Method and apparatus for treating emulsions

Claim 1

AN ELECTRIC TREATER FOR OIL-CONTINUOUS EMULSIONS, SAID TREATER INCLUDING: A CONTAINER PROVIDING A PASSAGE HAVING A LONGITUDINAL AXIS AND HAVING ENTRANCE AND EXIT ZONES SPACED THEREALONG, AN EMULSION-DISCHARGE MEANS HAVING ORIFICE MEANS IN SAID ENTRANCE ZONE, MEANS FOR DELIVERING THE EMULSION TO BE TREATED TO SAID EMULSION-DISCHARGER MEANS UNDER PRESSURE TO FLOW FROM SAID ORIFICE MEANS, SAID FLOW CREATING A PASSAGE-FILLING STREAM OF EMULSION ADVANCING TURBULENTLY FORWARD IN THE DIRECTION OF SAID AXIS, SPACED ELECTRODES IN SAID ENTRANCE ZONE AND MEANS FOR ENERGIZING SAME TO ESTABLISH AN ELECTRIC FIELD THEREBETWEEN FOR PRELIMINARILY TREATING SAID EMULSION TO COALESCE SOME OF THE DISPERSED PARTICLES INTO GRAVITATIONALLY-SEPARABLE MASSES AND PRODUCE A STREAM OF PRELIMINARILY TREATED EMULSION ADVANCING FORWARDLY ALONG SAID PASSAGE AND HAVING A MATERIALLY REDUCED CONTENT OF DISPERSED-PHASE MATERIAL, A PAIR OF ELECTRODE SETS PROVIDING INTER-SPACED ELECTRODES EXTENDING SUBSTANTIALLY LONGITUDINALLY OF SAID CONTAINER, SAID ELECTRODES DEFINING OPEN-ENDED SIDE-BY-SIDE SUPERTREATING ZONES, SAID ELECTRODES PROVIDING ANTERIOR FLOW-STRAIGHTENING PORTIONS TERMINATING IN ANTERIOR STREAMSPLITTING EDGES FACING SAID STREAM OF PRELIMINARILY TREATED EMULSION TO STRAIGHTEN THE FLOW THEREOF AND DIVIDE SUCH