A modular tube volume reduction assembly for use at a vacuum tube vehicle station is provided. The assembly includes a modular station vacuum tube having a tube volume and a plurality of cavities longitudinally formed around a circumference of the modular station vacuum tube, and a volume reduction assembly integrated with the modular station vacuum tube, where the volume reduction assembly includes a plurality of blocks longitudinally coupled to a cavity interior of each of the plurality of cavities. The assembly includes a control system coupled between the modular station vacuum tube and the blocks. The control system radially moves the blocks to and from a vehicle outer surface of a vacuum transport tube vehicle at the vacuum tube vehicle station. The assembly displaces the tube volume between a station wall and the vehicle outer surface, and reduces the volume to be evacuated at the vacuum tube vehicle station.

A method and system for treatment of flow-back and produced water from a hydrocarbon well in which fracturing operations are carried out using a phase separation and creating of positive charge in the water.

A well flow separator vessel having a sediment chamber at the inlet end of the vessel with a knock-down billet, followed by a coalescer and a first horizontal flow path between an upper horizontal divider and a lower horizontal divider extending the cylinder length from the sediment chamber towards the distal end of the vessel. At the far end of the first flow path, gasses are received through a scrubber/demister into a second horizontal flow path between the upper horizontal divider and the top side of the vessel, also extending the cylinder length, except directing flow in the reverse direction back towards the inlet end of the vessel towards a gas outlet. Also at the far end of the first flow path, combined liquids fall into a third horizontal flow path between the lower horizontal divider and the bottom side of the body extending the cylinder length towards the inlet end of the vessel, and having at a first one water separation chamber and one oil collection chamber separated by at least a first Weir plate, wherein the oil collection chamber terminates at the bulkhead. A plurality of outlets is provided for removing sediment, water and oil from the chambers and gas second horizontal flow path.

A vacuum volume reduction system and method for reducing a volume to be evacuated at a vacuum tube vehicle station are provided. The system has a station vacuum tube in an interior of a station wall of the vacuum tube vehicle station. The station vacuum tube has a tube volume. The system has a volume reduction assembly coupled to the station vacuum tube, and a control system for radially moving the assembly to and from a vehicle outer surface of a vacuum transport tube vehicle, to engage around the vehicle outer surface, for loading and unloading of passengers and/or cargo. The system further has door seal(s), an air supply assembly, and a vent-to-vacuum assembly. The system displaces the tube volume between the station wall and the vehicle outer surface, and in turn, reduces a volume to be evacuated at the vacuum tube vehicle station.

A well flow separator vessel having a sediment chamber at the inlet end of the vessel with a knock-down billet, followed by a coalescer and a first horizontal flow path between an upper horizontal divider and a lower horizontal divider extending the cylinder length from the sediment chamber towards the distal end of the vessel. At the far end of the first flow path, gasses are received through a scrubber/demister into a second horizontal flow path between the upper horizontal divider and the top side of the vessel, also extending the cylinder length, except directing flow in the reverse direction back towards the inlet end of the vessel towards a gas outlet. Also at the far end of the first flow path, combined liquids fall into a third horizontal flow path between the lower horizontal divider and the bottom side of the body extending the cylinder length towards the inlet end of the vessel, and having at a first one water separation chamber and one oil collection chamber separated by at least a first Weir plate, wherein the oil collection chamber terminates at the bulkhead. A plurality of outlets is provided for removing sediment, water and oil from the chambers and gas second horizontal flow path.

The sludge dehydrator equipment is a machine that permits to remove low turbidity water from sludge or watery pastes of industrial or mining origin, with the following objectives: To optimize ore recovery processes such as flotation by means of an increase of the sludge density; To thicken sludge or watery pastes for optimizing the filtering and drying processes, as well as to dispose of mining tailings; To concentrate and dispose of solids in suspension and to recover and recycle clean or clarified water.

The sludge dehydrator equipment has been designed on the basis of a rectangular tank provided with the necessary infrastructure for containing inside a series of suction plates being connected to a vacuum system, through which the process of solid-liquid separation is carried out and, on the other hand, to contain the cleaning mechanism-the cleaning car-with its motor system made up by pneumatic or hydraulic components required to clean suction plates the filtering medium and to keep them permanently operative.

In accordance with the sludge dehydrator feeding and the design of the lower or bottom cone of the rectangular tank will benefit to be derived from the industrial and mining operation.

A degassing chamber is disclosed, adapted for the efficient removal of entrained gases from liquids. In a preferred embodiment the degassing chamber is combined with and works in conjunction with a sedimentation tank to provide an efficient clarification station. The combined clarification station can have a footprint the same size as, or only slightly larger than, the footprint of the sedimentation tank alone. The degassing chamber is well-suited for retrofitting, and can easily be combined with most types of solid-liquid sedimentation tanks that are currently used in the industry.

A method and device used for treating effluents by the biological aerobic activated sludge process with hydrodynamic separation, sludge collection, internal sludge recirculation and atmospheric air or oxygen dissolution functions implemented by a device that accumulates the functions of solids retention and gas dissolution in the biological reactor, increasing the hydraulic load capacity of the secondary settler, as well as the load absorption capacity of the biological reactor, thus almost doubling the treatment capacity in relation to a conventional activated sludge process.

A vacuum volume reduction system and method for reducing a volume to be evacuated at a vacuum tube vehicle station are provided. The system has a station vacuum tube in an interior of a station wall of the vacuum tube vehicle station. The station vacuum tube has a tube volume. The system has a volume reduction assembly coupled to the station vacuum tube, and a control system for radially moving the assembly to and from a vehicle outer surface of a vacuum transport tube vehicle, to engage around the vehicle outer surface, for loading and unloading of passengers and/or cargo. The system further has door seal(s), an air supply assembly, and a vent-to-vacuum assembly. The system displaces the tube volume between the station wall and the vehicle outer surface, and in turn, reduces a volume to be evacuated at the vacuum tube vehicle station.

The disclosure includes a process and a plant for separating a suspension C from a suspension A, wherein the fraction of particles P.sub.C in the suspension C, which have a diameter smaller than a defined limit grain diameter, is greater than in the suspension A by at least the factor of 2. The suspension A is introduced into a container extending from the bottom to the top and a suspension B is withdrawn from the container, whose fraction of particles with a diameter greater than the defined limit grain diameter is increased with respect to suspension A. Due to the fact that suspension C is withdrawn from the container in a second partial stream above the first partial stream, in that the flow velocity of the suspension C is greater than the sinking velocity of the particles P.sub.C contained therein, an effective separation can be achieved.