Electric treater for dispersions

Claim 1

APPARATUS FOR ELECTRICALLY TREATING DISPERSIONS CONTAINING SMALL AMOUNTS OF HEAVIER MATERIAL SUSPENDED IN OIL TO REMOVE SUBSTANTIALLY ALL OF SUCH HEAVIER MATERIAL THEREFROM, SAID APPARATUS INCLUDING: A CONTAINER PROVIDING A LOWER ENTRANCE ZONE AND AN UPPER EXIT ZONE SPACED FROM EACH OTHER IN AN AXIAL DIRECTION WITH AN INTERMEDIATE ZONE THEREBETWEEN OF A HEIGHT OF AT LEAST ABOUT 24", A MAJOR PORTION OF THE CROSS-SECTION OF SAID INTERMEDIATE ZONE BEING AN ELECTRODE ZONE; ELECTRODE WALLS FORMING A PLURALITY OF CLOSELY-ADJOINING SIDE-BY-SIDE CELLULAR TREATING PASSAGES IN SAID ELECTRODE ZONE EXTENDING IN SAID AXIAL DIRECTION HAVING ENTRANCE AND EXIT ENDS RESPECTIVELY COMMUNICATING WITH SAID LOWER ENTRANCE ZONE AND SAID UPPER EXIT ZONE AND FORMING THE SOLE COMMUNICATION THEREBETWEEN THROUGHOUT THE CROSS-SECTION OF SAID ELECTRODE ZONE, SAID TREATING PASSAGES BEING OF THE SAME CROSSSECTIONAL SIZE AND OF AN UPRIGHT LENGTH OF AT LEAST ABOUT 24", SAID ELECTRODE WALLS BEING ELECTRICALLY CONNECTED TOGETHER AND TO SAID CONTAINER; A PLURALITY OF ELONGATED ROD-LIKE ELECTRODES AND MEANS FOR SUPPORTING SAME SUBSTANTIALLY CENTRALLY IN SAID TREATING PASSAGES, SAID LAST-NAMED MEANS INCLUDING MEANS FOR ELECTRICALLY CONNECTING SAID ELONGATED ELETRODES AND ELECTRICALLY INSULATING SAME FROM SAID ELECTRODE WALLS, SAID ELONGATED ELECTRODES FORMING WITH SAID ELECTRODE WALLS INTERELECTRODE TREATING SPACES EACH OF AN UPRIGHT LENGTH OF AT LEAST ABOUT 24" AND OF SUBSTANTIALLY UNIFORM CROSS-SECTIONAL AREA AT ALL LEVELS BETWEEN THE ENTRANCE AND EXIT ENDS THEREOF, THE RATIO BETWEEN SUCH LENGTH OF EACH INTERELECTRODE TREATING SPACE AND THE GAP BETWEEN THE ELONGATED ELECTRODES AND THEIR ELECTRODE WALLS BEING AT LEAST IN THE RANGE OF ABOUT 8:1-30:1; A HIGH-VOLTAGE SOURCE OF UNIDIRECTIONAL POTENTIAL CONNECTED BETWEEN SAID ELECTRODE WALLS AND SAID ELONGATED ELECTRODES FOR ESTABLISHING IN SAID INTERELECTRODE TREATING SPACES HIGH-VOLTAGE UNIDIRECTIONAL ELECTRIC FIELDS OF A VOLTAGE GRADIENT OF AT LEAST ABOUT 6-30 KV./INCH; MEANS FOR ADVANCING STREAMS OF SAID DISPERSION ALONG SAID INTERELECTRODE TREATING SPACES IN A DIRECTION FROM SAID ENTRANCE ENDS TO SAID EXIT ENDS THEREOF IN BRIDGING RELATIONSHIP WITH THE ELECTRODE WALLS AND THE ELONGATED ELECTRODES THEREOF, PRODUCING A TREATED OIL SUBSTANTIALLY FREE OF SAID HAVIER MATERIAL ISSUING FROM SAID EXIT ENDS INTO SAID EXIT ZONE AND PRODUCING A BODY OF SEPARATED HEAVIER MATERIAL IN THE BOTTOM OF SAID ENTRANCE ZONE; AND MEANS FOR WITHDRAWING SAID TREATED OIL FROM SAID EXIT ZONE AND SAID SEPARATED HEAVIER MATERIAL FROM THE BOTTOM OF SAID ENTRANCE ZONE.