Separation of dispersed phase from phase mixture

摘要

In order to separate the dispersed phase from a continuous background fluid phase together forming a phase mixture (for example, contaminant particles from a continuous liquid phase), charge is injected into the mixture with a charge injection device (1) which issues charged mixture into a separation vessel (6) through a gas or vapor space (11). The injected charge induces an electric field within the liquid mixture in the vessel (6) which causes migration of contaminants towards the walls of the vessel (6) and precipitation on the wall surfaces. The clarified liquid is discharged from the vessel through outlet (7). The contaminant separation technique is effective and simple to achieve technically, and has the added advantage of operating effectively even with extremely small contaminant particle sizes, for example of the order of sub-micron or micron size.