Apparatus for separating mixtures of immiscible liquids

Claim 1

Apparatus, for use in an emulsion coalescer and separator tank wherein binary immiscible fluids are continuously separated and removed by collecting and removing the heavy phase from the bottom of the tank and by collecting and removing the light phase from the top of the tank; comprising: a vessel having an interior chamber; an inlet port on said vessel to permit the flow of said emulsion to said interior chamber; a plurality of first and second walls defining slots in said vessel, said slots communicating from said interior chamber to the outside of said vessel by parallel walls followed by diverging walls; said first walls being constructed from a material having different wetting properties than said second wall, whereby one phase of the emulsion will preferentially wet one wall; and conductors, connecting with each wall preferentially wetted by said heavy phase and having the same wetting characteristics as the wall, for draining said heavy phase to the bottom of the tank.