Patent ID: 6066264
Filing Date: 2000-05-23
Classification: B01D,Y10S

Abstract:
An oil-water separation method to separate contaminated oil-water in a process tank into filtered clean water and coalesced free oil, which method comprises:a) prefiltering the contaminated oil-water from the process tank in a prefilter to remove particulate material and recycling any coalesced free oil from the prefilter to the process tank;b) filtering the prefiltered oil-water in a depth fibrous oleophobic filter under back pressure;c) sweeping the prefiltered oil-water about the outside surface of the oleophobic filter to prevent free oil from plugging the oleophobic filter;d) withdrawing filtered clean water from the interior of the oleophobic filter;e) recycling the swept oil-water from the oleophobic filter, with coalesced free oil returning back to the process tank; andf) removing coalesced free oil on the surface of the oil-water in the process tank.