# US 12,111,288 B2 · Device and method for measuring settleability of activated sludge in-situ

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- Number: US 12,111,288 B2
- Document ID: US12111288B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 17/732,574
- Filed: 2022-04-29
- Published: 2022-11-03
- Granted: 2024-10-08
- Earliest claimed: 2021-04-29
- Assignees: Nanjing University
- Applicants: Nanjing University
- Inventors: Jinfeng Wang; Deyuan Dong; Haidong Hu; Bing Wu; Hongqiang Ren
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12111288B2

## CPC

- G01N 29/02: Analysing fluids (using acoustic emission techniques G01N29/14 {; constructional or flow details for analysing fluids G01N29/222; optoacoustic fluid cells G01N29/2425})
- G01N 1/14: Suction devices, e.g. pumps; Ejector devices
- G01N 1/38: Diluting, dispersing or mixing samples
- G01N 29/032: by measuring attenuation of acoustic waves
- G01N 29/222: {Constructional or flow details for analysing fluids (optoacoustic fluid cells G01N29/2425)}
- G01N 2291/02416: Solids in liquids
- G01N 2291/0251: Solidification, icing, curing composites, polymerisation
- Y02W 10/10: Biological treatment of water, waste water, or sewage
- G01N: INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES (measuring or testing apparatus or processes other than immunoassay, involving enzymes or microorganisms C12M, C12Q)
- Y02W: CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO WASTEWATER TREATMENT OR WASTE MANAGEMENT

## Abstract

A device for in-situ measuring settleability of activated sludge includes a sample chamber, an ultrasonic time domain reflectometer, a magnetic stirrer, an ultrasonic probe, a sample inlet, a sample outlet, and a stagnant zone. The sample chamber is configured to hold an activated sludge sample, and the ultrasonic time domain reflectometer is configured to measure the settling characteristics of the activated sludge. The stagnant zone is disposed in the sample chamber. The sample inlet and the sample outlet communicate with the sample chamber. The stagnant zone includes a top part, a sidewall, and a bottom part. The sample inlet is connected to the top part of the stagnant zone. The sample outlet is connected to the sidewall of the stagnant zone. The magnetic stirrer is disposed at the bottom part of the stagnant zone. The ultrasonic probe is disposed on the top part of the stagnant zone.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A method for in-situ measuring settleability of activated sludge using a device, the device comprising:
1) a sample chamber comprising a stagnant zone;
2) an ultrasonic time domain reflectometer;
3) a magnetic stirrer;
4) an ultrasonic probe;
5) a sample inlet; and
6) a sample outlet;
wherein:
the sample chamber is configured to hold an activated sludge sample, and the ultrasonic time domain reflectometer is configured to measure settling characteristics of the activated sludge sample;
the sample inlet and the sample outlet communicate with the sample chamber; the stagnant zone comprises a top part, a sidewall, and a bottom part;
the sample inlet is connected to the top part of the stagnant zone; the sample outlet is connected to the sidewall of the stagnant zone; the magnetic stirrer is disposed at the bottom part of the stagnant zone; and
the ultrasonic probe is disposed on the top part of the stagnant zone; and the ultrasonic time domain reflectometer is connected to the ultrasonic probe to transmit signals;
the method comprising:
1) collecting an activated sludge sample in a target location using a constant flow peristaltic pump;
2) guiding the activated sludge sample from the sample inlet into the stagnant zone; starting the magnetic stirrer to mix the activated sludge sample where exhaust gas is produced; and removing the exhaust gas out of the stagnant zone through an exhaust pipe communicating with the stagnant zone;
3) stopping the magnetic stirrer; turning on the ultrasonic time domain reflectometer to control the ultrasonic probe to emit an ultrasonic signal to monitor the activated sludge sample in the stagnant zone for 30 minutes; collecting the ultrasonic signal by an oscilloscope of the ultrasonic time domain reflectometer, and showing an ultrasonic waveform change diagram over time;
4) forming a sludge settling displacement curve according to the ultrasonic waveform change diagram;
5) obtaining a displacement value at 30th minute according to the sludge settling displacement curve; and calculating a sludge volume index (SVI) according to a fitted equation; and
6) removing the activated sludge sample out of the stagnant zone through a peristaltic pump.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein in 4), the sludge settling displacement curve is formed as follows: obtaining a maximum displacement value at a target peak of the ultrasonic waveform change diagram during each time period; taking a displacement value at 0 minute as a benchmark, calculating a difference between the maximum displacement value during each time period and the benchmark, and drawing the sludge settling displacement curve with time as abscissa and the difference as ordinate.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein in 5), the fitted equation is formed by linear regression of SVI value and displacement value that are respectively derived from a weight subtraction method and an ultrasonic time domain detection; and the fitted equation is expressed as y=4.3x+254.3; where y is the sludge volume index, and x is the displacement at 30th minute.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the ultrasonic transmitter is operated at a pulse repetition frequency of 10-20 Hz, a pulse resistance is 10-50Ω, a pulse voltage is 100-400 V, a gain is 50-60 dB, a high-pass filter is 0.03-0.1 MHz, and a low-pass filter is 1-3 MHz.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein in 3), the oscilloscope collects the ultrasonic signal once every 2-60 seconds.