Controlled Phase Separation Vessel (Patent No: 883974)

Inventor: Cymbalisty, Lubomyr M.O.

Location: Edmonton

Comments: N/A

Description: The embodiment of the invention in which an exclusive88 3 974 property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. A vessel for separating a mixture of water, hydrocarbon material and solids comprising;
a vertically mounted elongated cylindrical shell;
an open ended cylindrical flood cell coaxially mounted within said shell and spaced apart from the inside of said shell to form an annular passage between the shell and the cylindrical flood cell;
feed means opening into said flood cell for feeding the mixture of water, hydrocarbon material and solids into said cell;
a plurality of vertically mounted rotatable blades rotatably mounted about a vertical axis in the flood cell below and adjacent to the feed means;
means for rotating said rotatable blades;
a plurality of vertically mounted static blades fixedly mounted in said flood cell adjacent said rotatable blades at the radial periphery thereof, whereby the rotating blades and the static blades in combination impart a high shear dispersing action to the mixture including the formation of a froth;
means for withdrawing froth from said vessel, said froth withdrawing means being located above said flood cell; and
a solids discharge means located at the bottom of said vessel.

2. The separation vessel of Claim 1 which also includes a multiplicity of vertical baffles mounted in the open ends of said flood cell, said baffles acting as turbulence reducers.

3. The separation vessel of Claim 1, said vessel additionally comprising:
solids settling means located within said vessel below said flood cell.

4. The separation vessel of Claim 1, which also includes means for withdrawing water from said shell at a point above said flood cell and recycling same to a point in said shell below said flood cell.

5. The apparatus of Claim 3 which additionally comprises froth disengaging means comprising a multiplicity of vertical baffles fixedly mounted within said shell above said flood cell and below and in spaced relationship with said froth withdrawal means.

6. The apparatus of Claim 3 wherein said solids settling means comprises;
a frusto-conical open ended deflector mounted in the bottom end of said vessel below said flood cell; and
a second cone shaped deflector mounted above said open ended deflector in spaced relation thereto, whereby the two deflectors function in concert to cause the mixture of solids and water flowing over the cones to separate from each other.

7. The apparatus of Claim 5 which additionally comprises a middlings removal conduit passing through said elongated shell and opening into the space enclosed by said open ended deflector, said solids discharge means also comprising an inverted frusto-conical wall cylinder attached to the bottom of said vessel shell and forming an opening in the bottom of the vessel for dumping solids, and valve means mounted adjacent said opening for opening and closing said opening.

8. The apparatus of Claim 7 wherein said valve means comprises a cone valve movably mounted above said opening, and means for moving said cone valve into said opening to close said opening and out of said opening to provide a variable opening.