Apparatus for sink-float liquid contacting of solids

Claim 1

APPARATUS FOR CONTACTING TWO DISTINCT MISCIBLE LIQUID INPUTS WITH SOLIDS USING THE SINK-FLOAT TECHNIQUE COMPRISING, IN COMBINATION, A SUBSTANTIALLY VERTICAL CONTACTING COLUMN PROVIDED WITH A PLURALITY OF SUPERPOSED TRAMSVERSE PLATES EACH HAVING A MULTIPLICITY OF APERTURES IN THE SIZE RANGE OF ABOUT 1/4 TO 11/2 INCHES DISTRIBUTED SUBSTANTIALLY UNIFORMLY ACROSS THE ENTIRE AREAS OF SAID PLATES, THE FREE AREA OF SAID PLATES BEING APPROXIMATELY 5 TO 25% AND THE MINIMUM APERTURE DIMENSION BEING IN THE RANGE OF ABOUT 5 TO 200 TIMES THE AVERAGE PARTICLE SCREEN SIZE OF SAID SOLIDS, FIRST INLET MEANS FOR INTRODUCTION OF SOLIDS MIXED WITH A FIRST OF SAID LIQUID DISPOSED AT A FIRST PRESELECTED LEVEL IN SAID COLUMN EFFECTING SINK-FLOAT TRANSIT OF SAID SOLIDS LENGTHWISE OF SAID COLUMN AND THROUGH SAID APERTURES OF SAID PLATES, POWERDRIVEN SLOW-SPEED ROTARY SWEEP ARMS DISPOSED AT A CLEARANCE OF ABOUT 0.25 TO 1.5 INCHES WITH RESPECT TO THE SOLIDS INLET SIDES OF SAID PLATES, SECOND INLET MEANS FOR INTRODUCTION OF THE SECOND OF SAID LIQUIDS DISPOSED AT A SECOND PRESELECTED LEVEL SPACED LENGTHWISE OF SAID COLUMN FROM SAID FIRST PRESELECTED LEVEL IN THE DIRECTION OF SAID SINKFLOAT TRANSIT OF SAID SOLIDS, A FIRST EXIT MEANS FOR DRAWING OFF SAID SOLIDS MIXED WITH LIQUIDS CONSTITUTING THE BULKS OF SAID SECOND LIQUID TOGETHER WITH A RELATIVELY MINOR PORTION OF SAID FIRST LIQUID AS A FIRST DISCHARGE STREAM FROM THE SOLIDS SINK-FLOAT PROGRESSION END OF SAID COLUMN AND A SECOND EXIT MEANS FOR SIMULTANEOUSLY DRAWING OFF THE BULK OF SAID FIRST LIQUID TO-