Patent ID: 6331253
Filing Date: 2001-12-18
Classification: B01D,C10G,C10M,C11B

Abstract:
Method of filtration of a viscous liquid, said viscous liquid comprising at least one heavy component and at least one light component, and having an initial viscosity under the ordinary conditions of 0.01 Pa.multidot.s. to 1 Pa.multidot.s, said method being characterized in that, under the effect of pressure, a super-critical substance in the super-critical state is dissolved in the viscous liquid, this super-critical substance having a viscosity lower than that of said viscous liquid, yielding a single phase liquid solution having a lower viscosity in comparison with the initial viscosity of the pure viscous liquid, said single phase liquid solution being treated under pressure by tangential filtration to produce a retained material comprising a portion of the super-critical substance and the heavy component, and a permeate comprising a portion of the super-critical substance and the light components.