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US 10,112,856 B2Granted
Method and apparatus for wastewater treatment using gravimetric selection
AssigneesHampton Roads Sanitation District, D.C. Water & Sewer Authority
InventorsCharles Bott, Maureen O'Shaughnessy, Bernhard Wett, Sudhir Murthy
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A method and a system for selecting and retaining solids with superior settling characteristics, the method comprising feeding wastewater to an input of a processor that carries out a treatment process on the wastewater, outputting processed wastewater at an output of the processor, feeding the processed wastewater to an input of a gravimetric selector that selects solids with superior settling characteristics, and outputting a recycle stream at a first output of the gravimetric selector back to the processor.
Claims20
A method for wastewater treatment, comprising:
- feeding wastewater to an input of a processor that carries out a treatment process on the wastewater;
- treating the wastewater in the processor;
- outputting processed wastewater at an output of the processor;
- feeding the processed wastewater to an input of a gravimetric selector;
- selecting, at the gravimetric selector, first solids exhibiting a sludge volume index (SVI) of less than about 120 mL/gm;
- outputting a recycle stream at a first output of the gravimetric selector;
- outputting a waste stream that comprises solids other than said first solids at a second output of the gravimetric selector to solids handling, where solids handling includes at least one of thickening, stabilizing, conditioning, and dewatering;
- and
- supplying the recycle stream to the processor,
- wherein the feeding of the processed wastewater to the input of the gravimetric selector comprises:
- feeding the processed wastewater to an input of a separator that separates the wastewater into an underflow and effluent,
- receiving the underflow from the separator, and
- gravimetrically selecting the first solids from the underflow and supplying the recycle stream to the first output.
10 more elements
A method for wastewater treatment, comprising:
- feeding wastewater to an input of a processor that carries out a treatment process on the wastewater;
- treating the wastewater in the processor;
- outputting processed wastewater at an output of the processor;
- feeding the processed wastewater to an input of a gravimetric selector;
- selecting, at the gravimetric selector, first solids with predetermined settling and filtration characteristics;
- outputting a recycle stream at a first output of the gravimetric selector;
- supplying the recycle stream to the processor, wherein the processor includes a membrane separator;
- and
- outputting, at the gravimetric selector, solids other than said first solids.
6 more elements
An apparatus for wastewater treatment, comprising:
- a processor that comprises an input and an output, the processor being configured to carry out a treatment process;
- a gravimetric selector that comprises an input, a waste stream output and a recycle stream output;
- and
- a separator that comprises an input and an underflow output, the separator being configured to receive a solid-liquid mixture from the processor and produce an underflow,
- wherein the gravimetric selector is configured to select first solids exhibiting a sludge volume index (SVI) of less than about 120 mL/gm,
- wherein the gravimetric selector is further configured to output solids other than said first solids at the waste stream output,
- wherein the recycle stream output of the gravimetric selector is coupled to the input of the processor, and
- wherein the input of the gravimetric selector is coupled to either the output of the processor or to the underflow output of the separator.
5 more elements
An apparatus for wastewater treatment, comprising:
- a processor that comprises an input and an output, the processor being configured to carry out a treatment process;
- a gravimetric selector that comprises an input, a waste stream output and a recycle stream output;
- and
- a separator that comprises an input and an underflow output, the separator being configured to receive a solid-liquid mixture from the processor and produce an underflow,
- wherein the gravimetric selector is configured to select first solids having predetermined settling and filtration characteristics,
- wherein the gravimetric selector is further configured to output solids other than said first solids at the waste stream output,
- wherein the recycle stream output of the gravimetric selector is coupled to the input of the processor,
- wherein the input of the gravimetric selector is coupled to either the output of the processor or to the underflow output of the separator, and
- wherein the processor comprises a bioreactor that includes an in-line solid to liquid separation process.
6 more elements
A method for wastewater treatment, the method comprising:
- receiving wastewater from a wastewater supply;
- processing the wastewater in a processor to provide processed wastewater;
- supplying the processed wastewater to a separator that separates the processed wastewater into an underflow and an effluent;
- gravimetrically selecting first solids exhibiting a sludge volume index (SVI) of less than about 120 mL/gm from the processed wastewater and outputting a recycle stream and a waste stream that comprises solids other than said first solids;
- supplying the recycle stream as an input to the processor to further process the selected first solids in the recycle stream together with further wastewater received from the wastewater supply;
- and
- supplying the waste stream to solids handling, wherein the solids handling includes at least one of thickening, stabilizing, conditioning, and dewatering.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.