Patent ID: 9630123
Date: 2017-04-25
CPC Classifications: B01D,F25J,Y10T

Claim:
1. An apparatus for distributing a flow of a liquid descending in an inner space of a packed column into a packed section, comprising: a collector having a plurality of sectors disposed in the inner space of the packed column and adapted to collect at least a portion of the flow of the liquid descending in the inner space of the packed column; a single mixer below and vertically spaced apart from the collector in the inner space of the packed column, and above and vertically spaced apart from the packed section in the inner space of the packed column, the single mixer having a plurality of zones disposed in the inner space of the packed column and adapted to receive and mix at least a portion of the liquid collected on the collector; a first conduit having a first end in fluid communication with a first sector of the collector and a second end in fluid communication with a first zone of the single mixer, the first conduit adapted to receive and transmit downward at least a portion of the liquid from the first sector of the collector to the first zone of the single mixer; and a second conduit having a first end in fluid communication with a second sector of the collector and a second end in fluid communication with a second zone of the single mixer, the second conduit adapted to receive and transmit downward at least a portion of the liquid from the second sector of the collector to the second zone of the single mixer, wherein a geometric center of the first sector of the collector is positioned circumferentially away from a geometric center of the first zone of the single mixer at a first angle relative to a central axis of the inner space of the packed column, and a geometric center of the second sector of the collector is positioned circumferentially away from a geometric center of the second zone of the single mixer at a second angle relative to a central axis of the inner space of the packed column, and wherein the single mixer has a planar cross-sectional area in a plane perpendicular to the central axis of the inner space of the packed column that is less than a planar cross-sectional area of the inner space of the packed column in the plane perpendicular to the central axis of the inner space of the packed column.