Liquid-gas separator unit

Abstract

A liquid-gas separator unit with superior performance characteristics is disclosed. The unit is characterized by a high liquid flow rate capacity at high as well as low accompanying gas flow rates, and efficient liquid-gas separation capability. The unit has a unique discharge plug element and a unique intake plug element that cooperate with a unique impeller means. Inlet/recirculation openings in the unit casing act to increase the liquid flow rate.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A liquid-gas separator unit comprising, in combination, means defining a chamber having first and second longitudinally spaced portions, impeller means disposed within the chamber between the first and second chamber portions, said impeller means including vanes configured to impart circular motion to liquid after first imparting upward motion to the liquid, means connected to the impeller means for rotating said impeller means, intake means communicating with the first chamber portion for admitting a liquid-gas mixture into said first chamber portion, discharge means communicating with the second chamber portion for discharging the liquid and gas components of the mixture from said second chamber portion after such components have been separated within the chamber by the rotation of the impeller means, said discharge means including passage means for conveying the gas component from the impeller means, said discharge means further including passageway means for conveying the liquid component from the impeller means without causing an abrupt change in the direction and velocity of the liquid component as it flows into the passageway means. 
     
     
       2. A liquid-gas separator unit comprising, in combination, means defining a separator chamber having first and second longitudinally spaced portions, impeller means rotatably disposed within the chamber between the first and second chamber portions, intake means communicating with the first chamber portion for admitting a liquid-gas mixture into said first chamber portion, discharge means communicating with the second chamber portion for discharging the liquid and gas components of the mixture from said second chamber portion after such components have been separated within the separator chamber by the rotation of the impeller means, said impeller means including impeller vanes with first portions to primarily move the mixture away from the first chamber portion upwardly toward the second chamber portion, said impeller vanes including second portions to primarily move the mixture in a circular flow path about the rotation axis of the impeller means, said first and second impeller vane portions having different configurations suited for imparting the above mentioned movement to the mixture. 
     
     
       3. A separator unit comprising, in combination, separator casing means, a discharge element closing the upper end of the casing means, an intake element closing the lower end of the casing means, a rotatable shaft extending through and journalled in the discharge element and the intake element, an impeller affixed to said shaft between the discharge element and the intake element, said impeller including long, narrow vanes configured to impart circular motion to liquid after first imparting upward motion to the liquid, the discharge element including channels that spiral upwardly in the same direction as the direction of impeller rotation, the lower ends of the channels being sloped to facilitate smooth flow of liquid from the upper ends of the vanes into the lower ends of channels, the upper ends of the channels leading to a central chamber area at the upper end of the discharge element, and a plurality of internal passages in said discharge element, each internal passage extending from a lower, central chamber in the lower end of the discharge element to the element's exterior to each provide an exhaust path to the exterior of the unit. 
     
     
       4. A separator unit, which can be utilized to separate gas from liquid, comprising, in combination, a vertically disposed gas separating chamber defined by a tubular casing or the like, intake means for admitting liquid that contains gas to the lower portion of said chamber, means to exhaust separated gas from the upper portion of the chamber, means to exhaust separated liquid from the upper portion of the chamber, and means to separate gas from liquid comprising (a) an elongated impeller adapted to rotate within the chamber, said impeller comprising a plurality of vertically disposed elongated impeller vanes each with an upper end and a lower end, each vane having a helical curvature near its lower end and having a substantially straight curvature near its upper end whereby the lower portions of the vanes coact to impell liquid with gas therein upwardly within the chamber and whereby the upper portions of the vanes coact to impell the liquid away from the center of the chamber whereby gas separates from the liquid and moves toward the center of the chamber. 
     
     
       5. The unit of claim 4 wherein the intake means has at least one intake opening that slopes upward toward the center of the chamber. 
     
     
       6. The unit of claim 4 wherein the means to exhaust liquid and gas is comprised of respective passage means for channelling separated gas and separated liquid out of the chamber through noninterconnected passageways, said discharge element including a liquid conveying passageway that is tapered to effect a decrease in liquid velocity as liquid flows along the passageway. 
     
     
       7. In a separator unit wherein the gas and liquid components of a liquid-gas mixture are separated the combination comprising, means defining a vertically oriented separation chamber, intake means communicating with the chamber for admitting a liquid-gas mixture into a lower portion of said chamber, discharge means communicating with the chamber for discharging separated gas and separated liquid from an upper portion of said chamber, impeller means disposed within the chamber and being rotatable about a vertical axis to impell the gas-liquid mixture in the chamber from the intake means toward the discharge means, the impeller means having upper and lower portions of different configuration that coact to centrifuge the liquid-gas mixture after impelling it upwardly within the chamber, the portions acting to cause the liquid component of the mixture to move away from the center of the chamber while also acting to cause the gas component of the mixture to move toward a central region of the chamber, the lower portion of the impeller means having means to primarily impell the liquid-gas mixture upwardly within the chamber, the upper portion of the impeller means having means to primarily impell the liquid-gas mixture into a circular orbit, the impeller means acting to impell relatively gas free liquid in an upwardly spiralling .[.oribt.]. .Iadd.orbit .Iaddend.from the upper end of the impeller means into a liquid conveying passage in the discharge means while permitting gas, separated by the impeller means from the liquid, to rise from the central region of the chamber into a gas conveying passage in the discharge means. 
     
     
       8. The separator unit of claim 7 wherein the unit includes a plurality of liquid conveying passages. 
     
     
       9. The unit of claim 7 wherein the impeller means has a plurality of vanes which rotate about the aforesaid axis. 
     
     
       10. The separator unit of claim 7 wherein the lower end of the liquid conveying passage is below the lower end of the gas conveying passage. 
     
     
       11. The separator unit of claim 7 wherein the liquid conveying passage and the gas conveying passage are formed in a body defining the discharge means and wherein the gas conveying passage follows a path such that the upwardly spiraling liquid flows to the liquid conveying passage in an unobstructed flow path that is not obstructed by the portion of the body which defines the gas conveying passage. 
     
     
       12. The separator unit of claim 7 wherein the liquid conveying passage curves in an upward direction around the aforesaid axis to facilitate liquid flow from the upper end of the impeller means into the liquid conveying passage with little concomitant change in liquid flow direction. 
     
     
       13. The unit of claim 12 wherein the impeller means has a plurality of vertically oriented vanes which include upper and lower vane segments, the upper vane segments providing substantially axially oriented vane surfaces, the lower vane segments providing substantially helically oriented vane surfaces curving upward about the aforesaid axis in a circular direction opposite to the direction of upward curvature of the aforesaid curved liquid conveying passage of said discharge means. 
     
     
       14. The separator unit of claim 7 wherein the gas conveying passage leads upwardly to the outside of the unit to discharge gas from the unit in a generally upward direction. 
     
     
       15. The separator unit of claim 11 wherein the unit includes a plurality of gas conveying passages. 
     
     
       16. The unit of claim 7 wherein the chamber defining means includes opening defining means in the lower portion thereof approximate the lower portion of the impeller means, said opening defining means functioning as auxiliary inlet ports to increase liquid capacity of the separator unit. 
     
     
       17. The unit of claim 16 wherein the opening defining means is comprised of a plurality of discrete openings. 
     
     
       18. The unit of claim 17 wherein the discrete openings are oriented toward the center of the chamber. 
     
     
       19. The unit of claim 17 wherein the discrete openings slant upwardly toward the chamber. 
     
     
       20. The unit of claim 17 wherein the discrete openings are arranged symmetrically about the chamber. 
     
     
       21. The unit of claim 17 wherein the discrete openings are arranged into vertically spaced rows. 
     
     
       22. In a separator unit, the combination comprising: casing means defining a vertically oriented cylindrical chamber wherein an impeller means is operative to separate gas from a liquid gas mixture, a discharge element operably connected with the upper end of the casing means, the discharge element being located immediately above the impeller means, the discharge element comprising a body with upper and lower portions, the upper portion defining a central chamber serving as a liquid receiving chamber, the lower portion defining a central chamber serving as a gas collection chamber, a plurality of passageways leading upwardly through the body from the gas collection chamber to respective passageway ports, a plurality of passages leading upwardly in the body from its lower end to passage ports communicating with the liquid reservoir chamber. 
     
     
       23. .Iadd.In a separator unit, .Iaddend.the combination .[.set forth in claim 22.]. .Iadd.comprising: casing means defining a vertically oriented cylindrical chamber wherein an impeller means is operative to separate gas from a liquid gas mixture, a discharge element operably connected with the upper end of the casing means, the discharge element being located immediately above the impeller means, the discharge element comprising a body with upper and lower portions, the upper portion defining a central chamber serving as a liquid receiving chamber, the lower portion defining a central chamber serving as a gas collection chamber, a plurality of passageways leading upwardly through the body from the gas collection chamber to respective passageway ports, and a plurality of passages leading upwardly in the body from its lower end to passage ports communicating with the liquid reservoir chamber, .Iaddend.wherein the passages curve upwardly in a substantially spiral path from the lower end of the body, whereby liquid can flow upwardly into the passages with little change in flow direction of the liquid. 
     
     
       24. The combination set forth in claim .[.22.]. .Iadd.23 .Iaddend.wherein each passageway port is adapted to discharge a stream of gas in a substantially upward direction. 
     
     
       25. A liquid-gas separator unit comprising, in combination, casing means defining a cylindrical chamber containing an impeller means which has a lowermost portion adapted to impell liquid upward through the chamber and which has an uppermost portion adapted to centrifuge the liquid, a discharge element connected to the uppermost portion of the casing means near the uppermost portion of the impeller means, an intake element connected to the lowermost portion of the casing means near the lowermost portion of the impeller means, a first discharge passage within the discharge element, the discharge passage sloping upward along a curved helical path, a second discharge passageway within the discharge element, the discharge passageway sloping upward from the lowermost portion of the discharge element to the exterior of the discharge element, at least one upwardly sloping intake opening in the intake element, whereby normal operation of the unit results in flow of a gas and liquid mixture through the intake opening into the chamber wherein the impeller means rotates to cause gas to separate from liquid and move toward the center of the chamber from whence the gas rises into and through the discharge passageway while the impeller means rotates to impart upwardly spiraling motion to the liquid causing it to flow from the uppermost portion of the impeller means along a flow path that is substantially in line with the spiral path of the first mentioned discharge passage so that the liquid flows with minimum change in flow direction into the discharge passage. 
     
     
       26. The unit of claim 25 wherein the casing means has opening means in its lowermost portion effective to increase the liquid throughput capacity characteristic of the unit. 
     
     
       27. The unit of claim 25 wherein the impeller means has a plurality of vanes each of which has an upper portion extending downwardly to a curved lower portion. 
     
     
       28. A liquid-gas separator unit comprising, in combination, a vertically oriented casing providing a cylindrical chamber, a discharge element connected to the upper end of the casing to provide a closure for the upper end of the chamber, said discharge element having gas and liquid outlets communicating with the chamber, an intake element connected to the lower end of the casing to provide a closure for the lower end of the chamber, an impeller within the chamber, said impeller including a plurality of vertically oriented vanes, said vanes being configured to define an upper impeller zone wherein the impeller vanes coact upon rotating to impell liquid away from the center of the chamber by centrifugal force, said vanes being configured to define a lower impeller zone wherein the impeller vanes coact upon rotating to impell liquid upward within the chamber, said discharge element including discharge channels that slope downwardly toward the impeller in respective curved paths. 
     
     
       29. The separator unit of claim 28 wherein the discharge channels include tapered segments that progressively increase in area with increasing distance from the impeller. 
     
     
       30. A separator unit, which may be utilized to separate gas from liquid, comprising, in combination, a vertically disposed casing forming a cylindrical chamber therein, a discharge plug connected to the upper end of the casing, an intake plug connected to the lower end of the casing, a shaft having portions that extend through the discharge plug and intake plug, an impeller secured to said shaft within said chamber between the discharge plug and intake plug, the impeller being rotatable to impell liquid through said chamber, the impeller including a lower portion adapted to impell liquid toward the discharge plug and including an upper portion adapted to impell liquid away from the center of the chamber, rotation of the impeller being effective to separate gas from liquid causing gas to move toward the center of the chamber from whence separated gas flows through a passage of the discharge plug, the liquid being impelled by the impeller into and through a passageway of the discharge plug. 
     
     
       31. The unit of claim 30 wherein the discharge plug includes a plurality of liquid conveying passageways that are symmetrically arranged to promote uniform liquid flow through the discharge plug. 
     
     
       32. The unit of claim 30 wherein the discharge plug includes a tubular upper portion that provides a chamber that opens upwardly and wherein the passageway communicates with the chamber. 
     
     
       33. A separator unit, that may be utilized to separate gas from liquid, comprising, in combination, a vertically disposed casing forming a cylindrical chamber therein; a discharge element connected with the upper end of the casing to provide a closure for the top end of the chamber, to provide a discharge passage for conducting separated liquid from the chamber, and to provide an exhaust passage for conducting separated gas from the chamber; an impeller disposed within the chamber and secured to a shaft that extends through the discharge element and through an intake element that is connected with the lower end of the casing to provide a closure for the bottom end of the chamber and to provide an inlet passage for admitting liquid and gas into the chamber, said impeller including a plurality of vertically oriented elongated vanes each of which has a vertically elongated segment that merges with a spiral segment that extends to the lower end of the vane. 
     
     
       34. The unit of claim 33 wherein the casing includes opening means providing communication between the chamber and the outside of the casing. 
     
     
       35. The unit of claim 33 wherein the casing includes multiple opening means for allowing flow of liquid through some of the opening means into the chamber and for allowing flow of liquid through some of the opening means out of the chamber. 
     
     
       36. The unit of claim 33 wherein the discharge element includes a central gas collection chamber that opens downward toward the impeller, the exhaust passage extending from the collection chamber with which it communicates to the outside of the unit. 
     
     
       37. The unit of claim 33 wherein the discharge passage curves upward from the lower end of the discharge element along a path that includes a spiral segment and communicates with an upper portion of the discharge element from whence liquid can be conveyed. 
     
     
       38. In a separator unit that can be used to separate gas from liquid, a discharge plug connected to the upper end of a separator unit casing to provide a closure for the top end of a chamber, the plug including a central vertical bore in which an impeller shaft is journalled, a downwardly opening gas collection chamber at the lower end of the plug, a gas conveying passage extending from the gas collection chamber upwardly to the outside of the plug, a liquid conveying passage provided on said plug which passage spirals upwardly to permit easy flow of upwardly spiralling liquid into and through the passage to the top end of the plug, and impeller means to impart spiral and upward movement of liquid, and separation of gas from said liquid, in said separator unit.