Taking of representative effluent samples - is enabled by immersion of inflatable tube thus obtaining stratified sample

摘要

Representative samples of a free flowing effluent are taken by using a long tube which is immersed to collect a sample which includes the upper and lower flow strate. This overcomes problems of existing methods which take samples from the surface or at a fixed point at depth. A chemically inert tube (2) which is immersed in the effluent is open at both ends and has an inflatable bulb (3) at the lower end. The upper end of the tube is attached to a carrier (4) which moves in vertical slides (5). The tube raises to a height above a receptacle (7). The carrier is attached to a chain (8) passing over a toothed wheel (9) mounted on a shaft. The tube is inflated with compressed air via tubes (13, 14) during sample taking.