REVERSE FLOW REACTOR

摘要

A reactor is used to cool and/or humidify gases produced by combustion or other industrial process. The reactor has a chamber with an inlet at a lower end thereof to receive a flow of gas, and an outlet at a upper end thereof. The gas flows in a generally upward direction through the reactor. The horizontal cross-section of the chamber increases with height such that the flow velocity of the gas decreases as it flows upwardly in the chamber. The reactor includes at least one spray device for injecting water droplets into the upper region of the chamber, counter to the gas flow. As the water droplets fall, they gradually evaporate and lose mass and encounter a counterflow of increasingly higher velocity and temperature until the force of the upwardly flowing gas is sufficient to reverse their flow and carry them in an upward direction. The droplets continue to evaporate while rising until complete evaporation occurs at the top of the chamber where the velocity is lowest. The gas temperature is thereby reduced, and the moisture content of the gas is increased.