Patent ID: 7063793

Claim:
A process for removing a contaminant from a three-phase dental effluent, comprising: transporting a three-phase effluent from dental work on a patient through a suction line into a collection vessel, wherein the effluent comprises one or more contaminants; contacting a liquid phase of the three-phase effluent with at least one reagent; introducing the three-phase effluent into the collection vessel, wherein the three-phase effluent separates into a solid phase, the liquid phase, and a gas phase in the collection vessel and the at least one reagent comprises at least one of an agglomerating agent and a precipitating agent to improve the collection efficiency for one or more contaminants; removing the gas phase from the collection vessel; and removing the liquid phase from the collection vessel, wherein the at least one reagent is contained in a line cleaning solution and wherein the line cleaning solution is introduced into the suction line in the contacting step.