Method and apparatus for injecting stripping gas into the reboiler section of a glycol reboiler

摘要

A reboiler for dehydrating di- or tri- ethylene glycol comprises a cylindrical, horizontal axis tank having a ceramic packed still column rising from its top near one end and a single U shaped fire tube extending longitudinally from the front end of the tank interiorly thereof toward its back end. Wet glycol is admitted to the base of the still column above a half tray and overflows into a catch pipe which drains into the front end of the tank. Dry glycol is taken off through an outlet at the bottom rear of the tank. Dry gas is admitted to the reboiler through a sparging pipe extending longitudinally of the tank from near the back end of the fire tube and then over the outlet to near the back end of the tank. A box shaped trough extending under and about the pipe separates the glycol adjacent the sparging pipe from an in-tank reservoir located below the pipe formed by a divider plate located near the front end of the pipe. A sawtooth weir at the back end of the trough allows the glycol to overflow into the reservoir. The efficiency of the sparging gas is enhanced by a layer of packing sandwiched between upper and lower sheets of expanded metal extending horizontally in the trough. The sandwich is spaced above the sparger pipe and spaced below the level of the weir.