Patent ID: 6283626
Filing Date: 2001-09-04
Classification: B01F

Abstract:
A multiphase mixing apparatus using acoustic resonance, the apparatus comprising:a housing for guiding first and second fluids to form a swirl flow, said first and second fluids being of different phases, the housing having a circular cross section with a side wall, an upper wall and a lower wall so as to form a chamber therein, the upper wall and the lower wall being perpendicular to a force of gravity, the housing immersed within the first fluid;an inlet portion for introducing the second fluid into the chamber at a predetermined pressure so that the second fluid forms the swirl flow, the inlet portion including an inlet port formed at the side wall of the housing; andan outlet portion having an outlet port formed at the upper wall of the housing for expelling the swirl flow through a circumferential end portion thereof and allowing the first fluid to flow into a center portion of the swirl flow through a corresponding center portion of the outlet port, the expelling swirl flow and the inflowing first fluid generating an acoustic energy having a resonance that mixes the first and second fluids; anda guide post for providing stability to the swirl flow, the guide post having an oval cross section for reducing flow resistance and extending from the lower wall of the housing upward toward the outlet portion such that said second fluid incoming through the inlet port strikes a side of said guide post and is then directed in an essentially circular flow around said guide post and ultimately upward toward the outlet portion.