Reduced pressure drop coalescer

Abstract

A coalescer includes fibrous media capturing droplets of the dispersed phase, coalescingly growing the droplets into larger drops which further coalesce and grow to form pools that drain, and adapted to reduce pressure drop thereacross by increasing dispersed phase drainage therefrom.

1 . A coalescer for coalescing a medium having two immiscible phases, namely a continuous phase and a dispersed phase, said continuous phase flowing from upstream to downstream, said coalescer comprising fibrous media capturing droplets of said dispersed phase, coalescingly growing said droplets into larger drops which further coalesce and grow to form pools that drain, said fibrous media being adapted to reduce pressure drop thereacross by increasing dispersed phase drainage therefrom.  
   
   
       2 . The coalescer according to  claim 1  wherein said coalescer has a first cross-sectional area along a first horizontal plane, and a second cross-sectional area along a second horizontal plane, said second horizontal plane being vertically below said first horizontal plane, said second cross-sectional area being less than said first cross-sectional area.  
   
   
       3 . The coalescer according to  claim 2  wherein said coalescer has a perimeter defining a given shape in a vertical plane, said perimeter having a plurality of chords thereacross, including vertical chords and horizontal chords.  
   
   
       4 . The coalescer according to  claim 3  wherein the longest of said chords extends vertically.  
   
   
       5 . The coalescer according to  claim 3  wherein said given shape in said vertical plane is selected from the group consisting of a racetrack shape, an oval shape, a triangle shape, a square shape, a trapezoid shape, and a circle shape.  
   
   
       6 . The coalescer according to  claim 3  wherein said given shape in said vertical plane has a hollow interior.  
   
   
       7 . The coalescer according to  claim 6  wherein flow direction is selected from the group consisting of: inside-out, namely from said hollow interior outwardly through said fibrous media; and outside-in, namely inwardly through said fibrous media into said hollow interior.  
   
   
       8 . The coalescer according to  claim 1  wherein said fibrous media comprises a plurality of fibers having a nonrandom dominantly vertical orientation.  
   
   
       9 . The coalescer according to  claim 8  wherein said coalescer has a perimeter, and said fibers extend dominantly circumferentially tangentially along said perimeter.  
   
   
       10 . The coalescer according to  claim 9  wherein said perimeter defines a given shape in a vertical plane, said perimeter having a plurality of chords thereacross, the longest of said chords extending vertically, said fibers extending dominantly circumferentially tangentially along said perimeter being dominantly vertical and providing increasing drainage pressure at lower vertical regions of said coalescer.  
   
   
       11 . The coalescer according to  claim 10  wherein said coalescer has a first cross-sectional area along a first horizontal plane, and a second cross-sectional area along a second horizontal plane, said second horizontal plane being vertically below said first horizontal plane, said second cross-sectional area being less than said first cross-sectional area, said plurality of chords include vertical chords and horizontal chords, said horizontal chords including a first horizontal chord along said first horizontal plane, and a second horizontal chord along said second horizontal plane, said second horizontal chord being shorter than said first horizontal chord.  
   
   
       12 . The coalescer according to  claim 8  comprising a shaker vertically vibrating said coalescer.  
   
   
       13 . The coalescer according to  claim 1  wherein said coalescer has a lower region of greater dispersed phase saturation and smaller volume than an upper region, to minimize the volume of said fibrous media where restriction is greatest and continuous phase flow rate least, and to maximize the volume of said fibrous media where restriction is least and continuous phase flow rate greatest.  
   
   
       14 . The coalescer according to  claim 1  wherein said coalescer has a lower region of increased dispersed phase saturation, and comprising a lower media element of greater dispersed phase wettability than said fibrous media and in contact with said lower region of said coalescer and wicking said coalesced drops from said fibrous media at said lower region.  
   
   
       15 . The coalescer according to  claim 14  wherein said fibrous media is nonwetting with respect to said dispersed phase, and said lower media element is wetting with respect to said dispersed phase.  
   
   
       16 . The coalescer according to  claim 1  wherein said coalescer has a lower region, and comprising a lower media element in contact with said lower region of said coalescer, and wherein the cosine of the dispersed phase contact angle of said lower media element is greater than the cosine of the dispersed phase contact angle of said fibrous media.  
   
   
       17 . The coalescer according to  claim 1  wherein said fibrous media comprises a plurality of fibers having a dominant fiber orientation angle α defined as the angle of fiber extension relative to horizontal, and wherein α is less than 0° and greater than minus 90°.  
   
   
       18 . The coalescer according to  claim 1  wherein said fibrous media comprises a plurality of fibers having a dominant fiber orientation angle β defined as the angle of fiber extension relative to flow direction, and wherein β is less than 60° and greater than minus 60°.  
   
   
       19 . The coalescer according to  claim 1  wherein: 
 said fibrous media comprises a plurality of fibers having a first dominant fiber orientation angle α defined as the angle of fiber extension relative to horizontal;    said plurality of fibers have a second dominant fiber orientation angle β defined as the angle of fiber extension relative to flow direction;    wherein in combination α is less than 0° and greater than or equal to minus 90°, and β is less than 60° and greater than minus 60°.    
   
   
       20 . The coalescer according to  claim 1  comprising a plurality of localized pockets formed in said fibrous media, said pockets deflecting a plurality of fibers along desired fiber orientation angles α and β, fiber orientation angle α being defined as the angle of fiber extension relative to horizontal, fiber orientation angle β being defined as the angle of fiber extension relative to flow direction.  
   
   
       21 . A method of increasing the life of a coalescer coalescing a medium having two immiscible phases, namely a continuous phase and a dispersed phase, said continuous phase flowing from upstream to downstream, said coalescer comprising fibrous media capturing droplets of said dispersed phase, coalescingly growing said droplets into larger drops which further coalesce and grow to form pools that drain, said coalescer having a pressure drop thereacross increasing with time until the rate of drainage of said dispersed phase equals the rate of capture, providing an equilibrium pressure drop, said method comprising increasing coalescer life by reducing dispersed phase saturation and increasing porosity by increasing said rate of drainage.  
   
   
       22 . The method according to  claim 21  comprising providing said fibrous media as a plurality of fibers and dominantly orienting said fibers along a dominant fiber orientation angle α less than 0° and greater than or equal to minus 90°, where α is defined as the angle of fiber extension relative to horizontal.  
   
   
       23 . The method according to  claim 21  comprising providing said fibrous media as a plurality of fibers and dominantly orienting said fibers along a dominant orientation angle β less than 60° and greater than minus 60°, where β is defined as the angle of fiber extension relative to flow direction.  
   
   
       24 . The method according to  claim 21  comprising vertically vibrating said coalescer.  
   
   
       25 . The method according to  claim 21  comprising minimizing the volume of said fibrous media where restriction is greatest and flow rate least, and maximizing the volume of said fibrous media where restriction is least and flow rate greatest, by providing said coalescer with a lower region of greater dispersed phase saturation and smaller volume than an upper region.  
   
   
       26 . The method according to  claim 21  comprising providing said coalescer with a lower region of increased dispersed phase saturation, and wicking said coalesced drops away from said fibrous media at said lower region.