US 6,319,396 B1Granted

Clarifier cone for filtering and separating solids from solution

OwnerRobert F. Heageyinventor

Life of this patent

Estimating the term…

Loading patent…

Abstract

A separator vessel and a biological reactor vessel are connected in tandem to remove separable wastes from waste water and to deactivate toxins, respectively. In a first embodiment, waste water is gravity fed into the separator vessel where it flows downwardly through a bed of loose pellets that causes coalescing of organic matter. A cone-shaped deflector, having its wide end facing downwardly, deflects the downward flow radially outwardly toward the side walls of the separator vessel. Heavy waste accumulates in a cone-shaped waste concentration zone at the bottom of the separator vessel and is pumped away to a disposal point. Lighter water reverses its downward direction and is pulled upwardly into the cone-shaped deflector by a pump and sent to the biological reactor vessel where nitrification changes toxins to harmless nitrates. In a second embodiment, the separator vessel and biological reactor vessel have a flat bottom wall and a second cone-shaped deflector is positioned at the bottom of the respective vessels with its wide mouth in closely spaced relation to the flat bottom wall. Heavy waste is pumped through the second cone-shaped deflector to the disposal point.

Claims37

Dependent claims

A waste water treatment apparatus comprising a separator vessel having no moving parts and a biological reactor vessel having no moving parts having a pump operatively disposed therebetween:

said separator vessel comprising:
a side wall forming an interior having an upper portion in fluid communication with a waste water supply to receive waste water therefrom;
a coalescing means for causing coalescing of organic matter present in the waste water received from the waste water supply disposed within said separator vessel in floating relation to the waste water confined within said separator vessel;
a separation zone having a top and a bottom disposed downwardly of said coalescing means;
a waste concentration zone disposed downwardly of said separation zone;
and
a cone deflector including a chamber having a mouth and a base with an interior therebetween disposed within said separator vessel;
whereby treated waste water is drawn into said deflector by the suction of the pump and carried from said separator vessel through a first outlet;
said mouth having a cross sectional area substantially equal to a cross sectional area of a toroidal space between said mouth and said sidewall of said separator vessel so that a downward flow of the waste water in said separator vessel in said toroidal space has a velocity substantially equal to a velocity of an upward flow of treated waste water in said deflector and said substantially equal but opposite-in-direction velocities promoting a continual fallout of solids from the waste water and said biological reactor vessel comprising:
a sidewall positioned downstream from said separator vessel;
a first outlet pipe providing fluid communication between said separator vessel and said biological reactor vessel;
a second outlet for carrying treated waste water out of said biological reactor vessel;
whereby the pump carries said treated waste water from said separator vessel to said biological reactor vessel and said treated waste water flows through said second outlet pipe for use in a recirculating system.

10 more elements

A waste water treatment apparatus for separating solids from solution comprising:

a biological reactor vessel having a sidewall;
an outlet for carrying treated waste water out of said biological reactor vessel;
a nitrification means disposed within said biological reactor vessel for converting nitrogenous waste compounds in said treated water to nitrates, said nitrification means being positioned within said biological reactor vessel in floating relation to the treated water;
a separation zone disposed downwardly of said nitrification means;
a waste concentration zone disposed downwardly of said separation zone of said biological reactor vessel;
a deflector positioned within said biological reactor vessel;
said deflector within said biological reactor vessel having a longitudinal axis of symmetry coincident with a longitudinal axis of symmetry of said biological reactor vessel;
said deflector within said biological reactor vessel having a base;
said deflector within said biological reactor vessel having a mouth disposed downwardly of said base;
said mouth of said defector within said biological reactor vessel having a predetermined diameter greater than a predetermined diameter of said base;
said mouth of said deflector within said biological reactor vessel being positioned in said separator zone and being disposed above said waste concentration zone;
whereby treated waste water flows downwardly from said nitrification means and is deflected radially outward from said longitudinal axis of symmetry of said biological reactor vessel toward said sidewall by said deflector with said biological reactor vessel;
whereby treated waste water rises into said deflector with said biological reactor vessel and is carried out of said biological reactor vessel through said outlet.

10 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.