Process for placing a gas phase, at least one liquid phase, and at least one comminuted solid phase in contact

Claim 1

A process for placing in contact at least three phases comprising a gaseous phase, a liquid phase and a solid phase wherein said solid phase comprises a particulate solid having a density between the density of said liquid phase and 1.4 times the density of said liquid phase, the process comprising providing a compartment having a base comprising feeder means including distributor means of a cross-section area σ and a deflector means comprising a sloping side wall rising from said distributor means at an obtuse angle thereto so that the cross-sectional area of the compartment increases from a minimum area s at the level of the distributor means to a maximum area S where s≧σ and 0.15≦s/S≦0.75, supplying said solid phase to said compartment such that the volume V s of the solid phase is sufficient to cover said distributor means to a depth equivalent to at least two layers of the said particles, supplying said compartment with a volume V 1 of said liquid sufficient at least to cover said solid phase at rest and at most equal to five times the volume V s of the solid phase, feeding a gas through said distributor means into said compartment so as to generate a periodic pulsing in said liquid as said gas passes therethrough, maintaining the flow rate of said gas such that the average gas velocity U at the narrowest cross-section of said compartment is at least equal to a critical boundary value U c between a continuous flow state of the gas in the form of microbubbles through the solid product layer and a state of accumulation at the base of the solid product layer and at most equal to a maximum value U E above which the liquid phase is entrained in the gas, whereby said gas flow produces a generally circulatory motion of said liquid and solid phases in said compartment about an approximately horizontal axis.