Biofilm carriers for use in wastewater treatment
OwnerThomas E. Frankel, Seoungil Kang +4inventors
InventorsThomas E. Frankel, Seoungil Kang, Todd D. Ritter, Benjamin Kang, Robert G. Freudenberg, Kelsey A. Bennett
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Abstract
A process for forming a biofilm carrier suitable for use in a moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) is presented. A blowing agent is mixed with a plastic material to form a blended material. The blended material is then heated to a temperature where the blowing agent liberates gas by decomposition. The heated blended material is extruded through a die to provide the extrudate with a profile of the biofilm carrier. Advantageously, biofilm carriers produced in this manner have increased effectiveness when compared to conventional biofilm carriers.
Claims8
A process for forming a biofilm carrier, the process comprising the steps of:
- mixing a blowing agent with a plastic material to form a blended material;
- heating the blended material to a temperature where the blowing agent liberates gas by decomposition;
- and
- extruding the heated blended material through a die to provide the extrudate with a profile of the biofilm carrier;
- wherein the biofilm carrier is characterized by a tubular frame surrounding a predefined pattern of sidewall features and empty spaces, and the biofilm carrier does not sink when immersed in undisturbed water;
- wherein the biofilm carrier is characterized by sidewall perforations forming through holes in the sidewall features.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.