The systems and methods disclosed herein provide for the efficient generation of fine bubbles. In particular, systems and methods for use in bioreactors are disclosed herein providing a superior means to produce useful fermentation products by the biological fermentation of fine bubble waste substrates injected into a liquid broth containing a microorganism culture.

A spiral mixing chamber for dissolving a gas into a liquid, features a new and unique combination of a cap and a mixing plate. The cap may include a gas injector configured to receive gas. The mixing plate may include: a liquid inlet configured to receive liquid, a mixture outlet configured to provide a mixture of the gas and liquid from the spiral mixing chamber, and a flow path configured as a spiral geometry having a spiral that winds in a continuous and gradual curve around a central point from the liquid inlet to the mixture outlet, the flow path having flow path obstructions configured to cause disturbances in the flow which generates turbulent vortices that work to break apart bubbles in the mixture flowing through the spiral mixing chamber or device.

The device for adjusting the concentration of a gas in a liquid includes a cartridge in which the concentration of the gas in the liquid is adjusted, a pipe for supplying the liquid into the cartridge, a pipe for supplying gas into the cartridge, and a pipe for discharging the liquid from the cartridge. The gas supply pipe includes an expansion valve with of which the pressure setpoint that is controlled by a setpoint for the quantity amount of gas in the liquid and by an amount of a quantity of gas in the liquid measured by a gas concentration sensor located in the liquid discharge pipe.

A rotating packed bed (RPB) unit comprising one rotor is described. The rotor comprises a first plate and a second plate. The rotor further comprises a plurality of annular permeable packing elements housed in between the first plate and the second plate, wherein a first end of each of the plurality of annular permeable packing elements is attached to the first plate, and wherein a second end of each of the plurality of permeable packing elements is attached to the second plate. The rotor further comprises a shaft coupled to one of the first plate and the second plate for rotating the rotor. Further, the rotor comprises a liquid inlet for receiving a liquid phase and a gas inlet for receiving a gas phase.

Systems and methods for gas processing are described that utilize two or more cells that are fluidly coupled to one another by a common liquid space. Via the common liquid space, each of the cells can be coupled to a fluid outlet. The cells can each include an absorber and/or other gas processing equipment. A feed gas can be separately fed to each of the cells for processing. The cells can be independently operable, such that not all of the cells must be operated simultaneously.

A liquid mixing collector includes first and second sump zones, a first and optionally a second liquid collection region, first and second interspersed sets of spaced apart liquid collection channels positioned in the first liquid collection region, the first and second sets of collection channels being associated with the first and second respective sump zones, wherein adjacent liquid collection channel sets are vertically displaced in parallel horizontal planes. The invention also relates to the process of using the collector within a heat or mass transfer column.

The invention is a distributor tray having at least one perforated wall defining compartments. The distributor tray has at least one distribution compartment through which gas and the liquid flows through the tray, and at least one retention compartment through which the liquid cannot flow through the tray. The at least one retention compartment is on the periphery of the tray. The invention also relates to a column for heat and/or material exchange between a gas and a liquid equipped with a distributor tray, to a floating barge including the column and to the use of the column.

The contacting device for countercurrent contacting of fluid streams and having a first pair of intersecting grids of spaced-apart and parallel deflector blades and a second pair of intersecting grids of spaced-apart and parallel deflector blades. The deflector blades in each one of the grids are interleaved with the deflector blades in the paired intersecting grid and may have uncut side portions that join them together along a transverse strip where the deflector blades cross each other or adjacent opposed ends of the deflector blades and cut side portions that extend from the uncut side portions to the ends of the deflector blades. At least some of the deflector blades have directional tabs and associated openings to allow portions of the fluid streams to pass through the deflector blades to facilitate mixing of the fluid streams.

A liquid collection trough assembly for a cooling tower, condenser or dephlegmator includes a plurality of elongate troughs and associated inclined capture plates arranged to receive liquid on a front face thereof and direct the liquid into an associated elongate trough. Each capture plate has a generally upright deflection plate extending downwards from an upper region on its rear face so as to be capable of receiving liquid droplets contacting it and directing such liquid into or onto an adjacent trough or capture plate, in use. The deflection plate extends downwards to terminate in a bottom edge that is located downwards of the upper region of the capture plate and spaced rearwards of the rear face of an inclined portion of the capture plate.

Heat exchange apparatus comprises a plurality of thermally conductive, moisture impervious sheets. Each sheet comprises a plurality of corrugations. The plurality of sheets are disposed in a stack such that each alternate sheet has its corrugations affixed to and disposed at an angle to the corrugations of an adjacent sheet to provide a plurality of separate flow pathways. The plurality of separate flow pathways comprises first predetermined pathways and second predetermined pathways. The stack of sheets have first end portions disposed to provide a first inlets and a first outlets for the first predetermined pathways and second end portions to provide second inlets and second outlets for the second predetermined pathways. The corrugations forming the second predetermined pathways comprise a wettable surface. The first predetermined pathways are adapted for a first fluid flow and the second predetermined pathways are adapted for a countercurrent second fluid flow.