Clarifiers and separators

Claim 1

A CLARIFIER, THICKENER, SEPARATOR OR THE LIKE COMPRISING IN COMBINATION: (A) A PLURALITY OF SUPERPOSED CLARIFYING COMPARTMENTS (B) AT LEAST ONE INLET INTO EACH EACH COMPARTMENT FOR THE INTRODUCTION OF LIQUID FEED MATERIAL, (C) CLARIFIED LIQUID WITHDRAWAL MEANS IN EACH COMPARTMENT, (D) A MUD COLLECTION SECTION ADJACENT THE LOWER CENTRAL PORTION OF EACH OF SAID CLARIFYING COMPARTMENTS (E) A VERTICAL ROTATABLE TUBULAR ELEMENT EXTENDING CENTRALLY UPWARDLY THORUGH SAID PLURALITY OF CLARIFYING COMPARTMENTS, IN SUCH A MANNER THAT THERE IS NO SUBSTANTIAL FLOW OF MATERIAL BETWEEN ADJACENT COMPARTMENTS, (F) SAID TUBULAR ELEMENT BEING OPERATIVELY CONNECTED TO MEANS FOR ROTATING IT, (G) THE INTERIOR OF SAID TUBULAR ELEMENT BEING SUBDIVIDED INTO A NUMBER OF SEPARATE VERTICALLY EXTENDING CHANNELS CORRESPONDING TO A MULTIPLE OF THE NUMBER OF COMPARTMENTS, (H) EACH OF SAID SEPARATE VERTICALLY EXTENDING CHANNELS HAVING AN UPPER INTAKE GATEWAY IN THE OUTER WALL OF SAID TUBULAR ELEMENT FOR THE DOWNWARD PASSAGEWAY OF MUD FROM SAID MUD COLLECTION SECTIONS, (I) EACH OF SAID CHANNELS ALSO HAVING A SEPARATE LOWER LATERAL DISCHARGE OPENING LOCATED IN THE LOWER OUTER SIDE WALL PORTION OF SAID TUBULAR ELEMENT FOR THE DISCHARGE OF MUD, (J) THE PLURALITY OF LOWER LATERAL DISCHARGE OPENINGS IN THE LOWER SIDE WALL PORTION OF SAID TUBULAR ELEMENT BEING LOCATED AT DIFFERENT LEVELS WITH RESPECT TO EACH OTHER, (K) SAID PLURALITY OF LOWER LATERAL DISCHARGE OPENINGS IN THE LOWER OUTER SIDE WALL PORTION OF SAID TUBULAR ELEMENT BEING SURROUNDED BY A STATIONARY ANNULAR MANIFOLD COMPRISING A PLURALITY CONDUITS, (L) THE PLURALITY OF DISCHARGE CONDUITS IN SAID STATIONARY ANNULAR MANIFOLD BEING LOCATED AT DIFFERENT LEVELS WITH RESPECT TO EACH OTHER, (M) SAID PLURALITY OF LOWER LATERAL DISCHARGE OPENINGS IN THE LOWER OUTER SIDE WALL PORTION OF SAID TUBULAR ELEMENT BEING ALIGNED WITH SAID PLURALITY OF DISCHARGE CONDUITS IN SAID ANNULAR MANIFOLD SO THAT EACH DISDIFFERENT DISCHARGE CONDUIT.