US3691731A - Smoke cleaning device - Google Patents

Abstract

Incoming smoke, filled with pollutants, is introduced into an inlet stack on the bottom of a vertically elongated housing. As the smoke ascends, it is first divided into four paths defined by separate passageways each leading upwardly through riser conduits mounted on a horizontal floor forming a common basin for four separate scrubbing chambers. In rising through each conduit the smoke is further divided by a central partition in the riser and is forced to undergo a double change in direction in emerging from beneath a peaked roof sheltering the riser from the intense water fog and spray in each scrubbing chamber. As the smoke rises through the scrubbing chambers toward the common exhaust stack at the top of the housing, the dense water fog from spray nozzles separate the pollutants from the smoke and carries the pollutants downwardly into the water bath located in the basin. From the basin the pollutant-laden water is carried away by drain pipes and the scrubbed smoke is emitted through the exhaust stack.

Description

United States Patent [451 Sept. 19, 1972 Garcia [54] SMOKE CLEANING DEVICE [72] Inventor: Bernabe V. Garcia, PO. Box 459,

Pollock Pines, Calif. 95726 [22] Filed: July 13, 1970 [21] Appl. No.: 54,326

[52] US. Cl ..55/223, 55/260, 261/23 R,

[51] Int. Cl. ..B01d 47/00 [58] Field of Search ..55/223, 235, 260; 261/118, 261/ 1 15, 23 R [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,387,345 10/1945 Pearl ..55/223 X 2,593,548 4/1952 Edwards ..261/118 X 2,709,580 5/1955 Kameya...'. ..261/118 X 3,210,914 10/1965 Eckert ..55/90 3,334,470 8/1967 Huppke ..55/90 3,363,403 H1968 Vicard ..261/118 X 3,395,193 7/1968 Bruce et 211....v ..55/89 X Primary Examiner-Robert L. Lindsay, Jr. Attorney-Lothrop & West Incoming smoke, filled with pollutants, is introduced into an inlet stack on the bottom of a vertically elongated housing. As the smoke ascends, it is first divided into four paths defined by separate passageways each leading upwardly through riser conduits mounted on a horizontal floor forming a common basin for four separate scrubbing chambers. In rising through each conduit the smoke is further divided by a central partition in the riser and is forced to undergo a double change in direction in emerging from beneath a peaked-roof sheltering the riser from the intense water fog and spray in each scrubbing chamber. As the smoke rises through the scrubbing chambers toward the common exhaust stack at the top of the housing, the dense water fog from spray nozzles separate the pollutants from the smoke and carries the pollutants downwardly into the water bath located in the basin. From the basin the pollutant-laden water is carried emitted through the exhaust stack.

3 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures P'ATENIED 8E? 19 m2 SHEET 1 OF 3 mvsw'roa BERNABE V GARCIA oCem/wp (Jul:

A-rromvs rs SMOKE CLEANING DEVICE The invention relates to improvements in smoke washers.

Apparatus for scrubbing gases has long been known and used, exemplary being W. R. Edwards US. Pat. No. 2,593,548 for Gas Scrubbing Device dated Apr. 22, 1952.

With constantly greater emphasis on the need for preventing air pollution, it becomes more and more important to remove substantially all foreign material from smoke prior to its being discharged into the atmosphere.

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a smoke cleaning device which is relatively inexpensive, small in size and compact in configuration, yet is capable of efficiently removing substantially all pollutants from smoke passed therethrough.

It is another object of the invention to provide a smoke cleaning device which is readily adaptable for use not only in industry but also in a domestic, or household, environment.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a gas cleaning device which requires only a simple plumbing connection to make it operative.

It is still a further object of the invention to provide a gas cleaning device which is durable and long-lived and has no moving parts to get out of order.

It is another object of the invention to provide a generally improved smoke cleaning device.

Other objects, together with the foregoing, are attained in the embodiment described in the following description and shown in the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is an isometric, perspective view of the device;

After the smoke traverses the four passageways 27, as indicated by the arrows 33, it is further sub-divided by a plurality of vertical plates 36 parallel to the adjacent side walls 14 of the housing 13.

Each of the vertical divider plates 36 is located centrally of an elongated aperture 38 formed in a squareshaped floor 41 spanning the bottom edges of the housing walls 14 and closing off, or sealing, the bottom of the housing 13, except for the presence of the four apertures 38 in the floor 41.

Upon leaving the four passageways 27 the smoke splits, as indicated by the arrows 43 and 44 in FIG. 4, and flows upwardly, on each side of the plate 36, in a smoke-conducting pipe member, termed a riser conduit 46, mounted on the floor 41 and encompassing the floor aperture 38.

At each end of the riser conduit 46 the riser end walls I 47 are vertically extended and are peaked, as appears FIG. 2 is a sectional view, the plane of the section being indicated by the lines 2 2 in FIG. 4;.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken on the compound planes indicated by the lines 3 3 in FIG. 4; and,

FIG. 4 is a vertical, median, sectional view, the plane of the section being indicated by the lines 4 4 in FIG. 2.

While the smoke cleaning device of the invention is susceptible of numerous physical embodiments, depending upon the environment and conditions of use, substantial numbers of the herein shown and described embodiment have been made, tested and used, and all have performed in an eminently satisfactory manner.

The smoke cleaning device of the invention, generally designated by the reference numeral 12, comprises a vertically elongated housing 13 having four vertical walls 14 surmounted by a pyramidal canopy 16 terminating in a vertical flue 17 from which the cleaned gases are discharged in the direction indicated by the arrow 18.

The incoming smoke, filled with pollutants, enters the inlet stack 21 in the direction indicated by the arrow 22. Upon emerging from the inlet stack 21 the smoke is diverted angularly outwardly by the four walls 24 of a pyramidal deflector member 26 along the passageways 27 defined by the inner walls 24 and spaced outer walls 28.

Serving to split the smoke into four separate paths as the smoke emerges from the inlet stack 21 are four vertical vanes 31 which intersect at a vertical, axial member 32.

most clearly in FIG. 4 to support an inverted V-shape roof 48 serving to shield the riser conduit 46 from the intense fog and spray atmosphere produced by the multitude of water nozzles 51 located within the housing The roof 48 is spaced above the top edges of the riser side walls 45, thereby affording egress for the smoke ascending through the riser in the paths 43 and 44.

Thus, as appears most clearly in FIG. 4, the smoke ascending in the path 43 undergoes two reversals in direction, as indicated by the arrow 53. In comparable fashion, the smoke in the path 44 makes-a reversal in direction and then turns again to resume its upward movement, as indicated by the arrow 54.

Upon emerging from the shielded riser 46, the smoke ascends through a triangular-in-plan scrubbing chamber 61.

As shown most clearly in FIGS. 2 and 3, the housing 13 is divided in four such chambers by diagonal partitions 63 intersecting along a common, vertical, axial, comer member 64. Each of the chambers 61 is relatively small in cross-section and by appropriate placement, as shown, of the numerous nozzles, it has been found that the fine dispersal effected by the nozzles themselves is greatly augmented by the further fragmentation, or shattering, resulting from the impact against the three encompassing walls of the chamber 61.

As a consequence, the water flowing from a pressurized water supply (not shown) in the direction of the arrow 71, through the supply pipe 72 into the approximately square-shape manifold 73 (see FIG. 2), thence downwardly into the individual supply lines 76, 77, 78, 79 and 80, emerges from the respective nozzles 51 and forms a dense cloud of moisture through which the smoke must pass before entering the head chamber 86 and departing from the flue 17.

The counter-flow of the rising smoke and the descending water vapor and atomized droplets subjects the smoke to an intense scrubbing so that substantially all pollutants are removed before the gas emerges from the flue 17.

By the same token, the water entrains the pollutants, both as particulates as well as soluble materials, and falls to the floor 41, from which location it drains off through outlet pipes 91 in the direction of the arrow 92. Preferably, the bottom portion of the central, axial comer member 64 and adjacent portion of the diagonal partitions are cut away, as at 94 (see FIG. 4) to allow free movement between the chambers of the water accumulated on the floor 41. It will also be noted that the side walls of the risers 46 are high enough to prevent watervoverflow into the apertures 38. The number and dimensions of the water outlet pipes are chosen so that a water bath of approximately 1% inches to 2 inches in depth is maintained during normal operation, thereby affording a water seal.

It can therefore be seen that I have provided a relatively small yet highly efficient device for the removal of pollutants from smoke.

I claim:

1 A smoke cleaning device comprising:

a. a vertically elongated housing having four walls;

b. diagonal partitions conjoining with said housing walls to form four triangular-in-plan smoke scrubbing chambers;

c. a plurality of water spray nozzles in each of said chambers;

d. a water distributing manifold connected at one end to said nozzles and at the other end to a pressurized water supply;

. a floor closing the bottom ends of said chambers;

f. a water outlet pipe adjacent said floor to carry away water and entrained materials falling downwardly through said chambers and onto said floor;

g. apertures in said floor opening into said chambers;

h. vertical riser conduits mounted on said floor at each aperture to conduct smoke rising upwardly through said apertures into said chambers, each of said riser conduits being elongated in a direction parallel to the adjacent one of said housing walls;

i. a vertical baffle plate parallel to the adjacent one of said housing walls dividing each of said riser conduits into two equal channels, each channel being elongated in a direction parallel to the adjacent one of said housing walls, thereby dividing the smoke rising through each of said apertures into two substantially equal portions;

j. roof members mounted over said riser conduits to shed water emitted by said nozzles into said chambers and falling downwardly toward said floor;

it. smoke ingress means below said floor for conducting smoke through said apertures into said riser conduits and through said chambers; and,

l. stack means above said chambers for discharging the scrubbed gases rising from said chambers. 2. A smoke cleaning device as in claim 1 wherein said smoke ingress means below said floor comprises a plurality of vertical vanes capable of dividing thesmoke into a plurality of flow paths.

3. A smoke cleaning device as in claim 2 wherein said vertical vanes are angularly oriented relative to the planes of said vertical housing walls and said vertical baffle plates, said vanes thereby subdividing and guiding the smoke in a plurality of paths in its course entering said scrubbing chambers.

Claims (3)

1. A smoke cleaning device comprising: a. a vertically elongated housing having four walls; b. diagonal partitions conjoining with said housing walls to form four triangular-in-plan smoke scrubbing chambers; c. a plurality of water spray nozzles in each of said chambers; d. a water distributing manifold connected at one end to said nozzles and at the other end to a pressurized water supply; e. a floor closing the bottom ends of said chambers; f. a water outlet pipe adjacent said floor to carry away water and entrained materials falling downwardly through said chambers and onto said floor; g. apertures in said floor opening into said chambers; h. vertical riser conduits mounted on said floor at each aperture to conduct smoke rising upwardly through said apertures into said chambers, each of said riser conduits being elongated in a direction parallel to the adjacent one of said housing walls; i. a vertical baffle plate parallel to the adjacent one of said housing walls dividing each of said riser conduits into two equal channels, each channel being elongated in a direction parallel to the adjacent one of said housing walls, thereby dividing the smoke rising through each of said apertures into two substantially equal portions; j. roof members mounted over said riser conduits to shed water emitted by said nozzles into said chambers and falling downwardly toward said floor; k. smoke ingress means below said floor for conducting smoke through said apertures into said riser conduits and through said chambers; and, l. stack means above said chambers for discharging the scrubbed gases rising from said chambers.

2. A smoke cleaning device as in claim 1 wherein said smoke ingress means below said floor comprises a plurality of vertical vanes capable of dividing the smoke into a plurality of flow paths.

3. A smoke cleaning device as in claim 2 wherein said vertical vanes are angularly oriented relative to the planes of said vertical housing walls and said vertical baffle plates, said vanes thereby subdividing and guiding the smoke in a plurality of paths in its course entering said scrubbing chambers.

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