Method and apparatus for treating wastewater using membrane filters

Abstract

An apparatus using activated sludge for the removal of biological nutrients from a wastewater includes a bioreactor for containing a mixture of wastewater under treatment and activated sludge. The bioreactor is divided into a plurality of serially connected treatment zones and includes a wastewater inlet, a downstream aerobic zone and an upstream aerobic zone between the wastewater inlet and the downstream aerobic zone. A membrane filter is provided in the downstream aerobic zone so that it functions as an immersed membrane filter with a bioreactor containing an operative volume of wastewater and activated sludge. The immersed membrane filter filters treated water flowing from the bioreactor through a first outlet. An aerator is operative associated with the membrane filter for purging solids from the membrane filter. A second outlet in the downstream aerobic zone is connected to an inlet in the upstream aerobic zone for recycling activated sludge charged with oxygen from the downstream aerobic zone to the upstream aerobic zone. A method for removal of nutrients from a wastewater includes providing a wastewater to an inlet of a serial, multi-zone, activated sludge bioreactor containing an activated sludge. The bioreactor has a downstream aerobic zone from which water is removed and an upstream aerobic zone between the wastewater inlet and the downstream aerobic zone. Treated water is filtered from the activated sludge in the downstream aerobic zone through an immersed membrane filter. Solids are purged from the immersed membrane filter with an oxygen containing gas and return activated sludge charged with oxygen is recycled from the downstream to the upstream aerobic zone or to an upstream deaeriation zone.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.