Floating chemical feeding and chemical process plant for water purification

Claim 1

A floating water purification plant for removing contaminants from raw water anchored in a body of said raw water, said plant including flotation means for buoying the plant above the level of the surrounding raw water, an enclosure connected with said flotation means for holding water, said flotation means comprising an airtight pipe extending around the perimeter of said enclosure, and said enclosure including a plurality of walls extending downwardly from said flotation means to a lower edge portion, a bottom connected to the lower edge portion of said plurality of walls, an inlet opening in one of said plurality of walls beneath the level of the surrounding raw water for drawing raw water into said enclosure and outlet means for discharging water from said enclosure, a plurality of panels extending vertically within said enclosure to define a plurality of process chambers, a plurality of first frame members extending downwardly from said airtight pipes on the inside of said enclosure, and a plurality of transverse frame members extending between said first downwardly extending frame members, each of said plurality of panels being attached to at least one of said transverse frame members to hold it firmly in place, said panels being arranged with the top edges of alternate panels spaced below the pipe and the bottom edges of the other panels spaced above the bottom of the enclosure, a settled water chamber at the end of said enclosure remote from said raw water inlet opening, and pumping means in fluid communication with said settled water chamber for pumping settled water from the plant, said walls, bottom and panels being formed from a lightweight, flexible material, at least a portion of said airtight pipe normally extending above the level of raw water surrounding said plant, splashboard means extending above said airtight pipe for preventing the raw water from entering the plant, said bottom being substantially V-shaped and including openings therein for discharging contaminants therethrough, said process chambers including a first chamber communicating with said inlet opening, said first chamber including lime slurry and air inlet ports therein, a second chamber including alum and air inlet ports therein, a flocculating chamber and a settling chamber, said second chamber and said flocculating chamber including openings in the floor thereof for discharging contaminants therethrough, said panels comprising baffle means defining a tortuous path for raw water passing from said inlet opening through said enclosure to said outlet means.