A process for the preparation of an alkylene glycol from an alkene comprising steps of: a) supplying a gas composition to an alkylene oxide absorber through a gas inlet, the absorber comprising an absorption section and a sump, and allowing the gas composition to pass upwards; b) supplying a lean absorbent to the top of the absorption section and allowing the lean absorbent to pass downwards; c) intimately contacting the gas composition with lean absorbent in the absorption section in the presence of one or more catalysts that promote carboxylation and hydrolysis; and d) withdrawing fat absorbent from the absorption section and passing the fat absorbent and any liquid condensate through the sump, wherein the sump comprises one or more baffles that define a flow pathway from a sump inlet to a sump outlet between the one or more baffles.

The present invention relates to a gas-redirecting device presenting an upper plane and a plurality of gas-redirecting tubes comprising an inlet end and an outlet end. For each gas-redirecting tube, the orthogonal projections of the inlet end and the outlet end onto the upper plane have an over-lapping area of at most 50% of the total area of the upper plane covered by the orthogonal projections. Also provided is a liquid-gas contacting column comprising a gas-redirecting device, a floating support comprising a liquid-gas contacting column, at least two packed beds and a method for improving the efficiency of a liquid-gas contacting column which is based on redirecting the gas from a wetted zone of a lower packed bed to a wetted zone of the higher packed bed.

Present disclosure relates to a novel process for purification of lipid material for further use as such as, for example, a source of fuel of chemicals.

Provided is an NMP recovery system 1 for causing NMP-containing gas to contact NMP-absorbing water, including: fillers (10A) to (10D) that are permeable to the water and hold the water, wherein the permeated water moves according to gravity to flow out from the fillers; an NMP-containing gas distribution unit (30) for distributing the NMP-containing gas so as to cause the NMP-containing gas to contact the water held by the fillers (10A) to (10D); and a water distribution unit (40) for distributing the water so as to make the water permeate through the fillers (10A) to (10D). In the fillers (10A) to (10D), the NMP-containing gas is made to contact the NMP-absorbing water. Accordingly, NMP in the NMP-containing gas is absorbed in the water, so that the NMP is separated from the NMP-containing gas.

An apparatus is disclosed for maintaining constant fluid pressure and equalized fluid flow among a plurality of downcomer lines through which liquid from a tower is directed. A substantially annular fluid distribution belt is disposed at the circumference of the tower. The fluid distribution belt collects liquid from the tower. At least two outlets direct liquid from the fluid distribution belt out of the tower and into a corresponding number of downcomer lines disposed external to the tower.

A contact tray for use in a mass transfer or heat exchange column and having a tray deck with an inlet area and a remotely positioned outlet for respectively receiving liquid on the tray deck and then removing the liquid after it has flowed across the tray deck and interacted with another fluid on and above the tray deck. A plurality of barriers are positioned between the inlet area and the outlet. The barriers each have spaced-apart pickets and openings in the spacing between adjacent ones of the pickets. The pickets impede the flow of the liquid and increase the upstream liquid loading on the tray deck as the liquid flows from the inlet area, through the openings, and then into the outlet. At low liquid flow rates, this increase in the liquid loading may significantly increase the vapor handling capacity of the tray.

An oil scrub column having a petroleum spirit section and an oil section where each section has mass transfer trays having a plurality of runoff elements that extend parallel to and at a distance from one another, to form angular profiles. The runoff elements have first and second runoff surfaces that converge to form an edge. Scrubbing media introduced onto the edges of the runoff elements flows off via the runoff surfaces at both sides of the edge. The oil section has a greater number of mass transfer trays than the petroleum spirit section. The petroleum spirit section is shorter than the oil section. The mass transfer trays of the petroleum spirit section may be sieve trays, bubble trays or valve trays.

A hybrid Contact tray for a mass transfer column is provided. The tray has a deck for passage of liquid along a liquid flow path thereon. The deck also has a plurality of orifices for passage of ascending vapor through the tray deck. The contact tray includes a cross-current vapor-liquid mixing section having a first portion of the plurality of orifices and a co-current vapor-liquid mixing section having at least one co-current mixing device associated with a second portion of the plurality of orifices. The co-current mixing device includes a conduit having: a vapor inlet in fluid communication with one or more of the second portion of orifices; a froth inlet in fluid communication with the liquid flow path; a fluid outlet; and a packing material within a co-current flow path of vapor and liquid within the conduit disposed after the vapor and froth inlets and before the fluid outlet.

The invention is a distributor tray (2) of a column for heating and/or material exchanging material between a gas and a liquid, comprising gas passage casings (4), liquid passages (6) and a secondary distribution system (7) projecting from the lower part of tray (2). Secondary distribution system (7) allows the liquid to be collected and distributed more homogeneously over the contactor. The invention also relates to a gas/fluid heat or material exchange column comprising such a distributor tray.

The invention relates to a tray 2 for a column intended for heat and/or matter exchange between a gas and a liquid, comprising at least one chimney 4 projecting from the upper part of tray 2 for exclusive passage of the gas through the tray and at least one means 5 enabling passage of the liquid through tray 2, the inside of at least one of the chimneys for exclusive gas passage being provided with a material dispersive towards said gas.

The invention also relates to an exchange column comprising such a distributor tray and to the use of such a column.