Fluid treater having electric field warping means

Abstract

The concentrically disposed inner and outer electrodes of the treater are electrically insulated from one another across the annular treating region therebetween such that fluid flowing through the region is exposed only to an electric force field and not to electrical current flow. The lines of force between the two electrodes would normally extend radially across the region, but the introduction of a ring of separate conductors around the inner electrode and in parallelism therewith causes the field to be warped into a series of discrete concentrations as the region is circularly traversed. As a result of their insertion into the electric field, the warping conductors become oppositely charged over the two oppositely facing halves thereof, each conductor having its half facing the inner electrode charged oppositely to such inner electrode, while the half facing the outer electrode is charged oppositely of the outer electrode. Such charging phenomena increases the effect on the fluid flowing through the treater.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.