Liquid purification or separation – Constituent mixture variation responsive
Reexamination Certificate
1998-11-24
2001-01-30
Hruskoci, Peter A. (Department: 1724)
Liquid purification or separation
Constituent mixture variation responsive
C210S103000, C210S112000, C210S115000, C210S137000, C210S143000, C210S167050, C210S181000, C210S182000, C210S251000, C210S257100, C210S258000, C210SDIG005
Reexamination Certificate
active
06180001
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to separation of light and heavy phase liquids and, more particularly, to varying the output flow of a separation apparatus in order to separate light and heavy phase liquids so that the heavy phase liquid is separated to a predetermined concentration.
2. Discussion
In metal fabrication systems, it is often desirable to heat treat the metals to be fabricated. Heat treatment typically involves controlled heating and cooling of the metal in the solid state in order to obtain specific, desired properties. The particular type of heat treating process depends upon the desired result and characteristics of the metal. One operation performed in the heat treatment process involves rapidly cooling metal in order to fabricate hard metal. This process is referred to as quenching. Quenching involves cooling the metal at a rate sufficient to form the desired metallurgical properties while minimizing residual stresses, distortion, and the possibility of cracking.
One particular quenching operation utilizes polymer quenchants. Polymer quenchants include solutions of organic polymers and water. The organic polymers contain corrosion inhibitors, as well as other additives, to produce a concentrated solution which is further diluted into a suitable quench solution. Examples of organic polymers used in polymer quenching operations include polyalkylene glycol (PAG), sodium polyacrylate (ACR), polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVC), and other polymers. Because various polymer quenchants possess different properties, the selection of a particular polymer depends upon the desired quenching characteristics. The quenching characteristics can further be varied by selection of polymer concentration, temperature of the polymer, and the degree of agitation. Factors considered when selecting polymer quenchants include hardenability of the metal, thickness, and surface finish of the quenched metal, as well as other properties.
Polymer quenchants provide numerous advantages. Polymer quenchants are non-flammable, thereby significantly reducing the risk of fire and eliminating the need for expensive fire extinguishing systems. Polymer quenchants also provide a safer working environment by eliminating smoke and fumes during the quenching process and by eliminating the oily environments resulting from the use of more commonly used quenching oils. Polymer quenchants also provide numerous other technical advantages, as are known to those skilled in the art.
One particular advantage of polymer quenchants is that varied concentrations of the polymer quenchant provide flexibility of the quenching process to achieve a particular, desired result. Recently, some quenchant installations have included forms of quenchant management systems for varying the concentration of quenchant in the quench tank in order to vary the properties of the quenching operation. The quenchant management system receives fluid from the quench tank and recovers heavy and light phase components from the liquid received from the quench tank. The heavy phase component comprises the polymer quenchant in predetermined concentrations, and the light phase component comprises substantially water with a typical low level polymer quenchant concentration.
Existing quenchant management systems recover the polymer quenchants through thermal separation or through reverse osmosis. In thermal separation, the polymer quenchant is heated within a tank to cause separation into a heavy phase and a light phase which are then individually removed. While thermal separation may be relatively inexpensive, thermal separation does not provide the desired accuracy in the concentrations of the heavy and light phase components, requiring additional apparatus and operations to verify the concentrations of the recovered polymer. Reverse osmosis, on the other hand, is more accurate in the recovery of heavy and light phase components than thermal separation, but is much more expensive to manufacture and maintain.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a quenchant management system which allows for accurate recovery of polymer quenchant in predetermined concentrations.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This invention is directed to an apparatus for separating an input fluid into a first phase liquid and a second phase liquid, the first phase liquid having a desired concentration of a selected component. The apparatus includes a device for measuring a concentration of the component in the input fluid and a flow meter for determining an input flow rate of the input fluid. A separator separates the input fluid into a first output fluid comprising the first phase liquid and a second output fluid comprising the second phase liquid, each output fluid having a flow rate from the separator. A first flow meter determines the flow rate of one of the first or second output fluids, and a first flow valve varies the flow rate of the first output fluid. A controller adjusts the first flow valve in accordance with the input flow rate, the input fluid concentration, and the desired concentration of the selected component.
This invention is also directed to a method for separating an input fluid into a first phase liquid and a second phase liquid, where the first phase liquid has a desired concentration of a selected component. The method includes the steps of determining a flow rate of the input fluid and determining the concentration of the selected component in the input fluid. The input fluid is passed through a separator to separate first phase liquid from the second phase liquid to provide a first output flow. The first output flow is made up of the first phase liquid, and a second output flow makes up the second phase liquid. A flow rate of one of the first or second output flows is determined. The flow rate of the first output flow is controlled in accordance with the concentration of the selected component in the input fluid, the flow rate of the input fluid, and the desired concentration of the selected component in the first phase liquid.
These and other advantages and features of the present invention will become readily apparent from the following detailed description, claims and drawings.
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Bogh Niels
Howard Robert
Inch Mark
King F. Paul
Harness & Dickey & Pierce P.L.C.
Hruskoci Peter A.
Moco Thermal Industries, Incorporated
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