Claims
- 1. A constructed system for treating wastewater, comprising:
an inlet admitting wastewater into the system; an outlet conveying treated wastewater from the system; a bed medium; a wastewater supply configured to deliver the wastewater proximate an upper portion of the bed medium; and a wastewater return, at least a portion of the wastewater return disposed proximate a lower portion of the bed medium, the wastewater forming a substantially vertical and unsaturated flow from the wastewater supply through at least a portion of the bed medium, the wastewater subsequently conveyed from the bed medium by the wastewater return.
- 2. The constructed system of claim 1, the wastewater supply comprising a first reservoir and a pump, the pump conveying wastewater from the first reservoir to the upper portion of the bed medium.
- 3. The constructed system of claim 2, the wastewater supply further comprising a second reservoir in fluid communication with the first reservoir and receiving wastewater from the wastewater return.
- 4. The constructed system of claim 3, the second reservoir accommodating the inlet, the second reservoir comprising a mixing device for mixing wastewater from the wastewater return and wastewater from the inlet.
- 5. The constructed system of claim 4, the device for mixing wastewater characterized by a mixing device volume and including a structure with a surface area greater than about fifteen times the mixing device volume.
- 6. The constructed system of claim 1, further comprising a mulch layer overlaying the bed medium.
- 7. The constructed system of claim 1, further comprising a multiplicity of plants rooted in the bed medium.
- 8. The constructed system of claim 1, further comprising a mulch layer overlaying the bed medium and a multiplicity of plants rooted in the bed medium and extending through the mulch layer
- 9. The constructed system of claim 8, in which the mulch layer is substantially decomposed.
- 10. The constructed system of claim 1, the bed medium comprising gravel.
- 11. The constructed system of claim 1, the wastewater supply further comprising an aerator for oxygenating the wastewater.
- 12. The constructed system of claim 11, in which the aerator is positioned to oxygenate the wastewater before the wastewater is conveyed to the bed medium.
- 13. A constructed wetland for treating wastewater, comprising:
a vertical flow unit comprising a granular bed medium; and a substantially impermeable anaerobic wastewater container with an inlet and an outlet; means for mixing a stream of wastewater from the vertical flow unit with a stream of wastewater from the inlet; and a pump for conveying the wastewater from the wastewater container to an upper portion of the vertical flow unit.
- 14. The constructed wetland of claim 13, the vertical flow unit further comprising vegetation rooted in the bed medium.
- 15. The constructed wetland of claim 13, the vertical flow unit further comprising a substantially decomposed mulch layer overlaying the bed medium.
- 16. The constructed wetland of claim 13, the vertical flow unit further comprising a substantially decomposed mulch layer overlaying the bed medium and vegetation rooted in the bed medium and extending through the mulch layer.
- 17. The constructed wetland of claim 13, the wastewater container comprising a first reservoir accommodating the inlet and a second reservoir, the first and second reservoirs in fluid communication.
- 18. The constructed wetland of claim 13, the mixing means comprising a device characterized by a device surface area, the device surface area at least about 15 square feet per device cubic foot.
- 19. The constructed wetland of claim 13, further comprising an aerator for oxygenating the wastewater prior to conveying the wastewater to the upper portion of the vertical flow unit.
- 20. A process for treating wastewater in a constructed wetland unit, the constructed wetland unit comprising a granular bed medium, the process comprising unsaturatingly flowing the wastewater generally vertically from an upper portion of the bed medium to a lower portion of the bed medium.
- 21. The process of claim 20, further comprising oxygenating the wastewater prior to flowing the wastewater from the upper portion of the bed medium to the lower portion of the bed medium.
- 22. The process of claim 20, the wetland unit further comprising a substantially impervious anaerobic container and further comprising mixing a wastewater stream from the bed medium with an exogenous wastewater stream.
- 23. The process of claim 20, the wetland unit further comprising a substantially impervious anaerobic container and a mixing device disposed in the anaerobic container, the mixing device characterized by a mixing device surface area, the mixing device surface area at least about 15 square feet per cubic foot of mixing device volume and further comprising mixing a wastewater stream from the bed medium with an exogenous wastewater stream with the mixing device.
- 24. The process of claim 20, the wetland unit further comprising a substantially impervious anaerobic container and a mixing device disposed in the anaerobic container, the mixing device characterized by a mixing device surface area, the mixing device surface area at least about 15 square feet per cubic foot of mixing device volume and further comprising denitrifying the wastewater at least partially by microorganisms disposed proximate the mixing device surface area.
- 25. The process of claim 24, the anaerobic container comprising first and second portions, the first and second portions in fluid communication, wherein the wastewater streams are mixed in the first portion, then flowed to the second portion, and the wastewater is conveyed to the bed medium from the second portion.
- 26. The process of claim 25, in which solids are filtered from the wastewater as the wastewater is conveyed from the first portion of the anaerobic container to the second portion of the anaerobic container.
- 27. The process of claim 24, in which the wastewater is cycled between the anaerobic container and the wetland unit.
- 28. A system for treating wastewater, comprising:
a constructed wetland cell comprising a bed medium, a wastewater supply, a wastewater return, and a multiplicity of plants rooted in the bed medium, at least a portion of the wastewater supply disposed proximate an upper portion of the bed medium, at least a portion of the wastewater return disposed proximate a lower portion of the bed medium such that the wastewater is conveyed from the wastewater supply through the bed medium in a substantially vertical, unsaturated flow; an air supply system for increasing oxygen concentration in the wastewater before the wastewater is conveyed to the wetland cell; a first tank containing a first filter for mixing wastewater from the wetland cell and exogenous wastewater and for denitrifying wastewater in the first tank; and a second tank configured for receiving wastewater from the first tank, the second tank with a pump for pumping wastewater to the wastewater supply.
- 29. The system of claim 28, further comprising a canister housing the first filter, the canister with an upper portion and a lower portion, the upper portion defining an upper portion opening and the lower portion defining a lower portion opening.
- 30. The system of claim 29, in which the canister is a wire basket.
- 31. The system of claim 28, further comprising a second filter disposed between the first tank and the second tank and configured to remove solids from wastewater being conveyed from the first tank to the second tank.
- 32. The system of claim 28, further comprising an inlet and an outlet, the inlet positioned to convey exogenous wastewater to the first tank, the outlet positioned to convey treated wastewater from said system.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/617,880, filed Jul. 17, 2000, which, in turn, is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/103,075, filed Jun. 23, 1998, which, in turn, claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/050,533, filed Jun. 23, 1997, the entire disclosure of each application hereby incorporated by reference.
Provisional Applications (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
|
60050533 |
Jun 1997 |
US |
Continuation in Parts (2)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09617880 |
Jul 2000 |
US |
Child |
10059097 |
Jan 2002 |
US |
Parent |
09103075 |
Jun 1998 |
US |
Child |
09617880 |
Jul 2000 |
US |