Separation of particulate material from sludge, slurries and like flowable material

Apparatus for removing particulate material from a sludge or like flowable material containing solid particles comprising a container having a fixed position anode with a vertical or substantially vertical surface, a fixed position cathode in said container spaced away from the anode and facing the anode, an endless flexible driven element, at least one scraper mounted on said flexible element to be carried upwardly adjacent that surface of the anode which faces the cathode, the flexible element being arranged to carry the scraper around an endless path for repetitive passage adjacent the anode surface, said scraper extending in a substantially horizontal plane across the whole width of the anode surface so that material deposited on the anode or at least some of that material is scraped off onto the upper side of the scraper as that scraper moves upwardly, and a movable collector arranged to engage the or each scraper on the endless flexible element as that scraper moves downwardly so as to remove material therefrom and then to move clear of that scraper and return to a position to engage the next scraper.