Multi-stage counter-current liquid-liquid contact apparatus

Claim 1

A MULTI-STAGE COUNTER-CURRENT LIQUID-LIQUID CONTACT APPARATUS COMPRISING A MULTI-STAGE CONTAINER CONSISTING OF A BOTTOM, A FIRST END WALL AND A SECOND END WALL SPACED FROM SAID FIRST END WALL AND SAID FIRST AND SECOND END WALLS EXTENDING UPWARDLY FROM SAID BOTTOM, AND A FIRST SIDE WALL AND A SECOND SIDE WALL SPACED FROM SAID FIRST SIDE WALL AND SIDE FIRST AND SECOND SIDE WALL EXTENDING UPWARDLY FROM SAID BOTTOM AND EXTENDING BETWEEN SAID END WALLS, A PLURALITY OF LATERALLY SPACED LONGITUDINAL PARTITION WALLS EXTENDING BETWEEN SAID FIRST AND SECOND END WALLS AND DIVIDING THE SPACE BOUNDED BY SAID BOTTOM, SAID END WALLS AND SAID SIDE WALLS INTO A PLURALITY OF LIQUID-LIQUID CONTACT STAGES, A PLURALITY OF TRANSVERSE PARTITION WALLS EACH LOCATED WITHIN A DIFFERENT ONE OF THE STAGES AND EXTENDING TRANSVERSELY OF AND BETWEEN SAID LONGITUDINAL PARTITION WALLS AND DIVIDING EACH STAGES SO THAT IT CONSISTS OF A MIXIING CHAMBER AND A SETTING CHAMBER, WITHIN EACH PAIR OF ADJACENT STAGES SAID MIXING CHAMBER IN ONE OF THE STAGES EXTENDS FROM SAID FIRST END WALL TO SAID TRANSVERSE PARTITION WALLS WITHIN THE STAGE WITH SAID SETTING CHAMBER EXTENDING FROM SAID TRANSVERSE PARTITION WALLS TO SAID SECOND END WALL AND SAID MIXING CHAMBER IN THE OTHER ONE OF THE PAIR OF ADJACENT STAGES EXTENDES FROM SAID SECOND END WALL TO SAID TRANSVERSE PARTITION WALL WITH SAID SETTING CHAMBER IN SAID STAGE EXTENDING FROM SAID TRANSVERSE PARTITION WALL TO SAID FIRST END WALL SO THAT ALONG EACH SAID FIRST AND SECOND END WALLS SAID MIXING CHAMBERS AND SETTING CHAMBERS IN ADJACENT STAGES ARE ARRANGED IN AN ALTERNATING ARRANGEMENT, FIRST INLET MEANS FOR SUPPLYING A FIRST LIQUID INTO SAID MIXING CHAMBER LOCATEDIN THE STAGE ADJACENT SAID FIRST SIDE WALL, SECOND INLET MEANS FOR SUPPLYING A SECOND LIQUID WHICH IS LIGHTER THAN THE FIRST LIQUID INTO SAID MIXING CHAMBER LOCATED IN THE STAGE ADJACENT SAID SECOND SIDE WALL, A FIRST OUTLET MEANS FOR WITHDRAWING SAID FIRST LIQUID FROM SAID SETTING CHAMBER LOCATED IN THE STAGE ADJACENT SAID SECOND SIDE WALL, A SECOND OUTLET MEANS FOR WITHDRAWING THE SECOND LIQUID FROM SAID SETTING CHAMBER LOCATED IN THE STAGE ADJACENT SAID FIRST SIDE WALL, EACH OF MIXING CHAMBER WHICH IS LOCATED BETWEEN A PAIR OF SAID SETTING CHAMBERS IN ADJACENT STAGES IN ARRANGED TO RECEIVE SEPARATE FLOWS OF THE FIRST AND SECOND LIQUIDS DIRECTLY FROM SAID SETTING CHAMBERS IN THE ADJACENT STAGES AND HAS AN OVERFLOW INLET FOR THE LIGHTER SECOND LIQUID IN THE ONE OF SAID LONGITUDINAL PARTITION WALLS DEFINING ONE SIDE OF SAID MIXING CHAMBER AND ANOTHER OVERFLOW INLET FOR THE HEAVIER FIRST LIQUID IN SAID LONGITUDINAL PARTITION WALL DEFINING THE OPPOSITE OF SAID MIXING CHAMBER, MEANS FORMING AN UPWARDLY EXTENDING DUCT IN EACH SAID SETTING CHAMBER WITH THE LOWER END OF SAID DUCT ADJACENT SAID BOTTOM OF SAID CONTAINER BEING OPEN FOR ADMITTING THE HEAVIER FIRST LIQUID THERETO AND THE UPPER END OF SAID DUCT LOCATED ADJACENT AND ABOVE ONE OF SAID ANOTHER OVERFLOW INLET FOR THE HEAVIER FIRST LIQUID TO THE ADJACENT SAID MIXING CHAMBER OR SAID FIRST OUTLET MEANS FOR THE FIRST LIQUID, SAID DUCT LATERALLY SEPARATING ONE OF SAID ANOTHER OVERFLOW INLETS FOR THE HEAVIER FIRST LIQUID DIRECTLY INTO THE ADJACENT SAID MIXING CHAMBER OR SAID FIRST OUTLET MEANS FOR THE FIRST LIQUID FROM THE BODY OF LIGHER AND HEAVIER LIQUID WITHIN SAID SETTING CHAMBER, THE OVERFLOW INLET FOR THE HEAVIER FIRST LIQUID IS LOCATED BELOW SAID OVERFLOW INLET FOR THE LIGHTER SECOND LIQUID AND ABOVE THE LEVEL OF THE MIXTURE WITHIN SAID MIXING CHAMBER WITH SAID OVERFLOW INLETS FOR THE FIRST AND SECOND LIQUIDS ARRANGED SO THAT THE EQUATION H PH=(HL-HH)PL+HH.PH IS SATISFIED, WHERE H DENOTES THE HEIGHT OF THE HEAVIER LIQUID IN SAID DUCTS EXTENDING BETWEEN THE BOTTOM OF SAID CONTAINER AND THE ONE OF SAID OVERFLOW INLETS FOR THE HEAVIER FIRST LIQUID OR SAID FIRST OUTLET MEANS FOR THE HEAVIER FIRST LIQUID, PH DENOTES THE DENSITY OF THE HEAVIER FIRST LIQUID, HL DENOTES THE HEIGHT OF THE LIQUID SURFACE IN THE SETTING CHAMBER HH DENOTES THE HEIGHT OF THE INTERFACE BETWEEN THE HEAVIER FIRST LIQUID AND THE LIGHTER SECOND LIQUID IN SAID SETTING CHAMBER, AND PH DENOTES THE DENSITY OF THE LIGHTER SECOND LIQUID, MEANS FORMING A DISCHARGE PASSAGE AT THE BOTTOM OF SAID CONTAINER BETWEEN SAID MIXING CHAMBER AND SETTING CHAMBER IN THE SAME STAGE MIXING MEANS LOCATED WITHIN EACH OF SAID MIXING CHAMBERS AND COMPRISING AN INPELLER HAVING BLADES FOR IMPARTING A MIXING ACTION THROUGHOUT THE FULL HEIGHT OF THE MIXTURE OF THE FIRST LIQUID AND THE SECOND LIQUID CONTAINING WITHIN THE SPACE IN EACH STAGE FORMING SAID MIXING CHAMBER, EACH SID IMPELLER IS LOCATED ADJACENT THE BOTTOM OF THE CONTAINER WITHIN SAID MIXING CHAMBER WITHIN WHICH IT IS LOCATED FOR MIXING THE FIRST AND SECOND LIQUIDS AND FOR DIRECTING THE MIXTURE THROUGH SAID DISCHARGE PASSAGE INTO SAID SETTING CHAMBER IN THE SAME STAGE WITH SAID MIXING CHAMBER, AND EACH SAID DISCHARGE PASSAGE BEING LOCATED SUBSTANTIALLY BELOW THE LEVEL OF THE INTERFACE BETWEEN THE HEAVIER FIRST LIQUID AND A LIGHTER SECOND LIQUID IN SAID SETTING CHAMBER TO WHICH SAID CHAMBER PASSAGE OPENS.