| 摘要 |
1473654 Cyclone separator RANKS HOVIS McDOUGALL Ltd 21 Aug 1974 [22 Aug 1973] 39765/73 Heading B2P [Also in Division C6] In a liquid or liquid slurry/gas separator, the liquid or slurry outlet is equipped with aseptic lock means and means for preventing the passage of separated gas through the outlet. The separator may be connected to a continuous aseptic aerobic fermenter for separating air and culture broth in the output of the fermenter without allowing contaminating micro-organisms to penetrate back into the fermenter. The separator may be of the cyclone type having a tangential inlet 2, a separation chamber 4 provided with a gas outlet 6 and a settling chamber 8 with a liquid outlet 10. The outlet 10 is connected to a pipe 28 incorporating a valve 14 operated by one or more liquid level sensing probes 12, e.g. of the gamma radiation type, to prevent gas from passing through the outlet 10 by maintaining a predetermined minimum level of separated liquid above the outlet 10. The liquid may be intermittently or continuously discharged. The liquid outlet pipe 28 opens into a bell-shaped housing 32 to which steam is supplied to provide an aseptic lock. At the beginning of an operation, the outlet of the housing may be closed by a releasable cover 36 and the valve 14 opened enabling steam to be fed through outlet 10 for sterilizing the separator. Sterile water may be introduced through a sparger 26 to wash down solids from the walls of the cyclone. The gas outlet 6 is connected to a pipe 16, 20 which incorporates a pressure reduction valve 18 and a heating device in the form of a steam jacket 22, as shown, or an injector for direct injection of steam to prevent back growth of micro-organisms.
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