CA2183146A1

CA2183146A1 - Method and apparatus for management wastewater effluent from various wastewater effluent sources

Info

Publication number: CA2183146A1
Application number: CA 2183146
Authority: CA
Inventors: Thomas C. Bower; James C. Wilson
Original assignee: COMPREHENSIVE WATER MANAGEMENT LIMITED
Current assignee: COMPREHENSIVE WATER MANAGEMENT Ltd
Priority date: 1996-08-12
Filing date: 1996-08-12
Publication date: 1998-02-13

Abstract

A wastewater management system is disclosed. The system includes a series of interconnected modules and is for managing waste from mixed effluent streams including black water, grey water, oily water and chemical wastes. The modules include a liquid/liquid separation of oil from water; a further oil separation module to produce conditioned oil and water for treatment; an initial separation and regrind module; a DAF module for separating solids from the liquid; sludge concentrator followed by a dehydrator for de-watering solids; a disinfecting step for disinfecting the separated water and a utility tank for storing clean water to use in the process as needed. In ore embodiment, the apparatus is installed in two standard shipping containers to render the process portable and available to process wastewater in various applications.

Description

t ~ 2183~9~

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MANAGEMENT OF
WASTEWATER EFFLUENT FROM VARIOUS WASTEWATER EFFLUENT
SOURCES

FIFI n OF THF INVENTION
This invention relates generally to the f eid of pollution control, and, more particularly to the field of water pollution control and wastewater " ~anayG-' "enl.
BACKGROUNn OF THF INVFNTIQN
Wastewater treatment methods are known and have been used extensively, with varying degrees of success, to reduce or prevent human and industrial wastes from polluting or otherwise fouling the 15 environment. Manydifferent processesare used in w-~t~: ' treatment, including aerobic and anaerobic digesters, aeration, flltration, flocculation, liquid/solid sepdldliull and others. In general however, wa;it~
treatment equipment and processes are designed to acco" " "oddl~ and treat Wd~ .:'a ~r inputs of known and tested qualities and quantities. Typically, 20 an analysis of the v,/a:ite.va~Ar stream is performed. This analysis is used as the basis for designing the v~ . .. ' treab~nent process, as to size, type of equipment and types of pollutants dealt with. Thus, the wastewater treatment process is optirnized for the particular efffluent stream to be treated. While ensuring optimal pluces~ g of any particular v, ' .: ~:
25 source, a diffflculty arises when the v ' .:. ' includes different constituent elements, or qualities and quantities other than the process parameters upon which the processes' design was based.
One particular example is the treatment of oily waste.
Typically, oily waste is treated in a much diflferent fashion than, for example,30 black water or grey water. Oily waste, if introduced into a conventional sewage treatment system tends to foul the col,l~Jol1e"tb and render the ~8314~
--treatment system ineffective and at times i"o,ue,dble. Yet, there are sources of black water and oily waters that need to be treated for example, ships. Such effluent typically includes bilge water, which may have up to three to five percent oil in water, as well as black and grey water waste 5 generated during a voyage. Therefore, what is desirable is a wavL~
treatment system which is capable of safely and efFiciently treating different types of ~ &v'~..u~-r sb-eams, and in particular, wastewater streams including oily wastes, without fouling components of the b~' ' ... ' treatment system.
Another aspect of conventional wastewater treatment processes and equipment, is that they tend to be located in large scale plants in a particular location. Small communities such as resorts or residential areas, mining or lumber camps, may produce black water, grey water and other b'l ' wa.-,. effluent, but not have a sufficient pvlllldnell 15 population to justify a traditional V~vdv~ .. ' treatment plant. For example,a wastewater treatment plant of sufficient capacity to treat residential w~stA.:~ ' could be located near or in a residential area. Alternatively, a - treatment plalt may be located adjacent to or as part of an industrial complex, such as a mine and used to treat wastes prior to 20 releasing an effluent back into the environment. Further, mobile populations which create and are required (under legislation) to store wav'~.~?'~, such as ships, need access to dispose of wastewater at land based plants which may or may not be readily available. Therefore, what is also required are w ' .: ' treatment systems that are sufficiently 25 mobile or portable to be used in such circumstances. Preferably, such mobile or portable w. ' . ' treatment systems should also a~vvui "" ~oddl~
variations in process inputs, such as co,,,bi,,v';v~nv of effluent from black water, grey water, chemical or oily water sources.

21831~
; --ARY OF THF INVFNTION
What is desired, is a lldl lvpol Ldvle w ~ '~ ~ vtv~ " ,a"agel "e"l or treatment system and process which is capable of taking ~Vdvh .: ' from a mixed emuent source af black water, grey water, chemical waste and/or 5 oily water and treating such w-~ ' first to remove pollutants; second, to disinfect the water for either reuse as utility water or for release as safe non-polluting water and Finally, to separate and disinfect any solids to enable safe release into the environment. Preferably such a system could receivev and treat all manner of liquid wastes except for toxic wastes. Such 10 a system, preferablywould be modularand could be contained in portable units. For example, such a system in transportable containers could be manoeuvred about in harbours to treat V~dutu.:-~~r from ships' sewage holding tanks, treatment plants and bilges, or, used in remote sites, such as mining camps or small villages to manage wv~ -r generated by 15 industryorbyalocalpopuiation. Ideally,thewav.~ .vatcrtreatmentprocess and apparatus should be contained within conventional ll dl lv,UOI Idble units, such as shipping containers, in order to facilitate portability and ease of transport of the process and equipment.
According to one aspect of the present invention, there is 20 provided A method of treating v _I_r emuent from wastewater effluent sources of one or more of black water, grey water, oily water and chemical w&v'U~rvtv., said method ~,u,,,p,ivi,,g the steps of:
a) separating oil from a wvv'~..-'~r efifluent in a liquid/liquid vr,ua,dliùll step to produce cundiliulled oil and oilywater;
b) adding the oily water to the remainder of the wastewater to be treated;
C) I l ldC~vl " 19 the combined Wdvtt~ . . ' ~ stream of step (b) to form a flowable slurry;
d) removing solids from said flowable slurry through a dewatering step;
e) divil le~ ' Ig the water resulting from step (d); and ~ 21~3~46 f) dehydrating the solids from step (d) to produce sterile anhydrous powder, wherein said Wdat .:'~ ' I l ldlla~3l 11131 ll process is contained in a plurality of modules which when combined treat waste from mobile and mixed sources.
According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of treating v~ ~ L~, ' effluent from wastc~ ' eflluent sources of one or more of black water, grey water, oily water and chemical wastewater, said method co",~ ,i"g the steps of:
a) installing wa~,t~ " Idl ,au~" ,~"1 equipment in at least two easily lldllspolldl.l~ collldillela, b) transporting said containers to said source of wastewater;
c) connecting said containers together with process piping to form an apparatus for managing said ~a:ite. ' - effluent from said one or more sources;
d) separating oil from said w~t~. ' effluent to be treated in a liquid/liquid sepal~lion step to produce co, ,diliulled oil and oily water;
e) adding the oily water to the remainder of the v~ tcr to be treated;
f) macerating the combined w ' ... ' stream of step (e) to form a flowable slurry;
g) removing solids from said flowable slurry through at least one cle .:. ' i"g step;
h) .li~ Ce~ ,g the water resulting from step (g); and i) dehydrating the solids from step (g) to produce sterile anhydrous powder.
According to a further aspect of the present invention there is provided an apparatus for managing Wd~ said apparatus ~;o" ,~ iuu.
at least two portable containers containing water Illdnag~ln~ equipment including:
an oil separation module for a liquid/liquid sepd,dliun of oil from water;

~ 218314S

a regrind module for forming a fine slurry frcm any solids in the a dissolved air flotation module for sepd,dli"g said fine slun y solids from said wa:jt.. .AI~I, a sludge ,md"agv" ,el ll module for dewatering said separated solids;
a di~ ivll and oxidation module for di~i,,f~vli,,!J water separated from solids in said dissolved air flotation module and said sludge I l Idl Idyvl I le:l 11 module;
a utility water tank module for storing water; and process piping connecting said modules together, said process piping including extension piping to extend between said containers, wherein said containers are individually lld"spoll~l)le to a source of W-'-N~~: ' - and are co, " ,evldble by said extension piping to form said w-~f~:-. ' "~anay~"~t:"l apparatus.

~IFF DESCF~IPTION QF THE DRAWINGS
Reference vwill now be made, by way of example only, to preferred embodiments of the present invention by referring to the attached drawings in which:
Figure 1 is a functional diagram of a modular ~ ' ..A'-r effluent treating system according to the present invention;
Figure 2 is an oil sepd, ' ~ (OS) module of Figure 1;
Figure 3 is a view of a regrind module of Figure 1;
Figure 4 is a view of a dissolved air flotation (DAF) module of Figure 1;
Figure 5 is a view of a di~i,,r~vvtivn and oxidation/filtration (DOF) module of Figure 1;
Figure 6 is a view of a sludge l"d~age"~e"l (SM) module of Figure 1;
Figure 7 is a utility water tank (UvVT) module of Figure 1;

~ '~1831~

Figure 8 is a detail view of the disi"r~:1Lic n and oxidation/filtration (DOF) module according to the present invention;
Figure 9 is a plan view of the modules of the present invention installed in two ~.UI Ildil ll~
Figure 10 is a side view of Figure 9 along line A-A;
Figure 11 is a side view along line B-B in Figure 9;
Figure 12 is a side view along lines C-C of Figure 9; and Figure 13 is a side view along lines D-D of Figure 9;

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRE~LI~REu EMBODIMENTS
The present invention, as shown in Figure 1, is a w~
treatment system 10 which is comprised of a number of discrete modules as described in more detail below. These modules include an oil sepa,dLiun (OS) module 12, a regrind module 14, a dissolved airflotation (DAF) module 16, a sludge ",anagel"e"L (SM) module 18, a di~i"~ ' In and o~iddliul1ti" dliul1 (DOF) module 20, and a utility water tank (UWT) module 22.
The first module is the oily water separation module shown as 12. The OS module 12 has an input of oil and water through line 24.
Through a liquid/liquid sepaldliol1 step, which is described in more detail below, oily water (which is primarily water but with up to 10 percent by weight oil) is dewatered and treated within the OS module 12 to produce an alternate fuel source. Two outputs from OS module 12 are shown: one through line 26 is primarily water being sent out for further treatment and the other is oil which is removed through line 28. In some cases the oil may be used as a fuel source in for example the sludge " ldnag~l, ,e, ll module 18 as described in more detail below.
The next module is the regrind module 14 which receives black water through inlet 30 and grey water through inlet 32. Line 26, having primarily separated water from the OS module 12 as described above, is also fed into the regrind module 14. Also shown is a make-up water line 34 2~831~
, --from the UWT module 22. All these lines fomm inputs into the regrind module 14. The ,u,uces:,i"g which takes place in module 14 is described in greater detail below. A vent 36 is also provided (to ensure the process functions at ' llosphtric conditions) as well as a main discharge line 38 for 5 sending the efFluent to the DAF module 16, which is the next module in the treatment system 10.
The emuent is Lldn .r~"~d from regrind module 14, by a pump 40 (shown in Figure 3) through line 38 into the DAF module 16. The DAF module 16 utilizes dissolved air flotation technology to separate water 1û from the eflfluent stream, thus conce,,LI " ,9 the slurry. From the DAF
module 16, collce"LI~Ltld slurry is fed through line 42 to the SM module 18.
Water is removed through line 44 and is Lldll~f~llttd to the DOF module 20.
A back flush line 46 is shown taking water from the DOF module 20 to the DAF module 16. Also shown is a make-up water line 48 from the UWT
15 module 22.
The DOF module 20 treats effluent from the DAF 16 and the SM modules 18, Ll~llsuoll~d through lines 44, 50 and 52 respectively.
Output from the DOF moclule 20 is clean, treated water which can be utilized in non-potable water .,, ' ' Is. The water di~ulldlyed at 54 from the DOF module 20 may be further treated, if desired, to make it potable, which is shown by line 56 or may be pumped into a utility water tank 22 through line 58.
Returning to the SM module 18, the sludge ,I,dl,agdl,,e,lL
module 32 thickens sludge and then dewaters the sludge through, for example, a dehydrator shown as 60 in Figure 6. From the SM module 18 there are three outputs. These are solids removed by line 62, ~ndellsdLtt removed by line 5û (which then forms an input into the DOF module 20), and water, which is removed by line 52 (and is also input into the DOF module 20).
Also shown in Figure 1 is the UWT module 22 which simply serves as a storage facility for water needed at various points in the process ~:L831~g according to the present invention. As shown, the only input line 58 is treated clean non-potable water from the DOF module 20. The outputs include line 34 to the regrind module 14, a back flush line 64 to the DOF
module 20, a make up water line 48 to the DAF module 16, a drain 66, and a clean, non-potable outlet line 68. These are shown in greater detail in Figure 7.
The individual modules can now be described in greater detail.
Turning to Figure 2, the OS module 12 is shown in greater detail. In the event that there is oily water to treat, this module can process oily bilge water simultaneously or i n parallel with the processing of other ~ a~
sources.
In the oil se~aration module 12 there is an oily water receiving tank shown as 70 which i5 a gravity separation tank. In the receiving tank 70, there is a fill or input line 24, a sampling port 71 which provides the means to determine the nature of the raw oily water mixture as well as two output lines 72 and 74. In the oily water receiving tank 70, the oil is allowed to float on top of the water and the effluent to be treated separates into threelayers. The bottom layer is water, the middle layer is emulsified oil and water, and the top layer i5 oil. Skimmers (not shown) are used to skim the oil off the top of the tank 70 through one or more exit ports shown as 76, 78 and 80, passes through a transfer pump 82, and into a heated oil tank 84.
Water is removed from the bottom of the tank through transfer pump 83 to be sent to the regrind module 14 through line 26. Compound and pressure gauges (shown as 86 and 88 ~ ,ueuii~cly) are preferably fitted to the transfer pump 83 to indicate the fluid flow ul,a,d~ i tlics. It will be ap,ul~uidl~d by those skilled in the art that such gauges 86, 88 allow proper ~"on' :i"g of pumps in the system 10 by the operators and thus are preferred to ensure optirnal op~,dliul1dl effficiency. Thus, most if not all transfer pumps in the system 10 are provided with like gauges 86 and 88.
The preferred It:l"~ e, ~ Ire of the heated oil tank 84, for the present ap~, is between 60~C and 80~C, most preferably about 70~C.

~3~ 4~

The temperature of the heated oil tank 84 is, of course, dependent to a certain extent upon the physical ul ,a, dU~ Lics of the oil being treated and may be varied to suit specific oil types.
It will also be d,u,ul~:cidL~d by those skilled in the art that although the material coming through the output line 74 is primarily oil, there may still be water trapped through emul~ r ~' 1 in the oil. In addition to the heating, a chemical emulsion breaker 90, such as AlkasurF SS-0-75, made by Rhone-Poulenc, is injected into the effluent in a recirculation line 92 (driven by a did,ul1ld_lll pump 94) which further promotes the separation process between the oil layer and water. As shown in Figure 2, heating is preferably acco" I~,lk.l ,ed with a heat source 96 which transfers heat into thetank 70 through heat ~,~ul Idl ,gel 98. In the most preferred e" Ibodi" ,e"l, heat source 96, which may be a boiler or the like, is fuelled by fuel from line 99, which is generated by the process as described below. Fuel may also be sent to other modules which require ener~qy, such as the sludge l~lallayt:lllenl module 18, as shown by line 101 (which co"t~spunds to line 28 on Figure 1).
From the heated oil sepa,dliun tank 84, the feed rate of dewatered oil is controlled by valving 97 and the dewatered oil is l, dl lar~ d through the pump 94 by a dt~id1l Idble line 100 to a centrifuge 102, where the oil is ~uul1ditiul1ed through centrifugal separation. The oil entering the centrifuge preferably contains less than five percent solids by weight, and most preferably contains less than one percent water by volume. The oil water mixture is further dewatered by the ~;eni,iFuge, which also removes any remaining solid matter. This con-liLiol1ed oil is .li~ul,d,_ed through line 104 and sent to a fuel oil tank 106. The resulting ,~con"" 1ed oil, discharged from the centrifuge, is now sufflciently pure to be used as an alternate source of fuel. This fuel is used by the present invention to fire theboiler which provides energy to heat the oil as described previously. The separated water and solids exit the centrifuge through line 107 which tees ~ ~183146 into line 26 to join water drawn from the bottom of the oily water receiving tank 70, all of which is sent to the regrind module 14.
Turning next to Figure 3, there is shown a schematic view of the regrind module 14 with its various components. The inputs into the 5 regrind module 14 include black water and grey water through lines 30 and 32, oily water through line 26, (from the OS module 12), make up water from the UWT module 22 through line 34. An automated inlet valve is shown at 108 followed by a manual valve 109, which is normally left open. Also shown is the vent 36.
As shown in Figure 3, preferably the regrind module 14 includes a macerator 110 and progressive cavity (PC) pump 112 (preferably a screw pump for example) on a recirculating line 114. The combination of the macerator 110 and PC pump 112 provide the means to recirculate the effluent stream and macerate any solids therein to form a fine slurry.
15 Recirculating the sluny ensures that particle sizes are reduced to a minimum and prevents the formation of a sediment layer on the bottom of the regrind tank 14. Preferably, the particle sizes of the macerated slurry range between micron size and 1/4", and most preferably in the micron range. It has been found that a suitable macerator 110 and PC pump 112 are the SB
20 Muncher and Monoflow E051/C1A, respectively, manufactured by Ingersoll Dresser. Of course, it will be d,l~n~:cidl~d by those skilled in the art that other types of " ,a el d~ g equipment and pumps can be used, provided that a consistent slurry containing reasonably small particles is formed.
Preferably, the regrind tank 14 further includes a baffle 116 25 which is provided to dampen fluid surges thereby ",ai,ltdi"i"g a positive suction head for a transfer pump 40 thus avoiding pump cavitation. The baffle also prevents overly large solids from passing through the regrind tank 15, by permitting only finely ground suspended solids to pass to the transfer pump 40. A sample station 120 has been located on the regrind module 14 30 to take samples in order to determine the 1h dl d~ lics of the eflfluent being treated. Also provided are a high-level sensor 122 and a low level sensor ~ 21831~i;

124. These activate ar deactivate pumps, in a known manner, to auLul"dlica'ly maintain the liquid level in the regrind tank within p,t:d~:L~I ",i"ed set points. The set points are e~LdL~ ,ed by the location of the sensors in the regrind tank 15. If the level falls below the low level sensor 124, either a pump is initiated and additional water is pumped in, for example, from the UWT module 22, or the transfer pump 4û is deactivated.
Alternately, if the high level sensor 122 is activated, inlet valves are auLu,, ,dLiua:ly adjusted (such as automated inlet valve 108) to either redirectthe wastewater stream or decrease the influent flow rate, to prevent overfilling of the regrind tank 14. In this manner the Wdb~ U. treatment plant or modules thereof can fully process all wastes under steady state steady flow conditions.
It will be noted that the transfer pump 4û (as with all transfer pumps depicted in the w~~~m . ' treatment system 1 û) has been fitted with compound and pressure gauges 86 and 88 to monitor the flow ulldlduLt~ liu~ atthe pump suction and discharge, respectively.
Turning now to Figure 4, the DAF module 16 is shown in greater detail. The slurry from the transfer pump 40 is delivered to a DAF
cell 126 via a static mixer 128 which has three separate stages, 130, 132 and 134 each having static mixer chambers 131, 133 and 135 respectively.
Pressure gauges 136 have been placed in the mixing chambers to measure the pressure drop across the static mixer stages. The pH is preferably automatically balanced by a chemical injection system. The pH of the eflfluent is measured by probes 138 and balanced in the first two stages of the static mixer 128. The optimum pH required to promote flocculation ranges between 8 and ~. A polymer and coagulant, which facilitate floc fommation, are aulu,,,dLi,,.~:ly injected into the slurry by metering pumps 140 via lines 142. For clarity, these lines are not completed, but will be appreciated that the injection pumps 140 are connected through lines 142.
The polymer and coagulant also have the effect of lowering the pH to a point that a neutral solution is created. Suitable agents are FA2000 rl ~ ~18314~i coagulantfromWestenlorand3100L(non-ionic),2515(weakanionic)and K122L (medium cationic) polymers from Stockhausen-Preastol. It will be ~ppr~,,idl~d by those skilled in the art that there are many suppliers and types of agents from which to choose and different chemicals shall be used 5 for different ~ s. Provided that the agents properly promote flocculation they will provide sdLi~rduLuly results.
The DAF cell 126 has been divided into three chambers. The effluent which has passed through the static mixer 128 is fed into the first chamber. Water which has been used as back flush in the DOF module 20 10 (shown in Figure 5) is also introduced into the first chamber through line 46.
To facilitate the dissolved air flotation process, efffluent from the first chamber is drawn through recirculation pumps 144 and 146 (arranged in series) whereby air is drawn and dissolved into the fluid stream at 148. Let down valves 149 control the line pressure whereas air flow and pressure gauges 150, 151 have been fitted to measure fluid flow cha~d~ . The w. ' .~ is reintroduced into each of the three chambers of the DAF cell 126. Thus, as the fluid reenters the DAF cell 126, which in tunn is vented to the dll"o~,ul1e,~ at 152, the dissolved air rapidly comes out of solution forming small bubbles that attach to the suspended flnCcl il~t~d solids, liftingthem to the surface of the DAF cell 126.
The make up water line 48 from the UWT module 22 has been provided in the event that continuous operation of the DAF module 16 is required. The water enters the DAF module 16 through line 48. The chemical injection pumps are deactivated when flow is measured through the flow metre 154. This ensures that the amount of the chemicals consumed during the process is minimized.
The DAF module 16 is a central point in the wastewater treatment process 10. Two lluid streams are drawn from the DAF cell 126.
Clear fluid is drawn from the bottom of the DAF cell 126 and is fed through a turbidity metre 158 and centrifugal pump 160. A flow metre 155 measures the feed rate of the fluid going to DOF module 20 through line 162. The ~===
'ff ~ 21~31~6 turbidity is measured to determine if the ef~uent should be recirculated back into the DAF cell 126 for a further pass through line 163 to reduce the amount of suspended solids. The second stream is drawn from the surface of the DAF cell 126. There, paddles of a rotating skimmer (not shown) direct th~ upper effluent stream into a slurry line 164 (cu" cspoll.li"g to line 42 in Figure 1) which leads into the SM module 18.
The SM module 18 is shown in detail in Figure 6 and includes a sludge uol,ccrll,dtùl tank 166, which has been designed to accommodate fluctuations in p,uces~i"g rates. It also serves to further separate liquid (water) from the flocced material (sludge) thus increasing the conc~r~l~dliu of solids in the sludge. Cor"poner,t~ of the sludge uollc~lllldlul tank 166, include a vent 168, drain 17C and the feed line 164 from the DAF module 16.
Insidethesludgeconc~,lt,dlultank166areahigh-levelsensor172together with a high-level alamm 174. Also shown is a low level sensor 176. These sensors monitor and control the liquid level in the sludge GuuCt~r Itl dtUI suchthat optimal process rates are ",di"tdi"ed. A line 178 (co,,c~pundi,,9 to line 52 in Figure 1) is provided for the removal of any water which is separated from the sluny in the sludge concelll,~ul tank 166 to the DOF module 20.
The sludge out~ow from the sludge module 18 is transported through line 180 to the dehydrator 60 via the sludge pump 184. The sludge pump is preferably a screw pump and has compound and pressure gauges 86 and 88 mounted as shown.
The second ~umlJo~ l ,1, also shown in Figure 5, integral to the operation of the SM module 18 is the dehydrator 60, where the remaining water is driven off and the resultant moisture content of the retained solids is reduced to d~uplu~illldl~ly two percent. This is most preferably accu" ,"'i~hed by heat, and is s.,hel, Idiili;l'ly noted as an energy source 185.
It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that many types of water removal techniques could be used. For example, a filter press could be used to dewater the solids prior to heating. However, a disadvantage of such " ,eul Idl ,i-,al batch type systems is that they create a bottle neck (with ~ 2183~ ~
H

respect to the continuous treatment process) requiring accumulators to store material in excess of the press capacity and also requiring regular monitoring and operator intervention to service and maintain the equipment.
What is most preferred according to the present invention is to provide a 5 continuous process withaut any batch p,ucesbi"g steps which require human intervention. Thus, the preferred final step in dewatering and di~ r~uLil l9 the solids is through the:,, ' ' ~ of heat. In some instances, conditiul1ed oil obtained from the process in the OS module 12 may be ~puluplidl~ as a fuel source to operate the dehydrator 6û. What remains in 1 û the dehydrator after heating is sterile anhydrous powder shown as output 62. The heating process is preferred because it renders the resultant powder bacterially inert and non-leachable. The sterilized and dehydrated powder can then be accumulated and easily removed in acGul dance with the en\,i, unl, ,t:l Itdl guidelines For solid nontoxic waste disposal.
Another output from the dehydrator 60 is saturated steam which is created by the drying process. The saturated steam is condensed and l~dnsr~ d to the DOF module 20 through line 50.
Tuming back to Figure 5, the DOF module 20 is shown in more detail. This module is the final treatment step in the wastewater treatment 20 system 10. The purpose of the DOF module 20 is to fully disinfect and purify the water for either non-potable reuse or safe release into the environment. There are a number of feeds into the DOF module 20 as shown in Figure 4. In particular, line 186, carries feed water from the DAF
module 16 and line 188 carries water from SM 18 modules. Line 190 25 supplies utility water from the UWT module 22 to back flush multi-media filters 192. Line 194 carries the back flush to the DAF cell 126 for ,~p,ucessi"g.
The feed water from the DAF module 16 and SM module 18 is first run through the two multimedia filters 192 to remove any remaining 30 suspended solids. re,iudical'y, these multi-media filters 192 need to be back flushed, and dpplupridL~ back flushing valving is provided as shown at ~ 2 ~ 8 3 1 ~ 6 196. These multimedia filtens 192 are put in parallel, to either increase the throughput or allow for continuous pluc~s~in9 through one filter while the other is being back flushed.
The water is then passed though a pump set made up of a 5 duty pump 198 and a back flush pump 199 which have been arranged in parallel. The pumps have been fitted with gauges 86 and 88 to indicate the flow pdl al I It:t~l ~. This cor figuration not only provides back up for the duty pump 198 but also enables the multi-media filters 192 to be back flushed and not affect the continuous treatment process. The water is discharged 10 from the duty pump 198 through line 20û and is fed through a venturi 202 which draws the ozone from the feed line 204 into the fluid stream from an ozone generator 206. Hydrogen peroxide, depernli"g on the water source, can be injected through the injection line 208 by a chemical injection pump 210 into the Wd:,t~. ' stream at 212 from a source 213. Then, the feed 15 water is passed through a diffuser 214 and an ozone shock tank 216. The ozone shock tank 216 is described in more detail below. Optionally there may also be provided a U.V. sterilizer shown at 218. The water is subsequently fed through carbon filters 220 and through a pump set 222 and 224 anranged in parallel. A sample port 226 is also provided to take samples 20 to confimm that the water being dia~; hdlyt~d is within al~ l le water quality guidelines. The ORP meter 228 measures oxygen reduction potential and controls solenoid valves 230 and 232 which direct the eflfluent either back into the DOF module 20 for further treatment through recirculation line 234 or to the utility water tank 22 or to a clean potable water treatment. At this 25 point, the water is envilul ll "e"tully safe, but may not be potable by reason of dissolved salts in the water. All other pollutants are most preferably reduced to an acc~lJtdblt1 level by this point, as evidenced in the experimental results described below. A drain is shown at 227.
Turning now to Figure 8, there is shown a more detailed 30 illustration of the disinfection apparatus. In particular there is shown a section through the ozone shock tank 216 and the a~o~ d mixer or ~ 218314~

diffuser 214. The ozone nnixer 214 is formed from a closed tube having an upper perforated plate 236 and a lower perForated plate 238. Also shown are an ozone injection device 240 and hydrogen peroxide injection inlet 242. The fluid is driven by an upstream pump 244.
The diffuser 214 optimizes the mixing of the v ~w and the ozone and hydrogen peroxide oxidants. [sse~ l'y the water and oxidant mixture is shot oul: under some pressure through an L-shaped tube 246 and also through the upper perforated plate 236. Then the mixture trickles down through the perforated plates 236 and 238 which promote thorough mixing of the ozone and hydrogen peroxide in the water. From the ozone mixer 214 the water and oxidant mixture is pumped into the bottom of the shock tank 216 at 248. The shock tank provides suffficient contact time between the water and di~ r~ Lal ~ts to achieve ba.;L~, ioloyical kill.
Also show1 in Figure 8 is an exit port 250 through which di~ r~ d water is fed downstream through the U.V. Sterilizer 218 carbon filters 220 and on to the UWT module 22. Ozone off gas is drawn from an outlet 252 from the top of the ozone shock tank 174 and .li~ hdl yed to either the line leading to the carbon filters 220 or to v,/here disinfection is otherwise required in the system 10 or to aLI"o~,.,hel~ through a pressure relief valve ( shown in Figure 5 as 253).
It will be d~ idL~d by those skilled in the art that the rate of addition of the mixed di~ r~;Ld~L~ to the ozone shock tank is directly proportional to the amount of co, ILdl l lil l " ~n of the w _I_r to be treated.According to the present invention the optimal process control is through the use of real time sampling to measure the amount of .li~il l ,L left in the W6~ . ' . Measurements are taken by an ORP meter 228 described previously. If there is an excess then the throughput of v : _L_r can be increased. On the other hand if the ORP meter 220 reading is below the 30 set point (typically 600 mV) the rate of the u '~ . fed to the DOF
module 20 is slowed until some trace amount of di~i, lr~.ld"L is detected. In ~ 218314~

this manner, the amount of di~ ft:uldlll used can be optimized while still ensuring that water quality standards are met.
The last mo~ule in the process is the utility water tank (UWT) module 22 which is illustrated in Figure 7. The utility water tank 254 is shown having a vent 256 and an overflow 258 connected to a drain 260.
Also shown are a back flush line 262 to the DOF, with retunn water line 264.
Also shown is a make up water line 266 to the DAF.
Most preferably the utility water tank 254 includes a pressure sensor 268 to monitor the pressure in the tank. This is in essence a means to monitor how full the water tank 254 is, to control sending water to the drain 260 or the like. Also, a sample point 270 is provided to allow samples of the clean water to be taken for GOI If il l l Idluly analysis.
The main exit line from the tank 254 is the line 272, which leads to two pumps in parallel, 274 and 276. One is normally operated, while the other is usually Ol1 standby. A series of automated valves 278,280 and 282 are used to control water out flow from the tank, and cause water to be sent to either non-potable water reuse through line 279, to make up water in the regrind tank 281 or to drain at 283.
Turning now to the remaining Figures 9 to 13, these illustrate how the present invention conL~",,uldl~s placing the modules in standard sized shipping containers for ease of lrd,,~,uort.~'io,l. In Figure 9, the modules are shown in plan view in two stanclard 2û' X 8' X 9' (L X W X H) collLdill~ 284 and 286. While this size of container is most preferred, because it is readily manipulated by convention loading equipment and easily lldll~porl~:d by rail, tnuck or ship, other sized containers may also be used. However, smaller containers will require more containers be used to fit the modules, and bigger containers are much less easily Lld~ uûll~d~
Hence the standard sized container is the most preferred form of container.
The container 284 preferably contains the oil separation module 12, the regrind module 14 and the dissolved air flotation module 16.
The container 286 preferably contains the sludge " Idl ,agt:" ,enl module 18, 2~ 831~

the disinfection and oxidation filtration module 20 and the utility water tank 22. Process piping is provided, as described above, to connect the modules together. Part of the process piping extends between the containers, and may be refenred to as extension piping. The extension piping is of the type 5 that may readily be connected to cor",e~,lu,~, located on the sides of the ~onl~i"e~ and would be removed during shipping. Once at the source of Wd~,t~ r emuent to be managed and treated, the containers would be positioned beside one ancther and the extension piping connected. Specific examples of extension piping include sludge line 42 extending between the DAF module 16 in container 284 to the SM module 18 in container 286, emuent line 44 extendiny between the DAF module 20 in container 286;
make up water line 34 extending from the UWT module 22 in container 286 to the regrind module 14 in container 284, as well as various back flush lines 46, 64 as shown.
The containers 284 and 286 are provided with doors 288 and 290, as well as app~upliclle vents 285 and knockout panels as described below. Turning to container 284, there are shown chemical dnums 292, containing flocculant initiation chemicals, beside the heated oil tank 84 and the centrifuge 102. Also shown are the macerator 110 and the progressive cavity pump 112, which is a screw pump. In this embodiment the heat source 96 is in the form of a furnace, and the fuel oil tank 106 is located below the fumace. Also show are the DAF module 16, with ~so-.i,,l~d process piping described above.
Turning to container 286, the DOF module 20 is shown together with the UWT module 22. Located below the utility water tank 254 is the sludge t onc_"L,dtul tank 166. Also shown is a dehydrator 60 which in this embodiment is a f Iter/press dryer. While providing adequate results, other means for dehydration and st~ liul1, including a continuous dehydrator as described above, are also preferred. Also shown is a solids auger 299 to remove the powder.

0 21831~ -20-Figure 10 shows a section along line A-A of Figure 9. A
removable panel 300is shown. This panel 300 permits easy removal of solid wastes collected during the drying process and removed by solids auger 299. The panel may be removed and containers of solids (not shown) removed when filled. Also shown in this Figure are the carbon filter 220, the U.V.sterilizer218,multimediafilters192,diffuser214andozoneshocktank 216.
Figure 11 shows a section along line B-B of Figure 9. Shown in this Figure are the dehydrator 60, with a col1del1sel 183 to condense water vapour prior to being sent to the DOF module 20 through line 188 (line 50 in figure 1). Also shown is a control panel 310 for the dehydrator 60.
The utility water tank 254 is shown, mounted above the sludge ~nue~ ~' dt~JI
tank 166.
Figure 12 shows the regrind module 14 and the macerator 110. A control panel 302 is also shown, together with the DAF module 16.
The sludge transfer pump is also visible and is shown as a didpllldylll sludge pump 304 to pump the solids to the sludge COnCtlll~.dlul tank 166 in the other container.
Lastly, Figure 13 shows the DAF module 16, with chemical injection pumps 312 (also shown as 140 in Figure 4), control panel 302, centrifuge 102, macerator 110 and regrind tank 15.
It can be d,~ ' ' ' that the containers are provided with standard plumbing outlets and thus they need not be placed in any particular I~IdliU~ hi,U to each other. However, good results can be achieved where the outputs from one container line up with and are plumbed directly as inputs for the other as shown in Figure 9. This makes the plumbing links shorter, more efficient and easier to set up and dismantle for shipping.
An apparatus and process as generally described above were tested. The objective in the testing was to process a variety of wastewater streams to establish the ope,dli.nal limits of the process and apparatus.
Tests were conducted whereby the effluent was processed at room ~ 2i831~

temperature and at atmospheric pressure for a sufficient period of time to allow the apparatus to operate under steady state conditions.

Example 1 Industrial w-~m: ' was received in one cubic metre cunLdi"er~. The contents of the containers were lldllart~ d to a 24 cubic metre holding tank where the vra~t~,.. ' was thoroughly mixed to obtain a homogeneous solution. Samples of the w~~ .' were collected to determine the before treatment ~.ha,~.,L~ lics of the influent and these 10 values are set out in Table 1 below. The v.a~'~ r,~ . was then processed by the apparatus according to the present invention in a manner previously described. In the table below, the results of the effluent testing illustrate significant reductions in the total oil and grease content (shown as TOG in the table) and mineral oil and grease content (shown as MOG in the table).

E~pe,i",~:"l Type TSS TOG MOG BOD5 FC
mg/lm~/l m~/l m~/lMPN/100ml WW-1 Influent 9 6 vWv-1 Eflfluent 2 0 vWv-1 ~/~ Reduction 78 100 FY~rnple 2 Sewage and oily water waste ~., uce~sil ,9 was tested. Sewage sludge was obtained and tested to determine the amount of suspended 30 solids contained therein. 1 he feed was then formulated by adding water to arrive at a wnct:"l, diiUIl of d,U,UI u~in ~. t~,'y 600 parts per million. Bilge water (which typically is an oily water source) frorn a ship was then blended with the mixture to achieve a desired test cu, ICt:"' " , of bilge water to sewage by volume. This mixture is then processed through the system of the _ _ _ _ . . . . . . . .

~ 21831~B

present invention. In this test, a cationic polymer, in typical cul1celllldliol1ranges of five to twenty parts per million, was sllhs~ifl ~tPd for an anionic polymer and coagulant in order to optimize fl~ccl li~tion. Additionally, the fluid stream was permitted to bypass the static in-line mixers, when the 5 influentwasl,dn~rt~ dfromtheregrind module14tothe DAFcell16 thus avoiding fouling these static in-line mixers. The results of a number of different test runs are set out below.

E~ ,i",~"l Type TSS TOG MOG BODs FC
m~/l mg/l mg/l mg/lMPN/100ml Sewage 4-1 Influent 3û3 26 10 153 230000 Sewage 4-1 Effluent 19 6 3 36 12 Sewage4-1 ~/0 Reduction 94 76 70 76 100 Sewage 5-1 Influent 522 479 220 375 920000 Sewage 5-1 Effluent 33 18 1û 47 Sewage 5-1 ~/0 Reduction 94 96 95 88 100 Sewage 5-2-1 Influent 542 277 148 238 350000 Sewage 5-2-1 Eflfluent 2 2 1 24 o Sewage 5-2-1 ~/0 Reduction100 99 99 9û 100 Sewage 5-2-2 Influent 542 277 148 238 350000 Sewage 5-2-2 Effluent 1 2 0 12 0 Sewage 5-2-2 ~/0 Reduction100 99 100 95 100 The results of the influent and efffluent testing are shown in Table 2. Sewage test 4.1 ~ontains four percent oily water by volume. The results indicate significa1t reductions in the measured water quality pdl dl I It:Lt:l ~ and fall well below municipal grade and marine grade guidelines.
Sewage tests 5-1 and 5-2 each contained four and six tenths percent oily water by volume. Sewage test number 5 was initiated by using the first batch to flush out the system and remove any residual material retained by the system from previous ~,,.,cessi"g. Sampling was conducted and the : ~ ~1831~i~

data shows subbLdll' 'Iy higher levels of the measured water quality pa, dl I l~lt~l b.
Although these values are elevated, the results are still within the maximum accept~hle limits ~ldlJl;~hed by municipal and marine 5 guidelines the Greater Vancouver Regional District (GVRD) and IIIL~ dl Marine Ol!Jdil n (IMO) respectively, with the exception of the total oil and grease cortent, which exceeds the limit by three parts per million.
The data for sewage test 5-2 was collected over a two-day 10 test period. Sewage test 5-2 was held i"""ed;..~,ly following the 1u"~ liul1of test 5-1. At~heendofthefirstday,theplantwasplacedinto recirculation mode and allowed to rur, through the evening. Processing of the sewage/oil water mixture l~w~ ed on the following date. It is evident from the results that the removal rates obtained in Sewage test 5-2 15 clearlyde",onblldl~that~asondbleresultscanbeobtainedthroughtheuse of the present invention.
It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various l"~ 15 and alterations can be made to the above described inver,tion without departing from the spirit of the claims which follow. Some of these 20 rn~ 1S will be apparent to those skilled in the art and others have been discussed above. In particular, the precise process pdldlll~ lb can be varied, while still achieving the results of the present invention.

Claims

1. A method of treating wastewater effluent from wastewater effluent sources of one or more of black water, grey water, oily water and chemical wastewater, said method comprising the steps of:
a) separating oil from a wastewater effluent in a liquid/liquid separation step to produce conditioned oil and oily water;
b) adding the oily water to the remainder of the wastewater to be treated;
c) macerating the combined wastewater stream of step (b) to form a flowable slurry;
d) removing solids from said flowable slurry through a dewatering step;
e) disinfecting the water resulting from step (d); and f) dehydrating the solids from step (d) to produce sterile anhydrous powder, wherein said wastewater management process is contained in a plurality of modules which when combined treat waste from mobile and mixed sources.

2. The method of treating wastewater effluent as claimed in claim 1 wherein the step of separating oil from the wastewater effluent further comprises:
collecting oily water in a gravity separation tank, in which the oil is allowed to rise to the top of the tank and the water is allowed to settleto the bottom of the tank;
drawing a primarily water mixture out of said gravity separation tank through a lower drain; and drawing primarily oil out of said gravity separation tank through an upper drain.

3. The method of treating wastewater effluent as claimed in claim 2, wherein the step of draining said primarily oil mixture out of said gravity separation tank further comprises the steps of:
skimming the floating oil the surface of the liquid contained in the separation tank.

4. The method of treating wastewater effluent as claimed in claim 2, further including oil conditioning, comprising the steps of:
placing the primarily oil mixture into a heated oil/water separation vessel;
heating the primarily oil mixture;
de-emulsifying the heated primarily oil mixture; and de-watering the primarily oil mixture;
wherein said primarily oil mixture is transformed into conditioned oil.

5. The method of treating wastewater effluent as claimed in claim 4, wherein said de-watering step further comprises spinning said primarily oil mixture in a centrifuge and thereby removing water and solids from said oil.

6. The method of treating wastewater effluent as claimed in claim 1, wherein said step of macerating said combined wastewater comprises pumping said wastewater stream through a macerating equipment to form a flowable slurry.

7. The method of treating wastewater effluent as claimed in claim 1, wherein said step of removing solids from said slurry through a de-watering step comprises the additional steps of flocculating said slurry and processing said slurry through a slurry solids concentrator.

8. The method of treating wastewater effluent as claimed in claim 7, wherein said step of processing said slurry through a slurry solids concentrator further comprises the step of introducing a gas into said slurry solids concentrator to float solids to the surface of the concentrator.

9. The method of treating wastewater effluent as claimed in claim 8, wherein said method further comprises removing said floated solids from the solids concentrator and dehydrating said removed solid to form sterile anhydrous powder and heated water vapour.

10. The method of treating wastewater effluent as claimed in claim 9 further comprising the step of condensing the water vapour and injecting into said wastewater stream for further treatment.

11. The method of treating wastewater effluent as claimed in claim 1, wherein said step of disinfecting the water further comprise the step of combining both an ozone injection with a hydrogen peroxide injection for enhanced oxidation and disinfection.

12. The method of treating wastewater effluent as claimed in claim 11 further comprising the step of mixing the hydrogen peroxide and ozone in a diffuser prior to injecting the same into said effluent to be treated.

13. The method as claimed in claim 12 wherein said mixing step further comprises combining said ozone and hydrogen peroxide oxidants together, and pumping the same through a diffuser including at least one perforated plate to promote thorough mixing.

14. The method as claimed in claim 11 wherein said step of oxidation and disinfection further comprises injecting the mixed oxidants into the bottom of a shock tank containing wastewater to be disinfected.

15. The method as claimed in claim 13 further comprising the steps of balancing the amount of wastewater being treated with the oxidant that is used up in disinfecting the water.

16. A method of treating wastewater effluent from wastewater effluent sources of one or more of black water grey water oily water and chemical wastewater, said method comprising the steps of:
a) installing wastewater management equipment in at least two easily transportable containers;
b) transporting said containers to said source of wastewater;
c) connecting said containers together with process piping to form an apparatus for managing said wastewater effluent from said one or more sources;
d) separating oil from said wastewater effluent to be treated in a liquid/liquid separation step to produce conditioned oil and oily water;
e) adding the oily water to the remainder of the wastewater to be treated;
f) macerating the combined wastewater stream of step (e) to form a flowable slurry;
g) removing solids from said flowable slurry through at least one dewatering step;
h) disinfecting the water resulting from step (g); and i) dehydrating the solids from step (g) to produce sterile anhydrous powder.

17. An apparatus for managing wastewater, said apparatus comprising:
at least two portable containers containing water management equipment including:
an oil separation module for a liquid/liquid separation of oil from water;

a regrind module for forming a fine slurry from any solids in the wastewater;
a dissolved air flotation module for separating said fine slurry solids from said wastewater;
a sludge management module for dewatering said separated solids;
a disinfection and oxidation module for disinfecting water separated from solids in said dissolved air flotation module and said sludge management module;
a utility water tank module for storing water; and process piping connecting said modules together, said process piping including extension piping to extend between said containers, wherein said containers are individually transportable to a source of wastewater and are connectable by said extension piping to form said wastewater management apparatus.

18. An apparatus for managing wastewater as claimed in claim 17 wherein said apparatus is contained in two containers, one container having said oil separation module, said regrind module and said dissolved air flotation module, the other container having said sludge management module, said disinfection and oxidation module and said utility water tank module.

19. An apparatus for managing wastewater as claimed in claim 17 wherein said extension piping includes a sludge line for connecting said dissolved air flotation module in one of said containers with said sludge management module in the other of said containers.

20. An apparatus as claimed in claim 17 wherein said extension piping includes an effluent line connecting the dissolved air flotation module in one container to the disinfection and oxidation module in the other container to transport water for further treatment.

21. An apparatus as claimed in claim 17 wherein said extension piping includes a make up water line from the utility water tank in one container to the regrind module in the other container.

22. An apparatus as claimed in claim 17 wherein said extension piping is detachably connectable between said containers, to facilitate easy coupling and uncoupling of said containers through said extension piping.

23. An apparatus as claimed in claim 17 wherein said containers are shipping containers having standard dimensions of about 20 feet by 8 feet by 9 feet (L x W x H) and are provided with doors at one end.

24. An apparatus as claimed in claim 23 wherein said containers include at least one removable panel to permit materials to placed in said containers or removed from said containers in bulk.

25. A diffuser for mixing concentrated oxidants and water, said diffuser comprising:
a means for injecting concentrated oxidant into a fluid stream, and a means for directing said fluid stream through a perforated plate to cause said fluid stream to form a mist of water and concentrated oxidant, wherein said concentrated oxidant is thoroughly mixed with said fluid for disinfecting effluent.