Patent Grant
7585413
This invention generally relates to apparatuses and methods for treating water and other fluids, including, but not limited to, agricultural and industrial waste water to cut the production of offensive odors. More specifically, it relates to methods and apparatuses to substantially reduce odor and other odorous compounds from being emitted from organic waste storage structures or lagoons and the elimination of application of excess plant nutrients to cropland.
For purposes of this patent, the following terms are defined. As used herein, the term “conveyed” or “convey” means and refers to any system or process for directing, channeling, sending, spraying, blowing, moving, funneling, pouring, pumping wastewater or other solid or at partially liquid material. As used herein, the term “tank” means and refers to a bin(s), pond(s), container, area, and the like. As used herein, the term “trolley” means and refers to a bin, tank, collection site, collection vehicle, area, pile, and the like. As used herein, the term “pass,” “passing,” “passed,” and other conjugations means and refers to convey, to direct and/or to transport via any method or structure common in the art such as a conduit, pipe, funnel, trough, line, slope, gully, trench, river, stream, and the like. As used herein, the term “lagoon” means and refers to a lagoon, pond, lake, stream, retention structure, facultative pond and the like, whether earthen or lined pit such as by concrete, plastic or metal and the like. When wild hogs roamed the forest in sparse numbers with the population determined by the available food sources, the environmental impact of the hog excretion was insignificant. The individual animal roamed freely, spreading his waste over large areas as he traveled. Later, when man domesticated hog and other livestock and as environmental regulations began to address such wastes, the disposal, treatment, and recycling of the, and increased the local concentration to correspond to the caretakers food production, the environmental impact of waste was at first minimal. The farmer removed the waste manure from the pig-sty and spread it over his farm for fertilizer.
In recent times, however, livestock production density has dramatically increased. For example, the specialty hog production operators purchased their hog feed (cereal grains) from other farmers who specialized in the production of grain cereal. This enables one operator to have the hog production facility of 10,000 head of hogs or more. The production of hog manure now becomes a problem. The spreading of large quantities of hog manure on land requires an extensive amount of land. The soil has a finite capacity to degrade animal feces, and when exceeded it becomes the equivalent of a pile of manure. The waste is often accumulated and dispersed over the cropland at specific times of the year. However, there are physical limitations on the distribution of the waste because it cannot be practically applied to near mature crops without the destruction of the crop. Also it cannot be applied when the waste may run off the soil because the soil is saturated or frozen. In fact, several states within the U.S. have created regulations prohibiting land application during the winter months.
In addition to the practical limits of the distribution of animal feces, regulatory agencies have applied limits on the amount of feces that may be spread. The regulations limit the amount of animal feces per acre to be about equivalent to the plant uptake of the non-biodegradable components. These regulations were created to prohibit the surface run-off from storm water and the excess percolation of the soluble waste components into the ground water.
In recent times, livestock producers have elected to create pits or lagoons for the collection of the waste. In the barns or houses, the animals live on elevated flooring which permits the feces to drop through the floor to a sub-floor. This sub-floor is periodically flushed to remove the feces and maintain a healthy living environment. The feces, with the wash down water as a vehicle, flow to the storage lagoon. The water utilized to flush the livestock production floor and move the freshly produced feces to the lagoon is usually recycled supernatant from the storage lagoon. Recycling the wastewater provides two advantages to the producer. First, it reduces that amount of fresh water that must be provided and secondly, since it is recycled from the storage lagoon, the size of the storage facility can be significantly reduced.
The problem with the recycled water is that it contains high levels of ammonia (breakdown product of the waste urea) and odors, which are not beneficial to the health of the livestock. High levels of ammonia in the flush water require the building to be vented to reduce the ambient levels of ammonia. Increased ventilation lowers the ambient temperatures in the winter. The lower temperatures lower the rate of weight gain of the animals and increase the food requirement of the animal to maintain body temperature.
Biological cultures purify water by exploiting the metabolic processes of various bacterial and algal species to convert organic and inorganic waste products into benign end products, typically carbon dioxide and a reproduction of the species. However, intermediate products formed by biological processes can include methane and sulfur containing gases, volatile organic acids or other volatile or odiferous products, depending on the nature of the culture, the waste being digested and the ambient environment.
Biological cultures can be fostered of desirable microorganisms, which provide the functional basis for the wastewater treatment by metabolically converting the waste products. However, cultures of undesirable microorganisms which produce undesirable tastes, odors, growths, or which are actually toxic are also possible. Therefore, it is important in biological wastewater treatment that cultures of suitable microorganisms are fostered and the undesirable cultures avoided.
The organic material in the wastewater serves both as an energy source and a source of carbon for cell synthesis by the microorganisms of the culture. Microorganisms are both reactants and products in the biological treatment of wastewater. Typical configurations of biological reactor cultures for purifying water include suspended culture processes and attached growth systems such as fixed-film reactors. Suspended cultures include activated sludge (facultative cultures), aerated lagoons, oxidation ponds, and anaerobic cultures.
The oxygen level present in the culture material affects biological digestion of organic waste material because the oxygen level determines the metabolic pathway available to the microorganism. Aerobic conditions provide plenty of oxygen to the culture, and foster the growth of microorganisms that can use the exogenous oxygen as a terminal electron acceptor in the oxidation of organic acids generated form the metabolic breakdown of organic material, i.e. aerobic biological activity. If insufficient exogenous oxygen is available to the culture, the conditions are anaerobic. Under anaerobic conditions, the absence of oxygen as a terminal electron acceptor results in the excretion of organic acids into the culture medium as waste.
Farmers often create storage lagoons on their farms to accumulate and store the flushed wastewater, feces and urine until an appropriate time to distribute the wastes over the land. The surface water is utilized as flush water not only to reduce the amount of water consumed by the animal production, but also to conserve the capacity of the lagoon. Using the lagoon water for flushing reduces the water consumption by 70-90% and proportionally reduces the required size of the lagoon. The wastewater is usually stored until planting time and applied to cropland in place of a commercial fertilizer.
Currently, during the storage process, due to the large volume of animal waste entering the lagoon, there is insufficient oxygen present to support the growth of aerobic cultures and/or aerobic biological activity. In the absence of the desired oxygen, the microbial growth in the lagoon converts to anaerobic activity. This anaerobic activity leads to what is commonly known as a “septic” lagoon. In a septic lagoon a very foul odor is present from the production of hydrogen sulfide, organic-sulfide compounds, organic acids, and etc. When the accumulated waste liquid is distributed over the cropland by spray irrigation, the foul smelling volatile gases are liberated, producing a very undesirable environment.
Aeration equipment can be installed to provide sufficient dissolved oxygen to maintain an aerobic culture. However, the energy cost to operate the aerobic treatment is very cost prohibitive. There are several methods of aeration available. Surface aerators are commonly used in large open areas. The surface aerator consists of an electric motor driven impeller suspended in the throat of a venturi with the entire unit mounted on a float to suspend the impeller just below the surface. As the impeller spins, it pumps the water up forming a large circular spray. Oxygen is dissolved in the water as it falls through the air. The amount of water spray and subsequently the amount of oxygen dissolved is directly proportioned to the amount of water pumped and therefore the horsepower of the motor and energy consumed.
Another commonly used method to increase the dissolved oxygen content of the lagoon is to blow air thorough an aeration system located on the bottom of the pond. The air is forced through a device with small openings to create small bubbles. As the bubbles rise through the liquid, oxygen is dissolved in the water. Again the amount of oxygen dissolved is directly proportional to the amount of air forced into the basin and therefore the horsepower utilized and energy consumed.
With these methods, it is possible to provide enough energy to supply sufficient oxygen to maintain an aerobic culture, but such methods are not entirely practical. The average waste generated by swine production is 3.1 pounds of BOD and 8.4 pounds of COD per day per 1000 pounds of livestock. This amount would be very cost prohibitive with the prior art methods. Other methods that have developed that concentrate on screening the undissolved particles from the wastewater prior to flushing. Typically, the flush water will consist of both dissolved ingredients and suspended undissolved solids or particles (undissolved ingredients). These undissolved particles are of varying size from sub-micron to much larger visible particles.
There are a variety of screen separators being used in the art field for such screening. However, the screens only remove about 15-20% of the organic mass. These large particles that can be screened are insignificant in the treatment process because removing only 20% of the organic mass will only reduce the energy consumption by 20%. Various types of screen—gravity inclined screen, inclined screens with roll compactor, rotating screens, screens with drag chains, have been utilized with either wedge wire construction or perforated metal construction and types produce essentially the same results in that most of the particles are too small to be removed by screen-separating devices. In any case, the majority of the fecal matter is unscreened and left to produce the foul smell and septic environment as heretofore described.
The foul odors of wastewater become apparent in most operations, including, but not limited to:
Over the past few decades, more people have found it desirable to live in a country atmosphere rather then the conventional city life resulting in a greater number of people living near agricultural centers. The foul odor emanating from the anaerobic lagoons and spray fields has increasingly become a major area environmental issue. For example, the state of North Carolina has recently passed a moratorium prohibiting the creation of any new anaerobic lagoons. In fact, new rules are being created to phase out the use of all anaerobic lagoons because of the environmental and social problems. Other areas have proposed methods for the treatment of agricultural wastewater using biological techniques, the problem of odor and the economical removal of the source of the odor has not been addressed. The foul odor can be altogether prevented or mitigated by collection and use of the biogas or by semi-permeable membranes that oxidize and deodorize odors. Also, the biogas comprises as useful energy source that can be used for energy, to generate electricity, and to even speed the rate of reaction by raising the temperature of the wastewater, for example, the anaerobic digester.
For a further understanding of the nature and objects of the present invention, reference should be made to the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like elements are given the same or analogous reference numbers and wherein:
For purposes of the description of this invention, the terms “upper”, “lower”, “right”, “left”, “vertical”, “horizontal”, “top”, “bottom”, and other related terms shall be defined as to relation of embodiments of the present invention as it is shown an illustrated in the accompanying Figures. Further, for purposes of the description of this invention, the terms “upper portion,” “lower portion,” “top,” “bottom,” and the like shall be defined to mean an upper portion and a lower portion and not specific sections. The terms “upstream” and “downstream” are intended to describe the connected relationship of the wastewater treatment modalities of the present invention, and are not intended to imply altitudinal or transformational relationship of the treatment modalities or the wastewater therein. However, it is to be understood that the invention may assume various alternative structures and processes and still be within the scope and meaning of this disclosure. Further, it is to be understood that any specific dimensions and/or physical characteristics related to the embodiments disclosed herein are capable of modification and alteration while still remaining within the scope of the present invention and are, therefore, not intended to be limiting.
Various embodiments of the present invention address problems associated with odors associated with the treatment of wastewater through reduction of solid and dissolved waste material.
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The solid material and/or particles collected on or about screen 10 may be conveyed out of pit 2 and off of device 3 into a trolley 5 or other device for collection. Once collected the solid material may be disposed of or used by any method common in the art. Screen 10 of device 3 may be of any size and/or the holes through screen 10 may be of any size. The more fine the screen holes are, or the smaller the holes in the screen, the more solid material that may be removed.
The liquid that is collected or left in pit 2 may then be conveyed to a clarifier 6. In an embodiment, the liquid conveyed is pumped into clarifier 6 by a pump 4. Various embodiments of the present invention utilize any variety of clarifier. In an embodiment, clarifier 6 is an elevated gravity flow clarifier. However, other embodiments use forced circulation and inclined clarifiers. Clarifier 6 acts further to remove solid and dissolved material from the wastewater.
In an embodiment, as the wastewater is clarified, a sludge collects about a portion of the clarifier. In one of the embodiments of this type, a sludge collects about the lower portion of the clarifier. The sludge may be drained or removed from clarifier 6 at a location 8. In various embodiments, the removed sludge may be conveyed back to pit 2 for further separation and disposal. In other embodiments, the sludge is used for a further process. The flow of removed sludge from clarifier 6 may be controlled by a valve 9 to limit the amount of material withdrawn from clarifier 6 or to control or select the time and/or conditions when sludge is removed from clarifier 6.
Various embodiments of clarifier 6 may include portions, pieces and apparatuses that are common in the art for the treatment of a wastewater. One example of an appropriate clarifier is a Hoffland-Environmental circular up-flow clarifier. However, other clarifiers may be used and will be readily known and apparent in the art.
To facilitate the removal of sludge collected about portions of clarifier 6 a variety of sludge rakes may be used either in combination or alternatively. One such example of a sludge rake includes, but is not limited to, a Hoffland-Environmental sludge rake. Various other embodiments of clarifier 6 may utilize a top scum rake to collect solid material above the bottom of clarifier 6. One such example is, but is not limited to, the Hoffland-Environmental scum rake. However, various embodiments may not use a top or a bottom scum rake.
As wastewater is treated in clarifier 6 a portion of the solid material may be removed from the wastewater such that wastewater may be further cleaned and solid particle and dissolved particle content reduced. In an embodiment, clarified wastewater is allowed to exit clarifier 6 about an opening 7. The clarified wastewater allowed to exit may be conveyed to a lagoon, holding pond, facultative pond, or other structure for further use or disposal. Various methods of collection and removal of clarified wastewater from clarifier 6 may be used and are well known in the art. In an embodiment, a portion of the clarified wastewater removed is recycled for further use in the wastewater treatment process and/or facility. In another embodiment, the wastewater in the lagoon is used for fertilization.
The treatment of wastewater by these various processes and apparatuses will reduce the solids contained in the wastewater thereby reducing the BOD and COD of the wastewater and consequently reducing the amount of oxygen necessary to maintain aerobic processes. The maintenance of an aerobic treatment process will reduce unpleasant odors and toxicity and make the further use of the wastewater more practical for other operations including, but not limited to, fertilization and the like.
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Various other embodiments of the present invention may utilize multiple treatments of wastewater with multiple chemicals in multiple tanks, such as tank 26 and chemical(s) 22. However, such other treatments are not required, but may be found to increase the waste removal from the wastewater. Such further chemical treatments may be employed in an environmentally sound manner such that the production of harmful products and is reduced.
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The present invention requires a wastewater source 1 that comprises animal feces with at least one organic carbon component at least a portion of which is an insoluble solid and a nitrogenous waste, and a clarifier 216. See
If there is a large volume of wastes that exceed the size of the clarifier(s) such as in plug drain operations, various embodiments will use a storage tank or holding pit, or other suitable substitutes (not shown).
In the following embodiments, it is not necessary to use a screen because if the waste coming to the settling device, clarifier or anaerobic digester unless it has large trash or debris e.g. in excess of 1-2 cm (which may impair the operation of a pump). Instead, the flushed waste can go directly to the clarifier. If desired, the material coming off the bottom of the clarifier now can also be further compacted in any device such as an incline screen, a screw press, a filter press, a centrifuge or a bell press (not shown). These are devices common to the art.
Where the solids are decomposed with an anaerobic digester, e.g. 245, 246 in
When the wastes are separated and the solids are concentrated, the clearwater portion 202a of the wastewater from the clarifier goes to the aerobic basin, and is further treated. Also after anaerobic digestion, the water from the covered anaerobic reactor goes to the aerobic basin and is further treated. Wastewater is conveyed to a clarifier 216 through an inlet in the clarifier 215, and an inlet still well 213. The clarifier has a top edge 220 and a bottom area 226. The clarifier 216 clarifies the wastewater to at least partially separate the wastewater into a clearwater 202a portion at or near the top edge of the clarifier and wherein the solids are at least partially concentrated into a solids portion 202b at or near the bottom 228 of the clarifier. Clearwater is defined as water that may or may not have discoloration, and has low turbidity, and does not have visible particulate matter. The primary clarifier 216 may have a sloped bottom to enhance solids removal and/or it may have a rake 218 that turns the material into the center to assist in the separation of the solids and the liquid wastewater 202. See
As wastewater is treated in clarifier 216 a portion of the solids material may be removed from the wastewater such that wastewater may be further cleaned and the solid particles and dissolved particle content reduced. In an embodiment, clarified wastewater or clearwater portion is allowed to exit clarifier 216 about an opening 217. The clarified clear wastewater is preferably conveyed to a lagoon, holding pond, facultative pond, or other structure for further treatment. Various methods of collection and removal of clarified wastewater from clarifier 216 may be used and are well known in the art.
The clearwater exits an outlet 224 near the top of the clarifier and then travels through a conduit to the aerobic basin 265 for nitrification and/or denitrification and/or a biological reduction of carbon. The conduit may be open or closed and comprised of a variety of materials known or used by one skilled in the art, such as a 6 inch schedule 40 PVC pipe.
At or near the bottom 228 of the clarifier is an outlet that channels the solids portion 202b into a solids conduit 234 that preferably has at least one bypass circuit 236 in the event the conduit becomes clogged. There may also be various valves 240 within the conduits to turn on and off the flow of the solids portion. The solids portion is then channeled to a anaerobic digester 245. Because much of the wastewater is separated and fed directly into the lagoon 265, the size of the anaerobic digester may be decreased from that typically used in wastewater treatment.
The clarifier can be a conventional clarifier manufactured by Hoffland Environmental Model No. 8/3000 the clarified water flows into the aerobic basin into the aerobic basin and the underflow that contains the solid slurry exits the clarifier at or near the bottom end through a valve. A variety of types of valves known to one skilled in the art may be used, such as a motorized ball valve manufactured by Hayward. The solids then flow into the covered anaerobic digester. The bottom outlet of the clarifier is ideally attached to a about 4 inch to about a 12 inch pipe, and preferably a 6 inch pipe which is the most economical pipe to use that will resist clogging.
Conduits, pipes, trenches, and the like connect the various components of the apparatus of this invention. The type of connection and conduits depend upon a variety of factors, for example, the need to prevent the escape of biogas, odors, and the desire to prevent the loss of heat.
Waste from cattle is different from that of hogs and is treated differently. The hay that is ingested is a cellulose material is chewed up so finely that it becomes like a paper waste. Cow waste is very dilute, and contains a lot of water. So if the wastes are flushed, as they do on the farms in the eastern part of the U.S., a very dilute solution of the dairy waste is obtained. If clarification is used, it takes it a very large settling tank, and even after it is settled and concentrated, the wastes are very dilute—only about 6%. So, it is more efficient to put the wastes directly into an anaerobic digester. Further, it is more efficient to scrape the wastes, such as by a tractor, and to pump the wastes into the anaerobic digester and it is already concentrated.
The anaerobic digester 245 reduces the volume of organic mass because the organic material in the solids is decomposed by bacterial action, so essentially up to about 90% of the carbon containing material will be biologically consumed by the microbe growth. As a result, biogas is produced which is about 60% methane and about 40% carbon dioxide and trace amounts of other gases such as hydrogen sulfide. Still, some undesirable septic odors can come off from the digested liquid from the anaerobic digester that has overflowed into the aerobic basin. The digester contains at least one anaerobic cultures of obliquely anaerobic organisms, wherein the culture reduces the organic content of the solids portion and produces a biogas comprised of methane and/or carbon dioxide and/or hydrogen sulfide. An anaerobic digester is capable of reducing the carbon matter, and removing or degrading the solids. Treated liquid 249 from the anaerobic digester flows into the aerobic digester as new waste is put in the anaerobic digester, periodically or continually, and there is a certain amount of overflow.
The anaerobic digester is most preferably covered because methane gas, or biogas is produced and comes off the digester. If the anaerobic digester is not an enclosed vessel such as a tank, the surface of the anaerobic digester can be covered. The type of material chosen for the cover depends upon whether capture of the biogas is desired. If so, a non-permeable type continuous cover should be used. Alternatively, a semi-permeable membrane may be used which allows the biogas 260 and water vapor 262 to come up through the membrane and to be vented. The cover will float as it has styrofoam floats 254 underneath it. If the digester is in a pit or reservoir it typically has a lining 247 that prevents leakage and escape of the water portion of the solids. Again, as a by-product of microbial degradation, hydrogen sulfide normally comes up through permeable or semi-permeable covers.
If a semi-permeable membrane is used as in
Prior to storage, and it is preferable to purify the gas to remove the sulfides and other odiferous gases. The biogas could be purified by any means known and used by one skilled in the art such as by using an air separation unit, or separating gas comprising methane from the biogas by using a semi-permeable membrane. Molecular sieves can also be used to increase the concentration of the methane once it is purified it can be put in a pipeline or storage vessel The biogas is a low BTU value of gas, it is not as good as methane because it is 40% carbon dioxide, but it will still burn and can be used as a heat an energy source. Other methods and apparatuses for collecting and storing gases, as well as separating the gases that are known to one skilled in the art may also be used.
The covered anaerobic digester will usually have a 100 days retention time, if it is a mesophilic digester, it may be anywhere from five days to 100 days retention, if it is an ambient it will be about 4 months to 6 months to a year retention. The optimal temperature range for mesophilic digesters, and mesophilic bacteria are temperatures about 80° F. to about 100° F., with 95° F./35° C. being most optimum. Below about 95° F., the action of the digester is slower. The anaerobic digester in
The gas is pressurized with a low-pressure blower such as Fujic Model VFC 200 p-51 to supply the biogas to the engine. For a swine operation with 1000 sows, farrow to finish a typical installation would include a 130 KW generator using a Caterpillar Model G-3406 HCNA engine with an induction generator. The unit will be equipped with a heat exchanger to receive the engine cooling water. The heat exchanger may be either a shell and tube style heat exchanger or a plate-to-plate heat exchanger such as Alp Laval model M6-MF6. The wastes from the anaerobic digester will be pumped through the cooling side of the heat exchanger. The engine exhaust may also be captured using a gas to liquid heat exchanger. The exhaust gas will be on the gas side of the exchanger and the anaerobic digester liquid will be pumped through the liquid side of the exchanger. The exhaust and/or excess heat are vented 365 from the exchanger into the atmosphere.
The heated wastewater 425 exciting the heat exchanger 340 is preferably conveyed back to the anaerobic digester through pipes 427 that are insulated, and that may be comprised of a variety of materials and sizes known or used by one skilled in the art. In an embodiment, carbon steel or stainless steel 6 inch pipes are used.
The anaerobic digester of
The burner 360 may be manufactured by ST Johnson, San Francisco, Calif. In
In this embodiment, the heat and/or hot gases 362 coming from the burner go through a conduit that may be comprised of a variety of materials and sizes known or used by one skilled in the art. In an embodiment, carbon steel or stainless steel 2 inch pipes 364 are used. The pipes lead to a serpentine coil 342 in a sealed tank 340 similar to the system manufactured by Hoffland Environmental model no. 8CL10, which has a mixer creating a high mixing rate inside the heat exchanger. The cooler wastewater 423 from the anaerobic digester is pumped through the sealed tank and the heated water 425 returns through an insulated pipe back to the covered anaerobic digester, and that may be comprised of a variety of materials and sizes known or used by one skilled in the art. In an embodiment, carbon steel or stainless steel 6 inch pipes are used. Optimally, the wastewater in the anaerobic digester is heated up to about 95° F. This is especially an advantageous process in the winter and spring months in the cold parts of the country as the anaerobic digester operates optimally around 95° F. It is also important not to overheat the water in the tank, as it is not the object to kill the mesophilic bacteria within the anaerobic digester. The pump 264 from the anaerobic digester is usually most efficient to be a submerged, such as manufactured by Zoeller, Model G295 and conduit system is used to convey the unheated liquid from the digester to the heat exchanger tank.
By raising the temperature of the digester, the rate of digestion increases considerably, even up to about 50 times or more, as opposed to ambient digesters which operate without any external heat source or elevation of temperature, besides solar energy.
Alternatively, the gas may be burned beneath a vessel that holds water that is being treated and the water may be directly heated and then introduced into the anaerobic digester. If the concentration of the waste going to the digester is large enough, a sufficient amount of gas will be produced which can be converted to electricity with the excess energy recovered by the heat exchanger and the system becomes self sustaining, and even extra energy may be produced.
In this invention, as shown in
A conduit 407 from the engine which contains exhaust and/or waste heat 407, is connected to a heat exchanger 340 that is used to cool an engine 400 burning biogas and producing heat 406, such as a heated exhaust and an engine waste heat, and less heated water 423 from the anaerobic digester is pumped into a heat exchanger 340 and a cooling water 408 from the engine is passed through the heat exchanger, liberating the heat from the engine to the wastewater and returning to cool 410 the engine, and wherein a return line conveys the heated wastewater 425 to the anaerobic digester to raise the temperature of the water in the anaerobic digester 245. See e.g.
As a further embodiment, it is possible to use the engine and generator of
In embodiments illustrated in
Once the desired carbon content of the waste in the anaerobic tank is reached, wastewater will be channeled into the aerobic lagoon through a conduit 256 preferably also comprising at least one mechanical and/or automatic or automated valve 240 the conduit can be comprised of a variety of materials known or used by one skilled in the art such as stainless steel and PVC. Because PVC is less costly, it is preferable to use a 12 inch PVC pipe. The liquid that flows from the anaerobic basin to the aerobic basin may be pumped or it may be gravity flowed through a controlled valve and the aerobic basin. The lagoon/oxidation basin is typically a self-contained vessel, whether plastic, concrete, or clay covering raw earth.
The nitrogenous wastes are not removed by the clarifier or by the anaerobic digester, either one. In the anaerobic system, the bacteria consume some of the nitrogen as part of its growth cycle, but when it dies it releases it all, so it all comes back out in the form of ammonia. The nitrogen in the wastewater must go through this denitrification process. This process is described for example in U.S. Pat. No. 6,054,044 to Hoffland. However, since that time, an alternative method has been discovered that does not require recirculation and baffles. Rather, the recirculation can take place convectively in the basin itself. Therein the nitrogen will be removed and reduced significantly by creating three levels of microbial growth within zones of the aerobic basin or lagoon. In the aerobic basin or lagoon, there are alternating zones of highly anaerobic high levels of exogenous oxygen and levels where there is no exogenous oxygen, where the nitrate is consumed and as it moves through the pond these re-circulation within the zone is set up without the addition of mechanical recirculation, such as by a pump. In the aerobic basin, the water is aerated by any type of aeration device to increase the exogenous oxygen content. There may be floating aerators as shown in
Surface aerators shown in
There is a highly aerobic zone where the bacteria forms a nitrosomos. Bacteria, which lives off the ammonia and forms nitrite, and then under aerobic conditions the nitrite, is oxidized to nitrate. The nitrate is still in the solution, containing soluble nitrogen that remains an excess nutrient with movement of the liquid around and through the zone, the ambient condition changes from aerobic to anoxic to anaerobic. Anoxic can be defined as the absence of oxygen, however in the wastewater industry anoxic may also be referred is just becoming anaerobic. When termed anaerobic, it is considered deeply anaerobic, after most of the oxygen containing compounds are removed. Under anoxic conditions, there is no free exogenous oxygen. Certain facultative bacteria can live under aerobic conditions and under slightly anoxic conditions will continue their life cycle metabolizing the oxygen that is contained in the nitrate radical. They consume the oxygen in a nitrate radical for metabolism forming carbon dioxide. The nitrate is therefore reduced and is released as nitrogen gas. This is called denitrification. The oxygen in the nitrate forms carbon dioxide as the microbes metabolize the available carbon source. In the absence of nitrate the system becomes deeply anaerobic. Under anaerobic conditions, the microbes use sulfate as an electron donor producing hydrogen sulfide. The solution convection moves the liquid back to the aerated zone where the Nitrosomonas bacteria that had become dormant now becomes active and begins metabolizing the ammonia. The nitrification of the ammonia forms nitrate and the cycle continues.
In the prior art, the accepted technique was to create a fully aerated aerobic treatment facility where sufficient aeration was provided to biologically consume essentially all of the carbonaceous material and then have sufficient aeration to nitrify the ammonia to nitrite and subsequently nitrate. Then the solution containing the nitrate was recycled either to the beginning of the process, which was maintained in an anoxic/anaerobic condition to denitrify the nitrate producing nitrogen gas. The nitrate was optionally transferred to a tertiary facility where additional carbon source was added to support the denitrification process. However, the embodiments of this invention teach that in the presence of excess carbonaceous material if the wastewater is cycled through highly aerobic zones followed by anoxic zones, the nitrification/denitrification is accomplished without the addition of further carbonaceous materials.
A culture of Nitrosomas bacteria is cultured to convert the ammonia (NH3) to nitrite (NO). The problem with the conversion is that the Nitrosomas bacteria require a highly aerobic environment for it to live. This is usually stated as an oxygen concentration in excess of 1 mg/l. When a waste such as swine waste containing carbonaceous material as well as ammonia, is aerated, the microbial growth that consumes the carbonaceous matter will live well at oxygen level near zero. So, in most cases, sufficient oxygen must be provided to support the microbial growth to consume, essentially all of the carbonaceous matter before the microbes stop feeding and the oxygen content will increase to a level to support the Nitrosomas bacteria. So, the conventional technology consumes all of the organic matter, and then the oxygen concentration increases and the Nitrosomas bacteria metabolizes the ammonia.
The next reaction is with Nitrobacter, which under aerobic condition will convert the nitrite (NO) to nitrate (NO2). The treated waste is now under aerobic conditions with all of the carbonaceous material consumed and an excess of nitrate. The nitrate is soluble, and remains in solution. Now, all of the nitrogen remains in the system, it has been biologically converted from ammonia to nitrate. The nitrate is an excess plant nutrient, and has essentially the same detrimental environmental effects as does ammonia.
To decompose the nitrate, the waste must be subject to anoxic or anaerobic conditions. When the nitrate is added to solution with active microbial growth and a food source but not an excess of oxygen, the facultative microbes will use the oxygen in the nitrate molecule to support their live cycle. The by-product is free nitrogen, a gas that is liberated. This is called “denitrification.”
If highly aerobic conditions can be created in the presence of a food source, the Nitrosomas bacteria will flourish in the aerobic zone, then go dormant in the areas of low oxygen content. The nitrite and nitrate created in the highly aerobic zone become additional oxygen sources for the microbial growth in areas of low to near zero oxygen content. In essence, nitrification/denitrification can take place in the presence of high concentration of carbonaceous materials if highly aerobic zones and anoxic or anaerobic zones are created. The natural migration of the liquid through the treatment basin is sufficient to move the liquid through alternating zones of high aerobic area to support the growth of Nitrosomas microbes and anoxic zones for denitrification. Thus, mechanical recirculation is not required.
The induced circulating agitation around each area of oxygen introduction creates first a highly aerobic zone, followed by anoxic zones then anaerobic zones then returns to the aerobic zone. In the aerobic zone, with excess of oxygen, the nitrification and aerobic microbes flourish well. As the liquid moves from the highly aerobic zone to the anoxic zone, the Nitrosomas bacteria activity slows dramatically and the bacteria become dormant. The aerobic microbial growth continues to grow well as the oxygen content is depleted. In the absence of exogenous oxygen the liquid becomes anoxic. The facultative bacteria continue to grow using the oxygen within the nitrite and nitrate formed in the aerobic zone. When all nitrite and nitrate are consumed, the nitrogen is liberated and the zone becomes anaerobic. As the circulatory liquid movement moves near the bottom of the basin, the conditions become anaerobic. The facultative bacteria momentarily become inactive to dormant. As the liquid moves into the aerobic area, the facultative bacteria become active and the Nitrosomas also moves from the dormant state to the active state. The movement of liquid through the basin inherently moves the liquid waste through multiple zones of aerobic, anoxic and anaerobic activity.
There may also be an on/off switch 282 for exogenous oxygen, which may be manual or automatic. If it is automatic, it may also be programmed on such a time or other means known or used by one skilled in the art 284 for the desired on/off cycle and duration. The aerators may be run constantly, or can be selectively turned off in order to save energy. If the oxygen content comes up to high, then some of the units would be turned off to conserve energy, such as for about 10 minutes to even 10 hours or more. The aerators may be turned on or off in a staggered fashion such as where a zone had an undesired concentration of nutrients and/or cultures. Depending upon the temperature in the aerobic basin, concentration or nutrients, and the like, the aerators may be from 10% on to 95% on, 24 hours a day. The source of the exogenous oxygen will be atmospheric air since purified oxygen, is too expensive. The wastewater is oxygenated by bubbling the air bubbles 278 through it. Also, if a greater quantity of waste is coming in and the bacterial growth is so great that it is consuming all the oxygen that is available and then it goes anaerobic, more exogenous oxygen can be added by more aerators or more vigorous aeration. In summertime, the oxidative lagoon will work a lot faster without any exogenous heat, so it is likely that more vigorous aeration will be required in summer, and less in the winter. Depending on the type of aeration means, vigor of the aeration means, size of bubbles, temperature of lagoon, the aerations may be 5 inches to 10 feet apart, or even 10 feet to 100 feet apart as in the case of some surface aerators that may be 8 feet to 10 feet across. In the lagoon, the pH can be monitored as well as the oxygen. If a pH adjustment is necessary, exogenous bases or acids that are inexpensive and known to one skilled in the art can be added. A probe 500 in the aerobic basin/lagoon can monitor oxygen through an analyzer 510 that is commercially available and known to one skilled in the art, or a sample can be taken out and analyzed. See e.g.
As the temperature declines, the activity of the Nitrosomonas bacteria also declines 72° F. 50° F., the growth rate of Nitrosomonas bacteria is approaching zero. Thus, the residence time between summer and winter will be different, with the residence time in the winter being longer. Thus, is it desirable to heat the anaerobic digester, and possibly the oxidative lagoon. If desired, the oxidative lagoon can be heated in the same manner as that described for the anaerobic digester. However, the heat will more rapidly dissipate from the uncovered lagoon.
In the embodiments set forth in
The flow rate to the lagoon may vary with a wide range of flows, such as about 20 ounces a minute to about 400 gallons a minute. The retention in the aeration basin should be 2 to 10 days. When the lagoon is working properly, the water furthest away from the inlet from the anaerobic digester will be the cleanest in terms of the amount of nutrients and bacterial cultures. If the clarifier performs correctly and the anaerobic and oxidative basins perform correctly, the biomass in the aeration basin is relatively low and an additional or secondary clarifier is not needed after the aeration basin. In farming areas, the aerobic basin may be large enough such that the nitrogen and organic wastes decompose with retention of about ten days. However, a certain amount of solids will continue to pass through the basin. If cleaner water is desired in the treated storage area, the water from the aerobic basin may be pumped through a secondary clarifier, flocculating chemicals may be added, and the clearwater from the clarifier flows into the storage basin. The collected solids can be returned to the primary clarifier.
Once the treated water from the aerobic basin 265 has reached the proper level of nitrogen and/or COD content it is then channeled through a conduit 535 that may be operated by a mechanical or manual valve 240 into a water storage area 532 and/or is used for irrigation and/or recycling. The conduit can be comprised of a vanity of materials known or used by one skilled in the art such as stainless steel and PVC. Because PVC is less costly, it is preferably used, and a 6 inch to 12 inch pipe can be used.
Again, the treated water may be used for crop irrigation 560 or it may be recycled within the water treatment apparatus itself and alternatively, it may be used to flush the floor of a hog house or livestock production area 575 with additional treatment such as reverse osmosis or ultra-filtration and disinfecting the water can be utilized as drinking water for the animal.
Approximately 98% of the solids will decompose. The non-reactive materials such as silicates, carbonates, and sulfates and other components that are not metabolized by the bacteria will accumulate in the anaerobic and aerobic basin. Eventually, the basins will have to be drained and the nonreactive material be removed. The humus matter can be used for farming or soil enrichment.
The excess water used for irrigation is pumped up to about 60 lbs per square inch to 100 lbs per square inch to spray over the fields, such as by a high pressure centrifugal pump 550, such as a Gorman Rupp high pressure centrifugal pump, or other such pumps known or used by one skilled in the art.
The pumps utilized for recycling may be a Goulds centrifugal pump 552, such as with a 20 psi rating, or other such pumps known or used by one skilled in the art.
In this invention, a method for treating wastewater is contemplated, comprising providing a source of wastewater that comprises animal feces at least a portion of which is an insoluble solid and a nitrogenous waste, then introducing the wastewater into an inlet of a clarifier, the clarifier having a top edge and a bottom. Next, the wastewater is clarified to at least partially separate the wastewater into a clearwater portion at or near the top edge of the clarifier and wherein the solids are at least partially concentrated into a solids portion at or near the bottom of the clarifier. At least a part of the clearwater portion to a lagoon for nitrification and/or denitrification and/or a biological reduction of carbon. An at least a part of the solids portion is removed to an anaerobic digester for treatment, the digester containing at least one anaerobic culture, wherein at least one culture reduces the carbonaceous and organic content of the solids portion and produces a biogas comprised of methane and/or carbon dioxide and/or hydrogen sulfide. The anaerobic digester reduces the amount of organic components in the wastewater to approximately about 100 to 1,000 mg/l. Further, at least a portion of the wastewater from the anaerobic digester that has undergone an anaerobic digestion is moved to the lagoon for further treatment.
In this method, the lagoon reduces the amount of organic components in the wastewater to approximately about 25 mg/l to about 1,000 mg/l and/or nitrogenous wastes are reduced by denitrification to about 5 mg/l to about 250 mg/l.
If a closed digester is used or one that is covered with a nonpermeable membrane, the biogas may be burned by a flare to deodorize and detoxify the gas, or the gas can be collected and/or stored for later use.
The anaerobic digester may also be covered with a floating cover that is nonpermeable or semipermeable. Further, semipermeable membrane may be comprised of a polymer material that allows the biogas to slowly diffuse and to become at least partially oxidized and deodorized. Further, bacteria on and/or in the membrane can be used to at least partially oxidize and deodorize the diffusing biogas.
The method of the invention also contemplates using at least one means to burn the biogas, wherein the means is selected from the group consisting of an engine; a gas generator; an electrical generator; a flare; a gas burner; and a combination thereof. The heat and/or the energy generator can be used for a production facility or for any other use.
The biogas may be burned for a heat source to elevate the temperature of the wastewater in the anaerobic digester and/or the biogas may be burned to generate electricity. As a by-product of burning the gas, heat is produced. If so desired, at least a portion of the heat may be used to raise the temperature of the water in the anaerobic digester in order to speed up the process of anaerobic digestion.
For example, a wastewater outlet line from the anaerobic digester can be connected to a heat exchanger which utilizes a heat from an engine that is burning biogas and producing a heated exhaust and an engine waste heat. The wastewater can be circulated through the heat exchanger and heated engine coolant is lead into the heat exchanger to cool the engine and to heat the wastewater circulating through the engine. The heated wastewater is returned to the anaerobic digester, and the temperature of the wastewater in the anaerobic digester is raised.
The method and apparatus of this invention also contemplates providing a wastewater outlet line from the anaerobic digester that at least partially fills a heating tank, placing a heat conductive coil in the heating tank, connecting a conduit to an exhaust pipe and/or an engine cooling system of an engine that is burning the biogas and is producing a heated exhaust and an engine waste heat, connecting the conduit from the engine to the coil, so that the heated exhaust and/or engine waste heat flows through the coil and heats the wastewater in the heating tank and cools the engine. Next, at least a portion of the heated wastewater is returned to the anaerobic digester, and the temperature of the wastewater in the anaerobic digester is raised.
Similarly, the method and apparatus of this invention contemplates providing a wastewater outlet line from the anaerobic digester that at least partially fills a heating tank, placing a heat conductive coil in the heating tank, connecting a conduit to an exhaust pipe and/or an engine cooling system of a generator that is burning the biogas and is producing a heated exhaust and a waste heat, and connecting the conduit from the generator to the coil, so that the heated exhaust and/or waste heat flows through the coil and heats the wastewater in the heating tank and cools the generator. Next, at least a portion of the heated wastewater is returned to the anaerobic digester, and the temperature of the wastewater in the anaerobic digester is raised.
In this method and apparatus of this invention contemplates that an engine may burn biogas to drive a generator and produce electricity, wherein the engine produces a heated exhaust and engine waste heat. At least a portion of the engine waste heat and/or heated exhaust is used to raise the temperature of the water. The heated wastewater can then be returned to the anaerobic digester to raise the temperature of the wastewater in the anaerobic digester and the metabolic rate of the anaerobic cultures.
Once that has occurred at least a portion of the wastewater from the anaerobic digester to the lagoon for further treatment. In the lagoon, several different zones exist depending upon the oxygen concentration therein. Preferably, there are no baffles between the zones. There is at least a first portion of the wastewater in the lagoon with at least one anoxic culture in an anoxic zone, and at least a second portion of the wastewater in the lagoon with at least one anaerobic culture in an anaerobic zone, and at least a third portion of the wastewater in the lagoon has at least one aerobic culture in an aerobic zone. The various cultures further biologically reduce carbon from the wastewater and/or reduce the nitrogen content of the wastewater.
Also in the lagoon, there is preferably at least one means for supplying exogenous oxygen to create or maintain aerobic conditions, and to cause convective flow proximate to the exogenous oxygen in the lagoon. And, at least one aerating apparatus may be used to supply exogenous oxygen. The aerating apparatus causes convective flow and aerobic conditions proximate to the aerators when the aerators are turned on, anoxic conditions away from the aerators, and the cycling of at least a portion of the wastewater from aerobic conditions to anoxic conditions and from anoxic conditions to aerobic conditions when the aerators are turned on and off.
The aerators may be controlled by an on-off switch that is manually and/or automatically operated. The supply of exogenous oxygen can be turning off when a desired oxygen level is achieved, and then at least one aerobic zone cycles from aerobic conditions to anoxic conditions and from anoxic conditions to aerobic conditions. Later, the oxygen may be turned on when the oxygen level achieves a different pre-set level. Subsequently, there may be a cycling of the turning off and the turning on of the oxygen.
The method also contemplates determining the level of oxygen in the at least one aerobic culture zone by placing a probe in the aerobic zone or by laboratory testing of wastewater from the aerobic zone. Such methods of testing oxygen levels are well known by one skilled in the art.
In the lagoon, the nitrogenous wastes are reduced by denitrification to preferably about approximately about 25 mg/l to about 1,000 mg/l and/or the nitrogenous wastes are reduced by denitrification to about 5 mg/l to about 250 mg/l.
Once the water has been fully treated in the lagoon to reached the desired COD and nitrogen, at least a portion of the treated wastewater may be stored downstream from the lagoon. Further at least a portion of the treated wastewater downstream from the lagoon may be recycled such as by using the water to flush the production floor of wastes and/or at least a portion of the treated wastewater may be used for irrigation. If the water is used to clean an area where livestock wastes have accumulated, the wastewater that comprises animal feces at least a portion of which is an insoluble solid and a nitrogenous waste can be retreated by the foregoing method in the apparatus of this invention.
An apparatus for the treatment of wastewater is also contemplated by this invention. The apparatus comprises a clarifier comprising an inlet, a top edge, and a bottom, a first outlet at or near the top, and a second outlet at or near the bottom of the clarifier capable of capable of a least partially separating wastewater comprising an organic carbon component and a nitrogenous waste into a clearwater portion and capable of concentrating a solids portion comprising carbonaceous and organic material from the wastewater. The concentration of the solids allows the use of an anaerobic digester of a reduced size as compare to an anaerobic digester that has solids that have not been concentrated. Further, the apparatus comprises an anaerobic digester downstream from the clarifier that contains at least one anaerobic culture for reducing the carbonaceous and organic content of the solids portion, the culture also producing a biogas.
The apparatus may also comprise a means for collecting at least a portion of a biogas produced in the anaerobic digester and for storing the biogas. In this apparatus, the biogas may be burned and used as a heat source to elevate the temperature of the wastewater in the anaerobic digester and/or the biogas may be burned to generate electricity.
Further the apparatus may comprise a means to burn at least a portion of the produced biogas. The means for burning the biogas is selected from the group consisting of an engine; a gas generator; an electrical generator; a flare; a gas burner; and a combination thereof, or other such devices known or used by one skilled in the art to burn biogas.
The apparatus may further comprise a compressor for compressing the biogas prior to storing the gas in a storage tank. Compressors that compress gas prior to storage are well known in the art. Additionally, the apparatus may further comprise an air separation unit for purifying the methane in the biogas. And a semi-permeable membrane can be used for at least partially separating methane from the biogas.
Also, in the apparatus, there is a lagoon downstream from the anaerobic digester for treating the remaining carbonaceous and organic material from the anaerobic digester and the nitrogenous components of the wastewater from at least the clearwater portion of the wastewater, the lagoon comprising at least one anoxic zone, at least one aerobic zone, and at least one anaerobic zone. Further, this is at least one anoxic culture in the anoxic zone, at least one anaerobic culture in anaerobic zone and at least one aerobic culture in an aerobic zone in the cultures further removing organic material from the wastewater and/or nitrifying and/or denitrifying the nitrogenous wastes in the wastewater.
The apparatus of the invention, further comprises at least one means for supplying exogenous oxygen to the wastewater in the lagoon that creates or maintains aerobic conditions, and that causes a convective flow proximate to the exogenous oxygen. The means for supplying exogenous oxygen is selected from the group consisting of at least one submerged aerator; at least one surface aerator; a fine bubble aerator; a coarse bubble aerator; a submerged tube with a plurality of air holes therein; a submerged pipe with a plurality of air holes therein; and a combination thereof, or, any such devices known or used by one skilled in the art for supplying exogenous oxygen. Typically, a blower is used in conjunction with the aerators. Further, the apparatus may comprise an on-off switch that manually and/or automatically controls the at least one aerator.
In the apparatus, there may also be at least one means for supplying oxygen that is controlled by an on-off switch that is manually and/or automatically operated. In this apparatus, the exogenous oxygen is preferably comprised of atmospheric air.
The apparatus may further comprise a means for turning off the exogenous oxygen when the oxygen level achieves a pre-set level for a pre-set period of time, and a means for turning on the exogenous oxygen when the oxygen level achieves a different pre-set level, wherein the wastewater in the at least one aerobic culture cycles from aerobic conditions to anoxic conditions and from anoxic conditions to aerobic conditions, and a means for cycling the turning on and off and turning on of the oxygen.
The apparatus may further comprise a means for determining the level of oxygen in the at least one aerobic culture wherein the means comprises a probe in the culture or laboratory testing of a portion of the aerobic culture.
Finally, there is a means for storing and/or using the treated wastewater downstream of the lagoon.
The apparatus may also further comprising means to add various chemicals known or used by one skilled in the art for sewage treatment. Further, the apparatus may comprise means to adjust the pH of the wastewater.
The various embodiments herein described may be combined, separated and rearranged to provide a system suitable for a particular use and no one embodiment herein described shall be limited by its arrangement.
In addition to apparatuses for the treatment of wastewater, the present invention envisions a method for treating wastewater. Such method generally comprises a process involving the aforementioned embodiments. Generally, such processes comprise the steps of obtaining a wastewater, screening or otherwise separating the wastewater to remove solid particles and anaerobically digesting and/or clarifying the wastewater to produce a treated wastewater. The produced biogas may be collected and used, burned by a flare, or oxidized by a semipermeable membrane. The heat produced from the biogas may have a variety of uses, including raising the temperature of the anaerobic digester and the bacterial metabolism. The method may be modified by the addition of pretreating, further screening, clarifying, bio-tower treatment, chemical treating, and/or alternate arrangement of the steps.
An alternative embodiment is preferably an economical method to substantially eliminate the application of treated or untreated animal waste to the cropland. This also substantially eliminates the over application of plant nutrients such as, but not limited to, nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium, and sulfur to the farmland. It substantially eliminates the open spraying of excess liquids usually containing obnoxious odors, which are liberated by spraying action over spray fields to disperse the excess liquids.
The storage area will have adequate retention time to biologically decompose essentially all of the carbon containing material. The storage time may be from two months to twenty years or other time frame dictated by design or operation. The rate of decomposition is highly dependent upon the ambient temperature. Four to eight months is preferably a minimum time span. It is most desirous to decompose all of the carbon matter, however, because of the hydraulic flow through the facility, entrainment of waste as well as the microbial lysis, and slow decomposition of some components, it is not practical or economically desirable to capture 100% of the organic matter. The by-product of the anaerobic digestion process is typically carbon dioxide, methane, hydrogen sulfide, dimethyl sulfide, and other sulfur containing gases. The anaerobic digestion process consists of several steps for example:
The key components of the biogas (CH4+CO2+ . . . ) produced during biogasification are underlined in the equations below. The chemical formulae of manure and bacteria used in the equations are C6H13NO5 and C5H7NO2, respectively. Biogasification is a bio-chemical process in which complex carbon (organic) compounds (polysaccharides, proteins, lipids/fat, . . . ) in the manure, feces, or other solid waste are broken down by six different bacteria to biogas with C6-, C4-, C3-, C2-intermediary compounds. Equations 1-7 list the typical bio-chemical reactions of the process. The mass transformation from the complex carbon compounds to the single carbon compounds of methane and carbon dioxide in biogas.
Hydrolysis of Manure:
C6H13NO5(manure)+H2O+H+→C6H12O6+NH4+ [1]
Acetogenesis:
C6H12O6+0.1115NH4+→0.1115 C5H7NO2+0.744CH3COOH+0.5CH3CH2COOH+0.5CH3CH2CH2COOH+0.454CO2+0.446H+ [2]
Propionate Hydroaenesis:
CH3CH2COOH+1.786H2O+0.0458NH4+→0.0458C5H7NO2+0.924CH3COOH+2.778H2+0.1832H++0.0924CO2 [3]
Butyrate Hydroaenesis:
CH3CH2CH2COOH+1.84H2O+0.0545NH4+→0.0545C5H7NO2+1.86CH3COOH+1.92H2+0.2180H+ [4]
Homoacetogenesis:
2.073H2+CO2+0.0487NH4+→0.0487C5H7NO2+0.378CH3COOH+1.146H2O+0.1948H+ [5]
Hydrogen Methanoqenesis:
3.813H2+CO2+0.022NH4+→0.022C5H7NO2+0.89CH4+1.956H2O+0.0882H+ [6]
Acetate Methanogenesis:
CH3COOH+0.022NH4+→0.022C5H7NO2+0.945CH4+0.945CO2+0.06H2O+0.0882H+ [7]
Some of the intermediary products are volatile organic acids which also have an undesirable odor.
Referring now to
The effluent is preferably transferred by gravity or pumping to a second basin, an open aerated basin 605. It should be appreciated that the basins can be, but are not limited to, above grade, including tanks, or below grade. It should be understood that the movement or transfer of the wastewater from one basin to another is illustrated in
The treated water may be transferred to a third basin 607 for intermittent accumulation, further decomposition, and/or storage. It should be appreciated that short-term storage of the wastewater may be provided somewhere within the process train to compensate for daily surges, light levels of rainfall and poor evaporation in cold months. The storage may be provided in the third storage basin 607 or by over-designing the anaerobic and aerobic basins 603, 605 and operating them at the low level using the extra capacity for storage during inclement or otherwise unfavorable weather.
The treated or decomposed water can then sprayed through nozzles 610 over the anaerobic basin 603. Preferably, the water is drawn such as by, but not limited to, pump 8. It should be understood that the moving of the treated wastewater to the nozzles 610 depends on the topography of the treatment facility such as elevation differences between the basins 603, 605, 607, and the wastewater source 601. It should be appreciated, by those skilled in the art, that the treated or decomposed water may be discharged, through the nozzles 610, over either or both of the other basins 605, 607 (see
The spray evaporation system is designed to evaporate the water using solar energy. The number of nozzles 610, outlets, and type nozzles are all taken in to consideration in the design of the system. Mechanically pumping 8 the treated water under pressure through nozzles 610 is preferably designed to produce fine droplets of water which dramatically increases the rate of evaporation. The process is designed to incorporate sufficient nozzles to evaporate all excess water over the basins whether spraying over one or more of the anaerobic basin 603, the aerobic basin 605, or the third basin 607. A large portion of the sprayed water is solar evaporated. The remaining highly aerobic water falls on the basin cover providing a source of oxygenated water to supplement the aerobic cultures growing in the basin cover. The spraying of the liquid creates droplets with corresponding ultra high surface area fostering a rapid evaporation. The source of heat energy for the evaporation is solar energy. The action of spraying and creating small droplets not only fosters rapid evaporation but also supersaturates the un-evaporated portion of the droplet with oxygen. The dissolved oxygen rapidly reacts with unstable sulfide containing compounds producing stable sulfate compounds which are not perceived as offensive. When the highly oxygenate droplet falls on the surface of the anaerobic basin, a layer of highly reactive oxygenated water forms on the surface. Malodorous gases being produced by the anaerobic digestion of the carbonaceous matter moves up through the liquid and would normally be emitted from the surface. However since the highly oxygenated surface layer is present, as the malodorous gases move upward through the layer of oxygenated liquid, the soluble oxygen present reacts with the malodorous gases forming new oxidized compounds which are not perceived to be obnoxious. The excess plant nutrients such as, but not limited to, potassium, phosphorus, nitrogen, and sulfur are all permitted to accumulate in the anaerobic basin 603 and the aerobic basin 605. There is no excess water to be land applied.
Preferably, the covered anaerobic basin 603 may be of any depth dependant upon several factors including but not limited to the volume of wastewater treated, the available area, the level of ground water and the like. The carbonaceous waste matter is biologically degraded with a microbial culture, that may be inoculated by natural or artificial means. The gaseous by products of the anaerobic digestion are permitted to rise up through the mixture in the basin and permeate the permeable cover 604. An aerobic microbial culture growing in the permeable cover material, oxidize the sulfur based gaseous compounds, removing the characteristic anaerobic odor. The ammonia is also oxidized by a specific microbial culture, removing the characteristic ammonia odor.
Referring still to
The treated water may be pumped, via pump 609 or other fluid moving mechanism, back to the animal housing 601 area to flush the floor. The excess water is preferably pressurized by another pump 608 or other fluid moving mechanism, and sprayed through nozzles, 610, over the anaerobic basin cover, 604. It should be appreciated that the water drawn by pump 609, for flushing the wastewater source 601, can be drawn from other basins including the anaerobic basin 603 or the aerobic basin 605. The pumping/spraying rate, volume, and operating time will be adjusted to evaporate the excess liquid that accumulates in the system. Preferably, there is no land application of the excess liquid required.
Still referring to
The biogas may be processed to separate the carbon dioxide and sulfur compound from the methane. The methane may then be further purified and supplied to the natural gas pipeline. The remaining effluent from the anaerobic digester 603 will be processed through aerobic treatment 605 and then sprayed over the one or more of the other basins for solar evaporation.
When the anaerobic basin 603 is covered with an impermeable cover 614, the biogas that is collected may also be further treated. One such example is that the biogas may be incinerated through a flare (see
Referring again to
It should be understood that the process and apparatus, described herein, for the treatment of waste without the malodors normally associated with the anaerobic storage and treatment of waste includes the methods to reduce the volume of wastewater by solar evaporation using aerobic spray over existing open top liquid storage facilities. The system can be installed on existing open top anaerobic waste storage basins to reduce and in many cases eliminate to obnoxious odors and at the same time through solar evaporation, significantly reducing the volume of liquid such that there is no excess liquid waste that must be land applied. As illustrated in
It will be understood that certain features and sub-combinations are of utility and may be employed without reference to other features and sub-combinations. Further, it will be understood that the embodiments described above are capable of many modifications and alterations. This is contemplated by and is within the scope of the claims. It further will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that movement, passing, or pumping of wastewater through the treatment modalities may be accomplished by any suitable method and/or device such as gravity flow or pumping and that terms to describe such movement herein are for illustrative purposes only and not intended to limit the present invention. Although specific examples may have been described and disclosed, the invention of the instant application is considered to comprise and is intended to comprise any equivalent structure and may be constructed in many different ways to function and operate in the general manner as explained hereinbefore. Accordingly, it is noted that the embodiments described herein in detail for exemplary purposes are of course subject to many different variations in structure, design, application and methodology. Because many varying and different embodiments may be made within the scope of the inventive concept(s) herein taught, and because many modifications may be made in the embodiment herein detailed in accordance with the descriptive requirements of the law, it is to be understood that the details herein are to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.
This is a Continuation in Part of U.S. application Ser. No. 10/679,770, entitled “Methods and Apparatuses for Treating Wastewater,” filed on Oct. 6, 2003 and now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 7,005,068 and is a Continuation in Part of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/789,265, entitled “Methods and Apparatuses for Treating Wastewater,” filed on Feb. 20, 2001 and now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 6,630,072.
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| Number | Date | Country | |
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| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 10679770 | Oct 2003 | US |
| Child | 11194829 | US | |
| Parent | 09789265 | Feb 2001 | US |
| Child | 10679770 | US |
