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AssigneeTropicana Products, Inc.
InventorsJohnny Casasnovas, Gerald Olean Fountain, Jeffrey D. Mathews
Estimating the term…
A hydrophobic separating plug is used to separate and inhibit mixing between a first material and a second material. The plug may be formed of a hydrophobic material or may be formed of a plurality of pigs that are a solid or semi-solid material that may be hydrophobic or may have a hydrophobic or superhydrophobic surface. The plurality of pigs may be disposed within a hydrophobic fluid and the pigs may be neutrally buoyant in the hydrophobic fluid. The hydrophobic separating plug has dimensions sufficient to substantially fill the cross-section of pipe sections in which it is located and to define a leading edge and a trailing edge such that the leading edge is in contact with a first material and the trailing edge is in contact with a second material. Advantageously, mixing between the first material and the second material is inhibited by the plug.
A method of minimizing mixing of a first aqueous-based material and a second aqueous-based material in a pipe having a first effective diameter, the method comprising:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.