling of more than 40—50°C, the rate of heat transfer may appreciably exceed the rate of mass transfer and a condensate fog may form. Fog seldom occurs in direct-contact condensers because of the close proximity of the bulk of the gas to the cold-Hquid droplets. When fog formation is unavoidable, it may be removed with a high efficiency mist collector designed for 0.5—5-p.m droplets. Collectors using Brownian diffusion are usually quite economical. If atmospheric condensation and a visible plume are to be avoided, the condenser must cool the gas sufftciendy to preclude further condensation in the atmosphere. 

Enabhng the use of hard or even sea water for heat rejection e,g, for absorption of gases (CO9, SO9, CIO9, , , ) in chilled water (desorption is provided simultaniously with chilling) when a direct contact barometric condenser is used. 

Direct-contact condenser may produce water discharge problems... 

Condensation Equipment There are two basic types of condensers used for control contact and surface. In contact condensers, the gaseous stream is brought into direct contact with a cooling medium so that the vapors condense and mix with the coolant (see Fig. 25-15). The more widely used system, however, is the surface condenser (or heat exchanger), in which the vapor and the cooling medium are separated by a wall (see Fig. 25-16). Since high removal efficiencies cannot be obtained with low-condensable vapor concentrations, condensers are typically used for pretreatment prior to some other more efficient control device such as an incinerator, absorber, or adsorber. 

FIG. 25-15 Typical direct-contact condensers, (a) Spray chamber, (h) Jet. (c) Barometric. 

Mass-Transfer Contact Section Where there is a strong possi-bihty that not all of the incoming vapors will be condensed in the pool, a direct-contact mass-transfer section is superimposed on the quench tank. This can be a baffle-tray section (as shown in Fig. 26-21) or a packed column sec tiou. 

Contaet eondensers employ liquid eoolants, usually water, which come in direct contact with condensing vapors. These devices are relatively uncomplicated, with typieal configurations illustrated in Figure 14. Some contact condensers are simple spray ehambers, usually with baffles to ensure adequate eontaet. Others, incorporate high-veloeity jets designed to produee a vaeuum. 

An innovation is a direct-contact condenser mounted on the vapor body. A short piece of vertical pipe connects the vapor body with the condenser to minimize piping and pressure drop. This design also eliminates structural steel for support of a separate condenser. For cooling tower applications, the hotwell is elevated to permit gravity flow of water from the hotwell to the top of the cooling tower, thus eliminating the need for a pump. 

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