Apparatus for separation of oil from oil and water mixtures

Apparatus for separating oil from a mixture of oil and water, comprising a receptacle having a lower region provided with a bottom inlet for introduction of a mixture to be separated and an upper region provided with an outlet for removing separated oil, means supporting within said receptacle an assembly comprised by a plurality of upwardly inclined laminar flow control members of inverted channel shape from end-to-end arranged in laterally spaced apart side-by-side relation in each of a plurality of spaced vertical levels, the lower ends of said members being disposed within said lower region and spaced above the floor or said receptacle for receiving the introduced mixture at the bottom of said assembly for upward flow therethrough for separation of the oil by contact with the under-surfaces of said members, and the upper ends of said members being disposed within said upper region for discharge of the oil, thus constrained, from the assembly at the upper ends of said members, means constraining said mixture for inclined upward flow in said assembly between the lower and upper regions, means in said upper region whereby the separated remainder of the mixture falls downwardly out of the assembly through spaces between the members prior to reaching the upper ends of the members, while upwardly flowing oil is confined within the said flow control members until it reaches the upper ends of said members, whereby the downwardly falling remainder of said mixture is prevented from counter flow contact with the upwardly flowing oil, and means for withdrawing the separated remainder of the mixture from the upper region of said receptacle.