Abstract:
An above ground oil and water separator including a pump to draw potentially contaminated water from a containment area, and to supply a flow of water to an enclosure. An enclosure inlet pipe takes water from the diaphragm pump into the enclosure. A first sub-enclosure is formed within the enclosure by a wall containing a plurality of coalescing spheres. The coalescing spheres are bagged within the first wall and can be removed through an external lid during cleaning and removal of coalesced oil. A heat source contained within an electrical panel heats water and supplies the heated water to the enclosure to prevent freezing within the enclosure.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
   U.S. Provisional Application for Patent No. 60/776,713, filed Feb. 24, 2006, with title “Oil Separation Apparatus” which is hereby incorporated by reference. Applicant claims priority pursuant to 35 U.S.C. par. 119(e)(i). 

   STATEMENT AS TO RIGHTS TO INVENTIONS MADE UNDER FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT 
   Not Applicable 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   The present invention relates generally to an oil/water separation system, and more particularly to an above ground oil and water separator system. 
   2. Brief Description of Prior Art 
   In many environments there is a need to separate water from oil. Often times run off water from industrial sites and from parking lots must be treated prior to allowing it to flow into a city sewer or stream. It is common practice to use an oil separator with a coalescer to separate immiscible liquids and settleable solids. 
   U.S. Pat. No. 6,605,224, to Aymong discloses an oil/water separator that uses sloping coalescer plates to separate oil from water. 
   A limitation of the prior art is that it is commonly installed underground and that requires a service person to enter a confined space to service the apparatus when it becomes full of oil. Underground tanks must be monitored for underground leakage. Prior art oil separators also rely on visual inspection, which can lead to an unacceptable result of water with an oil sheen on top being expelled from the separator into the sewer. 
   As can be seen, there is a need for an improved oil separator that does not require a workman to enter a confined space and that reduces the risk of underground leaks and of accidental discharge of partially treated water into the storm sewer. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention is directed to an above ground oil and water separator system that includes a pump to draw water from a containment area, and to supply a flow of water to an enclosure. An enclosure inlet pipe takes water from the diaphragm pump into the enclosure. A first sub-enclosure is formed within the enclosure by a wall containing a plurality of coalescing spheres. The coalescing spheres are bagged within the first wall and can be removed through an external lid during cleaning and removal of coalesced oil. A heat source contained within an electrical panel heats water and supplies the heated water to the enclosure to prevent freezing. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  shows a partial cross section of the present invention, an oil separation apparatus. 
       FIG. 2  shows details of the apparatus of  FIG. 1 . 
       FIG. 3  shows the system controlled diagram of the apparatus of  FIG. 1 . 
   

   DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
   In accordance with the present invention, an oil separation apparatus is disclosed.  FIG. 1  shows a partial cross sectional view of the oil separator system  10  that can be placed above ground in a water containment dike D, a portion of which is shown. The dike D allows for the collection of run off water from a parking lot or from roofs of buildings or from outdoor industrial equipment for example. The collected run off water may contain oil contamination or other immiscible contaminants that must be removed from the water prior to releasing the water from a city storm sewer for example. Placing the system  10  above ground has several advantages including a reduced need for cathodic protection when compared to underground systems common in the prior art. 
   The system  10  takes water in an inlet  12  which can be connected to a hose or pipe to reach a source of contaminated water not shown. Arrows A show the flow of water through the system  10 . The flow of water is powered by a diaphragm pump  16 . A suitable pump  16  might provide 30 gallons per minute of flow for example. 
   The pipe  18  provides an inlet for the enclosure  22 . The inlet pipe  18  ends inside the enclosure  22  with a Y-shaped diffuser section  24 . The diffuser section  24  includes 2 arms each of which has a plurality of slots  28  but diffuse the flow of water into the enclosure  22 . The diffuser slots  28  spread the release of water into the enclosure to reduce turbulence, the slots  28  are normally located under the water lever W. It is desirable to reduce turbulence to accelerate the separation of oil from the water stream. A first wall  30  creates a first sub-enclosure  32 . In the first sub-enclosure  32  larger dirt particles P can drop out of the water and some oil will separate to the top of the water W. The water is guided through a plurality of cross over pipes  36  located on the wall  30 . 
   The second sub-enclosure  40  receives water from the first sub-enclosure  32  through cross over pipes  36  and allows for further settlement of dirt and separation of oil. The cross over pipes  36  allow water to be taken from sub-enclosure  32  below the level of oil “O” that may be floating on the surface of sub-enclosure  32 . The wall  42  allows for water to pass through a containment area  44 . The containment area  44  is filled with coalescer surfaces such as coalescer spheres  46 . Water can flow slowly through the closely packed coalescer spheres  46 . Spheres  46  are commercially available through KLEERWATER coalescer balls for example. Coalescer spheres  46  provide a surface for oil to separate from the water flow A. Oil O will separate from the water and collect on top of water in each sub-enclosure. Effective separation of oil from water is a function of providing time and surface area for oil to coalesce on. The coalescer spheres  46  provide a very high amount of surface area compared to the volume of the containment area  44 , further the sphere shape allows for the coalesced oil to move vertically and to collect. Water flows into containment area  44  through the wall  42  which can include openings  43  through which water can flow, water leaves containment area through wall  49  which also has openings  43  through which the water can pass. The size of the openings  43  in each wall  42 ,  49  can be determined by the amount of flow required. The containment area  44  also includes a flow through bag  82  that holds coalescer spheres  46 . 
   Sub-enclosure  50  takes water from the coalescer spheres  46 . Water flows into the pipe  52  near the bottom of sub-enclosure  50  and out the outlet  54 . The water containing a few parts per billion can be released into a city storm sewer for example. 
   The system  10  can include skids  60  to support the system  10 . The skids  60  can include openings  62  that can allow the system  10  to be moved by forklift for example. 
   The system  10  includes an electrical panel  66 . The electrical panel  66 , pump  16  and all censors are explosion proof allowing the system  10  to achieve UL  142  labeling meaning the unit can be submerged in flammable liquids such as gasoline or diesel. The electrical panel  66  includes a door  68  and an opening device  70  such as a handle. The door  68  can include a lockout device to shut down the system  10  if the door  68  is open to service the system  10 . 
   The electrical panel  66  can include an external alarm light  74  that can alert operators to conditions such as when the system  10  needs to have separated oil removed. The enclosure  22  can include a coalescer lid  80  above the coalescer containment area  44 , the lid normally covers an opening  81  into the containment area  44 . The coalescer lid  80  can allow an operator to remove the coalescer spheres  46  which can be contained in a plurality of permeable flow through bags  82 . As the system  10  is above ground it must include means to prevent the water in the system  10  from freezing. The system  10  can include a heater ( 316  in  FIG. 3 ) that heats water that flows through pipe  86 . The enclosure  22  can include drain plugs  90  in each of the sub-enclosures  32 ,  40  and  50 . The enclosure  22  can also include a plurality of lugs  92  which can be used to lift and move the system  10 . The oil O is stored in the upper half of the enclosure  22  above water. There is a liquid sensor  312  in the upper half that detects oil level O. Once the oil level hits a high level, an audio, visible alarm  74  and a remote alarm meaning off site can be powered. There is also a drain  76  disposed in the upper half of the enclosure  22  so user can drain oil off manually or can include an automatic drain  340  ( FIG. 3 ) that would drain off oil responsive to the oil level full signal. A container (not shown) can be positioned to catch the drain off oil. The drain  76  allows for easy draining and eliminates the need to spend a lot of time in cleaning the enclosure  22 . 
   The enclosure  22  can further include a mushroom vent  94  and an emergency vent  96 . The enclosure  22  can also include a level  98  used when installing the system  10  to assure it is level. 
     FIG. 2  shows details of the Y-shaped diffuser pipe section  24 . The diffuser pipe section  24  includes 2 arms  26  and an inlet connected to an inlet pipe  18 . Each arm  26  includes a plurality of diffuser slots  28 . The slots  28  spread the flow of inlet water into the first sub-enclosure  32  thereby reducing turbulence which is important to promote separation of immiscible oil and particles from the water. 
     FIG. 3  shows the control  300  arrangement for the system  10 . A controller  302  is provided and is housed in electrical panel  66 . The controller  302  receives a signal from water level indicator  306  located in the dike D. The presence of the water in the dike D will cause the controller  302  to turn on pump  16  to bring water into the system  10 . 
   A sensor  310  can sense the temperature surrounding the system  10 . The controller  302  can receive a signal from the sensor  310  indicating that the temperature is below a preset value. If the external temperature is near or below freezing, the control  302  can activate a heater system  316  that can heat water that flows through pipe  86  and into the system  10  to prevent freezing of the system  10 . 
   A sensor  312  can sense the level of separated oil present in the enclosure  22  and can send an alarm signal that can light alarm light  74 , shut off pump  16  and send a cell phone signal to notify an operator of the need to service the system  10  by removing oil. The system  10  can include a lid open sensor  318  that will shut the system  10  down if the lid  80  is open and also a door open sensor  320  that will shut the system down if the control panel door  68  is open. 
   In operation when the alarm  74  indicates service is needed, the lid  80  can be removed and the bags  82  can be pulled out for visual inspection. The contents of the enclosure can be pumped out through the opening  81  in the top of the enclosure and the final contents can be drained through drain  90 . 
   Although the description above contains many specificities, these should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention but as merely providing illustrations of some of the presently preferred embodiments of this invention. As such, it is understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the claims. 
   It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that modifications may be made to the embodiments described above without departing from the scope of the invention. Thus the scope of the invention should be determined by the claims in the formal application and their legal equivalents, rather than by the examples given.