Method and device for comminuting particulate organic substances in suspensions of microorganisms

Abstract

A method and device for comminuting particulate organic substances in suspensions of microorganisms in a carrier medium, particularly in wastewaters or sludges of biological sewage treatment plants, whereby the organic substances are subjected to inertial forces in an active chamber as a result of short-term acceleration, immediately followed by deceleration of a carrier medium flowing in a closed flow channel. To generate these inertial forces, the carrier medium is evaporated and subsequently condensed in the active chamber, whereby this change in the aggregate state of the carrier medium is achieved by changing the flow speed. As a consequence of the enormous increase of the volume in the liquid phase upon its transition into the vapor state, the flow speed of the medium increases to the same degree. As a result, extreme acceleration forces are exerted on the loading of the liquid phase, which immediately after condensation of the vapor into the liquid phase revert back into deceleration forces. By selecting an appropriate flow speed of the carrier medium in the active chamber, different treatment methods for the suspension can be chosen, ranging from the breaking up of large flakes to the destruction of thread-shaped bacteria all the way to complete cell disruption.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.