Process and apparatus for high flow and low pressure impurity removal
AssigneeMicrobar Incorporated
InventorsStephen D. Allen, Josh H. Golden
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A process for removing contaminants from large volumes of wastewater is disclosed. The process involves treating a wastewater stream containing the contaminant with a coagulant that reacts with the contaminant to form a particulate or aggregate of particulates having a size greater than 10 μm. The treated wastewater is passed through a microfiltration membrane having a pore size in the range from 0.5 μm to 10 μm at low pressure (less than 20 psig) to remove the contaminant. Under such conditions, the treated wastewater flux rate is greater than 200 gallons per square foot of membrane per day (“GFD”), and typically from 200 to 1500 GFD.
Claims21
A process for removing contaminants from large volumes of wastewater comprising the steps of:
- (a) treating a wastewater stream containing the contaminant with a chemical coagulant, wherein the coagulant reacts with the contaminant to form a particulate or aggregate of particulates that has a size greater than about 10 μm;
- (b) passing the treated wastewater through a microfiltration membrane having a pore size in the range from 0.5 μm to 10 μm, wherein the treated wastewater flux rate is greater than 200 gallons per square foot of membrane per day (“GFD”), and wherein the wastewater pressure is less than 25 psig, such that the contaminant is removed from water passing through the microfiltration membrane;
- and
- (c) periodically back-flushing the microfiltration membrane to remove solids from the membrane surface.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.