Paint sludge separator tank using froth floatation

Abstract

A system includes a sparger and a gas supply for paint sludge separation in a tank containing a mixture of paint and liquid. The tank has an open upper end for moving paint sludge out of the tank. The sparger includes a gas inlet tube fluidically connected to an enclosure hood, the inlet tube projecting downwardly into the tank to a tube outlet. The enclosure hood has a closed upper end that radially encloses the tube outlet and extends downwardly to an open lower end to define an interior volume between the upper and lower ends. The lower end defines a peripheral rim with a diameter greater than a diameter of the enclosure hood at the closed upper end. The gas supply feeds the gas inlet tube of the sparger, and has a pressure that forms a gas pocket within the interior volume of the enclosure hood that extends from the tube outlet to the peripheral rim such that portions of the gas pocket pass over the peripheral rim and form gas bubbles which rise through the mixture towards the open upper end of the tank.