Single phase enrichment of super critical fluids

The method of treating a mixture of electrically neutral materials comprising, forming a solution of said materials under near-critical conditions of temperature and pressure, and applying to said solution a non-uniform field so as to deflect one of the components of said mixture to a greater extent than other components of said mixture.

The method of treating a mixture of electrically neutral, materials having different dielectric constants comprising forming a solution of said materials under near-critical conditions of temperature and pressure, and applying to said solution a non-uniform electric field to dielectrophoretically separate said materials.

The method of treating a near critical fluid mixture comprising applying a non-uniform electric field to said mixture to dielectrophoretically separate single-phase solution components of said near critical fluid mixture.

The method of treating a near critical magnetic or diamagnetic fluid mixture comprising applying a non-uniform magnetic field to said mixture to magnetically separate single-phase solution components of said near critical fluid mixture.

The method of treating a near critical single-phase fluid mixture comprising providing a porous polarizable matrix, leading said fluid mixture to flow through said matrix, subjecting said matrix to a field of an intensity such as to produce non-uniform fields within the interstices of said matrix, with said intersticial fields effecting in a said matrix a retardation of one of the components of said near critical single-phase fluid mixture and permitting a portion of said fluid mixture to pass through said matrix depleted of said retarded component.

The process of recovering soluble species from a material substrate comprising, contacting a material substrate containing said soluble species with a fluid solvent effective to dissolve said soluble species from said material substrate, acting upon the resultant fluid mixture of said soluble species in said fluid solvent so as to form it into a near critical single-phase fluid mixture, applying a non-uniform field to said near-critical fluid mixture so as to recover said fluid solvent and said soluble species separately from the residue of said material substrate depleted of said soluble species.

The process of removing dissolved material from superheated steam being fed to a steam-receiving device, comprising the steps of passing said steam through a non-uniform electric field while maintaining said steam under near critical conditions of temperature and pressure so as to hold said material dissolved in a single-phase steam solution, and with said field deflecting said dissolved material component of said solution from passage to said steam receiving device, whereby said steam reaching said device is depleted of said material.

Method of solute specie enrichment in a near critical fluid comprising the steps of providing said fluid having said specie dissolved in it under near-critical conditions of temperature and pressure, while maintaining said conditions applying to said fluid a substantially monotonic non-uniform field of strength adequate to effect a motive force on said specie in said fluid so as to cause a first region of said fluid to becomes enriched in said solute specie and a second region of said fluid to become depleted of said solute specie, and maintaining said near critical conditions and said field so as to enhance the enrichment of said solute specie in said first region.

A method of separating two materials one from the other comprising the steps of providing a mixture of said materials dissolved in a fluid mixture under near-critical conditions of temperature and pressure, and passing said fluid mixture through a non-uniform field of strength adequate to effect a differential motive force on said materials such that one of said materials is enriched in one portion of said fluid mixture and depleted from another portion of said fluid mixture in said field.

Apparatus for enriching a solute specie in a near-critical fluid comprising, a container for said fluid, said container being adapted to provide near-critical conditions of temperature and pressure for said fluid, means to introduce said fluid having said solute specie mixed in it into said container, means to establish and to maintain said conditions in said container, and means to apply to said fluid a substantially non-uniform field of strength adequate to effect a motive force on said solute specie in said fluid so as to cause a first region of said fluid in said container to become enriched in said solute specie relative to other regions in said fluid in said container.