Controlled natural purification system for advanced wastewater treatment and protein conversion and recovery
First Claim
1. A method for controlling the natural purification of settled organic wastewater to provide an advanced wastewater treatment to produce a conversion to microalgae and recovery of same, comprising, first processing the settled organic wastewater by a treatment procedure without a light source, second processing the partially treated wastewater from the first process by a treatment procedure with a light source, causing aeration and turbulence within the wastewater during both the first and second treatment procedures, causing biochemical oxygen demand reduction, nitrification and denitrification, and nitrate-nitrogen removal during the first treatment procedure, and causing biochemical oxygen demand reduction, phosphate-phosphorous removal during the second treatment procedure, and thereafter harvesting microalgal and discharging reclaimable water.
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Abstract
The invention is an improved controlled natural purification system for an advanced wastewater treatment and protein conversion and recovery. The system provides for treating municipal wastewater and associated organic industrial discharges anaerobically and aerobically. The system consists of such treatments in a tank complex where the waste organics are reduced to inorganic forms available for microalgae culture in tanks uniquely designed for rapid growth. The system includes a recovery mechanism to recover the algae for food purposes. Utilizing organic wastewater as the renewable resource, the system has the potential to develop from a wastewater treatment process that removes excess nutrients, producing reusable water and a commercially valuable algal by-product, to large scale algae farming cost-effectively producing millions of tons per year of sterile, stable, high protein algal foodstuff.
300 Citations
17 Claims
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1. A method for controlling the natural purification of settled organic wastewater to provide an advanced wastewater treatment to produce a conversion to microalgae and recovery of same, comprising, first processing the settled organic wastewater by a treatment procedure without a light source, second processing the partially treated wastewater from the first process by a treatment procedure with a light source, causing aeration and turbulence within the wastewater during both the first and second treatment procedures, causing biochemical oxygen demand reduction, nitrification and denitrification, and nitrate-nitrogen removal during the first treatment procedure, and causing biochemical oxygen demand reduction, phosphate-phosphorous removal during the second treatment procedure, and thereafter harvesting microalgal and discharging reclaimable water.
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2. A controlled natural purification system for advanced wastewater treatment and microalgae conversion and recovery, comprising:
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a first processing tank system, said first processing tank system being fully enclosed and operating without any exposure to daylight; a second processing tank system, said second processing tank system being exposed to daylight, said second processing tank system being connected to said first tank procession system; a microalgal harvesting system, said microalgal harvesting system being connected to said second processing tank system; and a sewerage disposal sedimentation system, said first processing tank system being installed after said sewerage disposal sedimentation system, said first processing tank system receiving settled organic wastewater therefrom as influent for processing, said first processing tank system consists of; at least one equalization tank, said equalization tank being installed within said first processing tank system, said equilization tank receiving said settled organic wastewater for initial storage and equalization of temperature and flow rate; at least one anaerobic filter means, said anaerobic filter means being connected to said equalization tank and receiving influent therefrom; at least one aerobic treatment tank, said aerobic treatement tank being connected to said anaerobic filter means and receiving influent therefrom; at least two recirculation tanks for each said aerobic treatment tank, said recirculation tanks being connected to said aerobic treatment tank and receiving influent therefrom for recirculation and later discharge back into said aerobic treatment tank; at least one denitrification means for each said recirculation tank, said denitrification means being anaerobic denitrification filters, each said denitrification means being connected to said aerobic treatment tank and then further connected to one of said recirculation tanks, said denitrification means receiving said influent from said aerobic tank to stabilize excessive nitrogen in solution as needed during certain seasonal operations and then discharging said influent into said recirculation tank for removal by reaeration; a first carbon dioxide collecting means, said carbon dioxide collecting means being connected to said first tank system; a first sludge removal means, said first sludge removal means being installed in said first tank system; a first methane gas collection means, said first methane gas collection means being connected to said anaerboic filter means; a first plurality of aerators, said first plurality of aerators being installed in said aerobic treatment tank, said first plurality of aerators aerating air through said influent and causing turbulence therein as it passes through said aerobic treatment tank; a second plurality of aerators, said second plurality of aerators being installed in said recirculation tanks, said second plurality of aerators aerating air through said influent as it passes through said recirculation tanks; a baffle means, said baffle means being installed in said recirculation tanks to provide a directional flow control and turbulence in said influent being recirculated; and a first piping system, said first piping system inter-connecting all elements of said first processing tank system as herein provided and connecting said first processing tank system to said second processing tank system to transfer said influent after processing in said first processing tank system. - View Dependent Claims (3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. Apparatus for controlling the nautral purification of settled organic wastewater to provide an advanced wastewater treatment to produce conversion to microalgae and recovery thereof, comprising, a first means for processing settled organic wastewater by a first treatment procedure without a light source, a second means for processing the partially treated wastewater from said first means by a second treatment procedure with a light source, means for causing aeration within the wastewater in said first and second means during both the first and second treatment procedures, means for causing turbulence within the wastewater in said first and second means during both the first and second treatment procedures, means for causing biochemical oxygen demand reduction in the wastewater during the first treatment procedure, means for causing nitrification in the wastewater during the first treatment procedure, means for causing denitrification in the wastewater during the first treatment procedure, and means for causing nitrate-nitrogen removal in the wastewater during the first treatment procedure, means for causing biochemical oxygen demand reduction in the wastewater during the second treatment procedure, means for causing phosphate-phosphorous removal from the wastewater during the second treatment procedure, means for harvesting the microalgae from the wastewater, and means for discharging reclaimable waste water.
Specification