BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present application is generally directed to making pulp and is more specifically
directed to top separators for pulp digester systems including digesters, impregnation
vessels or other treatment vessels used in the processing of cellulosic material such
as the production of pulp.
[0002] Wood chips and other cellulosic fibrous material are treated in treatment vessels,
such as digester vessels and impregnation vessels. These treatment vessels can be
continuous or batch and contain a section near the top of the vessel where hot vapor
(such as steam) or other hot gaseous material is used to heat the cellulosic material
or wood chips entering the vessel, commonly referred to as vapor phase vessels (digesters)
or they can be hydraulically filled vessels where liquid is used to heat the cellulosic
material, commonly referred to as hydraulic vessels (digesters). In this application
the term "wood chips" refers to all cellulosic fibrous material and is not limited
to true "wood" based material. An impregnation vessel is typically used to infuse
liquids and chemicals into the fibers of wood chips. A digester vessel chemically
separates fibers in the chips and material by removing lignin. The chips after the
removal of lignin are referred to as pulp. In this application, impregnation and digester
vessels are both treatment vessels and either, or both, could use the top separator
described.
[0003] The wood chips are treated in a digester vessel with heat, liquid, and chemicals
to convert the chips to pulp. A continuous digester vessel is typically an upright
cylinder with an upper inlet to receive chips in a continuous flow. The chips flow
slowly through the digester vessel, 100 to 300 feet tall (30 to 100 meters) in a generally
downward direction. The digester vessel may be a hydraulic or vapor phase vessel.
[0004] The wood chips are typically transported, e.g., pumped or via another pressure transferring
means, to a treatment vessel in a slurry through conduits, e.g., pipes, which feed
the wood chips to the top of the treatment vessel. The liquid content of the slurry
used to transport the chips tends to be substantially higher than the necessary or
desired liquid content of the treatment vessel. Liquid is removed as the slurry enters
the treatment vessel. The removed liquid may be reintroduced to the wood chips being
transported to the treatment vessel. After removal of a portion of the liquid, the
slurry of wood chips and a reduced amount of liquid are discharged from the top separator
and move down through the treatment vessel.
[0005] A conventional screen basket for a top separator is formed by parallel bars separated
by narrow gaps. Conventional top separators are described in
US Patent (USP) 6,325,889;
USP 7,105,076;
USP 7,309,401 and
USP 7,658,818. The bars extend vertically and form a circular array of bars, wherein the circle
is a horizontal cross-section. The bars are held together by one or more horizontal
wires, horizontal metal rings or backing bars.
[0006] The gaps between the bars of a conventional top separator tend to become blocked
with fibers and other debris, such as rocks. As the gaps between the bars becomes
blocked, the volume of the liquid removed from the slurry is reduced and adversely
affects the overall operation of the treatment vessel. These adverse effects can include
reduced amount of liquid removed by the top separator, reduced availability of heat
energy that can be extracted from the liquid extracted by the top separator, a greater
requirement for externally supplied liquid to transport the wood chips to the treatment
vessel, and non-optimal treatment of the wood chips in the treatment vessel. There
is a long felt need for a screen basket for a top separator with reduced tendencies
for the slots in the screen basket becoming blocked or clogged.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0007] A novel screen basket has been developed comprising a solid screen plate, rolled
to form a basket, the plate having openings in the plate of slanted slots having curved
or chamfered inlet edges to minimize chips begin caught on the edges and to deflect
chips into the wood mass. The curved or chamfered inlet slot edges are adjacent the
inside surface of the screen plate and face the wood chip or pulp flow. Note that
the inlet slot edges, although often simply described as "curved or chamfered" throughout
the present specification, may in fact be at least one of curved, rounded, sloped,
chamfered, or inclined. For example, inlets may have a generous radius of curvature
equal to one third to two thirds the thickness of the plate. The curved or chamfered
inlets may be only on the lower side surface of a slot or on the upper and lower slot
side surfaces. A curved or chamfered inlet only on the lower side surface is suitable
for a continuous digester in which the wood chip or pulp flow is generally downward
and chips tend to impinge on the inlet edge of the lower sides of slots. Curved or
chamfered inlets on both the upper and lower side surfaces of slots are suitable for
both continuous and batch digesters. In addition, the lower side surface of the slot
may be horizontal in cross-section or be inclined upward from the inside surface of
the plate to the outer surface. Such a horizontal or upwardly inclined lower slot
surface tends to deflect chips in the slot out of the slot and into the pulp stream.
[0008] The present invention provides a screen basket for a top separator for a cellulosic
material treatment vessel, the screen basket comprising: a cylindrical plate having
a vertical joint connecting opposite edges of the plate, and rows of slots extending
through the plate, wherein each slot has a curved or chamfered inlet corner edge adjacent
an inside surface of the plate and each slot is oblique to a vertical axis of the
basket. The curved or chamfered corner inlet slot edge may be at least one of curved,
rounded, chamfered, sloped or inclined. The curved inlet corner edge may have a radius
of curvature in a range of one third to two thirds a thickness of the plate. The curved
or chamfered corner edge may be only at one of a lower edge or upper edge of each
slot.
[0009] The slots may be each offset along an axis from the inside surface to an outside
surface of the plate by an angle of between 5 degrees to 45 degrees, or 5 degrees
to 30 degrees, or 5 degrees to 15 degrees or any variant therein. The slots may be
oblique to the vertical axis at an angle of 1 degree to 75 degrees, or 30 degrees
to 60 degrees, or preferably 40 degrees to 50 degrees or 45 degrees. The rows of slots
may be uniform in height and orientation of the slots or the slots in each row may
be uniform in shape and dimensions, while the dimensions of the slots differ from
row to row.
[0010] A method has been conceived for extracting a liquid from a top separator of a treatment
vessel, the method comprising: feeding a slurry of cellulosic material and a liquid
in the top separator screen basket of a vessel, wherein the slurry of cellulosic material
and liquid flows into the screen basket; extracting a portion of the liquid in the
slurry of cellulosic material and liquid through a screen basket assembly, wherein
the screen basket is formed of a screen basket plate within the top separator and
is formed around a conveyor screw device, and the screen basket plate includes slots
having curved or chamfered inlet corner edges adjacent an inside surface of the screen
basket plate and facing a flow of slurry of cellulosic material and liquid, and deflecting
cellulosic material flowing through the top separator with the curved or chamfered
inlet corner edges to avoid the material from becoming caught in the slots of the
screen basket.
[0011] A top separator has been conceived for use in a treatment vessel comprising: a rolled
plate formed into a cylindrical screen; rows of diagonal slots formed in the plate
and oriented horizontally; a single welded joint extending vertically between abutting
edges of the plate; a conveyor screw within the cylindrical screen, wherein a gap
between an outer edge of the screw and an interior surface of the cylindrical screen
is no greater than thirty thousandths of an inch, preferably no greater than ten thousandths
of an inch; a housing supporting the cylindrical screen and forming a liquid chamber
between the housing and screen, and a vertical shaft supporting the screw and extending
vertically through the cylindrical screen.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0012] FIGURE 1 is a front view of a conventional continuous digester shown schematically
and partially cut away.
[0013] FIGURE 2 is a front view, of a conventional top separator, shown in cross-section
of the digester shown schematically in Figure 1.
[0014] FIGURE 3 is a front view of a novel screen basket for the top separator, showing
the screen basket in cross-section.
[0015] FIGURES 4, 5 and 6 show the interior surface of a portion of the novel screen basket,
the portion of the basket in cross-section, and the outer surface of the portion of
the screen basket, respectively.
[0016] FIGURE 7 shows a cross-section of a slot in the novel screen basket.
[0017] FIGURE 8 shows a cross-section of an alternative slot for the novel screen basket.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0018] FIGURE 1 is a side view of a continuous vertical digester vessel 10 for processing
wood chips into pulp. Though a vertical continuous digester is shown, the screen basket
and screen slots described herein are applicable to other types of digesters, impregnation
or other treatment vessels. The digester shown in FIGURE 1 is typically referred to
as a vapor phase digester. It is understood by one skilled in the art that a top separator
(as described in this invention) is and can be used in both vapor phase any hydraulic
phase treatment vessels, treatment vessels such as impregnation vessels or digesters
or even in systems where the separator is located outside of the treatment vessel
such as described in
US 5,413,677. The digester vessel 10 may comprise a cylindrical wall 12 that typically forms a
column of, for example, 100 feet (30 meters) tall. The top and bottom of the digester
vessel are capped. A top separator 14 may be mounted to the top cap 16 of the vessel.
A discharge outlet 18 may be mounted to the bottom cap 20.
[0019] The wood chips 21 enter the digester vessel as a slurry through the top separator
14. The slurry is formed of wood chips and liquid such as cooking chemicals and water
(many times referred to as liquor). The slurry flows to the top separator through
a conduit 22, which may be coupled to pumps, high pressure feeders, a chip supply
bin or pretreatment vessel. The slurry flowing into the inlet of the top separator
14 has a liquor to chip ratio that is high relative to the desired ratio of liquor
to chips for the process preformed in the digester vessel. The top separator extracts
liquor from the slurry entering the treatment vessel. The extracted liquor flows through
an outlet conduit 24 and may be added to inlet conduit 22 feeding the slurry to the
top separator.
[0020] Wood chips 21 are continually added to a continuous treatment vessel while the chips
already in the treatment vessel are processed and pulp 26 is discharged from the bottom
of the vessel. Heat energy and pressure may be added to the vessel such as by injecting
steam 28 into the top of the vessel. As the chips and liquid cooking chemicals move
down through the treatment vessel, heat, pressure and chemical reactions within the
vessel dissolve or breakdown the lignin binding fibers together in the chips. The
removal of the lignin releases the fibers from being bound within the chips and converts
the chips to pulp.
[0021] The chips may form a pile (dotted line 23 represents the top of the pile) in the
vessel that is at least partially immersed in the liquid of cooking chemicals, generally
referred to as cooking liquor (see dotted line 25 representing liquid surface). In
a vapor phase vessel 10, a vapor filled region may be in the upper portion of the
vessel that is above the chip pile and surface of the cooking liquor. In a hydraulic
vessel, the liquor may fill the vessel such that there is no vapor filled area in
the vessel.
[0022] Screen assemblies 18 may be at one or more elevations in the digester vessel 10.
The screen assemblies are conventionally formed of screen plates 30 in an annular
array and mounted to the wall of the vessel. Each screen plate is typically a rectangular
metal plate having a slight arch to conform to the curvature of the cylindrical vessel.
Slots in the screen plates may be vertical or slanted. Cooking liquor is extracted
from the wood chips in the vessel through the slots of the screen plates. The fibrous
pulp 26 and remaining spent cooking liquor is discharged as pulp from the outlet 18
at the bottom 20 of the digester vessel.
[0023] The wood chips enter bottom or top of the top separator 14 depending on whether the
separator is inverted. An inverted top separator, such as shown in Figures 1 and 2,
may be used in a vapor phase digester vessel. As the slurry of chip enter the top
separator, a screw conveyor 32 moves the chips through the separator. The screw conveyor
may be driven turned by a gear and motor arrangement 34 coupled by a vertical shaft
35 (Fig. 2) for the screw conveyor. A screen basket 36 forms a cylindrical wall around
the outer edges of the screw conveyor. The screen basket has slots to allow liquor
from the slurry to flow into an annular chamber 38 and flow into the liquor outlet
conduit 24. As the wood chips move through the separator, the chips are discharged
(see arrows 40) from the top separator and flow down to the chip pile 23 in the vessel
10.
[0024] FIGURE 2 is a schematic diagram of the top separator 14, showing the screen basket
36 in cross-section. The screen basket 36 includes a cylindrical shell. A support
structure for the basket may include a cylindrical housing 42 that mounts to the top
cap 16 of the digester vessel and supports the screen basket. The housing 42 may also
define the chamber 38 for liquor extracted through the screen basket.
[0025] The screen basket has cylindrical inner wall that is adjacent the outer edges 44
of the screw conveyor. The gap 46 between the edges 44 of the screw conveyor and the
wall of the screen basket narrow, such as less than thirty thousandths of an inch.
Due to the narrow gap 46 and the rotation of the screw, the edges of the screw move
across the surface of the inner wall of the screen basket. The screen basket may have
structural rigidity and be built to tight tolerances to ensure that gap 46 remains
constant as the edges 44 of the conveyor swipe across the interior surface of the
screen basket.
[0026] FIGURE 3 is a side view of an exemplary screen basket 36 which is a metal plate formed
into a cylindrical shell. The screen basket may have a diameter of 36 to 96 inches
and a vertical length of 48 to 120 inches. These dimensions are exemplary.
[0027] Slots 48 extend through the plate of the screen basket and are sized to allow liquor
to pass and block fibers and the wood chips. The slots are slanted with respect to
vertical and horizontal orientations. The slots are arranged in rows 50 that may be
horizontal rows extending completely around the cylinder of the screen basket.
[0028] The screen basket 36 may be formed of a metal plate rolled to form a cylinder, wherein
the edges of the plate are welded along a vertical joint 51. Rather than a metal material,
the screen basket may be formed of another material suitable for use in a treatment
vessel which typically houses an environment having acidic and alkaline chemicals.
Due to the narrow diameter of the screen basket and the proximity of the screw conveyor,
the thickness of the plate forming the screen basket will tend to be thicker than
the thickness of screen plates 30 used elsewhere in the treatment vessel such as extraction
screens within a digester vessel as shown in Figure 1. The relatively greater thickness
and single vertical weld of the screen basket assists in minimizing damage to the
interior surface of the screen basket due to continuous mechanical action of the conveyor
screw device.
[0029] The screen basket differs in several respects from a conventional screen plate 30
mounted to the sidewall of a digester vessel in that the screen basket of this invention
(used for example in the top separator of a treatment vessel) requires substantial
structural rigidity in view of the narrow gap 46 and the proximity of the edges of
the screw conveyor. Further, the screen basket may be formed of a single metal plate
rolled into a cylinder, whereas a screen plate 30 is assembled with other plates to
form the screen assembly. Each plate 30 need have a relatively small arc which conforms
to the wall of the vessel. Because of the close tolerances of the gap between the
conveyor screw device and the screen basket surface, the screen basket may be formed
as a precision piece having narrow machining tolerances.
[0030] The slots 48 may be arranged in rows 50 on the screen basket. Each slot may have,
for example, a length of three (3) to fourteen (14) inches (8 mm to 36 mm). The vertical
height of each row 50 may be 2 to 10 inches (5 mm to 25 mm). The number of slots in
each row is dependent on the circumference of the screen basket. The number of slots
in each row and the dimensions, e.g., vertical height, each row may be uniform in
the screen basket or vary from row to row. Within any row 50, the slots sizes (slot
width, relief angle and diagonal angle relative to the horizontal) may remain constant
from slot to slot. The slot size (slot width, relief angle and diagonal angle relative
to the horizontal) may vary from row to row. The number of rows may depend on the
desired open area in the screen basket to allow for the desired flow of liquor extracted
from the chip slurry in the top separator.
[0031] To help support the screen basket, rows of horizontal rings 52, ribs or other stiffeners
may be attach to the basket at the horizontal solid ring region between the rows of
slots in the basket. Flanges 54, 56 at the top and bottom of the screen basket provided
supports for mounting the screen basket to the housing 42 and the top cap of the digester
or treatment vessel. The flanges may be metal rings that hold the top and bottom of
the screen plate in a cylindrical shape.
[0032] FIGURES 4 to 7 show screen basket in detail. Figure 4 shows an outer surface 60 of
a portion of the screen basket. Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view of the screen basket
taken along lines 5-5 shown in Figure 3. Figure 6 shows an interior surface 62 of
the screen basket. Figure 7 is a cross-section al view of the screen basket taken
along lines 7-7 in Figure 4.
[0033] The slots 48 in the rows 50 of slots in the screen basket are configured to minimize
the clogging of cellulosic material in the screens. Each slot may have a width (throat)
of 3 to 9 mm and a length of 25 to 100 mm. The slots may be wide at the outer surface
60 of the screen basket and narrow to the interior surface 62. The slots may taper
from the inside to outer surfaces of the basket at relief angle 63 of 5° to 45°, or
5° to 30°, or 5° to 15° or any variant therein. Further, the slots may be offset such
that the opening 64 of each slot is axially offset from the exit 66. The offset may
be generally aligned with the swiping motion of the edges of the conveyor screw. This
offset is selected to enhance the effect of pumping the liquor through the slots due
to the swiping motion of the conveyor screw. The offset may orient the axis of the
slot at an angle, e.g., 10 to 25 degrees, or 15 degrees. The offset is opposite to
the swiping direction of the edges of the screw conveyor. The offset reduces the tendency
of fibers entering the slots by pointing the axis of the slot away from the direction
of chip flow through the top separator. Similarly, the slots 48 may be oriented at
an angle 68 of 45 degrees or in a range of 40 to 50 degrees or zero (vertical) to
75 degrees. The angle of the slots may be arranged to slant the slots in the opposite
direction as the rotation of the screw conveyor.
[0034] FIGURE 8 shows in cross-section another exemplary slot 70 in a screen basket for
a top separator, wherein the slot has an edge 72 at the inlet opening 74 which is
at least one of curved, rounded, chamfered, sloped or inclined. The slot extends through
the plate 76 of the screen basket. The thickness (T) of the plate may be 9 to 10 mm,
8 to 11 mm or 7 to 12 mm. The throat (x), which is the narrowest portion of the slot,
may have a width of 3mm to 8mm, such as 6mm.
[0035] The slot may expand from the inlet opening 74 to the outlet opening 90 at a relief
angle (β) of 15 to 45 degrees, such as 30 degrees. The axis (see flow arrow 80) of
the slot may be offset in a direction opposite to the movement (see arrow 82) of the
edges of the screw conveyor. The offset may be at an angle such as 30 degrees formed
by the angle (ω) of one of the sides slot and one-half the relief angle for the slot.
[0036] The upper and lower edges of the slots may be curved, e.g., uniform radius of curvature,
or chamfered. Avoiding sharp angles in the slots reduces the tendency of fibers being
cut or caught at the edges of the slots. The edges of the slots at the opening 74
may be curved, rounded, chamfered, sloped or inclined. For example, the openings 74
may have a generous radius of curvature equal to one third to two thirds the thickness
of the plate.
[0037] The curved or chamfered edge 72 may be only on the side of a slot facing the direction
of movement 82 of the edges of the screw conveyor. For a top separator having an upper
inlet, the slots may have a curved or chamfered edge at the lower edge of the slot
opening. For an inverted top separator, the curved or chamfered edge may be at the
upper edge of the slot openings. The curved or chamfered edge 72 is less susceptible
to catching fibers (cellulosic material) in the slurry flowing through the top separator.
The curved or chamfered inlet on the slot tends to deflect cellulosic material into
the flow and away from the slot. The curvature of the slot inlet may be defined by
a radius of the curvature. The radius may be, for example, one-third to two-third
of the thickness of the plate.
[0038] While the invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered
to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that the
invention is not to be limited to the disclosed embodiment, but on the contrary, is
intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within
the scope of the appended claims.
1. A screen basket (36) for a top separator (14) for a cellulosic material treatment
vessel (10), the screen basket (36) comprising:
a plate formed into a cylinder and having a vertical joint (51) connecting opposite
edges of the plate, and
rows (50) of slots (48, 70) extending through the plate, wherein each slot (48, 70)
has an inlet corner edge (72) adjacent an inside surface (62) of the plate, which
inlet corner edge (72) is at least one of curved, rounded, chamfered, sloped or inclined,
and each slot (48, 70) is oblique to a vertical axis of the basket (36).
2. The screen basket (36) of claim 1, wherein the inlet corner edge (72) has a radius
of curvature in a range of one third to two thirds a thickness of the plate.
3. The screen basket (36) of claim 1 or 2, wherein the inlet corner edge (72) which is
at least one of curved, rounded, chamfered, sloped or inclined is only at a lower
edge of each slot (48, 70).
4. The screen basket (36) of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the slots (48, 70) are
each offset along an axis from the inside surface (62) to an outside surface (60)
of the plate by an angle of between 5 degrees and 45 degrees.
5. The screen basket (36) of any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the inlet corner edge
(72) which is at least one of curved, rounded, chamfered, sloped or inclined is limited
to an upper corner edge or a lower corner edge.
6. The screen basket (36) of any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the slots (48, 70) are
oblique to the vertical axis at an angle of 1 degree to 75 degrees.
7. The screen basket (36) of any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the rows (50) of slots
(48, 70) are uniform in height and orientation of the slots (48).
8. The screen basket (36) of any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the slots (48, 70) in
each row (50) are uniform in shape and dimensions, and the dimensions of the slots
(48, 70) differ from row (50) to row (50).
9. A method for extracting a liquid from a top separator (14) of a treatment vessel (10),
the method comprising:
feeding a slurry of cellulosic material and a liquid in the top separator screen basket
(36) of a vessel (10), wherein the slurry of cellulosic material and liquid flows
into the screen basket (36);
extracting a portion of the liquid in the slurry of cellulosic material and liquid
through a screen basket assembly, wherein the screen basket (36) is formed of a screen
basket plate within the top separator (14) and is formed around a conveyor screw device,
and the screen basket plate includes slots (48, 70) having inlet corner edges (72)
adjacent an inside surface of the screen basket plate (62), which inlet corner edges
(72) are at least one of curved, rounded, chamfered, sloped or inclined, and facing
a flow of slurry of cellulosic material and liquid, and
deflecting cellulosic material flowing through the top separator (14) with the curved
or chamfered inlet corner edges (72) to avoid the material become caught in the slots
(48, 70) of the screen basket (36).
10. A top separator (14) for use in a treatment vessel (10) comprising:
a rolled plate formed into a cylindrical screen basket (36);
rows (50) of diagonal slots (48, 70) formed in the plate and oriented horizontally,
wherein each slot (48, 70) has an inlet corner edge (72) adjacent an inside surface
(62) of the screen basket (36), which inlet corner edge (72) is at least one of curved,
rounded, chamfered, sloped or inclined;
a single welded joint (51) extending vertically between abutting edges of the plate;
a conveyor screw (32) within the cylindrical screen basket (36), wherein a gap (46)
between an outer edge of the screw (32) and an interior surface (62) of the cylindrical
screen basket (36) is no greater than thirty thousandths of an inch, preferably no
greater than ten thousandths of an inch;
a housing supporting the cylindrical screen basket (36) and forming a liquid chamber
between the housing and screen basket (36),
and
a vertical shaft (35) supporting the screw (32) and extending vertically through the
cylindrical screen basket (36).
11. The top separator (14) of claim 10, in which the screen basket (36) is constructed
in accordance with any one of claims 1 to 8.