Patent Application
20230150616
In order to develop an effective bioremediation strategy for a contaminated body of water or to troubleshoot its problems, various parameters need to be measured. Additionally, samples of water and sludge need to be taken and analyzed in a laboratory. With the information collected from the analysis, a proper bioremediation process can be developed and the right bioremediation products can be applied. During the bioremediation process, more measurements and samples need to be collected to determine if the bioremediation process is working or if it needs to be modified. Normally, in order to measure these parameters, collect samples and apply bioremediation products, a person needs to get on a boat to do this. However, when the body of water is contaminated, it is dangerous for the person or persons on the boat. The danger may come from falling into contaminated waters with unknown contaminants or from the wind spraying contaminated water. Some possible contaminants can be pathogenic bacteria, parasites, cyanobacteria toxins or industrial toxins that have made it into the body of water. Additionally, contaminated bodies of water can produce gasses that affect the lungs, the brain and may cause death. Some such gases are ammonia and various sulfur compounds including hydrogen sulfide.
Some important parameters that often need to be measured are pH, water temperature, conductivity, salinity, turbidity, total dissolved solids, dissolved oxygen, oxidation-reduction, ammonia, nitrate, phosphate as well as algae and chlorophyll levels. Often, these parameters need to be evaluated at different locations and depths of the body of water to find the root cause or causes of the problems. In addition, it is often necessary to collect samples of water or sludge for further laboratory analysis. The samples would allow the identification of toxic chemicals, mineral contaminants and harmful biology. Additionally, micronutrient and macronutrient content analysis of the samples may reveal deficiencies which prevent the biology from consuming contaminants. Micronutrients cannot be evaluated with probes and need to be analyzed in a lab from the samples collected. For the same reason, the laboratory analysis of the samples would be necessary to determine if toxic heavy metals are present. It is also very important to take samples of water at various locations and depths to do laboratory work such as biological oxygen demand (also known as BOD5) which is a measure of contamination. Different concentrations at different locations or depths may indicate problems with water flow patterns or contaminant runoffs. Once the root causes of the problems affecting the body of water are understood, a proper bioremediation process can be implemented to apply the right products to the body of water at the right locations.
Difference in parameter values at different locations and depths may reveal water and sludge stratification as well as problem areas where contaminants or harmful biology are building up. The samples of water and sludge provide valuable microbiological information such as types of harmful microorganisms and types of cyanobacteria that may be harmful to the body of water as well as to humans and animals. The data obtained is valuable to protect sources of fresh water and contaminated recreational bodies of water as well as to enhance the performance of wastewater lagoons or ponds.
For example, differences in water temperature in the same spot at different depths can reveal temperature stratification. Warmer water travels on the surface while colder denser water sinks to the bottom of a lagoon. This is one of the main causes of short circuiting in wastewater lagoons or ponds. A short circuit occurs when incoming wastewater is warmer than the water in the lagoon or pond. Consequently, the incoming wastewater does not travel throughout the entire volume of the lagoon or pond to get enough detention time for the contaminants to be degraded by the biology. Instead, it travels through a very small portion such as only on part of the surface of the lagoon or pond. Temperature stratification also causes reduced mixing of incoming warm surface water with bottom stagnant cold water. This situation creates a septic zone at the bottom with low or no dissolved oxygen. Because of the low water flow, this stagnate septic zone can have high biological oxygen demand (a measure of contamination) caused by the heavier organic particles depositing and building up at the bottom. Temperature readings at different depths and locations would reveal the actual flow of wastewater. This information would be vital to reduce short circuiting. The data would be very valuable to decide where best to place a curtain to break and disperse the water flow. It would also be very useful to position aerators in the lagoon at the right sites to prevent short circuiting and save energy by optimizing their locations.
It is also important to have the ability to take readings of dissolved oxygen and oxidation-reduction potential at various locations and depths. Low or absent dissolved oxygen or negative oxidation-reduction potentials can indicate the presence of “dead spots” which are areas where there is low water flow and sediment accumulation. Sometimes it may be necessary to submerge the probe in the sludge blanket layer at the bottom of the body of water to obtain data. If dissolved oxygen is absent, the sludge would be septic and potentially fertile ground for undesirable organisms such as filamentous bacteria and zooglea which can cause “bulking problems” (difficult-to-settle sludge which causes turbidity and high dissolved solids). Additionally, septicity promotes reproduction of sulfate reducing bacteria which convert sulfate into harmful hydrogen sulfide and other putrefaction components responsible for foul odors. Hydrogen sulfide is dangerous to humans, fish and animals. In addition, hydrogen sulfide has the ability to consume dissolved oxygen further reducing available oxygen in the body of water.
Total suspended solids and turbidity readings at various locations and depths are very useful to determine the settleability of suspended particles in different areas of the body of water. The data can help pinpoint areas where the biology is not properly cleaning contaminants in wastewater lagoons, ponds or in contaminated recreational bodies of water. This data is vital for troubleshooting and to take proactive measures to enhance the settleability and degradability of dissolved solids before the body of water becomes overwhelmed by contaminants and deposits. If this situation occurs, the body of water and its effluent would become turbid with high biological oxygen demand.
Readings of pH are essential to assess the health of the biology of a body of water. Once again, the pH probe may need to take readings in the water column or may need to be inserted inside the sludge blanket to get sufficient data. If the pH is low, it indicates the likelihood of harmful fungi or yeast growing as well as the possibility of harmful acidic contaminants. If the pH is too high, it may indicate excessive algae or unexpected alkaline contaminants in the influent. pH that is too low or high (below 6 or above 8) drastically reduces the ability of the biology in the body of water to digest contaminants. Changes in pH at different depths may spot unforeseen issues before they become serious problems such as fertilizer or chemical runoffs, incoming contaminants or areas where harmful biology may be growing.
There are algae monitoring probes that use fluorimetry to evaluate the concentration of algae and chlorophyll in order to monitor algae blooms. This is valuable to determine when a body of water is in the early stages of eutrophication or to troubleshoot it if it is already eutrophied. Excess algae are responsible for several problems. Dead algae cause oxygen depletion causing the death of fish as well as the production of hydrogen sulfide and other putrefaction malodors. Furthermore, excess algae can significantly affect the attractiveness of a recreational body of water. The ability to check the levels of algae and chlorophyll at different locations and at different depths can serve as an early warning system to develop proactive measures and prevent expensive consequences. It can also show locations where the algae levels are higher and pinpoint potential root causes such as nutrient (nitrogen and phosphorous) runoffs. Some species of algae produce cyanotoxins which are substances highly toxic to fish, humans or animals. However, for proper identification of cyanobacteria that produce toxins, sampling of water and laboratory analysis are needed to identify the toxic species.
Sludge buildup reduces the volume of a body of water reducing the time that contaminated water remains in a wastewater lagoon or pond or a contaminated body of water with water flowing in and out of it. The biology in the system needs enough detention time to digest the contaminants. High sludge levels also create channels where wastewater flows around causing short circuits. In wastewater lagoons or ponds and contaminated recreational bodies of water, high sludge levels can be very detrimental for the health of humans, animals and fish. Mapping the thickness and distribution of the sludge blanket in the body of water is important to target the application of bioremediation products to enhance the digestion of sludge. Areas with a thicker sludge blanket at the bottom may require higher amounts of bioremediation substances.
Sludge blanket mapping is necessary before the bioremediation process and during the process to evaluate the effectiveness of the bioremediation products used to digest the sludge blanket. Monitoring the sludge blanket thickness is important to determine if the bioremediation products are working or if a change in strategy is necessary. A sonar system as described in this patent application can be carried by the remote control apparatus and map the sludge blanket thickness throughout a body of water. This can be done safely even in heavily contaminated wastewater lagoons, ponds and contaminated recreational bodies of water because there is no need for humans to enter the contaminated environment.
In wastewater lagoons or ponds, water samples are useful for biological analysis such as evaluation of floc structure and higher lifeforms (protozoa and metazoa) analysis. This information reveals sludge age (degree of contaminant degradation) and the presence of harmful organisms (excess filamentous bacteria, fungi, yeast, alga, septic bacteria, toxic cyanobacteria or zooglea). The identification of these organisms often exposes root causes of problems such as septicity, nutrient imbalances (nitrogen and phosphorous), poor food to biomass ratio as well as the presence of fat, oil and grease. Besides water samples, it is important to take samples of the sludge blanket at the bottom of the body of water. The thickness of the sludge blanket normally varies at different locations depending on water flows, currents or the density of the various deposits such as sand or precipitated minerals. Samples of the sludge blanket provide valuable mineral and microbiological data that can be used to decide on the optimum application points for bioremediation. In addition, the sludge samples can be used to determine the percentage of volatile solids in the sludge which is an indication of its degree of degradation. This information indicates if the sludge is being properly degraded or if it is poorly digested exposing weaknesses in the biology of the body of water. Furthermore, the sludge sample can be analyzed to determine its organic composition such as types of fibers or other organic substances in order to customize a bioremediation program to degrade those organic components.
If the body of water is contaminated, a person on a boat is exposed to the water as well as toxic gases that may come from it. There is a need for a remote control apparatus that can enter contaminated bodies of water and take multiple readings of the necessary parameters at various locations and depths. There is also a need for such apparatus to take water and sludge samples for chemical and microbiological laboratory analysis. Once the data from readings and laboratory analysis has been evaluated, a customized bioremediation process can be developed. The same apparatus can safely apply the bioremediation products at the proper locations and depths to maximize their effectiveness.
The present patent application refers to a remote control apparatus such as a boat or similar surface, partially submersed or fully submersed apparatus. For simplicity, the apparatus is referred here as “boat”. The boat can carry instruments that take measurements of various parameters at different depths to assess the health of a body of water. The apparatus can also take water and sludge samples as well as apply the necessary bioremediation products. The body of water can be contaminated recreational bodies of water and wastewater lagoons or ponds.
A body of water can experience a wide range of problems such as high turbidity, floating solids, malodors, excess algae, excess plant growth, death of fish, death of wild life, high coliform bacteria counts, excess biological oxygen demand (BOD5), high ammonia or nitrates, high salinity, high or low pH and others. In order to determine the root cause or causes of problems, multiple parameters need to be measured. Some of these parameters are pH, water temperature, conductivity, salinity, turbidity, total dissolved solids, dissolved oxygen, oxidation-reduction, ammonia, nitrate, phosphate as well as algae and chlorophyll levels. Often, the sludge blanket may need to be penetrated to read pH, dissolved oxygen and oxidation-reduction potential. In addition, it is often necessary to collect samples of water and of sludge from the body of water. These samples can be used to do laboratory mineral analysis. If levels of some minerals are too low, they can limit the biology in the body of water to digest contaminants efficiently. The analysis may also reveal the presence of toxic heavy metals (chromium, lead, mercury, cadmium, arsenic, nickel, etc.) at levels that are not acceptable. The same water and sludge samples can be used to do biological analysis that could show the presence of coliforms, specific pathogens, toxic cyanobacteria or problematic microorganisms such as filamentous bacteria or zooglea. The analysis may also reveal microorganisms associated with septicity, low pH, poor levels of nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorous) as well as the presence of grease and oils.
Normally, in order to take readings to evaluate the parameters described earlier or to get water or sludge samples, a person or persons need to get on a boat. Then, they travel from location to location to take such readings and collect samples. If the body of water is contaminated, there are serious dangers such as toxins from organic or chemical sources as well as cyanotoxins produced by some algae species. Pathogens can also be present in the form of bacteria, protozoa or parasites. Some of the dangers of getting on a boat in contaminated waters are spray from wind, falling overboard or toxic gases emanating from the body of water. Some of these gasses are hydrogen sulfide, other sulfur compounds, ammonia and unknown gasses depending on the type of contamination in the body of water.
A remote control apparatus or boat that can be driven to the desired locations to take readings and samples would be a safe alternative. The boat can be driven with a commercially available long range transmitter (44,
The boat can carry various probes or a multi-probe (2,
A depth sensor such as a water pressure sensor with telemetry can determine when the desired depth has been reached. The servo-operated reel can also retrieve the probe when the data is collected. A sludge sample or water sample can be collected with a bacon bomb. This is a device that is normally used to collect water or sediment samples at the bottom of tanks or petroleum and gasoline containers. The bacon bomb hits the bottom and a plunger assembly opens to admit the material. The plunger closes again when the bacon bomb is withdrawn, forming a tight seal. One or more remote control reels on the boat can be used if more than one sample is desired. Alternatively, a hose can be used and be reeled down to the desired depth to obtain the sample. The hose would be attached to a remote controlled self-priming pump on the boat that can be used to withdraw water or sludge samples at any depth of the water column. The hose would have a check valve (19,
Very often, it is necessary to determine the thickness of sludge and sediments in a body of water. Excess sludge blanket sediments are fertile ground of septic harmful biology such as pathogens, hydrogen sulfide producing bacteria and others. The sludge blanket itself also reduces the volume of the body of water. This is especially important in a wastewater plant if excess sludge volume reduces the time that wastewater remains in the lagoon or pond for biological degradation of contaminants. It is important to map the thickness of the sludge blanket at various points in the body of water to determine where to apply bioremediation products to digest the sludge blanket. Additionally, mapping of the sludge blankets is helpful to determine if a bioremediation program is working satisfactorily or if the bioremediation strategy needs to be changed. The boat can carry a sonar fish finder to map the thickness of sludge blanket. There are various commercially available models with mapping ability and with the necessary frequency to detect sludge sediments. The mapping data can be collected on a memory device on board or it can be sent via telemetry to shore where it is collected with a receiver unit with interface.
Once the root causes of the problems of the body of water have been established, a bioremediation program can be designed with the right products. Many known technologies used in the art of bioremediation are bacteria, fungi, actinomyces, streptomyces, enzymes and appropriate protozoa or metazoa. Other technologies used are biostimulants for microorganisms to help boost their biology. Some of these products are based on micronutrients and on plant extracts. Additional bioremediation technologies are chemicals that provide oxygen to septic areas such as sodium perborate, calcium peroxide, magnesium peroxide, calcium nitrate, potassium nitrate and various nitrate containing chemicals. Sometimes, chemicals are used to precipitate excessive amounts of phosphates that cause eutrophication. Some of these chemicals are aluminum salts, ferrous salts, ferric salts and lanthanum salts. The remediation product can be applied from the hull of the boat or it can be pumped from shore.
The present patent application refers to a remote control apparatus such as a boat or a similar surface, partially submersed or fully submersed apparatus. The apparatus is driven from shore using a commercially available long-range transmitter (44,
The apparatus and methods of the patent application allow the safe evaluation of the health of bodies of water by taking readings, samples and mapping sludge sediments via remote control. It is dangerous for a person to get on a boat in contaminated bodies of water because wind can spray water, the person can fall overboard or because toxic gasses may emanate from the body of water. Once the root problems affecting the body of water have been determined, a bioremediation strategy can be developed. The boat has the capability to apply such remediation products.
The boat uses several probes or a multi-parameter probe (2,
There are companies such as In-situ in the United Kingdom that sell multi-parameter devices with the option of telemetry. In addition, a telemetry system can be designed where the probes are connected via their BNC connectors to an electrode amplifier and to an interface. The amplifier increases the voltage produced by the electrode probe into a range where it can be monitored by an interface device. A transmitter-receiver module streams data wirelessly in real-time at standard frequencies used in commercial systems. The telemetry can be any of the commercially available ethernets, GOES satellite, spread-spectrum radio etc. The interface can have multiple channels to monitor more than one device at the same time.
The apparatus can also do sludge blanket mapping using a fish-finder sonar. The sonar (3,
The sonar transducer (11,
In deep water (over 20 ft.), a lower frequency transducer such as one lower than 200 kHz is normally used to map sludge at the bottom of contaminated recreational bodies of water or others. This allows for deeper penetration of the signal into the water. The signal sent from the sonar is projected downward as a “cone”. A sonar beam's cone angle indicates the extent to which a transmitted beam “spreads out” as it travels through the water column. The area covered at the bottom of the cone depends on the angle of the signal and the depth of the body of water. For shallow water, a wider cone angle is commonly used to make the area under observation large enough to be useful. However, if the angle is too wide, the signal is more susceptible to being scattered in an unproductive way by small objects in the water. In order to map sludge in the shallow water of wastewater plants (20 feet or less), lagoons or ponds, a narrow cone angle of 8 degrees to 20 degrees is useful to achieve higher resolution by concentrating the signal on a small area at the base of the cone. For deeper water, a small cone angle (8 degrees or less) is used because the distance traveled in the water column is longer increasing the area at the base of the cone at the bottom of the body of water. The smaller cone angle is necessary to avoid loss of resolution in the wider area of deep lagoons or ponds.
A multiple frequency sonar can also be used. Different frequencies reveal different levels of detail. For example, a high frequency pulse provides excellent detail, but cannot penetrate very deep into the water. A low-frequency 50 kHz pulse penetrates deeper, but reveals less detail. A multiple frequency transducer has a broad band system that uses multiple frequencies at the same time improving resolution. CHIRP (an acronym for Compressed High Intensity Radiated Pulse) is such a system which generates an image using a wider range of frequencies allowing the processor to produce a much more accurate and detailed sonar image at different depths. Lowrance sells fish-finder sonar systems with the right frequency and cone angle that allows the measurement of the sludge blanket in wastewater bodies which normally have a water column of 20 feet or less. Lowrance also has units that can map sludge at deeper depths.
The remote-control boat can take water or sludge samples. The samples can be taken at different depths of the water column or at the bottom of the body of water for further laboratory analysis. The location where the sample is taken is monitored using the onboard GPS (20,
A hose can also be used and be reeled down from the boat to the desired depth using a remote-controlled hose reel (35,
Several remote control reels on the boat can be used to obtain various samples via “bacon bombs”, hoses or bladder pumps. The operator can keep track of where the samples were taken by recording the GPS locations. The pump or bacon bomb that holds any of the samples can be easily determined by which reel or pump is activated when the sample is taken. As an alternative to a pressure sensor to determine depth, the depth can also be approximated counting the turns of the reel and using the average diameter to determine the number of circumferences to approximate depth. The turns can be counted with an infrared sensor as well as a mechanical or digital tachometer that streams the data to shore in order to stop the reel when the desired depth is reached.
The reel can be a small commercially available remote control unwind and rewind reel sold by various distributors such as Pacific Marine & Industrial in Richmond, Calif. A reel can also be designed with a DC motor or servo that has the ability to reverse polarity to wind and unwind. The reel would lower the probe with an appropriate cable with BNC connectors compatible with the metering probe or sensors. A similar remote controlled reel or reels can be used to lower the sampler device or the sampling hose previously described as well as the application hose (13,
The boat can carry a delivery system to apply bioremediation products to degrade contaminants, digest sludge, control odor, control excess algae, reduce coliform counts, eliminate toxicity and improve the overall performance and health of the body of water. In one configuration, the bioremediation products can be carried in the hull of the boat. A self-priming pump on the boat (17,
On a different configuration, the bioremediation hose (14,
In a preferred alternative configuration, bioremediation product and air are fed to the boat from shore (42,
To reduce the drag of the weight of the bioremediation hose, hollow floats can be attached to the hose every few feet as the hose leaves the on shore reel. Hollow floating sticks (41,
If more efficient oxygenation of the body of water is required, nanobubbles can be pumped from a nanobubble generator at shore. Nanobubbles are less than 200 nanometers in diameter and have no buoyancy. They are not lost to the atmosphere; instead, they remain in water until their oxygen content is utilized. Nanobubbles can be produced from air, pure oxygen or from ozone. Nanobubbles also have strong disinfecting power. If it is necessary to reduce pathogen numbers, cyanotoxins and algae as well as to break down cyanotoxins, then nanobubbles can be used. Nanobubbles ability to disinfect and break down cyanotoxins increases based on their composition. Air has the least disinfecting power, pure oxygen has stronger disinfection characteristics and ozone is the most powerful. Nanobubbles lose their disinfection capacity over time. Their disinfection power can be assessed with an oxidation-reduction probe such as the ones used by the apparatus in this patent application. Once the disinfection power has subsided, bioremediation microorganisms can be applied with the apparatus to outcompete the remaining coliforms and pathogens.
If the bioremediation products used for a body of water are microorganisms, they can be grown onsite with a bioreactor (21,
Although the apparatus and methods described in the patent application have been described with reference to the preferred embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art of bioremediation that changes in form and detail may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
