Continuous filtering process

A continuous process for removing particulate and dissolved impurities from a liquid comprising the steps of injecting a particulate filter medium into a liquid stream to form a slurry, conveying the slurry into the bottom portion of a separation vessel, accumulating the particulate filter material in the form of a porous plug, moving said plug into the upper portion of said separation vessel, pumping the liquid through the lower portions of said plug, removing the liquid from the upper portion of the separation vessel, removing the particulate filter material from the upper end of the separation vessel above the point at which the liquid is discharged and subjecting the removed filter material to a cleansing or regeneration treatment for reuse in the process.