Apparatus for separating at least two elements contained in a liquid or gaseous fluid by means of an absorbent filtering material

An apparatus for separating at least two elements contained in a liquid or gaseous fluid, said apparatus comprising:

• a support plate on which a bottom wall is fixed;
• a piston cylinder having a first end positioned on said bottom wall and a second end sealably closed by a lid wall and a sealing means;
• a lid plate fixed above said lid wall and constituting, together therewith, a closure lid;
• a piston slidably displaceable within said piston cylinder and provided with a guide rod passing through said closure lid;
• a separation chamber situated below a bottom face of said piston and having absorbent or filtering material disposed therein, the volume of said separation chamber being adjustable by the movement of said piston so that said absorbent or filtering material can be compressed;
• an inlet duct and an outlet duct in fluid communication with said separation chamber;
• a protection cylinder disposed concentrically about said piston cylinder between said support plate and said lid plate in such a manner as to provide a sealed annular chamber around the piston cylinder;
• at least one orifice in fluid communication with said annular chamber to enable fluid to flow through said annular chamber;
• and
• connection means disposed inside said annular chamber and interconnecting said support plate and said lid plate.