MX2008009375A - Distillation tower baffle - Google Patents

Abstract

An improved de-entrainment device for use in distillation towers, especially vacuum distillation towers used for fractionating petroleum atmospheric resids comprises a baffle which is to be located in the portion of the tower below the feed zone and at the top of the flash zone. The baffle is in the form of an apertured plate above the stripping zone and in its preferred form comprisesnumber of radial fins or blades (13), resembling a static fan with openings between the fins to permit vapors from the lower portions of the tower to pass upwards through the baffle with a minimal pressure drop. The fins (fins) of the baffle are preferably oriented at an angle between 30°and 60°away from the incoming feed so that the incoming feed stream skims over the top edges of the fins (13).

Description

DISTILLATION TOWER DEFLECTOR FIELD OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to a deflector for use in a distillation tower used to separate liquids in fractions of boiling points. Particularly it is applicable to vacuum distillation towers used for the fractional distillation of petroleum liquids but it can also be used in towers and units of other types where the re-entrainment of a separate component of incoming feed liquid presents problems, typically in atmospheric towers and fractionators in other applications.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Separation units, such as atmospheric distillation units, vacuum distillation units and product treatment plants, are major processing units in an oil refinery or petrochemical plant. The atmospheric and vacuum distillation units are used to separate crude oil into fractions in accordance with the boiling point for downstream processing units that require feed materials that meet particular specifications. In the initial fractional distillation of crude oil, higher efficiencies and lower costs are achieved if the separation of crude oil is achieved in two stages: the first, the total crude oil is fractionated into an essentially atmospheric pressure, and second, a stream of high boiling hydrocarbon residues (the atmospheric residue) is fed from the atmospheric distillation unit to a second distillation unit operating at a pressure below atmospheric, referred to as a vacuum distillation tower. The reduced pressure in the vacuum tower allows the unit to separate the waste fraction of the atmospheric tower into fractions at a lower temperature to avoid the thermally induced catalytic disintegration of the feed. The vacuum distillation unit typically separates the waste stream coming from the atmospheric unit into several gas oil streams which can be categorized according to the needs of the refinery such as light vacuum gas oil, heavy vacuum gas oil or distillate to the vacuum The residual or non-distillable waste fraction leaves the vacuum distillation unit as a stream of liquid waste. Additional information regarding the use of distillation in petroleum refining will be found in Petroleum Refining Technology and Economics, Gary, J. H. and Handwerk, G. E., p. 31-51, Marcel Dekker, Inc. (1975), ISBN 0-8247-7150-8 as well as Modern Petroleum Technology, 4 Ed., Hobson Applied Science Publishers, 1973, ISBN 0-8533-4487-6 and numerous other works . In atmospheric or vacuum distillation, lighter hydrocarbons are vaporized and separated from relatively heavier hydrocarbons. Although heavier hydrocarbons may not be vaporized, they can be transported in hydrocarbons due to entrainment. This is particularly the case within many commercial designs of vacuum towers in which the two-phase feed stream in the tower is generally under turbulent conditions so that separate waste droplets are easily entrained in the vapors being discharged of the incoming feed stream. The drag is undesirable due first to the presence of high boiling point or undesirable fractions may be unwanted due to their physical properties, for example, viscosity, and second, due to heavier hydrocarbons entrained are typically contaminated with metal-containing compounds such as a vanadium or nickel compound, which can contaminate the catalysts used in downstream processing. While some metal contaminants enter the lighter fractions by vaporization, the reduction of entrainment is a more effective method to reduce metal contamination since they are the heavier fractions in which these pollutants are concentrated. For this reason, the present invention can be applied to fractional distillation or distillation towers independently of the operating pressure if the construction of the towers or their operating standards have led to re-entrainment problems; it can be applied to atmospheric towers, vacuum towers and high pressure towers or any unit in which reduction of re-entrainment is desirable. The distillation towers often use several tangential entry devices to impart centrifugal force to the two-phase feed entering the tower. The droplets that are not captured in the feeding zone are entrained with ascending vapors from the discharge zone immediately below the feeding zone and pass to the washing area over the feeding zone. If the scrubber trays are placed in the lower part of the discharge zone, the turbulent feed vortex will tend to drag the residue from the upper tray of the scrubber and increase the degree of liquid capture, depending, in part, on the deformation force of the supply vapors on the liquid / frothy surface of the liquid tank in the tray. Several stages have been used or previously proposed to reduce drag in vacuum distillation. Solid separators or wire mesh pads can be installed at a certain point between the discharge area and a liquid extraction point. The solids separator or wire mesh pads however, may not be completely satisfactory because they may have a tendency to clog with crude oil and other material, have a tendency to be corrosive, with holes resulting from corrosion or they are simply effective in reducing drag. Methods other than solid separator pads have also met with only limited success in many applications. Conventional bubble-ring trays over the discharge area can cause steam to pass through the liquid onto the bubble-bell tray, thereby allowing the vapor to re-entrain liquid droplets in addition to creating a pressure drop. which may be excessive, particularly in a vacuum tower in which the total pressure drop of the tower (upper to lower) should be kept as low as possible. Chimney trays that have a number of risers attached to a plate that has holes, with a baffle attached to the top of each riser have also been used. Chimney trays are available that use two changes of direction in the steam / liquid flow to improve the liquid / vapor separation have a lower pressure drop than the bubble bells although they may not yet be completely effective in reducing drag. U.S. Patent Nos. 4,698,138 (Silvey) and 5,972,171 (Ross) describe de-entrainment trays for vacuum towers that rely on elevators to effect improved liquid / vapor separation. Another type of skidding device which has been used in several applications has taken the form of a conical baffle with vertical sides that sit on a large diameter elevator located at the top of the scrubber section of the tower. empty. While this device has been effective, it is relatively large and may not be suitable for installation in existing units that do not have adequate vertical tolerances. An additional problem can be found in vacuum towers used for oil distillation. The waste stream from the atmospheric tower is passed to the discharge area of the vacuum tower where a portion of the stream vaporizes and travels to the rectification or washing section in the upper portion of the tower. The liquid portion (non-vaporized) of the feed falls on the trays in the area of the scrubber in the lower position of the tower and a foam can be stirred by the rising steam stream of the lower scrubber zone as well as the feed stream turbulent incoming; the liquid elements of the foam can then be collected and dragged by the ascending vapors and transported with the lighter fractions in the upper portion of the tower. There is therefore a need to visualize an improved device for reducing the degree of re-entrainment of separated liquids in the steam stream of a distillation tower or column, particularly in vacuum and atmospheric distillation columns between the discharge zone and the scrubber zone. The improved device at the same time, should cause an appropriate minimum pressure drop to be used in vacuum distillation units.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides an improved device for distillation towers or columns that effectively reduces the extent to which separated liquids re-entrain in the vapor streams in the columns. The device is particularly suitable for use in towers having a feed inlet located on a zone containing liquid separated from the feed and whose entrainment will be reduced to the viable degree. The device is specifically adapted for use in vacuum distillation towers used for fractional distillation of atmospheric petroleum residues. In this application, it has the ability to reduce the drag of the liquid waste fraction in the vapor stream while, at the same time, occupying a smaller volume of the tower when compared to known types of re-entrainment device. Its simplicity of construction also makes it economical to build and install as well as provides the possibility of trouble-free operation. It can be applied to towers or columns regardless of the type of feeding device and many more applied with tangential and radial devices although in its preferred form described in the following, it is of special utility with tangential feed inputs. According to the present invention, the distillation tower has a lower purification zone, upper rectification zone, and a discharge zone between the purification zone and the rectification zone. An intake for the feed to be distilled is located between the purification zone and the rectification zone, normally in and to the top of the discharge zone. An inlet for a scrubbing medium, usually steam, is located in the lower part of the scrubbing zone so that the scrubbing medium passes through the scrubbing zone to remove the more volatile components of the high-point residual material. boiling that enters the purification zone from the discharge zone on it. To reduce the degree of re-entrainment of waste material from the debugging zone in the vapor stream ascending through the discharge zone in the rectification zone, a re-entrainment reduction device is provided in the upper part of the purification zone in the form of a baffle that allows the upward passage of steam from the purification zone but inhibits the downward flow of steam from the discharge zone to the purification zone. This baffle can be in the form of a plate with simple openings or it can have the shape of a baffle manufactured with passages for the ascending steam flow defined by the upwardly directed vapor flow passages, for example, in the form of a baffle "box of eggs ". In its most preferred form, the re-entrainment reduction device takes the form of a radially spliced baffle which is located in the portion of the tower under the feed zone. The deflector is in the form of a number of radial fins or vanes, which look like a static fan with openings between the fins to allow vapors from the purification zone in the lower portion of the tower to pass upwardly through the deflector with a drop of minimum pressure. The flaps of the deflector are preferably oriented so that the incoming feed stream passes by brushing the upper surfaces or edges of the fins but can be oriented at any angle with respect to the deflector plane, as described in the following. It is an aspect of the present invention to provide a de-entrainment baffle for its location in a distillation tower having a feed zone, a discharge zone and a wash zone. The baffle includes a plurality of radial fins with openings between the fins to allow the upward passage of vapors from the portion of the tower under the baffle. Each fin is angled with respect to a plane passing through a central axis of the deflector so that an upper edge of the fin moves with respect to the lower edge in the flow direction of the incoming feed towards the tower . PreferablyEach fin is inclined angularly with respect to the plane passing through the central axis of the deflector so that the upper edge of the fin moves with respect to the lower edge in the flow direction of the incoming feed towards the tower. An angle from 0o to 180 °. More preferably, the angle is between 30 ° to 60 ° and the inclination of each flap with respect to the central axis of the deflector is constant along the radial length of the flap. The deflector includes a central circular hub and a peripheral collar separated from the central circular hub. The plurality of radial fins extends between the central hub and the peripheral collar. The central hub comprises an open collar that provides a liquid lowering tube for the passage of liquid downwardly through the baffle. The central hub includes a vertical circular wall member and a cover on top of the wall member. The baffle may further include at least a separate intermediate collar between the central circular hub and the peripheral collar. A first set of fins extends between the central circular hub and an intermediate collar and a second set of fins extends between the intermediate collar and the peripheral collar. Each deflector deflector has at least one 'liquid lowering tube to allow the downward passage of liquid beyond the deflector. The down tube can be located in a central portion of the baffle. Alternatively, the down tube can be displaced from the center of the deflector. It is also contemplated that multiple down tubes may be provided. The downspouts can extend parallel to each other. The down tubes may extend at an angle with respect to each other.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention will now be described in conjunction with the following drawings in which similar reference numerals designate similar elements and wherein: Figure 1 is a simplified cross-sectional view of the vacuum tower illustrating the location of the baffle of radial splints in the vacuum tower; Figure 2 is an isometric schematic view of a radial slat deflector according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 3 is an isometric schematic view of a radial tab baffle with a liquid lowering tube modified according to another embodiment of the present invention; Figure 4 is an isometric schematic view of a radial splint baffle with a liquid lowering tube modified according to yet another embodiment of the present invention; Figure 5 is an isometric schematic view of a radial slat deflector with an intermediate fin support ring according to the present invention; Figure 6 is an isometric schematic view of a radial slat deflector according to another embodiment of the present invention; Figure 7 is a simplified cross-sectional view of a radial splint baffle according to the present invention having a conical bell covering an opening in the central collar; and Figure 8 is a simplified cross-sectional view of a variation of the radial shingle baffle of Figure 7 having a plate covering an opening in the central collar.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION The present invention will now be described in greater detail together with the figures. Figure 1 shows the location of a baffle 10 in a vacuum tower 20, with only the lower portion of the tower illustrated for simplicity. The feed F enters the tower 20 through two radial inlets 21, 22 which are fed in tangential inlet forks 23, 24 in the form of inverted channels that direct the feed in a downward direction in the loading zone 25 where the vaporization begins in the flow of hot ascending vapors from below. While two entries are shown, the present invention is not intended to be limited in this way. It is contemplated that a single entry or multiple entries may be provided. The configuration of the input forks 23, 24 confers a vector of rotation of movement towards the incoming feed so that its trajectory can be considered with a falling helix. The feed enters the feeding / unloading area of the tower with a vector of rotation of movement imparted by the feeding input system, the flow direction of the incoming feed (with respect to the tower) which is indicated by the arrows 17, shown in Figure 2. Various alternative input fork configurations are known and can be used, for example, the configurations shown in US 4,770,747 and US 4,315,815. The feed maintains its characteristic rotary flow pattern within the feed and discharge zone of the tower and mixes with the rising steam stream in the discharge zone. The liquid droplets of the feed are agitated outward by the rotary motion within these zones and are collected in the walls 26 in the discharge zone. The liquid droplets then combine and pass downwardly into a circular channel 27 formed between the inclined walls 26 of the discharge zone 25 and an outer peripheral collar 11 of the baffle 10 located at the top of the zone 30 of the scrubber. The liquid then passes down through the down tube 16, as shown in Figure 2, formed by a space or spaces in the outer collar of the baffle 10 on the tray 31 of the upper scrubber in the purification zone and then on the next tray 32 and successively to any additional purifier trays. An inlet for the steam scrubbing medium is provided in section 33 re-boiling at the bottom of the tower. Alternative trajectories for the liquid to zone 30 of the scrubber can be provided, for example, by means of externally formed conduits of the tower 20 or by having a higher peripheral collar on the deflector with a number of ports below the level of the fins through which the liquid can pass from channel 27 to the zone 30 of the debugger. The vapors that leave the region under the baffle join with the vapors discharged from the incoming feed and move towards the rectification zone of the tower. As seen in the above, the baffle 10 can have the shape of a plate with simple openings. The area in total cross section of the openings must be sufficient to allow the upward passage of the vapors from the purification zone, which comprise the purification medium and the purified vapors of the feed. The plate can be flat or non-planar, for example, in the form of a broad cone with openings. The upward flow of the vapors from the purification zone tends to prevent the rotating mass of fluid in the discharge zone from passing down through the openings in the purification zone and thus serves to reduce the degree to which the liquid in the upper tray of the scrubber is re-entrained in the rotating steam / liquid mass in the discharge area. In order to promote desirable flow patterns in the double phase fluids in the discharge zone, the flow vanes can be provided in the baffle for the vapors passing through the openings. These flow vanes can be provided in the form of a jet tray simply by drilling U-shaped cuts in the baffle and folding the metal slats upward to form fluted blades with longitudinal slots to allow steam flow. The flow palettes can be directed in the same or different directions, for example, all in the same way or in two opposite directions. Another possibility is to form the flow vanes in groups, for example, in respective squares with the vanes directed to provide a desirable flow pattern in the discharge zone. Alternatively, the grooves may be configured as radial grooves extending from the central area of the plate towards the circumference. Again, the total area of the openings will be sufficient to allow the flow of rising steam from the scrubber zone; the non-perforated areas between the radial grooves will serve to inhibit the downward flow of steam on the upper tray of the scrubber. In this way, the baffle is similar to the preferred Radial Shield Deflector described in the foregoing.

Another form of deflector is an "egg box" type baffle composed of two groups of elongated strips or flat plates that intersect each other to form a series of flow passages directed upwardly to the vapors of the purification zone. The plates can be secured to a surrounding collar to lock them in place and keep them at the correct angle with respect to the plane of the baffle. Cross-linked plates easily allow the upward flow of vapors from the scrubbing zone while protecting the liquid on the upper tray of the scrubber from trapping and crawling through the rotating steam / liquid mass in the discharge zone. While those deflectors are suitable for re-drag reduction, a preferred construction will now be described along with the figures. The basic structural elements of a deflector 10 according to one embodiment of the present invention, referred to as a Radial Splinter Deflector, are shown in Figure 2. The entire deflector 10 looks like a fan, although one that does not rotate. It comprises a peripheral collar 11 which is sized to fit the interior of the tower 20 in which the baffle 10 is to be used. A central inner collar 12 forms a central hub. A number of radial fins 13, similar to the vanes of a fan, extends between the central collar 12 and the outer peripheral collar 11. A simple fin 13 is illustrated in Figure 1. Each of the fins 13 has a similar construction. Each fin 13 has a generally flat construction, as shown in Figures 2-5. The present invention, however, is not intended to be limited to a planar construction; in fact, it is contemplated that other configurations including the corrugated construction shown in Figure 6 are contemplated and considered to be well within the scope of the present invention. The corrugations or curvatures in the fin 113 increase the stability of the fins and can serve to improve the harvesting of the dragged component. The fins 13 or 113 extend externally of the inner collar 12. It is preferable that the uppermost portion of the fins is located under the upper edge of the collar 12, but on the uppermost edge of the peripheral collar 11. As shown in Figure 2, a pair of parallel plates 18, 19 extends through the deflector 10 from one side to the other below the level of the fins 13 and the central collar 12 to form a radial liquid lowering tube 16. , centrally located with radially opposed liquid inlets at each end to allow liquid to flow from the circular channel 12 in the discharge zone 25 to the tray 31 of the scrubber under the deflector 10. The peripheral collar 11 is interrupted in the regions where it meets the plates 18, 19 to allow liquid to enter through the channel 27. The central collar 12 can be left open, as shown in Figures 2-6 to provide an additional path for the vapor to pass upwardly. the region under the baffle, or alternatively, may be sealed by a circular plate if the open area of the baffle is otherwise suitable for the required steam flow capacity. If the central collar 12 is left open for steam flow, it can be covered with a plate or bell having openings or slots formed therein, which allows the flow of steam therethrough and prevents any liquid droplets, For example, in the form of dew, pass to the areas of the scrubber. The cover can be provided by a flat circular plate 300, as shown in Figure 8 which is supported by the upper edge of the collar 12 by rods or posts 301, which allow a steam flow path between the upper edge of the collar 13 and the cover 300. The plate 300 may include openings therein to allow steam to pass therethrough. The cover can be provided by a domed or tapered bell or cap 200 supported on the top edge of the collar 12 by flat rods or studs 201 that allow a steam flow path between the upper edge of the collar and the lower peripheral edge of the collar. the cover, as shown in Figure 7. The cover or cover may have slots or openings 302 formed therein to permit the passage of additional steam therethrough. The present invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiment described in Figure 2, other downpipe arrangements as described, for example, in Figures 3-6 are considered to be well within the scope of the present invention. Figure 3, for example, shows a radial shingle baffle similar to that of Figure 2 (reference numerals for similar elements omitted for clarity) with a single chain lowering tube 40 located at a point around the periphery of the collar 11. In this case, a flat plate 41 extends in a chain from a point on the circumference of the collar 11 to another point, below the level of the fins 13 to define the down tube between the plate 41 and the inner curved surface of the plate. the column so that the liquid can pass through it. The chain arrangement can be duplicated on radially opposite sides of the baffle as shown in Figure 4 (references to similarly omitted elements again) where the flat plates 42, 43 extend through the circumferential path of the collar 11 to form two tubes 44 , 45 of chain descent between the plates and the inner curved surface of the column. The formation of multiple drop tubes is considered to be well within the scope of the present invention. The flat plates can be arranged at an angle with respect to an adjacent flat plate. The plates may be parallel, as shown in Figure 4. The plates may be orthogonal with respect to each other, as shown in Figure 6. Other angles of orientation are contemplated and considered to be well within the scope of this invention. The fins 13, 113 on the radial slat deflector can be directed at an angle anywhere between 0 ° and 180 ° with respect to the plane of the deflector, ie they can lie in the plane of the deflector (in which case the deflector becomes a radially slotted baffle as described above) or it may be directed to provide ascending vapor flow passages either directed toward or away from the direction of rotation of the dual phase vapor / liquid system in the discharge zone. The preferred configuration is for the fins to impart a rotation to the vapors rising from the scrubber zone in the same direction as the rotation in the discharge zone. In this case, the fins are arranged in an angular manner so that the feed "passes by" on the upper part of the fins in the course of their rotational movement in the unloading area. While the fins can be oriented towards the direction of rotation of the double phase vapor / liquid system, it is not preferable because the flow of rotation could enter the chamber under the deflector and disturb the liquid surface causing additional drag. In general terms, the angular arrangement of the fins can be described by reference to a characteristic angle between the plane of each fin and the radial plane passing vertically through the central axis of the deflector (which corresponds to the vertical axis of the tower). This angle will vary between 90 ° and + 90 ° with a characteristic angle of 0 ° representing a vertical fin and 90 ° angles representing fins parallel to the plane of the deflector, equivalent to the radially slotted deflector. The direction of the angle (values of - or +) can be expressed with respect to the direction of rotation of the vapor / liquid system in the discharge zone. The fins define flow passages for the ascending vapors of the scrubber and it is preferred that these flow passages direct the ascending vapors in the same rotational direction as the rotation in the unloading zone, ie in the direction of flow of the double system. phase in the discharge area. The reverse inclination of the fins (the steam flow against the discharge zone rotation) is not generally favored due to such cases, that the fins may tend to "detach" the lower incoming feed layer and direct it downwards on the upper tray of the purifier where it will agitate the liquid and induce re-entrainment. Low characteristic angles, for example, from 0 ° to 30 °, in the desired direction will allow a good steam flow since the axial or almost axial arrangement of the fins will allow a good upward flow of the region under the deflector, assuming a space reasonable between the fins. Normally, the characteristic angle will be 30 ° to 60 ° with respect to the central vertical axis of the deflector, with a value of 45 ° being the most preferred. Within this range, the fins will act to prevent or at least prevent the flow of air flow down through the deflector to the region of the top tray of the scrubber while at the same time providing a suitable area for upward flow of air. vapors from the bottom of the scrubber. This preferred angular arrangement will also be effective to remove vapors from the region under the baffle by an eductor-like effect since the feed blows on the deflectors at an angle to entrain rising vapors although the downstream passage of feed vapors is prevented by the vanes, the Re-entrainment of residual liquid from the scrubber tray is largely avoided. The optimum characteristic angle for a baffle in any given service is dependent on a number of variables such as the physical composition of the feed (steam / liquid ratio under prevailing tower conditions), feed ratio, proportion of the purification gas (steam ) with respect to the feeding ratio, diameter of the tower, location of the input forks with respect to the deflector, location of the deflector with respect to the upper tray of the scrubber, with the relationship between these variables being extraordinarily complicated. In most cases, computational fluid dynamics will indicate the appropriate characteristic angle (or range of angles) for a given case but in most cases, it will usually be sufficient to select an angle within the preferred range of suitable results. The characteristic angle need not be constant along the radial length of the fin and, in fact, there may be an advantage to be gained in imparting a "twist" to the fins, in the form or an airplane propeller, with the characteristic angle varying from the inner end of the fin to the outer end. The characteristic angle can increase or decrease along the length of the fins, again depending on the design of the tower and the operational variables. The computational fluid dynamics or experiments can be used to reveal an optimal value of radial variation for the characteristic angle in any given case.

One problem that can be encountered with deflectors for relatively large diameter columns is that the radial fins require support along their length; also, as the radius increases, the distance between each flap increases correspondingly and the open area may increase beyond the amount necessary for the flow of steam out of the scrubber zone. A baffle shape that addresses both of these problems is shown in Figure 5. This variant of the baffle is similar to that shown in Figure 2 (reference numerals for similar elements omitted for clarity) but has a fin support ring 60. intermediate that is located between the central collar 51 and the outer peripheral collar 50. A number of radial fins 52 similar to each other extends between the central hub and the intermediate collar 60, attached to the hub and the collar at each end. It is contemplated that more than one intermediate collar 60 may be provided, which will produce multiple fin rings. Multiple intermediate collars may be necessary for large diameter deflectors so that the fins will have the necessary rigidity. A number of outer fins 63, again similar to each other, extend between the intermediate collar 60 and the peripheral collar 50, fastened to the two collars at their respective ends. The number of outer fins may differ from the number of inner fins and, if so, the number of outer fins will normally be greater in view of the larger area between the intermediate collar and the peripheral collar. Similarly, the outer fins can be sized or shaped differently than the inner fins since the larger outer area will allow fins with a larger transverse dimension to accommodate. The liquid lowering tube is of a simple chain type similar to that shown in Figure 3. A flat plate 64 extends through the circumference of the collar 50 to form the entry of the lowering tube between the plate 64 and the curved surface inside the column. Computational fluid dynamics have demonstrated the deflector's ability to reduce axial flow velocities in the tower's feed / discharge zone, typically from values as high as 14m / s to approximately 2m / s, with improved uniformity of axial flow through of the diameter of the tower. Benefits of preferred radial shingle baffle shared to a greater or lesser extent with simpler plate open baffles include: • Low cost installation: the radial shingle baffle is relatively small and is not complicated; It does not require a large amount of welding that is needed with lid type baffles. • It is smaller in size, therefore it reduces the volume of available discharge zone less, a desirable attribute since reductions in the volume of the discharge zone can have a negative impact on the efficiency of capture of feed droplets. • The radial plate deflector, being lower in profile than the conical cover, can be installed on towers that have small discharge areas; Also, the removal of one or more purification trays with their high mechanical costs and reduction in the cut-off point is not necessary. · The radial splint deflector has a lower re-entrainment potential with respect to the conical lid design that has the possibility of re-entraining the liquid by the shear forces due to the xforma U 'by the vapor. · The radial plate deflector has a low pressure drop, a very desirable attribute in a vacuum tower. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and / or variations can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Thus, it is intended that the present invention cover the modifications and variations of the method herein, with the proviso that they fall within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims (14)

1. EIV INDICATIONS 1. A deflector deflector for its location in a distillation tower having a feeding zone, a discharge zone and a washing zone, the deflector comprises a plurality of radial fins with openings between the fins to allow the Ascending step of vapors from the tower portion under the deflector. A deflector according to claim 1, wherein each fin is inclined angularly with respect to a plane passing through a central axis of the deflector so that an upper edge of the fin moves with respect to the lower edge in the direction of incoming feed flow to the tower. A baffle according to claim 2, wherein each fin is inclined angularly with respect to the plane passing through the central axis of the baffle so that the upper edge of the fin moves with respect to the lower edge at the Incoming feed flow direction to the tower by an angle of 0o to 180 °. 4. A baffle according to claim 3, wherein the angle is between 30 ° to 60 °. A baffle according to any of claims 2-4, wherein the inclination of each flap with respect to the central axis of the baffle is constant along the radial length of the flap. A baffle according to any of the preceding claims, further comprising at least one liquid lowering tube to allow the downward passage of the liquid past the baffle. The baffle according to claim 6, wherein at least one liquid lowering tube is located in a central portion of the baffle. The baffle according to claim 6, wherein at least one liquid lowering tube is displaced from the center of the baffle. The baffle according to claim 6, wherein at least one liquid lowering tube comprises two separate liquid passages. 10. The baffle according to the claim 6, wherein at least one liquid lowering tube comprises at least two lowering tubes, wherein a lowering tube is arranged at an angle with respect to another lowering tube. The baffle according to any of the preceding claims, further comprising: a circular central hub; a peripheral collar separated from the central circular hub, where the plurality of radial fins extends between the central hub and the peripheral collar. 12. A baffle according to claim 11, wherein the central hub comprises an open collar that provides a liquid lowering tube for the passage of liquid down through the baffle. A baffle according to claim 11, wherein the central hub comprises a vertical circular wall member and a cover on the upper part of the wall member. 14. A distillation towers comprising: a feeding zone, a discharge zone, a lower purification zone located below the unloading zone, a rectification zone on the unloading zone, and a de-entrainment deflector according to the according to any of the preceding claims.