Contaminated water treating apparatus

Claim 1

An apparatus for biologically improving the quality of contaminated water, comprising a plurality of at least three side by side oxidation compartments spaced at intervals from each other, each being open at the top and bottom, said compartments having end walls defining between the adjacent compartments vertically extending aeration compartments, a biological oxidation section disposed within and filling the cross section of each oxidation compartment with the end walls of the compartment extending upwardly beyond the oxidation section so as to act as an overlflow for water coming up through the aeration compartments, aeration means at the lower end of each aeration compartment for feeding a flow of air into the bottom of the aeration compartments for establishing a circulating flow of contaminated water for lifting contaminated water up through said aeration compartments and over the upper ends of the compartment walls, a bottom beneath said compartments and having partitions extending upwardly to the bottoms of the biological oxidation sections in each oxidation compartment which lies between two aeration compartments to define sludge collection compartments beneath each aeration compartment and a portion of the oxidation compartment lying on each side of the respective aeration compartments, an overflow passage extending upwardly from the sludge collection compartment lying beneath the aeration compartment adjacent one end of the plurality of compartments to a level just slightly above the top of the biological oxidation sections with an overflow at the top thereof, and a contaminated water supply pipe opening into the lower end of the aeration compartment which is adjacent the other end of the plurality of oxidation compartments to supply contaminated water thereinto.

Claim 2

An apparatus for biologically improving the quality of contaminated water, comprising a plurality of at least three side by side oxidation compartments spaced at intervals from each other, each being open at the top and bottom, said compartments having end walls defining between the adjacent compartments vertically extending aeration compartments, a biological oxidation section disposed within and filling the cross section of each oxidation compartment with the end walls of the compartment extending upwardly beyond the oxidation section so as to act as an overlflow for water coming up through the aeration compartments, aeration means at the lower end of each aeration compartment for feeding a flow of air into the bottom of the aeration compartments for establishing a circulating flow of contaminated water for lifting contaminated water up through said aeration compartments and over the upper ends of the compartment walls, a bottom beneath said compartments and having partitions extending upwardly to the bottoms of the biological oxidation sections in each oxidation compartment which lies between two aeration compartments to define sludge collection compartments beneath each aeration compartment and a portion of the oxidation compartment lying on each side of the respective aeration compartments, an overflow passage extending upwardly from the sludge collection compartment lying beneath the aeration compartment adjacent one end of the plurality of compartments to a level just slightly above the top of the biological oxidation sections with an overflow at the top thereof, and a contaminated water supply pipe opening into the lower end of the aeration compartment which is adjacent the other end of the plurality of oxidation compartments to supply contaminated water thereinto.