Process of purifying and utilizing residual waters resulting from the manufacture of paper pulp prepared by the soda process

Claim 1

A PROCESS OF TREATING RESIDUAL WATERS RESULTING FROM THE MANUFACTURES OF PAPER PULP PREPARED BY THE SODA PROCESS TO PURIFY SAID WATERS TO RENDER THEM SUBSTANTIALLY HARMLESS TO STREAMS WHERE THEY MAY BE DISCHARGED, AND SIMULTANEOUSLY TO PRODUCE COMMERCIALLY VALUABLE FERMENTATION PRODUCTS, WHICH COMPRISES FIRST, TREATING THE RESIDUAL WATERS WITH AN ACID IN AN AMOUNT SUFFICIENT TO CREATE A PH OF 4 TO 4.5 IN THE WATERS; HEATING THE WATERS TO BETWEEN ABOUT 45-50* C. TO PRECIPITATE A MAJOR PORTION OF THE SUSPENDED ORGANIC MATTER IN THE WATERS; SEPARATING ANY PRECIPITATED ORGANIC MATTER FROM THE RESIDUAL WATERS TO PRODUCE A PRIMARY EFFLUENT; THEN TREATING THE PRIMARY EFFLUENT WITH A FERMENTATION AGENT SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF TORULA UTILIS, RHODOTORULA RUBRA AND SPECIES OF SACCHAROMYCES; AGITATING THE PRIMARY EFFLUENT AT A TEMPERATURE BETWEEN ABOUT 25-30* C. TO FORM COMMERCIALLY VALUABLE FERMENTAION PRODUCTS; AND SEPARATING THE FERMENTATION PRODUCTS FROM THE EFFLUENT.