Shellfish meat and shell separation process and apparatus

DETAILED DESCRIPTION What is claimed as new and what it is desired to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is: 1.
An apparatus for separating shellfish meat particles from a mixture of shell halves therewith comprising an elongated, vertically arranged first conduit that has upper and lower ends, a lateral wall which extends between the ends and defines an elongated narrow zone for treating the mixture by elutriation to separate the meat particles and shell halves thereof, an opening at said lower end for passing the separated shell halves from the zone, an opening at said upper end for passing the separated meat particles from the zone, and an opening in the lateral wall which is offset from and located between the openings at said upper and lower ends, a second conduit communicating with the zone through the lateral wall opening for delivering the mixture of meat particles and shell halves to said zone, a controllable device communicating with the zone below said lateral wall opening for delivering water to said zone and therein establishing an upward water flow rate at the lateral wall opening which is sufficient to entrain and carry the delivered meat particles upwardly toward the upper end opening while permitting the delivered shell halves to gravitate downwardly toward the lower end opening, another controllable device for agitating the water in a first region of the zone which is between said lateral wall opening and said lower end opening to thereby upend the delivered shell halves in the first region and thereby accelerate the downward movement thereof toward said lower end opening, another controllable device for increasing the upward water flow rate in a second region of the zone which is between said lateral wall openings and said upper end opening to accelerate the upward movement of the meat particles in the second region toward said upper end opening, and means communicating with the zone through said upper end opening for receiving the separated meat particles passing therethrough