A disposable blood separation set and a centrifugal blood processing system comprising a blood processing chamber adapted to be mounted on a rotor of a centrifuge; a frustro-conical cell separation chamber in fluid communication with the processing chamber, the cell separation chamber having an inlet, a primary outlet and a side tap outlet adjacent the inlet. A valve that is responsive to centrifugal force (a “gravity” valve) selects between the outlet and the side tap outlet. The gravity valve is mounted on the rotor. When the rotor spins at high speed, the gravity valve may open the primary outlet and close the side tap outlet. When the rotor spins at a lower speed, the gravity valve may open the side tap outlet and close the primary outlet.

A gas separator, gas separation system, and method for separating gas from drilling cuttings by actively maintaining a liquid seal of liquid in a lower portion of a separation vessel by controlling an introduced amount of the liquid admitted to the separation vessel as a removed amount of the liquid is removed from the separation vessel and by promoting agitation of the drilling cuttings in the liquid in an agitation chamber within the lower portion of the separation vessel to aid removal of the drilling cuttings along with the removed amount of the liquid.

A gas separator, gas separation system, and method for separating gas from drilling cuttings by actively maintaining a liquid seal of liquid in a lower portion of a separation vessel by controlling an introduced amount of the liquid admitted to the separation vessel as a removed amount of the liquid is removed from the separation vessel and by promoting agitation of the drilling cuttings in the liquid in an agitation chamber within the lower portion of the separation vessel to aid removal of the drilling cuttings along with the removed amount of the liquid.

Centrifuges are useful to, among other things, remove red blood cells from whole blood and retain platelets and other factors in a reduced volume of plasma. Platelet rich plasma (PRP) and or platelet poor plasma (PPP) can be obtained rapidly and is ready for immediate injection into the host. Embodiments may include valves, operated manually or automatically, to open ports that discharge the excess red blood cells and the excess plasma into separate receivers while retaining the platelets and other factors in the centrifuge chamber. High speeds used allow simple and small embodiments to be used at the patient's side during surgical procedures. The embodiments can also be used for the separation of liquids or slurries in other fields such as, for example, the separation of pigments or lubricants.

A method of operating hydrocyclone comprising a separation chamber which in use is arranged to generate an internal air core for affecting a material separation process, comprises measuring both a vibrational parameter of the separation chamber and a stability parameter of the internal air core during operation of the hydrocyclone. The measurements are compared against predefined corresponding parameters which are indicative of a stable operation of the hydrocyclone and an operational parameter of the hydrocyclone is adjusted dependent on the comparison.

A method of operating hydrocyclone comprising a separation chamber which in use is arranged to generate an internal air core for affecting a material separation process, comprises measuring both a vibrational parameter of the separation chamber and a stability parameter of the internal air core during operation of the hydrocyclone. The measurements are compared against predefined corresponding parameters which are indicative of a stable operation of the hydrocyclone and an operational parameter of the hydrocyclone is adjusted dependent on the comparison.

A system (1; 101) and a method for purification of oil, said system comprising:—at least one feed tank (3) comprising oil to be purified;—a separation aid dosing device(13);—at least one basic sedimentation tank (21a, 21b) comprising at least one inlet (23a, 23b) connected to the feed tank (3) and to the separation aid dosing device (13) for receiving oil to be purified and separation aid, said at least one basic sedimentation tank (21a, 21b) further comprising at least one sludge phase outlet (41a, 41b) provided in a bottom part (37a, 37b) of the basic sedimentation tank and at least one oil phase outlet (39a, 39b);—at least one advanced sedimentation tank (121) comprising at least one sludge phase inlet (122) connected to the at least one sludge phase outlet (41a, 41b) of the at least one basic sedimentation tank (21a, 21b), said advanced sedimentation tank (121) further comprising at least one sludge phase outlet (141; 141a, 141b) connected to a sludge tank (143) and at least one oil phase outlet (139a, 139b; 39), wherein said advanced sedimentation tank (121) further comprises at least one sensor (55; 55a, 55b, 55c) for detecting the presence of an oil phase or a sludge phase.

A system (1; 101) and a method for purification of oil, said system comprising:—at least one feed tank (3) comprising oil to be purified;—a separation aid dosing device(13);—at least one basic sedimentation tank (21a, 21b) comprising at least one inlet (23a, 23b) connected to the feed tank (3) and to the separation aid dosing device (13) for receiving oil to be purified and separation aid, said at least one basic sedimentation tank (21a, 21b) further comprising at least one sludge phase outlet (41a, 41b) provided in a bottom part (37a, 37b) of the basic sedimentation tank and at least one oil phase outlet (39a, 39b);—at least one advanced sedimentation tank (121) comprising at least one sludge phase inlet (122) connected to the at least one sludge phase outlet (41a, 41b) of the at least one basic sedimentation tank (21a, 21b), said advanced sedimentation tank (121) further comprising at least one sludge phase outlet (141; 141a, 141b) connected to a sludge tank (143) and at least one oil phase outlet (139a, 139b; 39), wherein said advanced sedimentation tank (121) further comprises at least one sensor (55; 55a, 55b, 55c) for detecting the presence of an oil phase or a sludge phase.

The present invention is directed to systems and methods for evaluating performance, performing process control, optimization and design of gravity separation process systems that are used to separate immiscible liquid dispersions (e.g., water-in-oil, oil-in-water mixtures) and emulsions for two-phase (liquid-liquid) or three-phase (gas-liquid-liquid) systems. According to one aspect, the design, simulation and control of such systems is performed using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software that is configured for determining the separation efficiency of separators on the basis of the true geometry and multidimensional flow field and for a distribution of droplet sizes with the influence of the emulsion concentration on the rheology of the oil-in-water or water-in-oil dispersion. The results of the CFD simulations can be used to adjust input parameters of the separator to maximize the separation efficiency of the separator such that it outputs liquid streams containing minimal amounts of immiscible liquid dispersions.

A system and method for recovering drilling fluid from shaker tailings includes a hopper and a cover that is pivotable between a first position in which the hopper is uncovered and a second position in which the hopper is covered. In the first position, the hopper receives the tailings, which are pumped via a low shear pump to a centrifuge. The drilling fluid extracted in the centrifuge is stored in a holding tank. In the second position, the cover is angled with respect to the direction of gravity so as to divert shaker tailings from being received in the hopper. Some fluid from the holding tank is sprayed into the hopper through nozzles to convey the deposited tailings toward the pump. A level detector senses the level of the mixture in the hopper, and an associated control system controls the pump speed and the cover position to control the operation.