Casing for a gas/liquid separation column

{
  "publication_number": "US12357960B2",
  "country": "US",
  "kind": "B2",
  "title": "Casing for a gas/liquid separation column",
  "abstract": "A casing intended to be equipped with at least one section of packing for a gas/liquid separation column includes at least a tubular wall extending along a longitudinal direction between two longitudinal ends and an internal face of which contributes to delimiting a housing for the section of packing, the tubular wall contributing to delimiting, at one of its longitudinal ends, an entry opening, the casing including an end wall located at the opposite longitudinal end to the entry opening, the casing including at least a first hooping device and at least a second hooping device which are positioned around the tubular wall of the casing in contact with an external face of the tubular wall, the first hooping device including at least one zone of connection with a movement system for the moving of the casing, the second hooping device having a longitudinal dimension shorter than a longitudinal dimension of the first hooping device.",
  "claims": [
    "1. A casing configured to be equipped with at least one section of packing for a gas/liquid separation column, the casing comprising: at least a tubular wall extending along a longitudinal direction between two longitudinal ends and an internal face of which contributes to delimiting a housing for the section of packing, the tubular wall contributing to delimiting, at one of its longitudinal ends, an entry opening; an end wall located at the opposite longitudinal end to the entry opening, a first hooping device and a second hooping device which are positioned annularly around the tubular wall of the casing in contact with an external face of the tubular wall, the first hooping device comprising at least one zone of connection with a movement system for the moving of the casing, the second hooping device having a longitudinal dimension shorter than a longitudinal dimension of the first hooping device.",
    "2. The casing according to claim 1, wherein the longitudinal dimension of the at least one second hooping device is smaller by at least a factor of two than the corresponding longitudinal dimension of the first hooping device.",
    "3. The casing according to claim 1, wherein the tubular wall is formed of several wall portions arranged one after the other in the longitudinal direction, at least two successive wall portions between them forming a contact zone, one of the second hooping devices being positioned around this contact zone.",
    "4. The casing according to claim 1, wherein one of the second hooping devices is installed at least in the vicinity of the entry opening of the casing.",
    "5. The casing according to claim 1, wherein an internal face of one and/or the other of the hooping devices can be inscribed inside a circle of diameter greater than the diameter of the circle inside which the external face of the tubular wall can be inscribed.",
    "6. The casing according to claim 1, wherein the first hooping device comprises two low radial walls connected to one another by a central strip, the low radial walls projecting radially from the central strip towards the outside of the casing.",
    "7. The casing according to claim 1, wherein one and/or the other of the hooping devices comprises several parts securely joined to one another by a clamping device, the two parts being able to move between a position in which the hooping device is open, in which position the two parts are separated from one another, and a position in which the hooping device is closed, in which position the two parts encircle the casing at least partly in contact with the tubular wall of the casing.",
    "8. The casing according to claim 1, comprising several first hooping devices and several second hooping devices installed in an alternating sequence longitudinally one after the other.",
    "9. A method for installing a section of packing for a gas/liquid separation column into a casing according to claim 1, the method comprising the step of: mounting the first hooping device and/or the second hooping device; and installing the section of packing in the housing of the casing, which step is performed after the step of mounting the first hooping device and/or the second hooping device.",
    "10. The method for installing a section of packing as claimed in claim 9, wherein the casing extends vertically during the step of mounting the first hooping device and/or the second hooping device, and wherein the casing extends horizontally during the step of installing the section of packing."
  ],
  "description_excerpt": "The present invention relates to the field of gas/liquid separation columns, and to their assembly, and it concerns more particularly a process for installing a section of packing in a casing in order to form these said gas/liquid separation columns.\n\nGas/liquid separation columns have been known for many years and can be used, for example, to separate different chemical elements present in the composition of a homogeneous fluid, for example by distillation or by absorption.\n\nManufacturing a gas/liquid separation column comprises, in particular, a step of inserting a plurality of packing sections into a casing. The packing sections are used in columns in particular to ensure the exchange of material and heat between a rising gas and a falling liquid. These packing sections, which consist, in particular, of several superposed corrugated strips, are often referred to as “packs”. The packing sections are conventionally stacked on each other, possibly with interposed separators, in order to help separate the components of the fluid along the axial dimension of the column.\n\nIt is known to proceed with the insertion of the sections of packing into a casing which is kept vertical, with the force of gravity greatly facilitating the progression of the section of packing inserted into the casing. However, such a method can prove restrictive when the gas/liquid separation columns to be assembled have a large diameter and an axial dimension that requires the use of long casings of the order of several tens of metres in length.",
  "cpc": [
    "B01J 19/325",
    "B01D 3/00",
    "B01D 53/18",
    "B01J 19/0053",
    "B01J 19/006",
    "B01J 2208/00884",
    "B01J 2219/00765",
    "B01J 2219/1943",
    "B01J 8/0015",
    "F16B 2/10"
  ],
  "ipc": [
    "B01J 19/32"
  ],
  "assignees": [
    "LAir Liquide SA pour lEtude et lExploitation des Procedes Georges Claude"
  ],
  "inventors": [
    "Vincent FAUCHER",
    "Manuel DOS REIS",
    "Vincent MARET",
    "Luis TORBADO",
    "Alain APPEL",
    "Eric BIRET",
    "Laurent Leclerc"
  ],
  "filing_date": "2023-01-27",
  "publication_date": "2025-07-15",
  "grant_date": "2025-07-15",
  "priority_date": "2022-02-01",
  "application_number": "US-202318102261-A",
  "family_id": "81448278",
  "cited_by_count": 0,
  "citations": [
    "US225268A",
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    "US2685964A",
    "US973503A",
    "US975679A",
    "US964585A",
    "US2761707A",
    "US3064955A",
    "FR1345040A",
    "US3193129A",
    "US5560656A",
    "US20140131349A1",
    "US20140348619A1"
  ]
}