Method and apparatus for removal of soot from lubricating oil

Abstract

A method for removing soot, sludge and other insoluble particulates from an engine oil is provided, the method comprising: disposing an oil containing the particulates between a pair of electrodes, wherein one of the electrodes is a positive electrode; applying a coating to the surface of the positive electrode, wherein the coating is configured to collect a portion of the particulates on the positive electrode; applying a current to the electrodes for a period of time, wherein portions of the particulates agglomerate on the positive electrode and other portions of the particulates not collected on the positive electrode are preagglomerated resulting in a larger average particle size; and applying a filtering process to remove the particulates not collected on the positive electrode. Also, disclosed herein is a filter for removing soot, sludge and other insoluble particulates from an engine oil.

1 . A method for removing soot, sludge and other insoluble particulates from engine oil, the method comprising:
 disposing an oil containing the particulates between a pair of electrodes, wherein one of the electrodes is a positive electrode;   applying a coating to the surface of the positive electrode, wherein the coating is configured to collect a portion of the particulates on the positive electrode;   applying a direct current to the electrodes for a period of time to generate an electric field, wherein the electric field causes a portion of the particulates to agglomerate on the positive electrode; and   removing the positive electrode and the portion of particulates agglomerated on the positive electrode to reduce the amount of soot particles in the oil.   
   
   
       2 . The method as in  claim 1 , wherein the particulates are soot particles and the electric field causes the soot particles to agglomerate resulting in a larger average particle size of the soot particles and the soot particles are removed by a filtering process. 
   
   
       3 . The method as in  claim 2 , wherein the filtering process comprises application of a centrifugal force to the oil, wherein the soot particles are disposed upon a surface that is removable from the oil. 
   
   
       4 . The method as in  claim 3 , wherein the surface is the positive electrode that comprises a portion of a device configured for applying the centrifugal force. 
   
   
       5 . The method as in  claim 3 , wherein the filtering process comprises filtering of the oil through a filtration media, wherein the soot particles are disposed upon a surface of the filtration media. 
   
   
       6 . The method as in  claim 2 , wherein the filtering process comprises filtering of the oil through a filtration media, wherein the soot particles are disposed upon a surface of the filtration media. 
   
   
       7 . A method for removing soot from engine oil, the method comprising:
 disposing an oil containing soot particles between a pair of electrodes;   applying a DC or AC current to the pair of electrodes for a period of time to generate an electric field, wherein the electric field causes the soot particles to agglomerate resulting in a larger average particle size of the soot particles; and   removing the soot particles by a filtering process, wherein the filtering process comprises application of a centrifugal force to the oil, wherein the soot particles are disposed upon a surface that is removable from the oil.   
   
   
       8 . The method as in  claim 7 , wherein the filtering process comprises filtering of the oil through a filtration media, wherein the soot particles are disposed upon a surface of the filtration media. 
   
   
       9 . The method as in  claim 7 , wherein the filtering process comprises application of a centrifugal force to the oil, wherein the soot particles are disposed upon a surface that is removable from the oil and the surface is the positive electrode that comprises a portion of a device configured for applying the centrifugal force. 
   
   
       10 . The method as in  claim 9 , wherein the surface of the positive electrode comprises a coating configured to collect a portion of soot particles disposed on the positive electrode. 
   
   
       11 . A filter for removing soot particles from an engine oil having soot particles disposed therein, the filter comprising:
 a housing having an inlet and an outlet defining a flow path through a chamber defined by the housing;   a pair of electrodes disposed in the flow path, the electrodes being disposed in the flow path after the inlet, the pair of electrodes being electrically coupled to a DC current, wherein an electric field is generated by the pair of electrodes and one of the pair of electrodes is a positive electrode, wherein the electric field causes a portion of the soot particles to agglomerate on the positive electrode, wherein at least the positive electrode is removable from the filter to allow removal of the soot particles agglomerated on the positive electrode; and   a coating applied to the surface of the positive electrode, wherein the coating is configured to improve the collecting efficiency of the agglomerated portion of soot particles on the positive electrode.   
   
   
       12 . The filter as in  claim 11 , wherein the positive electrode is formed of stainless steel, copper, aluminum, platinum or other electrically conducting material. 
   
   
       13 . The filter as in  claim 11 , wherein the coating is formed of soot particles extracted from lubricating oil, carbon black from acetylene, soot purchased commercially, activated carbon powder, oil-absorbing polymer, other soot-collecting agents or a combination thereof. 
   
   
       14 . The filter as in  claim 11 , wherein the coating is fixed to the surface of the positive electrode by adhesive material or the like. 
   
   
       15 . The filter as in  claim 11 , wherein the electric field causes the soot particles to agglomerate resulting in a larger average particle size of the soot particles and some of the soot particles are removed by a filtering process. 
   
   
       16 . The filter as in  claim 15 , wherein the filter further comprises a rotatable member capable of applying a centrifugal force to the oil and the filtering process comprises application of a centrifugal force to the oil, wherein some of the soot particles are disposed upon a surface of the rotatable member that is removable from the oil. 
   
   
       17 . The filter as in  claim 15 , wherein the filtering process further comprises filtering of the oil through a filtration media of the mechanical filter element, wherein the soot particles are disposed upon a surface of the filtration media.