Sewage treatment apparatus and method

Claim 2

The liquid sewage and waste treatment apparatus as defined in claim 2 whErein said comminutor means further comprises a plurality of teeth mounted on said head member for aiding in breaking the liquid sewage and waste into small particles and for grinding up any solids which may be present in the sewage and waste.

Claim 3

The liquid sewage and waste treatment apparatus as defined in claim 3 wherein said teeth include means for removably mounting said teeth on said head member to permit easy removal thereof.

Claim 4

The liquid sewage and waste treatment apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said vessel is adapted to withstand an internal pressure of at least about four atmospheres, and said means for supplying oxygen to said upper portion of said vessel includes means for pressurizing the oxygen rich atmosphere within the vessel to thereby further increase the absorption of the oxygen by the particles of liquid sewage and waste.

Claim 5

The liquid sewage and waste treatment apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said enclosed vessel comprises a generally spherical shape for batch operation.

Claim 6

The liquid sewage and waste treatment apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said enclosed vessel comprises an elongated, generally cylindrical, horizontally-extending vessel and with said inlet means being positioned at one end and said outlet means being positioned at the other end thereof, said vessel further comprising a plurality of successive treating chambers therewithin and each including a said means for upwardly directing a stream of liquid sewage and waste and a said comminutor means for breaking the liquid sewage and waste into small particles so taht the liquid sewage and waste is successively treated throughout its flow through said vessel.

Claim 7

The liquid sewage and waste treatment apparatus as defined in claim 7 wherein said vessel includes transversely-extending baffle means spaced along the length thereof and positioned in said lower portion to divide said vessel into said plurality of successive treating chambers, said baffle means being of less height than the depth of the liquid sewage and waste in said vessel so that said liquid sewage and waste will flow around said baffle means during its flow through said vessel.

Claim 8

The liquid sewage and waste treatment apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said vessel further includes a transversely-extending baffle means positioned in said upper portion thereof to divide said upper portion of said vessel into first and second compartments, and said means for supplying oxygen to said upper portion of said vessel includes means for supplying oxygen in the form of O2 into said upper portion of said first compartment for biological and chemical oxidation of the liquid sewage and waste, and means for supplying oxygen in the form of O3 into said upper portion of said second compartment for sterilization and color, taste, odor, phenol, cyanide and phosphate reduction of the liquid sewage and waste.

Claim 9

The liquid sewage and waste treatment apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said means for supplying oxygen includes oxygen recirculation and sewage and waste mixing means comprising a conduit and pump means operatively connected between said upper portion of said vessel and said lower portion of said vessel for withdrawing oxygen from said upper portion and injecting the same into the liquid sewage and waste in said lower portion, and curved baffle means positioned in said lower portion of said vessel for creating a mixing action in the liquid sewage and waste as the oxygen is injected and diffused therethrough.

Claim 10

The liquid sewage and waste treatment apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said apparatus further includes ultraviolet light means positioned in said upper portion of said vessel for providing ultraviolet light in the gaseous atmosphere to provide a catalyst for the oxygen therein.

Claim 11

The liquid sewage and waste treatment apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said apparatus further includes ultrasonic wave means connected with said upper portion of saiD vessel for providing ultrasonic waves in said vessel to aid in reducing phosphates and the like in the liquid sewage and waste and for reducing the liquid particles passing through the gaseous atmosphere to still smaller particles and increasing the collision of the particles for more rapid transfer of oxygen into the liquid particles.

Claim 12

The liquid sewage and waste treatment apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said apparatus further includes polymer feed means connected with said vessel for supplying suitable chemicals into said vessel for chemical and physical reaction of substances in the liquid sewage and waste which are non-oxidizable.

Claim 13

The liquid sewage and waste treatment apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said apparatus further includes pH control means connected with said vessel for supplying suitable chemicals into said vessel for controlling the pH of the liquid sewage and waste therein within a desired range.

Claim 14

In a sewage and waste collection and treatment system, the combination of: means for transporting, from a point of collection to a point of treatment, liquid sewage and waste which has tendendies to become septic and build up undesirable chemicals, gases, odors, bacteria and the like during the transportation due to the lack of proper oxygen content therein; means positioned directly in said transporting means for supplying oxygen to the sewage and waste as it flows therethrough for preventing the sewage and waste from becoming septic, controlling the build-up of the aforesaid undesirables and stimulating the growth of undesirable aerobic bacterial; and a treatment apparatus comprising a. an enclosed vessel defining a lower portion and an upper portion therein, and including inlet means for receiving liquid sewage and waste in said lower portion from said transporting means to define a liquid level, and outlet means for discharging the treated liquid; b. means connected to said vessel for supplying oxygen to said upper portion of said vessel to define an oxygen rich atmosphere above said liquid level; c. comminutor means disposed in said upper portion of said vessel and in spaced relation above said liquid level, and d. means for directing a stream of the liquid sewage and waste from said lower portion of said vessel upwardly to exit into the oxygen atmosphere and impinge upon said comminutor means such that the liquid sewage and waste is broken into myriad small particles, whereby the particles of liquid sewage and waste provide a substantial increase in the interfacial area between the liquid sewage and waste and oxygen so that the oxygen may be readily absorbed as the particles drop through the oxygen rich atmosphere.

Claim 15

In a sewage and waste collection and treatment system as defined in claim 15 wherein said means positioned in said transporting means for supplying oxygen comprises a plurality of means spaced from each other along the length of said transporting means for successively supplying oxygen to the liquid sewage and waste as it flows therethrough.

Claim 17

The method as defined in claim 17 wherein the step of supplying oxygen to the upper portion of the enclosed vessel incluDes pressurizing the oxygen such that the oxygen rich atmosphere is maintained at a pressure above one atmosphere to further illustrate the absorption of the oxygen by the particles.

Claim 18

The method as defined in claim 17 further comprising the subsequent step of directing a second stream of the liquid sewage and waste from the lower portion of the vessel upwardly to exit into the oxygen rich atmosphere and impinge upon a second comminutor disposed in the upper portion of the vessel and in spaced relation above the level of the liquid sewage and waste such that the liquid sewage and waste is successively broken into small particles and exposed to the oxygen rich atmosphere.

Claim 19

The method of treating liquid sewage and waste as defined in claim 19 wherein the step of supplying oxygen to the vessel includes supplying oxygen in the form of O3 for sterilization and color, taste, odor, phenol, cyanide and phosphate reduction of the liquid sewage and waste.