Apparatus for effecting extraction

Claim 1

A MIXING AND SEPARATING ELEMENT COMPRISING: MEANS FOR MIXING EFFLUENT AND RESIDUAL PHASE OF IMMISCIBLE LIQUIDS IN PREDETERMINED QUANTITIES, A PHASE SEPARATING TUBE SEPARATE FROM SAID MIXING MEANS, THE PHASE SEPARATING TUBE HAVING AT LEAST ONE CLOSE END AND A PHASE ENTRANCE OPENING POSITIONED AWAY FROM THE CLOSED END, MEANS FOR INTRODUCING THE MIXED FLUIDS FROM THE MIXING MEANS INTO THE PHASE ENTRANCE OPENING OF THE PHASE SEPARATING TUBE, A DRAINING DOWNSPOUT EXTENDING THROUGH THE CLOSED END OF THE PHASE SEPARATING TUBE AND EXTENDING LOGITUDINALLY INTO THE PHASE SEPARATING TUBE AN EFFECTIVE DISTANCE SUBSTANTIALLY LESS THAN ONE HALF THE DISTANCE FROM THE CLOSED END OF THE TUBE TO THE PHASE ENTRANCE OPENING THEREIN, THE DOWNSPOUT INLET HAVING A SMALL OPENING POSITIONED COAXIALLY WITHIN THE PHASE MIXING TUBE, THE CUBIC VOLUME DEFINED BETWEEN THE PHASE SEPARATING TUBE AND DOWNSPOUT BETWEEN THE CLOSED END OF THE PHASE SEPARATING TUBE AND THE INLET END OF THE DOWNSPOUT BEING SUBSTANTIALLY EQUAL TO THE CUBIC VOLUME OF THE RESIDUAL PHASE OF THE LIQUID, WHEREBY WHEN THE MIXED LIQUIDS ARE PASSED INTO THE PHASE SEPARATING TUBE THEY MAY BE ALLOWED TO SEPARATE WHILE THE PHASE SEPARATING TUBE IS SUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTAL AND UPON MOVING THE PHASE SEPARATING TUBE UNTIL THE DOWNSPOUT IS SUBSTANTIALLY VERTICAL THE EFFUENT PHASE IS ALLOWED TO DRAIN OUT THROUGH THE DOWNSPOUT.