Electric oil dispersion treater

Claim 1

AN ELECTRIC TREATER FOR ELECTRICALLY RESOLING OIL-CONTINUOUS DISPERSIONS TO SEPERATE THE DISPERSED-PHASE MATERIAL THEREOF, SAID TREATER INCLUDING IN COMBINATION: A CLOSED CONTAINER HAVING AN UPRIGHT FLOW AXIS; A HEADER EXTENDING HORIZONTALLY ACROSS THE INTERIOR OF SAID CONTAINER PERPENDICULAR TO SAID FLOW AXIS DIVIDING THE INTERIOR OF SAID CONTAINER INTO VERTICALLY OPPOSED UPPER AND LOWER ZONES PRESSURALLY SEPARATED BY SAID HEADER, SAID LOWER ZONE INCLUDING A DISPERSION TREATING ZONE; A PLURALITY OF VERTICAL CELLS IN SAID LOWER ZONE COMPOSITELY OCCUPYING SUBSTANTIALLY THE ENTIRE HORIZONTAL CROSS-SECTIONAL AREA OF SAID DISPERSION TREATING ZONE AND COMPRISING CELL ELECTRODES HAVING UPPER EXIT PORTIONS IMMEDIATELY BELOW SAID HEADER AND LOWER ENTRANCE PORTIONS OPENING ON AN ENTRANCE CHAMBER IN THE LOWER INTERIOR OF SAID CONTAINER BELOW THE LOWER ENDS OF SAID CELL ELECTRODES; A PLURALITY OF VERTICAL CENTRAL ELECTRODES AND MEANS FOR MOUNTING SAME TO EXTEND CENTRALLY ALONG SAID CELL ELECTRODES, SAID MEANS INCLUDING MEANS FOR ELECTRICALLY CONNECTING SAID CENTRAL ELECTRODES AND ELECTRICALLY INSULATING SAME FROM SAID CONTAINER, THERE BEING AN INTERELECTRODE TREATING SPACE BETWEEN EACH CENTRAL ELECTRODE AND THE INTERIOR SURFACE OF THE CORRESPONDING CELL ELECTRODE; MEANS FOR ESTABLISHING A HIGH-VOLTAGE UNIDIRECTIONAL ELECTRIC FIELD IN ECH INTERELECTRODE TREATING SPACE; A LARGE-ORIFICE DISPERSION INLET MEANS OPENING ON SAID ENTRANCE ZONE AT A LEVEL BELOW SAID LOWER ENDS OF SAID CELL ELECTRODES AND PRESSURE MEANS DELIVERING A LARGE STREAM OF THE DISPERSION TO BE TREATED TO SAID INLET MEANS AT A RATE TO CREATE ONLY A VERY SMALL PRESSURE DROP ON SAID DISPERSION AS IT ENTERS SAID ENTRANCE CHAMBER FROM SAID INLET MEANS, THE LOWER INTERIOR OF SAID ENTRANCE ZONE COMPRISING A SETTLING ZONE ADAPTED TO COLLECT AS A BODY ANY DISPERSED-PHASE MATERIAL SEPARATED FROM SAID DISPERSION AT A POSITION THEREABOVE, THE DISPERSION RISING S SMALLER STREAMS IN SAID INTERELECTRODE TREATING SPACES TOWARD THE UPPER EXIT PORTIONS OF SAID CELL ELECTRODES WHILE BEING SUBJECTED TO THE ACTION OF SAID HIGH-VOLTAGE UNIDIRECTIONAL ELECTRIC FIELDS ACTING TO INDUCE SEPARATION OF DISPERSEDPHASE MATERIAL FROM SAID DISPERSION TO PRODUCE A TREATED OIL CONTAINING ONLY A VERY SMALL RESIDUAL AMOUNT OF DISPERSED-PHASE MATERIAL, SAID CELL ELECTRODES AND THEIR INTERELECTRODES TREATING SPACES FORMING THE SOLE CONNECTION BETWEEN SAID ENTRANCE CHAMBER AND SAID HEADER; MEANS FOR EQUALIZING THE UPWARD VELOCITY OF SAID SMALLER STREAMS IN THE RESPECTIVE CELL ELECTRODES, SAID LAST-NAMED MEANS INCLUDING A LARGE NUMBER OF RELATIVELY SMALL METERING ORIFICES THROUGH SAID HEADER FORMING THE SOLE EXIT FOR SAID TREATED OIL FROM SAID EXIT PORTIONS OF SAID CELL ELECTRODES TO SAID UPPER ZONE ABOVE SAID HEADER AND FORMING WITH THE INTERELECTRODE TREATING SPACES THE SOLE COMMUNCIATION BETWEEN SAID ENTRANCE CHAMBER AND SAID UPPER ZONE, THE NUMBER AND SPACING OF SAID METERING ORIFICES BEING RELATED TO THE SPACING AND CROSS-SECTIONAL SIZE CELL ELECTROCES TO PRODUCE AT SAID RATE OF DISPERSION INFLOW A PRSSURE DROP ON THE TREATED OIL FLOWING THROUGH THE METERING ORIFICES SUBSTNATIALLY HIGHER THAN SAID FIRST-NAMED PRESSURE DRIP; TREATED OIL EFFLUENT MEANS OPENING ON SAID UPPER ZONE; AND A SEPARARED MATERIAL EFFLUENT MEANS OPENING ON SAID LOWER INTERIOR OF SAID SETTLING ZONE.