Patent ID: 7060232

Claim:
A polyfunctional sub-assembly ensuring contact, material distribution and heat and/or material exchange of at least one gas phase, and at least one liquid phase, for a vessel containing at least one bed of granular solid, said phases being in overall downflow mode and traversing said bed of granular solid, said sub-assembly comprising at least one distributor tray (P) located above the bed of granular solid, comprising a plurality of downcomers ( 1 ) having a substantially vertical axis, each surmounted by at least one jet disturber device and each having in its upper portion at least one cross section of flow ( 22 ) for entry of the major portion of said gas phase into said downcomer and, between said upper portion and the lower portion of said downcomer above tray (P), at least one cross section of flow ( 2 ) for entry of the major portion of said liquid phase into said downcomer, and in its lower portion at least one cross section of flow ( 23 ) for the two-phase or poly-phase mixture formed in said downcomer for distributing it over the bed of granular solid located below said lower portion, the sub-assembly being characterized in that each downcomer contains at least one packing between its upper portion and its lower portion constituted by at least one element, the cross section for flow of the at least one gas phase is essentially transverse to the downcomer axis, said element extending across the whole of the transverse cross section of the downcomer in the a circulation zone and being constituted by cells through which said liquid and said gas phase pass, said cells orientating the circulation of fluids inside said downcomer in a substantially radial direction.