SEPARATION OF DISPERSED PHASE FROM CONTINUOUS PHASE

摘要

A method and apparatus for separating particles/droplets/ bubbles forming a dispersion in a continuous liquid by conglomeration induced by introducing net unipolar free charge (for example, by charge injection) into a quantity of the liquid completely filling a region of a vessel which is devoid of any collector surfaces within the interior of the region. Nucleation of a solute in a solvent is similarly effected by charge injection coupled with reducing the solubility for the solute, such as by cooling. The apparatus includes means at least partly defining an enclosed space for constraining the liquid to flow through the enclosed space filled by the liquid. The constraining means has an exit orifice through which the liquid leaving the enclosed space passes. The apparatus further includes means associated with the constraining means for introducing free charge into the liquid, a vessel for receiving the charged liquid from the exit orifice and means providing a gas or vapour space between the exit orifice and the vessel. The vessel has a region for containing a quantity of the liquid, the lateral peripheral boundary of the region being defined solely by the vessel wall and the vessel being devoid of any collector surfaces in that region. The conglomeration of the dispersion which takes place may be employed as a pretreatment step in a particle/droplet/bubble separation process in which the enlarged particles/droplets/bubbles may be separated from the liquid by any convenient separation technique, e.g., filtration.