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Abstract

A commercial electrokinetic separation system extracts charged particles from fluids and separates the particles into discrete separation bands. An electrokinetic column of extended length has a plurality of alternatingly spaced layers of electrokinetic material and electrodes along its length. A traveling wave electrical field is established by applying an electrical potential between two adjacent or nearly adjacent electrodes at one end of the column and by moving the connections progressively to electrodes further along the column, working toward the other end. A fluid containing particles for separation is introduced in a chamber at said one end of the column where the traveling wave is initiated and particles having a phoretic speed equal or greater than the velocity of the traveling wave move from one end to the other end of the column, leaving behind all particles which have lesser phoretic speeds. The electrical source can be either AC or DC. Both negatively charged and positively charged particles may be separated from the fluid in separate sweeps of the traveling wave field when wave velocity corresponds to the particles's phoretic speed. Isoelectric and isotachophoresis focusing can be incorporated to separate different charged materials which have the same polarity of charge and the same phoretic speed.

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First Claim