GASKET LOCATING ARRANGEMENTS

Abstract

The present invention relates to a gasket locating arrangement for a flow module, preferably plate reactor, comprising a gasket, locating means, a channel in a channel plate, a barrier plate, wherein the gasket consists of a sheet of soft gasket material, and said sheet has a cut through pattern corresponding to the channel in the channel plate. The present invention relates further to a use of the gasket location arrangement and also to a flow module, preferably a plate reactor, which comprises one or more gasket locating arrangements according to the invention, and one or more heat transfer means for heat transfer to and from the channel, and wherein each channel plate has one or more inlets, preferably two inlets, to the channel, and one outlet from the channel.

Claims

1. A gasket locating arrangement for a flow module, preferably plate reactor, comprising: a gasket, locating means, a channel in a channel plate, a barrier plate, wherein the gasket consists of a sheet of soft gasket material, and said sheet has a cut through pattern corresponding to the channel in the channel plate, the locating means are in the gasket, in the channel plate, in the barrier plate or combinations thereof, which locating means are selected from the group consisting of headed pins, fitting pins, protruded pins, integrated pins, dowel pins, grooves, holes, under cut recesses, thickened parts in the gasket material, gasket deformation zones, wherein the locating means in the gasket, in the channel plate, or in the barrier plate are fitted into or to corresponding locating means in the gasket, in the channel plate, in the barrier plate or in combinations thereof leaving a flat surface together with the gasket between the channel plate and the barrier plate when the gasket locating arrangement is assembled for sealing the channel of the channel plate, and that the cut through pattern in the gasket makes it possible for the flow of media or the flow of fluids in the channel of the channel plate to touch the barrier plate and to have no contacts with the gasket's planar faces and little or minimized contact with any of the gaskets edges.

2. The gasket locating arrangement according to claim 1, comprising the locating means for locating the gasket between the barrier plate and the channel plate are holes or pins or both holes and pins, which means are locating the gasket between the barrier plate and the channel plate, and wherein heads of pins are allowed to disappear in counter sunk area of holes leaving a flat surface together with the gasket when the gasket locating arrangement is assembled.

3. The gasket locating arrangements according to claim 1, wherein the pins are located into holes in the barrier plate or into holes in the channel plate, and the pins are located through holes in the gasket.

4. The gasket locating arrangements according to claim 1, wherein the pins are integrated in the channel plate or integrated in the barrier plate, or the pins are integrated in both the channel plate and the barrier plate.

5. The gasket locating arrangements according to claim 1, wherein thickened parts in the gasket material, holes in the gasket material, or deformation zones in the gasket material are locating the gasket to corresponding holes, grooves or under cut recesses in the barrier plate, in the channel plate or in both channel plate and the barrier plate.

6. The gasket locating arrangements according to claim 1, wherein the holes have countersunk areas, the holes are all-through holes, or the holes are all-through holes having countersunk areas.

7. The gasket locating arrangements according to claim 1, wherein the soft gasket material is selected from the group of materials consisting of multi layer expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE), polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), perfluorelastomers, fluorelastomers, polyetheretherketone (PEEK), and polypropene (PP).

8. The gasket locating arrangements according to claim 1, wherein the soft gasket material is expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) having layers of a stochastic fibrous structure and large amount of void space which material undergo a nonrecoverable deformation under assembly compression.

9. The gasket locating arrangements according to claim 1, wherein the pins are made of a material selected from the group consisting of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), perfluorelastomers, fluorelastomers, polyetheretherketone (PEEK), and polypropene (PP).

10. A method of using gasket locating arrangements according to claim 1 for sealing a channel in a plate reactor or in a plate flow module.

11. A flow module comprising one or more gasket locating arrangements according to claim 1, and one or more heat transfer means for heat transfer to and from the channel, and wherein each channel plate has one or more inlets, preferably two inlets, to the channel, and one outlet from the channel.

12. A flow module according to claim 11, wherein the channel plate has one or more port holes, which port holes makes it possible to access the channel.

13. A flow module according to claim 11, wherein the heat transfer mean comprises a utility plate and a barrier plate, between the utility plate and the barrier plate is a turbulator insert inserted for enhancing the heat transfer to and from the channel of the channel plates.

14. A flow module of claim 11, wherein the flow module comprises a plate reactor.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] FIG. 1 shows one embodiment of the present invention wherein a headed dowel pin is located in a hole.

[0019] FIG. 2 shows one embodiment of the present invention wherein a headed dowel pin is located in a hole.

[0020] FIG. 3 shows one embodiment of the present invention wherein a headed dowel pin is located in a hole.

[0021] FIG. 4 shows another embodiment of the present invention wherein a protruding pin is locating the gasket.

[0022] FIG. 5 shows another embodiment of the present invention wherein a protruding pin is locating the gasket.

[0023] FIG. 6 shows another embodiment of the present invention wherein a protruding pin is locating the gasket.

[0024] FIG. 7 shows yet another embodiment of the present invention wherein thegasket is pressed into a recess.

[0025] FIG. 8 shows yet another embodiment of the present invention wherein the gasket is pressed into a recess.

[0026] FIG. 9 shows yet another embodiment of the present invention wherein the gasket is pressed into a recess.

[0027] FIG. 10 shows how a gasket is placed between a channel plate and a barrier plate according to the invention.

[0028] FIG. 11 shows how a gasket is placed between another channel plate and a barrier plate according to another embodiment of the invention.

[0029] FIG. 12 shows how a gasket is placed between another channel plate barrier plate according to another embodiment of the invention.

[0030] FIG. 13 shows a turbulator insert to be placed in a utility plate according to one embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0031] FIG. 1 illustrates a gasket 1 located with a pin 2 on to all-through hole 3. In this figure the pin is a headed pin or a headed dowel pin. The head 4 is fitted into countersunk area 5, see FIG. 2. Since the hole of the gasket is fitting pin 2, then the gasket material will follow the pin down into countersunk area 5. This solution does locate and attach the gasket to one of the surfaces during assembly. All-through hole 3 have a countersunk area for the head of pin 2, thus the head disappears in the surface, which surface should still remain flat. All-through hole 3 allows easy removal of pins 2 when disassemble the reactor or flow module. Another advantage of all-through holes is that the holes will be easily cleaned. FIG. 3 also illustrates that the gasket 1 has been compressed when the reactor or the flow module is assembled, and the thickness is less than that of an unused gasket.

[0032] FIG. 4 shows how the gasket 1 is located onto protruded pin 7 or onto integrated pin 7, and FIG. 5 shows how the gasket 1 is fitted on a plate 8 and the pin 7. The holes in gasket 1 may be with an interference fit to attach gasket 1 to plate 8. Hole 9 in mating plate 10 has to have a clearance fit to allow assembly.

[0033] FIG. 7 shows the gasket 1 before it is pressed into under cut recess 11 in plate 12. The gasket 1 is pressed into under cut recess 11 in FIG. 8. The gasket 1 is equipped with other locating means such as, but not limited to, thickened parts or parts attached to the gasket that fits in recesses. In FIG. 9, the gasket 1 is compressed when the reactor or flow module is assembled. The gasket 1 is located and attached by permanent deformation, and gasket 1 sticks to the first sealing surface. This is done by under cut recesses in the surface where the gasket is pushed and flattened down. Mating second sealing surface 13 has no holes and may be totally flat.

[0034] FIG. 10 shows how the gasket 14 is located between channel plate 15 and barrier plate 16 or placed between channel plate 15 and heat exchanger plate 16 according to the invention. The gasket 14 has cut-through areas 17 corresponding to channel 18 of channel plate 15. Pins 19 are locating gasket 14 onto channel plate 15 through holes 20 in the gasket 14 and into holes 21 in the channel plate 15. The pins 19 could be any type of pins, in this figure headed dowel pins are shown, and the pins 19 are fitted into holes 21 having countersunk areas and the holes are all-through holes in this figure. In one embodiment, the holes 21 are of other types according to the invention.

[0035] FIGS. 11 and 12 show how gasket 22 is located between channel plate 23 and barrier plate 24, according to another embodiment of the invention. The gasket 22 has cut-through area 25 corresponding to channel 26 of channel plate 23. Integrated pins 27 in the channel plate 23 are locating the gasket 22 through holes 28 in the gasket on to channel plate 23. The pins 27 are mated into holes 29 in the barrier plate 24, see FIG. 12.

[0036] FIG. 13 shows a means for heat transfer in a flow module, preferably in a plate reactor, according to one embodiment of the invention. The heat transfer means comprises two parts, one part is a utility plate 30 having a compartment 31, and the second part is a barrier plate 32. For the purpose of enhancing the heat transfer to and from a channel in a channel plate, the channel plate is not seen in FIG. 13, can a turbulator insert 33 be inserted between utility plate 30 and barrier plate 32. Turbulator insert 32 can be inserted into any type of heat transfer means which could harbour a turbulator insert. The heat transfer means according to the invention is, for example, of any kind and the heat transfer means shown in FIG. 13 is one example of possible heat transfer means.