Claims
- 1. Apparatus for separating metallic particles from liquid effluent flowing from a source thereof, including optionally one or more surge tanks for collecting a quantity of effluent containing such metallic particles; and one or more sedimentary deposit tanks for receiving the liquid effluent and separating it by sedimentary deposit into a collected solid waste component and an outflowing fluid flowing to an exit conduit from which such collected solid waste has been separated; comprising
(a) a source of controlled pressure differential (e.g. a suction pump with one or more valves or regulators, or an auxiliary effluent pump) that causes or maintains a pressure differential between the surge tank inlet and the sedimentary deposit tank outlet for causing liquid to flow from the surge tank through the sedimentary deposit tank to the outlet thereof in response to the pressure differential; (b) a bypass conduit connecting the surge tank inlet to the exit conduit; (c) a pressure balancing valve at the surge tank inlet port that facilitates maintenance of the pressure differential; (d) the sedimentary deposit tank comprising a series of baffle chambers separated by baffle chamber walls, one or more of said baffle chambers containing baffles inclined in one or two dimensions for facilitating deposit of solid particles, the series of baffle chambers being structured and arranged so that the first (inlet) baffle chamber receives the liquid effluent, and the liquid effluent passes in sequence through the baffle chambers and exits the final (outlet) baffle chamber as said outflowing fluid.
- 2. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the baffles are planar.
- 3. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the baffles are chevron-shaped.
- 4. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the baffles are gable-shaped.
- 5. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the baffles in the baffle chambers are positioned and dimensioned so as to divide each baffle chamber so that in each baffle chamber, effluent passes over or under the baffles in the chamber in sequence from inlet to outlet of the chamber.
- 6. Apparatus as defined in claim 5, wherein the inclined baffles are formed individually and include attached flanges or tabs or equivalent to allow the vertical stacking of two or more baffles within a baffle chamber.
- 7. Apparatus as defined in claim 5, wherein the inclined baffles are formed as multiple baffle units comprising two or more baffles stacked vertically and held in vertical separation by integrally formed separation ribs or equivalent.
- 8. Apparatus as defined in claim 5, wherein each of the baffle walls separating the chambers is open at the top to a height substantially uniform throughout the sedimentary deposit tank.
- 9. Apparatus as defined in claim 5, wherein the series of baffle chambers comprises at least three baffle chambers, and wherein one or more of the final two baffle chambers include modular filtration or adsorption inserts for filtering fine and floating particles or adsorption of dissolved particles out of the effluent.
- 10. Apparatus as defined in claim 9 wherein the adsorbent material contained in the modular adsorption insert comprises bentonite clay.
- 11. Apparatus as defined in claim 9 wherein the modular adsorption insert contains a porous membrane filled with finely divided bentonite clay mixed with silica sand.
- 12. Apparatus as defined in claim 5, additionally comprising one or more chemical agent inlet ports located in the vicinity of the inlet of the sedimentary deposit tank and a chemical agent delivery device connected thereto for introducing a suitable selected chemical agent (including a selection of suitable and mutually compatible precipitants, flocculants and/or chelating agents) at a controlled rate into the sedimentary deposit tank to facilitate removal of dissolved metallic particles out of the liquid such as by means of precipitation, flocculation or chelation.
- 13. Apparatus as defined in claim 12, wherein the chemical agent delivery device is a chemical agent delivery pump receiving chemical agent from a stored supply thereof and that delivers in operation a metered amount of chemical agent into the sedimentary deposit tank while the sedimentary deposit tank is overfull of effluent.
- 14. Apparatus as defined in claim 13, additionally comprising a liquid level sensor coupled to the sedimentary deposit tank near the top thereof for sensing whether the liquid within the surge tank has dropped below the top of the sedimentary deposit tank, and wherein the chemical agent delivery pump is responsive to the liquid level sensor and ceases operation when the liquid within the surge tank has dropped below the top of the sedimentary deposit tank.
- 15. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the sedimentary deposit tank is a modular unit removably connected between the surge tank and the exit conduit.
- 16. Apparatus as defined in claim 15, additionally comprising an auxiliary filtration device coupled to and downstream of the outlet of the sedimentary deposit tank for receiving liquid from the sedimentary deposit tank and filtering from liquid passing therethrough at least some of any remaining solid particles, and is removable and replaceable as a modular unit independently or together with the sedimentary deposit tank.
- 17. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 additionally comprising a liquid level sensing probe coupled to the surge tank for sensing whether the liquid within the surge tank has risen to at least one predetermined threshold level, and additionally comprising a signalling device responsive to the liquid level sensor for providing a signal when liquid in the surge tank exceeds such threshold level.
- 18. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the source of controlled pressure differential includes a vacuum pump connected to the exit conduit downstream thereof.
- 19. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the source of controlled pressure differential includes an auxiliary effluent pump connected to the outlet port downstream of the sedimentary deposit tank.
- 20. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the source of controlled pressure differential includes an auxiliary effluent pump connected between the surge tank and the sedimentary deposit tank.
- 21. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the source of controlled pressure differential is a suction pump and wherein the pressure balancing valve is a vacuum break valve connected to the bypass conduit in the vicinity of the surge tank inlet port.
- 22. Apparatus as defined in claim 21, wherein the vacuum break valve is biased closed and opens to the ambient air in response to a drop in pressure in the adjacent portion of the bypass conduit.
- 23. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, additionally comprising at least one suction apparatus providing a partial vacuum in an effluent source conduit upstream of the surge tank, which said effluent conduit passes the liquid effluent into the surge tank, said suction apparatus constituting at least a portion of the fluid driving means.
- 24. Apparatus as defined in claim 17, wherein the suction apparatus is dental office suction apparatus.
- 25. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the bypass conduit has an upper subconduit for passing air and a lower subconduit for passing liquid.
- 26. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 comprising a plurality of sedimentary deposit tanks that become full at staggered intervals, having means for selectably connecting and disconnecting each of the sedimentary deposit tanks to the surge tank thereby to selectably route effluent through one or more selected sedimentary deposit tanks, additionally including a suction attachment connected to the inlet port of the surge tank and selectably connectable to the outlet port of any selected one of the sedimentary deposit tanks for removing excess liquid effluent from such selected sedimentary deposit tank that has been disconnected from the surge tank.
- 27. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, additionally including an air circuit coupled to the air bypass conduit for drying a full sedimentary deposit tank that has been removed from direct connection to the surge tank and receives no input effluent, wherein such circuit is removably connected to the inlet and outlet ports of a full sedimentary deposit tank to be dried, and whereby air passing through the bypass conduit is selectably diverted to flow through the full sedimentary deposit tank to be dried.
- 28. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, additionally including a mercury vapour filter coupled into the bypass conduit and removing mercury from the air flowing therethrough.
- 29. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, additionally including flow rate control means (such as a needle valve) connected to the output of the sedimentary deposit tank for controlling the rate of fluid flow out of the sedimentary deposit tank.
- 30. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, additionally including a solids level sensor coupled to the sedimentary deposit tank for warning that solids within the sedimentary deposit tank in the vicinity of the solids level sensor have reached a threshold level.
- 31. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, additionally comprising a bypass conduit connection valve connected between the top of the surge tank and the bypass conduit connected to the top of the surge tank via an intermediate valve, and an air injection port for controllably injecting air under pressure into the surge tank, whereby positive air pressure thus injected may serve at least in part as the source of the pressure differential.
- 32. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein two or more sedimentary deposit tanks are detachably coupled together in series, the first sedimentary deposit tank in the series receiving effluent from the outlet of a surge tank, and passing effluent to the next sedimentary deposit tank, seriatim until the effluent reaches the last sedimentary deposit tank in the series which passes the effluent to the exit conduit.
- 33. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein two or more sedimentary deposit tanks are detachably coupled together in parallel, the inlet ports of each sedimentary deposit tank connected to a common surge tank, receiving effluent from the surge tank, and the outlet ports of each sedimentary deposit tank connected to the common exit conduit.
- 34. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the outlet port located at the top of the sedimentary deposit tank includes an outlet pipestem and protective sleeve assembly depending downwardly therefrom where the protective sleeve assembly extends below the end of the outlet pipestem to prevent floating debris or froth from being drawn into the pipestem and exiting the sedimentary deposit tank through the outlet port.
- 35. Apparatus for separating metallic particles from liquid effluent flowing from a source thereof, including two or more surge tanks coupled in parallel to a source of such effluent, for collecting a quantity of effluent containing such metallic particles; and two or more sedimentary deposit tanks associated with the surge tanks for receiving the liquid effluent and separating it by sedimentary deposit into a collected solid waste component and an out-flowing fluid flowing to an exit conduit from which such collected solid waste has been separated; comprising
(a) a source of controlled pressure differential (e.g. an auxiliary effluent pump) creating a pressure differential between the surge tank inlet and the sedimentary deposit tank outlets for causing liquid to flow from the surge tank through the sedimentary deposit tanks to the outlets thereof in response to the pressure differential; (b) a bypass conduit connecting the surge tank inlet to the exit conduit; (c) a source of controlled vacuum pressure (e.g. a suction pump with one or more valves or regulators) between the effluent source and the exit conduit, for causing liquid to flow from the effluent source into the surge tank under suction, and air to flow from the effluent source into the exit conduit via the surge tank inlet; (d) a pressure balancing valve at the surge tank inlet port that facilitates maintenance of the vacuum pressure; (e) each said sedimentary deposit tank comprising a series of baffle chambers separated by baffle chamber walls, one or more of said baffle chambers containing baffles inclined in one or two dimensions for facilitating deposit of solid particles, the series of baffle chambers being structured and arranged so that the first (inlet) baffle chamber receives the liquid effluent, and the liquid effluent passes in sequence through the baffle chambers and exits the final (outlet) baffle chamber as said outflowing fluid.
- 36. Apparatus as defined in claim 35, wherein the source of the pressure differential is an auxiliary effluent pump situated downstream of the sedimentary deposit tanks, drawing treated effluent from the outlet port of each sedimentary deposit tank, and discharging the effluent into a common effluent drain.
- 37. Apparatus as defined in claim 35, wherein the source of the pressure differential across the sedimentary deposit tanks is two or more auxiliary effluent pumps situated downstream of each said surge tank, between such surge tank and associated sedimentary deposit tanks.
RELATED APPLICATION DATA
[0001] The present patent application is a continuation-in-part of PCT International Patent Application No. PCT/CA99/00665 filed on Jul. 21, 1999 that designates the United States and that claims priority from Canadian patent application No. 2,243,580, filed on Jul. 24, 1998.
Continuation in Parts (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
PCT/CA99/00665 |
Jul 1999 |
US |
Child |
09768848 |
Jan 2001 |
US |