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US 4,060,175 AGranted
Diaphragm tank cover
AssigneeFiberglass Specialty Co., Inc.
InventorJohn R. Rysgaard, Sr.
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
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AssigneeFiberglass Specialty Co., Inc.
InventorJohn R. Rysgaard, Sr.
Estimating the term…
A digester tank assembly for use in digester systems for anaerobic digestion of waste water sludge comprising a tank having a fixed exterior cover, and a diaphragm member mounted in the tank dividing the tank into upper and lower compartments, said diaphragm member being positioned above the normal sludge level and being movable relative to the sludge level to provide for regulation of gas pressure on the interior of the digestion tank and to allow for substantial variations in gas storage volume at generally uniform pressures. The diaphragm member is connected to a sliding stack that is guided with respect to the fixed cover so that the stack will be allowed to move with the diaphragm as the diaphragm position varies in accordance with the gas storage volume. The diaphragm carries a flowable ballast material that will shift as the diaphragm raises and lowers and which can be varied in volume to maintain the desired pressure on the inside of the digester tank.
In a tank for anerobic digestion of sludge including a wall forming a container for holding sludge and a fixed outer cover mounted over said tank, the improvement comprising a flexible diaphragm sealingly attached to said wall and overlying said tank below said cover and above sludge in the tank to form a gas tight chamber below the diaphragm, said diaphragm being supported at its periphery on said wall and spaced above sludge in the tank, a vent stack for regulating pressure attached to said diaphragm in the center portions thereof and opening directly to the chamber below the diaphragm and, passing through said fixed cover, means to slidably guide said vent stack with respect to said cover to guide said diaphragm and permit said diaphragm and stack to move between upper and lower positions spaced at different heights above said sludge as a function of gas volume under said diaphragm formed by said sludge, and to maintain a substantially constant pressure through out movement of said diaphragm between its upper and lower positions, and weight means on said diaphragm comprising a ballast material on the upper surface of said diaphragm which is movable with said diaphragm as the gas volume changes below said diaphragm.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.