Patent ID: 8210506

Claim:
A direct contact heat exchanger for a gas and a liquid comprising: a mixing chamber with a longitudinal length dimension, a closed end, and an open end, comprising: an outer wall; a gas outlet tube with first and second open ends, with the gas outlet tube extending through the length of and beyond the ends of the mixing chamber; a closed end of the mixing chamber attached and sealed to the outer wall and the outside surface of the gas outlet tube; and an open end of the mixing chamber remote from the closed end; with the mixing chamber outer wall, the gas outlet tube, and the mixing chamber closed end together forming the mixing chamber into a volume with the longitudinal length dimension of the mixing chamber extending from the closed end to a remote open end of the mixing chamber; a gas inlet for furnishing a heat exchange gas into the mixing chamber with the gas inlet; a gas moving device interconnected with the heat exchanger to move the heat exchange gas through the heat exchanger; a gas directing structure that causes the heat exchange gas to form into a fast moving vortex gas stream moving around the volume of the mixing chamber; liquid inlets for a heat exchange liquid comprising devices directing the liquid across the vortex gas stream so that the liquid is formed into droplets that are mixed with the vortex gas stream, and the droplets move through the mixing chamber within the vortex gas stream at a speed sufficient to generate a centrifugal force that moves the droplets toward the outer walls of the heat exchanger where the droplets accumulate; a separation chamber with an outer wall attached and sealed to the open end of the mixing chamber to form the heat exchanger into a continuous enclosure extending in the longitudinal length dimension of the mixing chamber, with the first open end of the gas outlet tube extending beyond the mixing chamber and into the separation chamber; a liquid outlet from the separation chamber located at the end of the separation chamber remote from the mixing chamber and to which the accumulated liquid droplets flow; and a baffle plate located within the separation chamber between the mixing chamber and the liquid outlet, with space provided between the baffle plate and the outer wall of the separation chamber to permit liquid to flow along the outer wall between the outer wall and the baffle plate.