Aerobic digester for bodily waste material

An aerobic process for treating an aqueous slurry of bodily waste containing aerobic bacteria, said waste further comprising organic matter digestible by the bacteria and residual solids resistant to such digestion, comprising:

• providing a body of the slurry in a first compartment;
• injecting a jet of recycle slurry containing air into the body to aerate it and establish a generally vertical and circular flow of aerated slurry within the first compartment and continuing such injection and circulation for sufficient time to enable the bacteria to multiply, digest organic matter and produce clarified, metabolic water, said aeration being operative to render residual solids buoyant by attachment to air;
• conveying slurry containing aerated residual solids from the central core zone of the flow to a second compartment;
• separating aerated residual solids by flotation in the second compartment to produce recycle slurry;
• and
• re-circulating recycle slurry into the first compartment while simultaneously adding pressurized air to it, to establish the jet.