Operating Conditions

The HyperSparge™ is designed to operate at oxygen pressures up to 1000 kPag, with a typical operating pressure range of 300 – 500 kPag. The materials of construction are all designed to be entirely oxygen safe under these operating conditions. All wetted components are manufactured from stainless or duplex steel. Polymer parts are specifically chosen for oxygen service.

The HyperSparge™ can be operated at temperatures up to 100 °C.

The gas flowrate through each sparger can be varied easily within the range 10 – 300 Nm3/hr by simple replacement of the ceramic nozzle. A range of nozzle sizes are available to provide felxible operating conditions.

Sparger Components

The HyperSparge™ consists of three distinct assemblies, each designed for ease of use and simple maintenance:

• Hose Kit
• Sparger
• Insertion Assembly

All materials of construction are carefully selected to ensure safe operation, particularly where flammable gases are to be added, such as oxygen or hydrogen.

Hose Kit

The Hose Kit connects the sparger to a gas supply manifold. The Hose Kit terminates in Quick-connect gas fittings with inbuilt non return valves, to prevent gas escaping from the system in the event of accidental release of either end of the hose. An additional check valve is provided prior to the sparger to provide failsafe protection of the hose and oxygen manifold against slurry ingress. The connection hose is a stainless steel braided PTFE hose designed for long life.

The sparger itself also has an internal EPCM non return valve as further prevention of any slurry ingress to the gas delivery pipework.

Sparger

The Sparger body is manufactured from stainless or alloy steel as a single assembly without any moving parts. A stainless steel union is welded to the sparger body for reliable, leak free connection to the tank and insertion assembly.

The sparger pipe length is designed according to fluid dynamic modelling of the reactor to allow injection of the gas into the ideal mixing zone.

The sparger nozzle is manufactured out of a single piece of high wear ceramic and is recessed into the end of the sparger body. The ceramic nozzle is held in place with a simple circlip arrangement for rapid removal and replacement of a worn sparger nozzle. The sparger does not have any threaded connections within the leach slurry or solution.

Insertion Assembly

The Insertion Assembly allows live insertion and removal of the sparger while the process is in operation. Sparger maintenance can be carried out without any process downtime.

The sparger is inserted though a system of dual pipe seals, and then through a full port ball valve for isolation purposes. Finally, the sparger then passes through a self closing EPDM check valve that fits inside the insertion nozzle on the side of the process vessel. Leakage of the process slurry or fluid is prevented by the EPDM check valve.

Mounting Options

The HyperSparge™ is designed for external mounting on a standard ANSI or DIN flange, and so is ideal for mounting through the side of the tank or reaction vessels, or for side stream sparging into pipelines. The HyperSparge™ is designed to be mounted in several locations around the tank or process vessel to provide a balanced distribution of gas across the entire vessel.