Patent ID: 7575730

Claim:
A method of introducing or reintroducing a gas into a slurry vessel holding a slurry comprising a liquid and solid particles and having a gas distributor for injecting a gas into the slurry, the gas distributor including a sparger device comprising an apertured sparger portion inside the slurry vessel, an inlet portion leading into the slurry vessel and an outlet portion leading from the slurry vessel, and closure means, external of the slurry vessel, operable to allow or deny flow from the sparger portion out through the outlet portion of the sparger device, the method comprising: operating the closure means to allow flow through the outlet portion of the sparger device; flushing the sparger device through the outlet portion to remove settled material which may be present in the sparger device; operating the closure means to deny flow through the outlet portion of the sparger device; and introducing or reintroducing the gas into the slurry vessel through the sparger device.