Patent ID: 8408026

Claim:
An apparatus for collecting and redistributing a flow of a liquid descending in an exchange column having a longitudinal axis and a cross-sectional area, the exchange column containing a layer of packing having a top and a bottom opposite the top, the bottom of the layer of packing extending across at least a portion of the cross-sectional area of the exchange column, comprising: a plurality of horizontally spaced apart longitudinal members, including at least one pair of longitudinal members comprising a first longitudinal member and a second longitudinal member horizontally spaced apart from the first longitudinal member, each longitudinal member extending across at least a portion of the cross-sectional area of the exchange column and having at least one inner side, an upper end adjacent the bottom of the layer of packing, and a lower end opposite the upper end; at least one plate vertically spaced apart from the bottom of the layer of packing and extending across at least a portion of the cross-sectional area of the exchange column to collect a first portion of the flow of the liquid descending in the exchange column and having a first end and a second end opposite the first end, the first end of the at least one plate being connected to the inner side of the first longitudinal member and the second end of the at least one plate being connected to the inner side of the second longitudinal member; and at least one vapor riser in fluid communication with the plate to receive and transmit at least a portion of a stream of a vapor ascending in the exchange column from a first location below the at least one plate to a second location above the at least one plate, the at least one vapor riser having a cap vertically spaced apart from the bottom of the packing, at least one upright wall connected to the at least one plate and projecting upward above the at least one plate and connecting to the cap, and at least one opening to transmit at least a portion of the stream of the vapor outward from the at least one vapor riser at least one of the at least one plate is connected to an inner wall of the exchange column.