Patent ID: 6936178
Filing Date: 2005-08-30
Classification: B01D

Abstract:
1. A settler for decanting mineral slurries, comprising a tank for holding and decanting a body of slurry to form a thickened slurry as a lower layer and a clarified liquid as an upper layer, the tank having a central vertical axis, a side wall, a bottom and a top, an outlet for the thickened slurry at the bottom of the tank, an outlet for the clarified liquid layer near the top of the tank, a slurry inlet means near the top of the tank for introducing fresh slurry into the tank, the slurry inlet means having a slurry opening through which fresh slurry joins the body of slurry in the tank and being configured to avoid accumulation of solids from said fresh slurry immediately upstream of the slurry opening, an inlet for introduction of a flocculating agent into said slurry upstream of said slurry opening and a stirrer having a generally vertical axis around which the stirrer rotates or reciprocates, wherein said slurry opening has a center that is displaced laterally relative to said generally vertical axis of the stirrer by a distance of at least 5% of a distance between said central vertical axis of said tank and said side wall of said tank.