Portable oil-water separation apparatus

Claim 1

A portable, rechargeable oil-water separation apparatus comprising a separation chamber defined by a generally cylindrical container having a closed bottom end and an open top end, a removable closure member adapted to fit on and sealingly close said open end, an inlet and an outlet formed in said removable closure and communicating with said chamber, said inlet including conduit having an open end positioned in the top portion of said chamber and spaced below said closure, said outlet including a discharge conduit having its open end positioned within said chamber adjacent said closed bottom end, means supplying an oil-water mixture under pressure to said chamber through said inlet conduit, flow restricting means in said inlet conduit for restricting the rate of flow of said oil-water mixture into said chamber, a supply of oleophilic, hydrophobic ground foamed polymeric material in said chamber between said open ends of said inlet and said discharge conduits, said foamed polymeric material being a closed cell urethane foam having a density within the range of 1.7 to 2.3 pounds per cubic foot and being ground so that at least a major portion of the ground particles are of a size within the range of one-fourth to one-half inch, said foamed material being contained within at least one closed bag formed from a porous hydrophilic material with said bag and said foamed material contained therein being packed into and substantially filling said chamber between said open ends of said inlet and discharge conduits with a portion of said chamber between said closure and said open end of said inlet conduit being substantially free of said foam material whereby, when said chamber is filled with water and an oil-water mixture is circulated therethrough from said inlet to said outlet conduits, the oil-water mixture is discharged into said chamber below the surface of the liquid therein and must flow downwardly through said bag of ground foamed plastic material and oil attracted by said foam material is permitted to float to said portion of said container which is substantially free of said foam material.