Apparatus for the clarification of liquids, such as notably water, fruit juices, grape must or similar

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION According to this embodiment, the liquid to be treated is brought, for example from a loaded vat (not shown) and via a conduit 1, to a tank 2, while first passing through a device 2a which can be a coarse screening system, a filtering grid, a thickening grid or equivalent.
According to the invention, tank 2 is placed at the base of the apparatus.
On the liquid inlet conduit 1 is mounted a valve 3 operatively controlled by a float 4, which is placed in tank 2.
In tank 2, the liquid is pumped by a pump 5 connected to conduit 6 in order to be pressurized in an enclosure 7 where it is saturated with a gas introduced by a conduit 8.
The pressurized liquid is, prior to its introduction in the flotation equipment 10, relieved of pressure by an adapted member 9 so as to create within the liquid micro-bubbles which will cause clarification of the liquid by flotation of the particles contained in the liquid.
The flotation equipment 10 is provided with a surface scraper 11 discharging the particles which are separated from the liquid in a chute 12 from where they can be brought only by gravity and due to the arrangements according to the invention, via conduit 18 to different points of the apparatus, for example as shown at 19 and 20 on the thickening grid, or discharged from the apparatus.
On the opposite end of the flotation equipment, the clarified liquid is collected in a compartment 13 provided, according to the invention, with an overflow 14 discharging to tank 2 and provided with a transparent element 15 allowing one to see the flow of the liquid.
From compartment 13, the clarified liquid is brought by a conduit 16, past a window 17, to a filtration system operating with sand, a membrane for reverse osmosis, or any other appropriate device (not shown), which provides the "downstream demand", which decreases very generally with time whatever the nature of the system used.
The apparatus is put in operation and operates in the following manner: The operator sets the rate of the liquid flowing from compartment 13 of the flotation equipment, by setting the discharge rate of the transfer pump 5 as a function of the "downstream demand", the window 17 allowing him to identify the level reached in the liquid inlet duct 16 to the downstream filtration system