Clarification of distillery slop and the like

Claim 1

IN THE CLARIFICATION OF DISTILLERY SLOP, AND THE LIKE, CONTAINING WATER, OIL AND SOLIDS, THE PROCESS WHICH COMPRISES HEATING THE SLOP, SUBJECTING A STREAM OF THE HEATED SLOP TO A PRELIMINARY, COARSE SEPARATING OPERATION, TO REMOVE SOME OF THE COARSE SOLIDS, SQUEEZING SAID COARSE SOLIDS TO EXPRESS SOME OF THE OIL THEREFROM, CONTINUOUSLY DISCHARDING SAID REMOVED SOLIDS FROM THE PRELIMINARY SEPARATING OPERATION AS SLUDGE AND SEPARATELY DISCHARGING THE REMAINDER OF THE SLOP AS AN EFFLUENT CONTAINING RELATIVELY FINE SOLIDS, DIVIDING SAID EFFLUENT DISCHARGE INTO A PLURALITY OF SEPARATE SIMILAR STREAMS, FEEDING EACH OF SAID LAST STREAMS TO A SEPARATE CENTRIFUGAL SEPARATING CHAMBER AND THERE SEPARATING IT INTO THREE COMPONENTS, NAMELY, AN OIL EMULSION AS THE LIGHTEST COMPONENTM AN EFFLUENT AS AN INTERMEDIATE COMPONENT, ANS SLUDGE AS THE HEAVIEST COMPONENT, ACCUMULATING AN ANNULUS OF SAID SLUDGE COMPONENT IN AN OUTER ZONE OF EACH CHAMBER, SEPARATELY DISCHARGING SAID COMPONENTS FROM THE CHAMBERS, AND CONTINUOUSLY RECIRCULATING PART OF THE SLUDGE COMPONENTS DISCHARGED FROM SAID CHAMBERS TO THE SEPARATING CHAMBERS AT REGIONS LOCATED INWARDLY FROM THEIR OUTER ZONES.