Separation apparatus and method

DETAILED DESCRIPTION According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a separation apparatus for substantially separating at least two at least partially immiscible materials having different densities or specific gravities from each other, said apparatus comprising inlet means for admitting a mixture of the at least two at least partially immiscible materials, separating means for at least partially separating the mixture into at least a first fraction and a second fraction, and at least two outlet means, one of said outlet means for discharging the first fraction and a second of the outlet means for discharging the second fraction wherein the separating means comprises a baffle arrangement for inducing separation of the at least two materials, said baffle arrangement defining a flow path along which the mixture to be separated flows, said flow path being arranged such that the mixture flowing along the flow path resides in the flow path for a time sufficient to at least partially separate the mixture into the two fractions thereby separating the mixture into the at least two fractions, said baffle arrangement being provided with a first surface spaced apart from a second surface for inducing separation of the at least two materials.
According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of substantially separating a mixture of at least two at least partially immiscible materials into at least a first fraction and a second fraction comprising the steps of admitting a mixture containing both fluids to a separator means through an inlet means, allowing the mixture to flow along a flow path defined by a baffle arrangement provided in the separator means such that the mixture resides in the separator means for a time sufficient to at least partially separate the mixture into a first fraction and a second fraction, said baffle arrangement being provided with a first surface spaced apart from a second surface, said surfaces for inducing separation of the two materials such that the inducing surface of the baffle arrangement leads to or is directed to an outlet means for one of the fractions, and discharging the first fraction through a first outlet means and discharging the second fraction through a second outlet means thereby separating the mixture into two fractions