APPARATUS FOR THE SELF-CLEANING OF PROCESS TUBES

摘要

Periodic self-cleaning apparatus of use in combination with a process tube which receives a process fluid therethrough such as a tubular reactor to form a looped system having a launching and receiving chamber for a cleaning device or pig which is propelled periodically through the tube by the motive force of the fluid to clean the tube without disrupting the continuous unidirectional flow of the fluid. The pig need not be spherical and extraneous fluid pumps are not needed.