Oil-water separator

Claim 2

An oil-water separator comprising: a tank having first and second longitudinally spaced ends, a upper portion and a lower portion; a baffle member positioned within said tank adjacent the first end thereof; an oil-water flow inlet opening into the upper portion of said tank at a position juxtaposed to said baffle member so as to direct an oil-water flow against said baffle member; a sediment bucket positioned in the lower portion of said tank below said baffle member; a coalescer unit positioned downstream of said sediment bucket, said coalescer unit including a plurality of vertically spaced, substantially parallel corrugated baffle plates sloping upwardly from a coalescer inlet, adjacent the lower portion of said tank, to a coalescer outlet; a separation plate including a section that slopes upwardly from said coalescer outlet toward the second end of said tank, said separation plate including an uppermost section; and an outlet flow passage terminating in a discharge outlet for said separator, said outlet flow passage having a passage opening located in the lower portion of said tank, closer to the first end of said tank than the uppermost section of said separation plate.

Claim 3

An oil-water separator as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a cover member removably attached to the upper portion of said tank, said baffle member sloping upwardly away from the first end of said tank toward said cover member.

Claim 4

An oil-water separator as claimed in claim 2, wherein said baffle member includes a surface portion, opposite said inlet, defining transversely extending corrugations.

Claim 5

An oil-water separator as claimed in claim 1, further comprising handle means fixed to said sediment bucket for use in removing said sediment bucket from said tank.

Claim 6

An oil-water separator as claimed in claim 4, wherein said baffle member is supported by said handle means within said tank.

Claim 7

An oil-water separator as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a dividing wall extending substantially vertically between said baffle member and said coalescer unit, said coalescer unit being mounted to, supported by and readily removable from said tank with said dividing wall.

Claim 8

An oil-water separator as claimed in claim 6, wherein said dividing wail has extending therethrough, above said coalescer unit, a plurality of vertically spaced pipes providing for oil transfer through said dividing wail and impingement coalescence of oil droplets.

Claim 9

An oil-water separator as claimed in claim 1, further including a collection tube extending through and upwardly from the uppermost section of said separation plate for guiding particles upward, away from said separation plate, toward an oil-water interface.

Claim 10

An oil-water separator as claimed in claim 1, wherein said separation plate further includes a section that slopes downwardly from the uppermost section of said separation plate toward the second end of said tank.

Claim 11

An oil-water separator as claimed in claim 1, wherein said outlet flow passage extends along the lower portion of said tank a predetermined distance and then upwardly at the second end of said tank to said water discharge outlet.

Claim 12

An oil-water separator as claimed in claim 10, wherein said passage opening is located closer to the first end of said tank than the second end thereof.

Claim 13

An oil-water separator as claimed in claim 1, further comprising skimmer means mounted in said tank above said separation plate.

Claim 14

An oil-water separator as claimed in claim 1, further comprising means for sensing and indicating the location of an oil-water interface within said tank.

Claim 15

An oil-water separator comprising: a tank having first and second longitudinally spaced ends, an upper portion and a lower portion; an inlet opening into the upper portion of said tank at the first end thereof for introducing an oil-water flow into said tank; first separator means positioned within said tank, adjacent the first end thereof, juxtaposed to said inlet, said first separator means directing the oil-water flow generally downwardly within said tank; second separator means positioned adjacent the lower portion of said tank and downstream of said first separator means, said second separator means directing the oil-water flow from the lower portion of said tank upwardly and toward the second end of said tank at a predetermined angle; third separator means positioned downstream of said second separator means, said third separator means initially directing the oil-water flow from said second separator means upwardly toward the second end of said tank and then re-directing the flow in a reverse direction, generally downwardly and toward the first end of said tank; and an outlet flow passage terminating in a discharge outlet for said separator, said outlet flow passage having a passage opening located in the lower portion of said tank, closer to the first end of said tank than at least a portion of said third separator means.

Claim 16

An oil-water separator comprising: a tank having first and second longitudinally spaced ends, an upper portion and a lower portion; an inlet opening into the upper portion of said tank at the first end thereof for introducing an oil-water flow into said tank; first separator means positioned within said tank, adjacent the first end thereof, juxtaposed to said inlet, said first separator means directing the oil-water flow generally downwardly within said tank; second separator means positioned adjacent the lower portion of said tank and downstream of said first separator means, said second separator means directing the oil-water flow from the lower portion of said tank upwardly and toward the second end of said tank at a predetermined angle; third separator means positioned downstream of said second separator means, said third separator means initially directing the oil-water flow from said second separator means upwardly toward the second end of said tank and then re-directing the flow in a reverse direction, generally downwardly and toward the first end of said tank; and an outlet flow passage terminating in a discharge outlet for said separator, said outlet flow passage having a passage opening located in the lower portion of said tank, closer to the first end of said tank than at least a portion of said third separator means.

Claim 17

An oil-water separator as claimed in claim 14, wherein said first separator means comprises a corrugated baffle member that slopes upwardly away from the first end of said tank and a sediment bucket positioned in the lower portion of said tank below said baffle member.

Claim 18

An oil-water separator as claimed in claim 15, further including means for interconnecting said baffle member and said sediment bucket whereby said baffle member and said sediment bucket can be readily removed from said tank as a unit.

Claim 19

An oil-water separator as claimed in claim 14, wherein said second separator means comprises a coalescer unit including a plurality of vertically spaced, substantially parallel corrugated baffle plates and said third separator means comprises a separation plate including a portion that slopes upwardly from said coalescer unit toward the second end of said tank.

Claim 20

An oil-water separator as claimed in claim 17, further including a divider member extending substantially vertically between said first separator means and said second separator means, said divider member being attached to said coalescer unit such that said divider member and said coalescer unit can be removed from said tank as a unit.

Claim 21

An oil-water separator as claimed in claim 17, further including a collection tube extending through and upwardly from an uppermost section of said separation plate.