ABSTRACT
I. INTRODUCTION In the chemical processing industry, the efficiency of the operation per formance is generally based either on the energy input or on the external forces applied. The majority of conventional chemical processing opera tions applies mechanical or thermal energy in combination with pressure or gravity forces. The ability of superimposed electric fields to improve several separation processes has been well known and widely used for many years. The familiar industrial applications range from solid-solid separation in the beneficiation of ores in the mining industry and cleaning of exhaust gases from solid particles in the energy and other industries (see also Chapter 21) to coalescence of water-in-oil emulsions in the petroleum industry (see also Chapter 18).
