Apparatus for gasification of liquids

Claim 1

SURFACE AERATION APPARATUS COMPRISING, IN COMBINATION, A TANK FOR HOLDING A QUANTITY OF FLUID MATERIAL, MEANS INCLUDING INLET AND OUTLET MEANS MAINTAINING THE UPPER FLUID SURFACE IN SAID TANK AT A PRESELECTED LEVEL, AN ELONGATED DRAFT TUBE LOCATED IN SAID TANK WHICH DRAFT TUBE EXTENDS VERTICALLY FROM A POSITION ADJACENT TO, BUT SPACED ABOVE, THE BOTTOM OF SAID TANK TO A POSITION ADJACENT TO, BUT SUBMERGED BELOW, SAID PRESELECTED LEVEL OF THE FLUID IN SAID TANK, SAID DRAFT TUBE INCLUDING A GENERALLY CYLINDRICAL UPPER SECTION AND A TRUNCATED CONICAL LOWER SECTION HAVING ITS REDUCED END JOINED TO SAID UPPER SECTION, THE BASE OF SAID TRUNCATED LOWER SECTION BEING SUBSTANTIALLY LARGER THAN THE DIAMETER OF SAID UPPER CYLINDRICAL SECTION OF SAID DRAFT TUBE AND BEING SPACED A SUBSTANTIAL DISTANCE VERTICALLY FROM THE LOWER END OF SAID UPPER CYLINDRICAL SECTION OF SAID DRAFT TUBE, THE OUTER SURFACE OF THE UPPER END PORTION OF SAID DRAFT TUBE CYLINDRICAL SECTION BEING STRAIGHT AND SUBSTANTIALLY FREE OF OBSTRUCTIONS TO ALLOW FLUID FLOW UPWARDLY THEREALONG, DEFLECTOR MEANS GENERALLY IN THE SHAPE OF A CONE LOCATED IN COAXIAL RELATION WITH SAID DRAFT TUBE WITH THE APEX OF SAID DEFLECTOR MEANS SUBMERGED BELOW SAID PRESELECTED LEVEL OF FLUID BUT POSITIONED ABOVE THE UPPER END OF SAID DRAFT TUBE AND WITH THE BASE END PORTION OF SAID DEFLECTOR MEANS BEING DISPOSED ABOVE SAID PRESELECTED LEVEL OF FLUID, AND MEANS FOR INJECTING SUFFICIENT AIR UNDER PRESSURE INTO SAID DRAFT TUBE TO ESTABLISH A FLOW OF FLUID UPWARDLY THROUGH SAID DRAFT TUBE WITH SUFFICIENT KINETIC ENERGY TO CONTACT SAID DEFLECTOR MEANS AND BE DIVERTED LATERALLY AND UPWARDLY PAST SAID FLUID SURFACE LEVEL AND FALL ONTO THE SURFACE OF FLUID IN SAID TANK OUTSIDE SAID DRAFT TUBE, WHEREBY FLUID WHICH IS DRAWN IN AT THE BOTTOM OF SAID DRAFT TUBE AND DISCHARGED AGAINST THE SURFACE OF SAID DEFLECTOR MEANS EFFECTS VERTICAL CIRCULATION WITHIN THE TANK, AND WHEREBY THE DISCHARGE OF FLUID FROM THE SUBMERGED UNOBSTRUCTED UPPER END OF SAID DRAFT TUBE INDUCES UPWARD MOVEMENT OF FLUID ALONG THE OUTER SURFACE OF SAID DRAFT TUBE, AND WHEREBY THE OUTER SURFACE OF THE UPPER END PORTION OF SAID DRAFT TUBE CYLINDRICAL SECTION IS CONTINUOUSLY SCOURED AND KEPT CLEAN BY THE UPWARD MOVEMENT OF FLUID.