Separation of dispersed liquid phase from continuous fluid phase
US4624765A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Apr 17, 1984 |
| Grant date | Nov 25, 1986 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 17, 2004 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC B)Performing Operations; Transporting
- CPC primaryB01D17/085
- WIPO fieldChemical engineering
- WIPO sectorChemistry
Abstract
Separation of dispersed liquid contaminant, for example removal of water droplets from oil, is achieved by introducing free charge into the mixture by means of charge injector (1) and discharging the charged mixture through a gas or vapor gap into a separation vessel (2) where the charged mixture comes into contact with a bed of beads (6) (FIG. 1) or other collector surfaces. The introduced charge causes both an electric field to be induced in the separation vessel (2) and the dispersed contaminant to acquire charge, and this results in migration of the charged contaminant. The beads are porous so that they soak up contaminant which can then encourage growth of islands of contaminant on the surface of the beads to a sufficient size that they can be removed from the mixture by gravity separation or other separation techniques. In another embodiment, (FIG. 2) instead of beads, the collector surfaces are provided by a cartridge (23) comprising a porous membrane assembly, the membrane assembly being rolled into a cylindrical configuration with spacer elements (25) between adjacent turns.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.