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US 6,478,964 B1Granted
Floating fine-bubble aeration system
AssigneeMidwest Water Management, LLP
InventorDavid T. Redmon
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A floating fine-bubble aeration system for dissolving a gas in a liquid in which the system is floated. A grid of uniformly spaced fine-bubble diffusers is used to establish large area of bubble-laden liquid, having a substantially uniform density. The uniform density prevents the formation of any upwardly directed currents within the interior portion of the area. Bubble residence time is maximized, due to the absence of the currents, thus increasing the efficiency of dissolving the gas in the liquid.
Claims28
Apparatus for aerating liquid held in a containment structure, comprising
- a gas distribution means defining at least one input aperture and a plurality of output apertures for receiving, conveying, and outputting a supplied gas;
- a plurality of fine-bubble producing means, equal in number to the number of output apertures, in communication with the output apertures, for receiving a gas, forming fine bubbles of the gas, and discharging the fine bubbles into a liquid held in a containment structure within which said fine-bubble producing means are submerged,
- said fine-bubble producing means being configured to discharge the bubbles substantially in a plane;
- a floatation means, independent from said gas distribution means and said fine-bubble producing means, for maintaining said fine-bubble producing means substantially in a horizontal plane and submerged at a selected depth below a top surface of the held liquid when said gas distribution means and said fine-bubble producing means are placed in the held liquid, absent vertical support from the containment structure.
1 more element
Apparatus for aerating liquid held in a containment structure, comprising
- an elongated manifold, defining at least one input aperture;
- a plurality of elongated feeder conduits, in communication with said manifold, each defining a plurality of output apertures
- a plurality of fine-bubble producing membrane diffusers, equal in number to the number of output apertures, in communication with said output apertures, for receiving a gas, forming fine bubbles of the gas, and discharging the fine bubbles into a liquid held in a containment structure within which said diffusers are submerged,
- a rigid frame attached beneath said manifold and feeder conduits for providing support to same,
- a plurality of buoyant members and cables for maintaining said fine-bubble diffusers at a selected depth below the top surface of said liquid,
- said fine-bubble diffusers being arranged uniformly spaced in a two dimensional grid, each within a uniformly shaped spacing area,
- each said spacing area having a side and an end with dimensions such that the ratio of side to end is between 1:1 and 1:4, each said side having a maximum dimension of 60 inches, and said grid having a dimension of at least 12′×12′.
4 more elements
A method for aerating liquid held in a containment structure, comprising
- providing a liquid to be aerated which is held in a containment structure;
- floating an aerating apparatus in the liquid for use in introducing a gas into the liquid, said aerating apparatus having a plurality of separate diffusers disposed over a selected horizontally oriented area;
- compressing the gas to be introduced and supplying it to the aerating apparatus;
- introducing the gas over the selected horizontally oriented area at a selected depth below the surface of the liquid as fine bubbles in a manner such that bubble density above the area of introduction is substantially uniform, and said fine bubbles introduced at areas other than near peripheral edges of said selected area have a residence time in the liquid which is determined primarily by buoyancy of the bubbles without influence from liquid density induced currents.
1 more element
A method for aerating liquid held in a containment structure, comprising
- providing a liquid to be aerated which is held in a containment structure;
- floating an aerating apparatus in the liquid for use in introducing a gas into the liquid;
- compressing the gas to be introduced and supplying it to the aerating apparatus;
- introducing the gas over a horizontally oriented area at a selected depth below the surface of the liquid as fine bubbles in a manner such that bubble density above the area of introduction is substantially uniform, wherein
- said bubbles are generated with use of a membrane diffuser, and
- said membrane diffusers are positioned in a two-dimensional uniformly spaced grid over the area of introduction.
3 more elements
A method for aerating liquid held in a containment structure, comprising
- providing a liquid to be aerated which is held in a containment structure;
- floating an aerating apparatus in the liquid for use in introducing a gas into the liquid;
- compressing the gas to be introduced and supplying it to the aerating apparatus;
- introducing the gas over a horizontally oriented area at a selected depth below the surface of the liquid as fine bubbles in a manner such that bubble density above the area of introduction is substantially uniform, wherein
- said bubbles are generated with use of a membrane diffuser,
- said area of bubble introduction is divided into a plurality of uniformly shaped spacing areas,
- each spacing area incorporates one diffuser, and
- sides and ends of each spacing area have dimensions with a ratio of between 1:1 and 4:1.
5 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.