ES2294904B1 - Hair system. - Google Patents

Abstract

Hair system. The present invention refers to a process of natural purification of any type of wastewater that takes place, in capillary format, with serial aeration, to achieve, with a single pumping, the primary, secondary and tertiary treatment of said waters, in a small area of land and with low costs of execution, operation and maintenance.

Description

Hair system.

Technical sector

This patent is an improvement of the techniques developed for the treatment of wastewater, by means of infiltration-percolation in permeable layers ( percolating filters ), not being within the scope of the so-called green filters, nor in that of wetlands, as Next it will be explained.

State of the art

The treatment systems, through filters percolators, basically comprise a waterproof pond Stuffed with crushed stone.

In its operation, the contact bed is fill with waste water from the top and let it put in contact with the medium for a short period of time. The bed is then emptied and allowed to rest before Repeat the cycle. A typical cycle requires 12 hours of which there are 6 hours of rest.

The limitations of the classic percolator filter include a relatively high possibility of seals, prolonged periods of rest time, and a relatively load Low to debug.

The size of the stones of which the medium consists filter is between 2.5 - 10 cm in diameter, the depth of these vary according to the particular design, usually 0.9 - 2.4 m, with an average depth of 1.8 m. Certain filters percolators use plastic filter media with depths of 9-12 m. Currently the filter bed is circular and the residue liquid is distributed over the bed by a distributor rotating, before the bed was rectangular and the wastewater was distributed through fixed spray nozzles.

The predominant microorganisms in the filter percolator are the optional bacteria, which, with the anaerobic and aerobic bacteria, break down organic matter of wastewater. Algae grow only in the layers top of the filter where sunlight reaches, this is the reason whereby algae do not take a direct part in the degradation of waste, but during the day they add oxygen to the wastewater that is is filtering, however, from the operational point of view Algae can cause clogging of the filter surface So they are considered a hindrance.

The individual populations of the community biological will suffer variations in the entire depth of the filter in function of changes in the hydraulic organic load, composition of effluent wastewater, air availability, temperature, pH and others.

With respect to these systems of infiltration-percolation, the present invention is difference clearly:

one.

By the underground application of wastewater to be treated, by drip devices that are jacketed in larger pipes diameter to allow the assembly and disassembly of the lines dropper holder, without the need to manipulate the bed. These pipes are placed inside the bed, close to the surface, and are grooved, preferably only in the part lower and with no ripples, to always avoid accumulation of small amounts of uncured water in the breast of them, which could cause the grooves to close by the appearance of anaerobic sludge.

2.

By the use of a single drip grid, valid for all the necessary phases in the joint treatment (primary, secondary and tertiary) of urban wastewater, whose supply  it can be associated with an energy pumping or a conduction that, by  elevation differences, provide the necessary pressure for drippers

3.

By distribute the waters to be treated always and throughout the bed, in format  capillary, which facilitates the transfer of oxygen, from the existing air in the bed, to the thin film of water that surrounds the grains of the referred bed.

Four.

By the incorporation of horizontal aeration devices, connected to the outside, and placed in vertical series, which completely and completely re-oxygenate the bed, in downward flow, inhibiting the development of microorganisms anaerobes and allowing the optimal development of microorganisms aerobes (bacteria and protozoa), responsible for the treatment, and of macro-organisms (worms, ants, insect larvae, etc.) that coexist within a food chain where organic matter of wastewater, the organisms themselves, and their waste, are consumed without generating sludge.

5.

By the complementary use of an air extraction system existing in aeration devices, to favor the oxygen renewal and the total absence of bad odors, since the extracted air is conducted to a gas washing tower or Similary.

6.

Because the operation of the system capillary does not require periods of waterlogging or cycles of stop - operation, controlled.

7.

By the highest infiltration-treatment rate (higher of 4,000 l / day and m 2 of bed) than the design of this system capillary allows, compared to the rest of the systems currently existing treatment (less than 500 l / day / m2).

8.

By the small area necessary for the establishment of the bed, biological, reaching values below 0.5 m2 for each m 3 / day of urban wastewater intended to be treated up to Tertiary treatment values.

9.

By the final incorporation into the system of an aerobic wetland of treated waters, with basically ornamental character, which also eliminates the scarce biotic mass that emerges from the bed, and also  It is used for denitrification of treated waters, such as previous step to the discharge of the same to public channel. All of it thanks to wildlife development and ornamental plant cultivation aquatic Therefore, this wetland does not have the character or the justification of a type debugging device wetlands

10.

By the non-generation of algae, due to the total absence of light in the process.

eleven.

By the absence of clogging in the percolator bed, very common in infiltration-percolation systems, no requiring no temporary stop of treatment to recover initial permeability conditions.

12.

By the possibility of using oxygenation devices, described above, for hypothetical bed cleaning biological, by introducing through them a large water flow that would eliminate the obstructions of the bed.

13.

By serial repetition of the process, to allow treatment natural of any organic wastewater, such that, the organic and microbial load that fails to purify in the first phase passes to the second and from this to the next. In contrast, the current infiltration-percolation systems only they are viable for tertiary treatments, or for water Domestic

14.

By the high quality of the water obtained, generating a system of elimination of organic matter and natural disinfection, by predation, without using artificial disinfectant any.

fifteen.

By the advantage of keeping the biotic mass of the bed alive during long periods of system inactivity, thanks to oxygenation  permanent of the same.

16.

By the need to carry out a preliminary roughing of wastewater to be treated, by any of the available techniques, and a filtrate physical appropriate to the technical specifications of the drippers used

On the other hand, the present invention can be related, by its external appearance, with other wastewater purification techniques completely different from percolating filters, such as: the technique used in the infiltration on the ground or " green filters ", and the technique of wetlands or " wetlands ".

In the " green filters " a natural terrain is used, to transform it into a humid zone, by means of the superficial irrigation of residual waters. In this technique, the cultivated flora and the land itself consume and purify the applied waters, without the possibility of recovering them for reuse. In the " wetlands ", although an artificial terrain is used, such as the bed of the present invention, and the treated water is also recovered, the generation of a saturated medium where the purification is carried out essentially by means of plants is pursued. and anaerobic microorganisms, drippers are not used as a means of application, and a horizontal or ascending flow in the saturated bed is generally caused.

In the prior art document ES 2 157 861 B1 shows a procedure that basically difference of the capillary system in that: It allows the development of green areas on the bed surface; Use devices from underground irrigation that cannot be extracted, for cleaning or replacement, lacking the corresponding jacket; Does not have of bed aeration devices, which does not allow the complete treatment (primary, secondary and tertiary) in the same bed; Nor does it have bed cleaning devices for face a hypothetical clogging; Accurate, to obtain the same quality of treated water, four times more surface; Y it presents a need for pumping that involves costs of operation and maintenance, at least four times higher.

Considering the international publication WO 9625366, this document describes a device or device "type wetlands "formed by two chambers; a central filled with porous material, with different horizons and grain sizes, for the that a stream of wastewater that rises from the base to the surface. This causes the complete flood of the compartment that acts as a biological reactor. The water that overflows by this first camera falls, by gravity in a second camera that surrounds the first and that incorporates a series of containers, or side planters, in which the plant cultivation The fundamental technical differences of this Publication with respect to the present invention consists in that: Wastewater treatment is carried out by different techniques. (wetlands versus percolating filters); in addition the treatment is performed by means of dual camera devices and not on a single surface; Flora is grown on the walls of an apparatus, to that this contributes to the purification, and not on a wetland ornamental that contributes essentially to the denitrification of The waters already treated.

US 5,156,741 describes a procedure that should be cataloged as a wetlands procedure and not as a filtration-percolation system, which It incorporates an air injection system using a compressor. Wastewater is injected into the bottom; the medium is saturated; the flow rises and is collected by drainage pipes subsurfaces; and the surface is planted with herbs decontaminators

US 5,549,817 describes a apparatus for the purification of storm water which, due to its design, introduce the water into a bed of sand, at the bottom and through grooved pipes, causing, as in the documents previously cited, the saturation of the medium and a flow ascending to the flooded surface, where it is exclusively possible to develop lush vegetation (wetlands). Therefore this system, like the previous ones, does not present real similarities with the present invention

Finally, in US 4,218,318, describes a mixed debugging system (wetlands and filter percolator, configured in two joint compartments: One constituted by a bed of gravel, placed under a substrate of sand and separated from it by a perforated plate; And other exclusively of sand. Both are separated by a barrier vertical that does not reach the surface to allow the flow of First compartment to the second. The waters are introduced by the bottom of the gravels and ascend until they cross the plates perforated, partially saturate the upper sands, and overcome the aforementioned barrier to descend through the sands of the joint compartment. The surface is planted with species palustres Therefore, the technical differences between this procedure and the present capillary system are clear and consisting of: The application of water by means of drippers, near from the surface, instead use a simple pipe. grooved, in the background; No use of perforated plates; Flow always descending and never saturated; and purification always aerobic and never anaerobic

Advantages of the invention

The invention provides advantages that, without limitation, are the following:

In contrast to the general state of the art, the present invention achieves a total biological bed and continuously oxygenated, by diffusion, thanks to the capillary state permanent water in the referred bed, which allows the transfer of atmospheric oxygen to water, and from this to microorganisms responsible for water purification. These conditions allow continuous operation of the process, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, without stops or periods of waterlogging, always in the same circumstances, which prevents the generation of sludge and obstructions in the bed, providing the maximum guarantee of continuity and minimum fragility of the system.

In these optimal and constant conditions environmental, the system is able to treat water naturally high organic load, with an extremely simple installation in its construction, installation and maintenance, and low cost in all concepts. In addition, the lines dropper holder, the only fragile element in the system capillary, can be replaced, totally or partially, thanks to the jacketing them, through grooved pipes or similar, no need to disassemble the biological bed.

This system also has a very high hydraulic performance (no water loss due to evaporation, or sludge generation) and is also favored by a high degree of purification that ends with disinfection natural water (by predation), without the need for any disinfectant

The absence of bad smells is another essential feature of the capillary system, due mainly the 100% aerobic nature of the treatment and the aeration-air extraction system which is redirected to a wash tower or similar.

This system adapts perfectly to stops intermittent and ups and downs on the arrival of the influent, since the Bed organisms always receive the necessary oxygen, both when water is received as when not.

The total absence of light in the applied waters prevents the generation of algae and, therefore, all clogging problems that these generate in the filters percolators

The underground application of water contributes also to avoid the emission of aerosols and to prevent the generation of bad odors, whose negative effect is so frequent in others debugging systems

The lack of surface maintenance of the bed in this capillary system, allows its use Complementary for the placement of solar panels and / or wind turbines for obtaining natural energy with which carry out the process, or any other use, trying not to prevent, or favor, the entry of oxygen into the bed.

Description of the drawings

Other objects, adaptations and capabilities will appear as the description progresses, making reference to the accompanying drawings in which;

Figure 1 is an overview, in plan and section, in accordance with the present invention. Figure 2 is a view in section in which the present air line is schematized hair system Figure 3 is a sectional view in which appreciate the water line of the present invention.

Detailed description of the preferred developments of this invention

A description of the preferred form of embodiment of the present invention, is indicated in the figures attached, where a capillary system for treatment appears Complete (primary, secondary and tertiary) wastewater urban type, in four phases of treatment. For other types of water, more or less charged, the description will differ in the number of phases, which will be greater or less, respectively.

The raw wastewater from a core of population, after undergoing a pre-treatment (15), are collected in a tank (16) for pumping to the bed biological (1). The pre-treatment will be carried out at base of: coarse pit, sand trap, roughing fence and sieves about 0.15 to 1 mm of light, degreaser, or any other existing system or arising from the technique. The pumped waters pre-pass through a filter (17) to remove particles suspended in water that are not admissible by the type of drippers installed (130 micron passing light, for reference more common), and they are transferred to the drippers through the network of drive (18).

Energy pumping can be replaced by a driving that, due to elevation differences, brings the pressure necessary for the drippers.

On said gravel bed (1), or similar, about 200 cm in total thickness, preferably by nature homogeneous, and waterproofed by a plastic sheet, or similar, (6) a network of dropper pipe is placed (4), which are embedded inside pipes (3). These they will be grooved, preferably only at the bottom and with absence of undulations, to always avoid the accumulation of small amounts of uncured water within them. This set is covered with a new bed layer (1s), with a thickness of about 15 to 20 cm, to avoid the generation of algae, by lack of light, and allow the entry (8) of oxygen into the First phase of biological treatment.

The dropper lines are will insert the discharge and cleaning manifolds (not shown), preferably with detachable hitch devices, with individual shut-off valves, for maintenance Independent. These connections must therefore be registrable by means of boxes (15) or any other procedure. The collector drive is connected to the drive (18) and the cleaning to the network of the same name (not shown) that returns the waters to the pre-treatment, at a suitable speed so that the turbulence clean the deposits of material generated in the inside of the drip holders.

Under the drippers and their jacket, the first part of the bed (1a), about 50 cm thick, acting as primary treatment, or first phase of treatment. To the completely cross this area the capillary flow (7), the bed is it has to re-oxygenate through a network of grooved pipes (3.1., 3.2. and 3.3.), originating the 2nd, 3rd and 4th treatment phase, respectively. The bed thickness of these New phases may be identical to the first.

The aeration tubes used (3.1., 3.2. And 3.3.), Of similar characteristics to the employees for the jacketed (3) of the drippers, allow the entry of air atmospheric, loaded with oxygen, inside the bed, where the intergranular air is impoverished in this element, by the breathing of the biotic mass of the upper phase. The result of the connection between these two air masses is the re-oxygenation of the impoverished, by a phenomenon of diffusion, and the consequent absorption of oxygen by capillary water from the bed, where the microorganisms causing the biological filtration, starting here a new phase of treatment.

This aeration infrastructure can function through the two options reflected in figure 2. According to option a, oxygenation will be completely natural, by free passage of atmospheric air through the two ends of the grooved pipes According to option b, the natural oxygenation of the bed is reinforced by the action of an extractor (13), or the like, which connects, through a main conduit (12), all aeration pipes (3.1., 3.2. and 3.3.) and (3) to a tower of gas washing (14), or the like, for possible deodorization. Although not recommended, this option might even complement each other. with the incorporation of artificial oxygen, if it is desired to increase the capillary system performance, for water treatment heavily loaded waste, coming from the industry.

By crossing the capillary flow the last part from the bed (1d), the water is treated and disinfected, with quality comparable to the so-called tertiary treatment, with the peculiarity of its high content of nutrients and dissolved oxygen, and without the additional use of oxygen or disinfectant some artificial.

The capillary flow (7), upon reaching the base waterproof (6), causes a laminar flow (10) that comes out of the bed towards the wetland (11), designed for wildlife development and ornamental cultivation of aquatic plants, which consume scarce biotic mass that detaches from the bed and reduces concentration of nutrients from treated waters.

The entire biological bed, with its phases of treatment, can be delimited with walls (2) or by slopes, not shown, which allow greater integration into the landscape. In in any case, it is recommended, as opposed to the rest of infiltration-percolation systems, do not perform a watertight recess, waterproof pond type, and proceed, in the as much as possible, to place the bed on the ground and with natural drainage to the wetland, without pumping any.

The biological bed recharge rate is, for this example, 176 l / h / m2, which is achieved with the use of 44 drippers, 4 l / h, per square meter of bed. This means a maximum treatment flow of about
4,000 l / m2 / day, which can be reduced or increased by modifying the characteristics and distance between drippers.

When it is intended to purify very high waters pollutant load, the design of the present invention can be seen enriched with more treatment phases and supplemented with conventional purification processes, anaerobic type, to reduce the nitrogen content and more specifically in nitrites that inhibit microbial growth.

Although I have described the characteristics fundamental of my invention, it should be understood that they are possible other adaptations and modifications within the scope of the following claims.

Claims (5)

1. Capillary system, characterized by the underground application of the wastewater to be treated, by means of drip devices that are encased in pipes to allow the assembly and disassembly of the drip-holder lines. These pipes will be placed inside the bed, close to the surface, and will be grooved, preferably only in the lower part and with no ripples, to always prevent the accumulation of small amounts of uncured water within them. 2. Capillary system, according to the preceding claim, characterized by totally and continuously distributing, in capillary format, the waters to be treated inside a biological bed, of high permeability, gravel type or the like, to transmit oxygen from the existing air in the bed to the thin film of water that surrounds the grains of the referred bed, where, in the absence of light, optimum environmental conditions are formed for the development of macro and aerobic micro-organisms, causing water purification, without never cause waterlogging or septic zones. 3. Capillary system, according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by repeating, in series, from top to bottom, the process of capillary biological filtration, to achieve different treatment phases, using a single grid of drippers at the top of the first phase, and using a series aeration system, through grooved pipes, placed at the beginning of the second and subsequent treatment phases, which re-oxygenates each section of the bed continuously and from top to bottom. This aeration infrastructure can function through the two options reflected in figure 2. According to option a, oxygenation will be completely natural, by free passage of atmospheric air through the two ends of the grooved pipes According to option b, the natural oxygenation of the bed is reinforced by the action of an extractor (13) that connects, by a main conduit (12), all the pipes of aeration (3.1., 3.2. and 3.3.) and (3) to a gas washing tower, or similar, (14). Although not recommended, this option could even complement with the incorporation of artificial oxygen if you want to increase the performance of the capillary system in the case of the treatment of heavily loaded wastewater from the industry. 4. Capillary system, according to any of the preceding claims, characterized by incorporating devices, for the hypothetical cleaning of the biological bed, constituted by the same aeration devices described above, by introducing through them a large water flow that it would remove the obstructions of the bed. 5. Capillary system, according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by the collection of the treated water, by means of a wetland designed for the consumption of the scarce biotic mass that emerges from the bed and also for the denitrification of the treated waters. All this thanks to the development of fauna and ornamental cultivation of aquatic plants in the referred wetland.