Patent ID: 8070865

Claim:
A vacuum vessel for continuous or semi-continuous treatment of oils in connection with deodorization, said vessel comprising: a plurality of groups of U-tubes for conveying a heating or cooling medium therethrough, each of said groups of U-tubes defining a first leg and a second leg, in fluid communication with one another, a plurality of pairs of first divider walls defining a space therebetween and in each of said spaces one of said groups of U-tubes is disposed, thereby separating each of said groups of U-tubes from one another; a second divider wall disposed between each of said first leg and said second leg, said second divider wall cooperating with one of said first divider walls to define a first channel having one of said first legs disposed therein and cooperating with another one of said first divider walls to define a second channel having one of said second legs disposed therein, the first and second channels being in fluid communication with one another for flowing said oil therethrough, counter-current to a flow of said heating or cooling medium through said first and second legs; perforated pipes arranged at the bottom of said spaces to lead stripping gas into said oil, which vessel has a connection to a vacuum source and which spaces in the vessel are arranged such that the oil passes through the vessel by gravity, and that a number of said groups of U-tubes are arranged substantially parallel and in rows above each other.