MXPA98004030A - Mass and ca exchange device - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a heat and / or mass exchange device consisting of a stack of stationary fans to promote the mixing of the gas, each fan consisting of 4 baffles whose median perpendicular lines are inclined and are approximately derived from each other by means of rotation around vertical axes, the sum of the 360º rotation angles being the fans stacked in successive horizontal layers within which each deflector is part of 2 adjacent fans that rotate in opposite directions and in such a way that there is sufficient space between 2 adjacent deflectors for the gas to pass through it

Description

MASS AND HEAT EXCHANGE DEVICE The present invention relates to a heat and mass exchange device, and in particular concerns a mass and heat exchanger device that serves as a packing in the distillation columns and that consists of a high number of theoretical plates, typically in columns for the distillation of air or mixtures of carbon monoxide, nitrogen, hydrogen or hydrocarbons, or in the isotope separator columns. It can also be used for the distillation of isotopes. Typically it will be installed in the distillation columns that have a high number of theoretical plates. The packages that are commonly used comprise corrugated strips that have alternating corrugations parallel, arranged against each other, and each one rests in a general, vertical plane. These corrugations are oblique and go down in opposite directions from one strip to the next. The degree of perforation is of the order of 10% for these so-called transversely corrugated type packings. British Memorandum GB-A-1, 004, 046 discloses gaskets of the transversely corrugated type. The CA-A-1, 095, 827 Report proposes an improvement in this type of packaging by adding a dense perforation of reduced diameter in order to allow the liquid to pass in a straight line through the transversely corrugated strips. The international report WO-A-94/12258 proposes an improvement in this type of packaging, which is based on the placement of the strips precisely in interrelation in a vertical plane by means of a combined locking system. The purpose of this device is to accommodate a larger surface area of the package within the same volume, since this closing combination allows interpenetration of the strips. The international reports WO-A-86/06296 and WO-A-90/10497 da. to know a package that is made up of horizontal and superimposed layers and each layer comprises a row of pyramids. In the International Report WO-A-86/06296, the structure comprises open-base pyramids having lateral faces that are alternately open and closed and that are connected by their tips to thereby constitute a plurality of fan blades that rotate to the gas in order to intensify the contact between the gas and the liquid. A fundamental characteristic of this structure is that it can be obtained by assembling perforated and bent metal sheets. This time, the drilling is not only designed to put the liquid flow at an optimum point, but also to allow the gas to pass through the folded and crossed strips, where the degree of drilling is of the order of 50%. Paradoxically, it is precisely at this moment that there are fundamental debates about this type of transversely corrugated packaging, that the system begins to be used to separate the gases in the air. This relatively late application can be partially explained by the high performance characteristics of the cryogenic plates in comparison with the other plates that are on the market (a height equivalent to a theoretical plate, a term that is abbreviated in English with the acronym "HETP"). ", of the order of 10 cm and a low pressure drop). In the International Report WO-A-90/10497, the structure obtained above is improved by matching the faces of the pyramid of 2 successive layers to create transverse channels referring to the strips and thanks to which transverse mixing is promoted . The advantage of double perforation is clearly mentioned here: it is a perforation of 'Chessboard type (thus having 50% of its perforated surface area) for the gas and a secondary perforation in the' closed faces' in order to organize the dripping of the liquid.

This latest patent application has given rise to the so-called "Optiflow®" product of the Sulzer company, which represents the first construction of a generation of new products., thus creating the possibility of achieving execution characteristics that in particular are superior to those of transversely corrugated packaging, now considered as classics (with a height equivalent to a theoretical plate, abbreviation in Spanish: AEPT reduced by 25% to 30% for a constant vapor pass rate, or a flood rate increased by approximately 25 to 30% for a constant height of AEPT). This patent and the aforementioned patent applications create the possibility of identifying 2 major lines of research. The objective of the first line of research is to optimize the flow of the liquid so that the wetted surface area will be as large as possible and in such a way that the liquid is distributed in all directions, remixing in the course of the drip inside the package. The objective of the second research line is to optimize the flow of the gas, that is, to obtain a vertical flow as turbulent as possible without having preferential flow channels or regions of low circulation. To date, the flow of the liquid phase in transverse corrugation type structures has been studied. It has been found that small diameter perforations (approximately 10%) promote the passage of liquid on either side of the strips. Various improvements have been proposed: CA-A-1,095,827 claims the precise placement of the holes with respect to the folds and the International Report WO-A-94/12258 claims the relative positioning of the strips, by interpretation of the strips. In fact it seems that the placement of the holes does not noticeably increase the effectiveness of the packaging since the main function of the holes is to allow the liquid to pass from one side of the strip to the other. Only the degree of the perforation and the diameter of the holes thus exert a certain influence on the efficiency. The ideas of the pyramids, introduced in the specification WO-A-86/06296 and WO-A-90/10497, introduce a novel type of perforation, ie perforations for the passage of gas (the perforations represent about 50% of the surface area). These perforations make it possible to reduce the pressure drop and create fans that promote gas agitation. These documents reveal nothing about the flow of the liquid. The fact of joining the pyramids by the tips ("vertices" and "corners", by "corners" means the points resting on the base) has one major drawback: due to the fact that there is little material remaining in these points, the mechanical integrity of the assembly means that These "tips" must be physically linked, with the use of a mechanical process such as stapling, binding, bending, soft or hard welding, which requires complex and expensive tools and all this results in a fairly high cost high. It can also be noted that the number of these fastening systems varies according to the number of the pyramids, that is, as the inverse cube of their size, thus limiting the economically accessible specific surface area of this type of packaging. In addition, it can be said that the principle of perforation in the form of a chessboard leads to rates of useless material of the order of 50%. This is particularly harmful when the packaging material is of high cost, for example when it is of some woven fabric. . It also results that this structure has a high level of aeration and that the AEPT height could be further reduced if some part of the waste material were lodged in the structure without degrading the turbulence of the gas to the degree of surface wetting. The object of the present invention is to create a heat and mass exchange device that has good properties in terms of gas flow and that incorporates a series of improvements regarding the dispersion, distribution and mixing of the liquid and that It is easier to manufacture than those devices of the prior art, thus making it practically possible to produce packages that are very thin and therefore have an even lower AEPT height. An object of the present invention is a heat and / or mass exchange device consisting of a row of stationary fans to promote gas mixing. Each fan consists of 4 deflectors whose central perpendicular lines are inclined and which are approximately derived from one another by a rotation around vertical axes, the sum of the 4 rotation angles being of the order of 360 °, and with the fans stacked in successive horizontal layers within which each baffle forms part of 2 adjacent fans that rotate in opposite directions such that there is sufficient space between 2 adjacent baffles for gas to pass therethrough. The deflectors of the fans can be flat or non-planar, symmetrical or non-symmetrical and are derived by rotation about a vertical or non-vertical axis. The structure thus described makes it possible to create the swirling flow of the gas which improves the exchange between the liquid film that is dripping over the deflectors and the gas. It has the advantage of providing greater design freedom in order to define the shape of the deflectors and the connections between them. This freedom could be used to more effectively provide the other functions of the product and reduce its cost. It can be pointed out that the structure based on open pyramids of the patent applications WO-A-86/06296 and WO-A-90/10497 is a very special case of the general structure described here when the following conditions are simultaneously fulfilled : 1. fan deflectors are diamonds, 1 diagonal horizontally or can also be triangles, with their horizontal base; 2. the deflection angles of the deflectors are 90 °; 3. the axes of rotation pass through the ends of the horizontal diagonals of the rhombic deflectors or through the ends of the horizontal bases of the triangular deflectors; 4. the upper vertices of the rhombuses or of the triangles of a layer coincide with a vertex of a rhombus or a triangle of the layer immediately above. According to another aspect: the deflectors of the fans are not diamonds, with a diagonal in horizontal form nor are they triangles whose base is horizontal; or the deflection angles of the deflectors are not 90 °; or the axes of rotation do not pass through the ends of the horizontal diagonals of the rhombic deflectors; or the axes of rotation do not pass through the ends of the horizontal bases of the triangular baffles; either the upper vertices of the rhombuses or of the triangles of a layer do not coincide with a vertex of a rhombus or of a triangle of the immediately superior layer. According to another aspect of the invention, a device is provided in which: the lower part of some or all of the deflectors is not symmetric; the top of some of the baffles or all of them is symmetric with respect to the line of greatest inclination and has virtually the shape of an inverted V to promote the dispersion of the liquid; - some deflectors or all of them are perforated with 1 or several orifices, with a symmetry of the vertical axes or without it, to stimulate the liquid passing under the deflectors; some or all of the deflectors are connected to several of their neighbors in the same horizontal plane by a common edge segment having a rounded, flattened or depressed shape, to allow a lateral division of the liquid between the deflectors; - some deflectors or all of them penetrate into the space located in the vertical of an adjacent deflector; some deflectors or all of them are designed to feed another deflector with liquid, generally with the help of a tip or to collect the liquid from another deflector; the lower part of some deflectors or of all of them is at least partially widened to maintain a surface area for liquid dripping as high as possible; - one end of at least 2 deflectors forms a projection, and one projection or each projection is locked in combination with another projection or with a notch to hold the fan layers between them. It can also be noted that the patent application International WO-A-94/12258 describes a structure in which each interpretation point is the center of 4 deflectors that are not derived from each other by rotation. However, the deflectors are fastened in such a way that the gas can no longer pass between the 2 fans deflectors vertically overlapped. The concept of a fan, as conceived, disappears due to the absence of perforations for the gas. In the device proposed here, the placement of the strips in relation to one another is governed by the gas perforations that must be placed in precise interrelation. Another object of the invention is a method for manufacturing a heat and / or mass exchange device consisting of a stack of stationary fans to promote gas mixing, and each fan consists of 4 deflectors whose central perpendicular lines are inclined and they derive approximately between them by rotation around vertical axes. The sum of the 4 rotation angles is 360 ° and the fans are stacked in successive horizontal layers within which each deflector is part of 2 adjacent fans that rotate in opposite directions and in such a way that there is enough space between 2 adjacent deflectors so that the gas passes through them, and in this system flat sheets of metal or other material are found and the sheets are folded and / or bent, twisted or stamped in order to form sheets in concertina or accordion form, with projections or without them and the solid surfaces form flat, folded, curved or crooked deflectors. The flat product can be rolled, woven or formed as a knitted fabric. In accordance with other aspects of the invention, a manufacturing method is provided in which: the accordion-shaped blades are placed side by side, parallel to a vertical plane; the accordion blades are perforated by at least 45% before folding; the structure consists of approximately identical accordion blades and these accordion blades of an odd row are turned upside down with respect to the leaves of the even row around a vertical or horizontal axis that is in the middle plane of the accordion blade; the accordion sheets are placed by means of a support region that enables the sheets to be closed in a combined manner and once they have been locked in relation to one another, it is ensured that these sheets are in a stable position in accordion. The combined closure can be designed to prevent 2 degrees of freedom of translation in certain points of contact or in all of them. It can also be designed to prevent a degree of freedom of translation of certain points of contact and the other degree of freedom in other points of contact; the accordion blades are perforated and folded to connect the solid surfaces by folding lines that can be curved or not, allowing liquid exchange between the adjacent deflectors; folding lines are not continuous to create projections outside the region between the 2 planes that contain the folds; the support region is formed by a local depression; the support region is formed by cutting and folding and / or bending or twisting; the projections allow the accordion sheets to be placed by projection and / or combined closure of notches, - the projections allow the distributors or manifolds to be created for the deflectors of an adjacent layer; and the degree of perforation of the accordion sheets makes it possible to create large surfaces for dripping. Another object of the present invention is a process for the separation of gases from the air or from hydrocarbons, either carbon monoxide, or from isotopes in a distillation column comprising at least one heat exchanger and / or mass device that consists of a stack of stationary fans to promote gas mixing. Each fan consists of 4 baffles whose median perpendicular lines are inclined and are approximately derived from each other by rotation about vertical axes. The sum of the 4 rotation angles of 360 ° the fans are stacked in successive horizontal layers within which each deflector is part of 2 adjacent fans that rotate in opposite directions so that there is enough space between 2 adjacent deflectors to pass the gas through them. Another object of the invention is a plant for the separation of gases from air or hydrocarbons, or of carbon monoxide, or of isotopes in a distillation column comprising at least one heat and / or mass exchange device consisting of a stack of stationary fans to promote mixing of the gas. Each fan consists of 4 deflectors whose median perpendicular lines are inclined and are approximately derived from each other by rotation about vertical axes. The sum of the 4 angles of rotation is 360 ° and the fans are stacked in successive horizontal layers within which each baffle forms part of 2 adjacent fans that rotate in opposite directions so that there is sufficient space between 2 adjacent baffles for gas to pass through them. Other aspects of the invention will now be described with reference to the following drawings, in which: Figure 1 shows the perspective view of 2 fans in alternating directions of a device according to the invention; Figure 2 shows the flow of the liquid passing over the deflectors of a device according to the invention; - Figure 3 shows the schematic representation of the cut of a metal sheet according to the invention, - Figure 4 shows 2 schematic representations of the metal sheet according to Figure 3, folded on an accordion: 4.1 shows a view in perspective and 4.2 shows a view along the axis of the folds; Figure 5 shows 2 schematic representations of 2 metal sheets of Figure 4 interconnected: 5.1 shows a perspective view and 5.2 shows a view along the axis of the folds of one of the sheets; - Figure 6 shows the industrial-scale cutting of a metal sheet according to the invention; Figure 7 shows the structure obtained by joining 2 cut and folded sheets according to Figure 6; Figure 8 shows several details of the structure of Figure 7: 8.1 shows the 4 blades involved in a support region; 8.2 shows a plant view of 8.1 and 8.3 shows the 2 superimposed fans created by the structure; Figure 9 shows a visual increase of the region 7B of Figure 7 above which the flow of the liquid has been shown; Figure 10 shows the fabrication of a support point by cutting, folding and combined closure of 2 layers; Figure 11 shows various ways of folding that allow the layers to be closed in combination with one another, and Figure 12 shows a column helmet with the structured packaging consisting of the device of the present invention. Figure 1 shows 2 adjacent stationary fans (IA and IB) in a horizontal layer. Baffles are not necessarily derived from each other by rotation. These 2 fans agitate the flow of gas in opposite directions (vortex ID and ÍE) thus creating maximum turbulence. It can be noted that the deflector ÍC is common to the fans. The complete structure is obtained by repeating this pattern in the 3 directions, with or without variations in the geometry of the deflectors. The documents mentioned above do not mention anything as far as the flow of liquid in the structure is concerned. Figure 2 shows the liquid that is spread above the deflectors. The way in which the deflectors are interconnected between 2 horizontal layers will be explained later. Suppose only that each baffle is fed through its apex (2C) with the dripping liquid. Of course, the maximum amount of the surface should be moistened. This observation is sufficient to outline the best form that can be given to deflectors. The upper part (2A) must end in a point to follow the distribution of the liquid from its feeding point. On the other hand, once this dispersion has been achieved, the deflector can retain its maximum width over a certain distance in order to increase the drip surface area (2B). This way it will be easier to harvest and this operation can take place at the edges of little slope, with a slightly inclined outline. This leads to a "bulging" shape. The optimal distribution of liquid on both sides of the deflectors results in a hole (2D) that is drilled near the vertex (2C), allowing some liquid to pass to reach the other side.

So that there is no preferential path for the liquid, it is efficient to ensure that the same liquid stream is distributed in several directions and with constant remixing. A) Yes, an edge segment (2E) common to the 2 deflectors, divides the liquid that passes over the deflector in 2 sections thus creating a mixing region (2F). For reasons of cost, the deflectors must be able to be made of a sheet-like material. Unfortunately, the technique of drilling and folding and / or drilling and bending, used to date for the manufacture of structured packaging, does not make it possible to obtain the rich variety of shapes at the level of the requirements of the architecture described above. However, there is a method that effectively makes it possible to obtain a very wide variety of shapes from a flat product: cutting and folding. To convince yourself of this, one only needs to see certain "pop-up books", that is, unfolding or certain packages made of cardboard. Folding is a well-known procedure for the manufacture of polyhedra. This process, as we know, has never been used to manufacture structured packaging. It is also possible to combine it with embossing to obtain surfaces that can no longer be opened to their flat shape. Although a lot of options are possible. This procedure can be particularly economical since the successive operations of cutting, folding and even stamping can be integrated into the same pressing tool. Figure 3 shows the schematic section of a sheet before folding, in which the deflectors are "solid" quadrilaterals (3E). The sheet cut in this way is then folded in the form of a "concertina" or accordion along the dotted lines. The lines with bold dots (3A) are the folds of the "valley" type while the fine dots (3B) mark the "peak" folds. It must be clearly noted that these folding lines are not discontinuous since they do not fold the dark gray (3C) parts with the rest and consequently, after folding, they form projections that stand out from the 2 planes that contain the Folds in peaks and valleys. In fact, the folding only occurs in the regions symbolically shown by black dots (3D) that form a connection between the baffles and at the same time constitute a point of support and / or combined closure, which serve for stacking and placement, when the leaves are stacked in accordion form. Later on we will see what devices can be used to form these regions. Figure 4 shows 2 schematic representations of a sheet of Figure 3 folded into an accordion. 4.1 is a perspective view of the folded sheet; 4.2 is a view from above on the sheet passing through the axis of the folds, in which the accordion formed by the sheet (4G) can be detected clearly. The folding creates 2 flat orientations that are characterized by the areas of different gray colors of the deflectors (4A and 4B). The projections (4C and 4D), which stand out from the region between the 2 planes that contain the folding lines, can be seen clearly. Therefore it is noted that the baffles, once folded, offer the liquid a "pointy" dispersion surface (4E) that is symmetrical with respect to the line of the steepest slope, and then an extended drip surface (4F). Figure 5 shows 2 schematic representations of the structure obtained by joining 2 folded strips as in Figure 4. Figure 5.1 is a perspective view of the structure. Figure 5.2 is a top view, by axis of the folds of the sheet in the frontal plane in which the 2 stacked strips 5F and 5G can be observed. The accordion blade of Figure 4 can again be seen in the front plane of 5.1 and 5F. In the posterior plane of 5.1 and 5G there is an identical sheet turned 180 ° with respect to a vertical axis. 2 fans are created superimposed by this structure (5A and 5B). It will be noted that these fans are of 2 different types: 5A is a fan that is "closed" with respect to the center of rotation, ie the extension of the drip surface is housed on the side of the center of rotation, thus offering a Narrowest passage for gas. On the other hand, 5B is an "open" fan. By the same vertical there is an alternation of the 2 types of ventilator. To obtain fans that rotate in opposite directions, it would be necessary to add another accordion blade. The structure obtained at 5C indicates why the bottom of the deflectors does not have a symmetrical drip surface. The reason is that if the base of the deflectors were rectangularly symmetrical, it would undoubtedly have a larger drip surface area, but a joining of the edges of the 2 deflectors forming a kind of horizontal channel would be obtained at 5C. Such a structure would be highly disadvantageous, not only as regards the gas flow but also as regards the flow of the liquid. Finally it can be noted that the projections of the accordion sheet in the foreground (5D) fit perfectly between 2 consecutive folds of the sheet in the second plane. Similarly, it can be said that the projections of the sheet in the back plane (5E) fit between the folds of the sheet in the frontal plane. Thus leaves are placed between interrelation, in all directions, to simply close them in a combined way so that ensures that the structure has stability.

The object of all the previous figures, which are intentionally schematic, is to show the main characteristics of the structure. It is evident that the structure in Figure 5 does not have a mechanical integrity since there is no material at the points of connection between the deflectors. The principle of cutting and folding, optionally combined with a pattern, creates the possibility of obtaining a very wide variety of shapes, which is in turn a starting point to improve the structure, both as regards its execution characteristics , as for the simplicity of manufacturing. The following figures describe a structure that has been validated on an industrial scale, has good mechanical integrity and incorporates different improvements in terms of liquid flow and manufacturing. Figure 6 shows the cut of an unfolded sheet. The fold lines (6A) are shown by dotted lines. It can be clearly seen that they are discontinuous. In order to obtain good mechanical integrity, there remains, at the connection points, 1/3 of the material that would be folded if a cut were not made. In order to maintain a structure as similar as the ideal case, this uneven material has been distributed among the different connection points. 6B the addition of a vertical edge is a good way to obtain a long fold while losing the minimum amount of open surface. On the other hand it is necessary to avoid the introduction of a horizontal edge on which the liquid accumulates; therefore, a fold line has been designed which constitutes an edge segment (6C) that allows the lateral division of the liquid. The projection at point 6D serves both to distribute the liquid and to hold the strips between them. Finally, a hole (6E) can be drilled in each baffle, which allows the liquid to pass from one side of the sheet to the other. Figure 7 shows 2. sheets of Figure 6 that are folded and joined. You can see here the series of stacked fans (7A). Figure 5 showed that the strips were placed in perfect form, thanks to the projections. The folding lines introduce an inaccuracy equal to the length of the folding line in this position, in order to achieve a compensation, it is possible during folding to create a local depression in the folding line in such a way that the point inserted in The farthest place is centered on the point of support, so when the structure is assembled, the structure is retained in its position simply on the basis of the strips that are interconnected. present in the back plane is provided with a tip that constitutes both a kind of joint to hold the strips and a distributor of liquid for remixing, can be seen in 7B. Figure 8 shows several enlargements of Figure 7. Figure 8.1 shows an enlargement of the region of supports 7B. Figure 8.2 shows a top view of Figure 8.1 without hidden faces, in which it can be seen that the deflectors penetrate the space along the vertical line of the adjacent deflectors to create a large drip surface ( 8.2A) and a liquid feeder from another baffle (8.2B). Figure 8.3 shows 2 types of superimposed fans, created by the structure: an "open" fan (8.3A) and a "closed" fan (8.3B). Figure 9 shows a detail of Figure 7 which is situated around 7B. The deflectors 9D and 9F belong to the accordion blade present in the back plane while 9C and 9E belong to the sheet present in the frontal plane. The black arrows visualize the flow of the liquid above the deflectors. The symmetric structure with respect to the point of support (9A). Here you can see how the tip (9B) and its symmetry form accessories that stabilize the structure. When the 2 sheets are placed in accordion face to face, the structure is deformed a little and it returns to occupy its position due to the elasticity when the tip has taken its final position. In 9C there is a region that causes the lateral division of the liquid, followed by a remixing. The liquid that flows above the deflector in the backplane is divided into 2 parts (9D). Part of the liquid, after experiencing a free fall (9G) will moisten the deflector in the frontal plane (9E) through the. distributor formed by the projection on the tip (9B) and therefore mixes with the liquid that passes over the adjacent leaf in accordion. The other part of the liquid remains on the same accordion sheet and will moisten the underside of the baffle 9F. Figure 10 shows a possible way to interlock the sheets at a point of support, which can replace the local depression at a common point 6C, ie the center of a fan. In order to make the figures clearer to understand, they are projected in such a way that the top-down direction goes to the back of the sheet. Figure 10.1 shows only the detail of the cut at the point of support. The cut line is 10.1A. Then the leaves are folded in 10. IC and in 10. IB. Figure 10.2 shows the 2 folded sheets, face to face, before they are interlocked and Figure 10.3 shows them already in locked condition between them. The interlock forms the center of a fan and the 4 orientations of the deflectors in Figure 10.3 can be observed in this case as long as the figure is straightened. The combined closure or the interlock can be designed to prevent the 2 degrees of translational freedom in certain points of contact or in all of them. As an alternative, the design can be of such a nature as to prevent a degree of freedom of translation at certain points of contact and the other degree of freedom at other points of contact. Figure 11 shows the blades 11 according to the invention, in which one face a support is flat and is delimited by the 2 folds (11.2) or is curved (11.3) or involves more than 2 folds (11.4). In these 3 cases * s, the cut allows the edges of the deflectors to form projections (HE HAS) . Figure 11.1 shows a simple accordion folding.

Figure 11.2 shows the case in which the facet (11B) that lies within a pair of folds is flat, as in Figure 10. In Figure 11.3 there is a curved surface (11C) instead of folds. Finally in Figure 11.4 there is an additional fold (11D). Figure 12 shows a hull or shell 100 of a distillation column containing 2 structured packing units 200, consisting of a heat and / or mass exchange device according to the present invention. The folded sheets 300 are joined obliquely with respect to the axis of the hull 100. The heat and mass exchange device of the present invention can be installed in any column of an air separating apparatus, for example the pressure column for the medium, the column of low pressure, the column for argon or the column for the removal of nitrogen. Each column can contain heat and mass exchange devices according to the present invention as well as conventional structured packages (for example of the transversely corrugated type) and / or loose packing and / or also plates. The specific surface area of the heat exchanger and mass device according to the present invention may vary from one section of a column to another.

Claims (27)

1. CLAIMS 1. A heat and / or mass exchange device consisting of a stack of stationary fans to promote gas mixing, each fan comprising 4 baffles whose median perpendicular lines are inclined and are approximately derived from each other by rotation around vertical axes, the sum of the 4 rotation angles being 360 ° and the fans being stacked in successive horizontal layers within which each deflector is part of 2 adjacent fans that rotate in opposite directions and in such a way that there is sufficient space between 2 adjacent deflectors for the gas to pass through them.
2. 2. The device according to claim 1 wherein: the deflectors of the fans are not diamonds with a horizontal diagonal nor triangles with their horizontal base; or the deflection angles of the deflectors are not at 90 °; or the axes of rotation do not pass through the ends of the horizontal diagonals of the rhombic deflectors; or in which the axes of rotation do not pass through the horizontal bases of the triangular baffles; or in which the upper vertices of the rhombuses or of the triangles of a layer do not coincide with a vertex of a rhombus or of a triangle of the immediately superior layer.
3. 3. The device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the lower part of some or all of the deflectors is not symmetrical.
4. 4. The device according to claim 1, 2 or 3, in which the upper part of some deflectors or of all of them is symmetrical with respect to the line of the greater slope and virtually has the shape of an inverted V to promote the dispersion of the liquid.
5. The device according to any of the previous claims in which some deflectors or the whole -of them are perforated with 1 or several holes, with or without symmetry in their vertical axes to stimulate the liquid to pass under the deflectors.
6. The device according to any of the preceding claims in which some or all of the deflectors are connected to one or more of their neighbors in the same horizontal plane by a common edge segment that is rounded, flattened or depressed to allow lateral distribution of the liquid between the deflectors.
7. 7. The device according to any of the preceding claims wherein some or all of the baffles are connected to the one or more neighboring specimens by a common edge segment which is rounded, flattened or depressed to hold the deflectors therebetween.
8. The device according to any of the preceding claims, wherein some or all of the deflectors penetrate the space located in the vertical of an adjacent deflector.
9. The device according to any of the preceding claims in which some or all of the deflectors are designed to feed another deflector with liquid, generally with the aid of a tip or to collect the liquid from another deflector.
10. The device according to any of the preceding claims in which some of the pairs of neighboring deflectors or all of them have projections and / or notches that allow the combined interrelated closure to hold the deflectors between them.
11. The device according to any one of the preceding claims in which the lower part of some or all of the baffles is at least partially enlarged to keep a drip surface area as high as possible for the liquid.
12. The device according to any of the preceding claims in which an end of at least 2 baffles forms a projection.
13. The device according to claim 12 in which a projection or each projection is closed in combination with another projection or with a notch to hold the fan layers.
14. 14. The method for manufacturing a device according to the preceding claims, in which flat sheets of metal or other material are cut, flattened and / or folded, twisted or stamped to form accordion sheets with or without projections, in which the solid surfaces form flat, folded deflectors , curved or crooked.
15. 15. The manufacturing process according to claim 14 wherein the accordion blades are placed side by side, parallel to a vertical plane.
16. 16. The manufacturing process according to claim 14 or 15, wherein the accordion blades are perforated at least 45% before bending.
17. The manufacturing method according to any of claims 14 to 16, wherein the structure consists of approximately identical accordion sheets and in which these odd-row accordion sheets are turned upside-down with respect to the row sheets pair around a vertical or horizontal axis that is situated in the middle plane of the accordion sheets.
18. 18. The manufacturing method according to any of claims 14 to 17 wherein the accordion blades are located with the aid of a support region that allows the sheets to be interlocked and once they have been interlocked against each other to ensure that there are stable accordion sheets.
19. 19. The manufacturing process according to claim 18, wherein the support region is formed by a local depression.
20. The manufacturing process according to claim 18 and 19, wherein the support region is formed by cutting and folding and / or bending or twisting.
21. The manufacturing method according to any of claims 14 to 20, combined with claim 6, wherein the accordion blades are perforated and folded to connect the solid surfaces by folding lines that can be curved or not, allowing the liquid exchange between adjacent deflectors.
22. 22. The manufacturing process according to any of claims 14 to 21, wherein the folding lines are not continuous to create projections outside the region between the two planes containing the folds.
23. 23. The manufacturing process according to any of claims 14 to 22, wherein the projections allow the accordion sheets to be placed by interweaving on the basis of projections and / or notches.
24. The manufacturing process according to any of claims 14 to 23, wherein the projections allow distributors or collectors to be created for the baffles of an adjacent layer.
25. The manufacturing process according to any of claims 14 to 24, combined with claim 11 in which at least one 45% perforation degree of the accordion blades allows the creation of wide drip surfaces.
26. 26. The process for separating air or hydrocarbon gases from either carbon monoxide or isotopes in a distillation column comprising at least one device according to any of claims 1 to 13.
27. 27. A plant for the separation of air or hydrocarbon gases, or of carbon monoxide or isotopes in a distillation column comprising at least one device according to any of claims 1 to 13.