SURFACE TENSION METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR SEPARATING IMMISCIBLE LIQUIDS

• US 3,831,756 A
• Filed: 09/13/1972
• Issued: 08/27/1974
• Est. Priority Date: 06/29/1970
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Douglas J. Graham, Pravin G. Bhuta, Robert L. Johnson
• Original Assignee: Douglas J. Graham, Pravin G. Bhuta, Robert L. Johnson
• Inventors: Bhuta, Pravin G., Johnson, Robert L., Graham, Douglas J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Spear, Jr., Frank A.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Spitzer, Robert H.
• Application Number:
  US05/288,593
• Time in Patent Office: 713 Days
• Field of Search: 210/23,40,242,DIG.21,137,109
• US Class Current: 210/109
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 17/0214 with removal of one of the phases
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 17/04 Breaking emulsions
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 17/10 with stationary filtering elements
• CPC Class Codes: E02B 15/106 Overflow skimmers with suction heads; suction heads
• CPC Class Codes: Y02A 20/204 Keeping clear the surface of open water from oil spills
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 210/923 using mechanical means, e.g. skimmers, pump

Abstract

An apparatus for separating a selected liquid from a second liquid in which the selected liquid is immiscible by a surface tension action utilizing a hollow liquid surface tension separator having a surface tension screen wall is described. The separator is filled with the selected liquid and the outer side of its surface tension screen is placed in contact with the body of immiscible liquids to be separated, such that each screen pore exposed to the second liquid of the body contains a liquid-liquid interface whose interfacial surface tension resists passage of the second liquid through the pore. A pressure differential, less than the critical pressure differential necessary to overcome the interfacial surface tension force acting across the pore, is established across the screen to drive the selected liquid only through the screen into the separator. The primary application of the invention involves the removal or recovery of oil from a water surface utilizing an oil recovery apparatus which floats on and in some cases is propelled along the water surface and is equipped with one or more surface tension liquid separators for extracting the oil from the water surface.

Claims

1. A device for removing from the surface of a body of water a liquid immiscible with water and floating at said water surface, comprising:

a liquid separator assembly comprising a generally planar array of separate hollow flat rectangular liquid separators each having a chamber bounded at one side by a screen wall;

hinge means joining the adjacent separators on hinge axes parallel to the plane of the array with the screen walls of all the separators located at the same side of the array;

float means on said separator assembly for floating the assembly in said body of water with said separator screen walls located at the underside of the assembly at said water surface;

each separator being adapted to be initially filled with said liquid and having an outlet through which the liquid may be pumped from the separator chamber to create a pressure differential across the separator screen wall for inducing passage of said liquid only from the water surface into the separator chamber; and

means for sensing and producing an electrical signal representing said pressure differential.