Electric treater

Claim 1

AN ELECTRIC TREATER FOR ELECTRICALLY RESOLVING OILCONTINUOUS DISPERSIONS TO SEPARATE THE DISPERSED-PHASE MATERIAL THEREOF, SAID TREATER INCLUDING IN COMBINATION: A CLOSED CONTAINER HAVING AN UPRIGHT FLOW AXIS, SAID CONTAINER PROVIDING A LARGE-VOLUME ENTRANCE ZONE AND A LARGE-VOLUME EXIT ZONE; A HORIZONTAL UPPER HEADER BELOW THE TOP OF SAID CONTAINER FORMING A SPACE IN THE UPPER INTERIOR OF SAID CONTAINER ABOVE SAID UPPER HEADER; A HORIZONTAL LOWER HEADER ABOVE THE BOTTOM OF SAID CONTAINER FORMING WITHIN THE CONTAINER BELOW SAID LOWER HEADER SAID ENTRANCE ZONE AND A LOWERMOST ZONE ADAPTED TO COLLECT A BODY OF SEPARATED DISPERSED-PHASE MATERIAL, SAID UPPER AND LOWER HEADERS RESPECTIVELY PROVIDING UPPER AND LOWER CELL OPENINGS WITH THE UPPER CELL OPENINGS VERTICALLY ALIGNED WITH THE LOWER CELL OPENINGS, THE OPENINGS IN EACH HEADER BEING SPACED FROM EACH OTHER AND DISPOSED IN CORRESPONDING PATTERNS; A PLURALITY OF LONG AND NARROW UPRIGHT CELLS MOUNTED WITHIN AND ELECTRICALLY CONNECTED TO SAID CONTAINER WITH THEIR AXES PARALLEL TO SAID FLOW AXIS AND TO EACH OTHER, EACH CELL HAVING A CELL WALL PRESSURALLY SEPARATING THE INTERIOR OF THE CELL FROM SAID EXIT ZONE, EACH CELL HAVING A LOWER ENTRANCE PORTION AND AN UPPER EXIT PORTION SPACED FROM EACH OTHER SUBSTANTIALLY THE AXIAL LENGTH OF THE CELL, THE ENTRANCE PORTIONS OF SAID CELLS OPENING ON SAID ENTRANCE ZONE; A PLURALITY OF UPRIGHT CENTRAL ELECTRODES EXTENDING AXIALLY OF SAID CELLS FORMING INTERELECTRODE TREATING SPACES BETWEEN THE CENTRAL ELECTRODES AND THE CELL WALLS OF THE RESPECTIVE CELLS, EACH CELL BEING OF A WIDTH OF ABOUT 2-16 INCHES, THE LENGTH-TO-GAP RATIO IN EACH INTERELECTRODE TREATING SPACE BEING AT LEAST IN THE RANGE OF 8:1-30:1; MEANS FOR ESTABLISHING A HIGH-VOLTAGLE UNIDIRECTIONAL ELECTRIC FIELD IN EACH OF SAID INTERELECTRODE TREATING SPACES; A RELATIVELY LARGE ORIFICE MEANS OPENING ON SAID ENTRANCE ZONE AT A POSITION REMOVED FROM SAID ENTRANCE PORTIONS OF SAID CELLS; MEANS FOR DELIVERING THE DISPERSION UNDER PRESSURE TO SAID RELATIVELY LARGE ORIFICE MEANS TO DISCHARGE INTO SAID ENTRANCE ZONE WITH ONLY A SMALL PRESSURE DROP DURING FLOW THROUGH SUCH RELATIVELY LARGE ORIFICE MEANS; MEANS FOR EQUALIZING THE FLOW OF DISPERSION FROM SAID ENTRANCE ZONE INTO AND UPWARDLY ALONG SAID PLURALITY OF CELLS AND SAID INTERELECTRODE TREATING SPACES THEREOF, SAID LAST NAMED MEANS INCLUDING A RELATIVELY LARGE NUMBER OF RELATIVELY SMALL METERING ORIFICES IN SAID CELL WALLS NEAR BUT BELOW SAID UPPER HEADER INTERCONNECTING SAID INTERELECTRODE TREATING SPACES AND SAID EXIT ZONE, SAID METERING ORIFICES FORMING WITH SAID INTERELECTRODE TREATING SPACES THE SOLE COMMUNICATION BETWEEN SAID ENTRANCE ZONE AND SAID EXIT ZONE, THER BEING AT LEAT ONE OF SAID METERING ORIFICES FOR EACH CELL EXTENDING THROUGH ITS CELL WALL AND OPENING ON SAID EXIT ZONE, SAID HIGH-VOLTAGE UNIDIRECTIONAL ELECTRIC FIELD IN EACH INTERELECTRODE TREATING SPACE TREATING THE DISPERSION THEREIN TO SEPARATE DISPERSED PHASE MATERIAL THEREFROM AND PRODUCE A TREATED OIL, SAID RELATIVELY SMALL METERING ORIFICES CONDUCTING SAID TREATED OIL FROM THE UPPER PORTIONS OF SAID CELL TO SAID EXIT ZONE AND BEING OF SUFFICIENTLY SMALL SIZE TO INDUCE ON THE TREATED OIL A PRESSURE DROP SUBSTANTIALLY HIGHER THAN SAID SMALL PRESSURE DROP ACROSS SAID RELATIVELY LARGE ORIFICE MEANS; MEANS FOR WITHDRAWING FROM SAID EXIT ZONE THE TREATED OIL ENTERING SAME THROUGH SAID METERING ORIFICES; AND MEANS FOR WITHDRAWING FROM SAID LOWERMOST ZONE OF SAID CONTAINER THE DISPERSED-PHASE MATERIAL SEPARATING FROM SAID DISPERSION IN SAID ENTRANCE ZONE AND SAID INTERELECTRODERE TREATING SPACES.