TREATMENT VESSEL, CARTRIDGE AND APPARATUS FOR TREATING A FLUID HAVING TWO TREATMENT VESSELS

Abstract

The invention relates to a treatment vessel for an apparatus for treating a fluid, comprising a treatment material arranged in the treatment vessel and a first heater by means of which a first part of the treatment material present in a first region of the treatment vessel can be heated and a second heater by means of which a second part of the treatment material present in a second region of the treatment vessel can be heated.

Claims

1. Treatment vessel, in particular treatment vessel (1) for an apparatus for treating a fluid, comprising a treatment material arranged in the treatment vessel (1) and a first heater by means of which the fluid can be heated in a first region of the treatment vessel (1) and/or by means of which a first part (7) of the treatment material present in a first region of the treatment vessel (1) can be heated and a second heater by means of which the fluid can be heated in a second region of the treatment vessel (1) and/or by means of which a second part (8) of the treatment material present in a second region of the treatment vessel (1) can be heated.

2. Treatment vessel, in particular treatment vessel (1) for an apparatus for treating a fluid, comprising a treatment material arranged in a cartridge (30) arranged in the treatment vessel (1) and a first heater which is provided on the cartridge and by means of which the fluid can be heated in a first region of the treatment vessel (1) and/or by means of which a first part (7) of the treatment material present in a first region of the treatment vessel (1) can be heated.

3. Treatment vessel according to claim 2, characterized by a second cartridge which is arranged in the treatment vessel (1) and contains a treatment material arranged in the cartridge and a second heater which is provided on the second cartridge and by means of which the fluid can be heated in a second region of the treatment vessel (1) and/or by means of which a second part (8) of the treatment material present in a second region of the treatment vessel (1) can be heated.

4. Treatment vessel according to any of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the treatment material is a bed.

5. Treatment vessel according to any of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the first part (7) of the treatment material is arranged in a first cartridge (2) and the second part (8) of the treatment material is arranged in a second cartridge (3) and the first cartridge (2) and the second cartridge (3) are arranged in the treatment vessel (1).

6. Treatment vessel according to any of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the first heater and/or the second heater has a heating wire (16, 18, 20, 23, 25, 26, 31), an infrared radiator or a microwave transmitter.

7. Treatment vessel according to any of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the treatment vessel (1) is essentially a cylinder, with the second region being located after the first region in the longitudinal direction of the cylinder and/or the second region being located further away from the central axis of the cylinder in the radial direction of the cylinder than the first region.

8. Cartridge (2, 3, 5, 6) for use in an apparatus for treating a fluid, characterized in that a treatment material is arranged in the cartridge (2, 3, 5, 6) and in that a heater is provided by means of which a fluid present in the cartridge (2, 3, 5, 6) or flowing through the cartridge can be heated and/or the treatment material present in the cartridge (2, 3, 5, 6) can be heated.

9. Apparatus for treating a fluid having two treatment vessels (1) through which the fluid can flow for treatment, characterized in that at least one of the treatment vessels (1) is a treatment vessel (1) according to any of claims 1 to 7.

10. Process for treating a fluid using an apparatus according to claim 9, characterized in that a fluid flows through the treatment material present in a treatment vessel (1) according to any of claims 1 to 7 and the fluid is heated by means of the first heater in a first region of the treatment vessel (1) and/or a first part (7) of the treatment material present in a first region of the treatment vessel is heated by means of the first heater and/or the fluid is heated by means of a second heater in a second region of the treatment vessel (1) and/or a second part (8) of the treatment material present in a second region of the treatment vessel (1) is heated by means of the second heater.

11. Process for treating a fluid according to claim 10, characterized in that another fluid then flows through the treatment material and the other fluid is heated in a first region of the treatment vessel (1) by means of the first heater and/or a first part (7) of the treatment material present in a first region of the treatment vessel is heated by means of the first heater and/or is heated in a second region of the treatment vessel (1) by means of a second heater and/or a second part (8) of the treatment material present in a second region of the treatment vessel is heated by means of the second heater.

Description

[0037] The invention is explained in more detail below with the aid of a drawing showing a merely illustrative example of the invention. The drawing shows:

[0038] FIG. 1 a schematic sectional view of a desiccant vessel according to a first embodiment of the invention and

[0039] FIG. 2 a schematic drawing of a cartridge with a heater used as a temperature sensor or a flow meter.

[0040] FIG. 1 shows a treatment vessel according to the invention in the form of a desiccant vessel 1 for an apparatus for drying a fluid. Five cartridges 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 are arranged in the desiccant vessel. A first part 7 of the desiccant is arranged in the first cartridge 2. A second part 8 of the desiccant is arranged in the second cartridge 3. A third part 9 of the desiccant is arranged in the cartridge 4. A fourth part 10 of the desiccant is arranged in the cartridge 5 and a fifth part 11 of the desiccant is arranged in the cartridge 6.

[0041] The desiccant vessel 1 has an essentially cylindrical configuration and has a top part 12 with a fluid inlet 13 and an end part 14 with a fluid outlet 15. To carry out drying, the fluid to be dried flows through the desiccant vessel 1 from the fluid inlet 13 to the fluid outlet 15. To carry out regeneration of the desiccant present in the desiccant vessel 1, the fluid used for regeneration can flow through the desiccant vessel in counter current, i.e. enter at the fluid outlet 15 and exit from the fluid inlet 13.

[0042] The cartridge 2 has a first heater in the form of a heating wire 16 which runs right across the cartridge 2 and is in contact with particles of the first part 7 of the desiccant present in the cartridge 2. The heating wire 16 can heat the first part 7 of the desiccant present in the cartridge 2 by direct areal contact with the particles in contact with it, also by heat radiation and additionally by heating of the fluid stream flowing through the cartridge 2 which then in turn heats the particles around which it flows.

[0043] The cartridge 3 has three inlet openings 17 through which fluid can flow into the cartridge 3. Heating wires 18 are provided as second heater for the desiccant vessel according to the invention in the region of the inlet openings 17. The heating wires 18 can heat the fluid flowing through the inlet openings 17 and thereby the second part 8 of the desiccant which is present in the cartridge 3, namely by the fluid which has been heated by the heating wires 18 flowing over the particles of the desiccant in the cartridge 3.

[0044] In addition and as an alternative to the heating wires 18, a heating wire 20 can be provided as further heater in a flow region 19 formed between the cartridge 3 and the cartridge 4. This heating wire 20 can heat fluid exiting from the exit openings 21 of the cartridge 4 and thereby heat the second part 8 of the desiccant present in the cartridge 3, namely by the fluid which has been heated by the heating wire 20 going into the cartridge 3 and heating the desiccant present there.

[0045] The cartridge 5 has exit openings 22. Heating wires 23 which can heat the fluid flowing through the exit openings 22 are provided in the region of the exit openings 22. In this way, the heating wires 23 can heat the third part 9 of the desiccant present in the desiccant vessel by the fluid which has been heated by the heating wires 23 going into the cartridge 4 and heating the desiccant present therein. In the cartridge 6, heating wires 25 and 26 are provided both in the inlet openings 27 and also in the exit openings 24. The fifth part 11 of the desiccant present in the desiccant vessel 1 can be heated by means of the heating wires 25, namely by the fluid flowing through the inlet openings 27 being heated by the heating wires 25 and heating the desiccant present in the cartridge 6 by flowing over this desiccant. The fourth part 10 of the desiccant present in the desiccant vessel 1 can be heated by means of the heating wires 26, namely by the fluid exiting from the exit openings 24 being heated by the heating wires 26 and entering the cartridge 5 and heating the desiccant present therein.

[0046] The cartridges 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 depicted in FIG. 1 show possible embodiments of the cartridges according to the invention. They are shown together in FIG. 1 purely for illustrative purposes. A desiccant vessel according to the invention will, in a preferred embodiment, have only cartridges of the same type, i.e., for example, only cartridges of the type illustrated by the cartridge 2 or only cartridges of the type illustrated by the cartridge 3 or only cartridges having a heater arranged in a flow region between two cartridges (cf. cartridges 3 and 4) or only cartridges of the type described with the aid of the cartridge 5 or only cartridges of the type described with the aid of the cartridge 6. It is likewise conceivable for a desiccant vessel according to the invention to have cartridges of the type illustrated by the cartridge 6 alternating with cartridges which have no heating element.

[0047] FIG. 2 shows a cartridge 30 with heating wires 31 arranged in a star shaped arrangement at the inlet opening of the cartridge 30. Also arranged on the inlet side of the cartridge is a control unit 32. If fluid is made to flow over heating wires 31 that function as heaters and the electronics of the control unit 32 drive the heating wires by a PDM signal (pulse duration modulation), the temperature can, for example, be determined after every PDM signal. The flow of fluid will cool down the heating wires. By knowing the temperature, which the wires should have after a PDM signal, which can be easily obtained by simple tests, and by looking at the temperature the wires effectively have, the controller could calculate how high the current flow is.