Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B01—PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
  • B01D—SEPARATION
  • B01D39/00—Filtering material for liquid or gaseous fluids
  • B01D39/08—Filter cloth, i.e. woven, knitted or interlaced material
  • B01D39/083—Filter cloth, i.e. woven, knitted or interlaced material of organic material
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C02—TREATMENT OF WATER, WASTE WATER, SEWAGE, OR SLUDGE
  • C02F—TREATMENT OF WATER, WASTE WATER, SEWAGE, OR SLUDGE
  • C02F3/00—Biological treatment of water, waste water, or sewage
  • C02F3/02—Aerobic processes
  • C02F3/10—Packings; Fillings; Grids
  • C02F3/103—Textile-type packing
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C02—TREATMENT OF WATER, WASTE WATER, SEWAGE, OR SLUDGE
  • C02F—TREATMENT OF WATER, WASTE WATER, SEWAGE, OR SLUDGE
  • C02F3/00—Biological treatment of water, waste water, or sewage
  • C02F3/30—Aerobic and anaerobic processes
  • C02F3/302—Nitrification and denitrification treatment
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B01—PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
  • B01D—SEPARATION
  • B01D2239/00—Aspects relating to filtering material for liquid or gaseous fluids
  • B01D2239/12—Special parameters characterising the filtering material
  • B01D2239/1208—Porosity
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C02—TREATMENT OF WATER, WASTE WATER, SEWAGE, OR SLUDGE
  • C02F—TREATMENT OF WATER, WASTE WATER, SEWAGE, OR SLUDGE
  • C02F3/00—Biological treatment of water, waste water, or sewage
  • C02F3/34—Biological treatment of water, waste water, or sewage characterised by the microorganisms used
  • C02F3/341—Consortia of bacteria
• • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
  • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
  • Y02W—CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO WASTEWATER TREATMENT OR WASTE MANAGEMENT
  • Y02W10/00—Technologies for wastewater treatment
  • Y02W10/10—Biological treatment of water, waste water, or sewage

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a device and to a process for purifying wastewater, particularly by employing a three-dimensional cluster of planar fabric elements having biological and physical roles.
• Biological wastewater treatment using bacterial metabolism for removing various pollutions, is an essential component of purifying processes employing bioreactors with bacteria bound to a carrier or suspended (biomass).
• the optimization of the process must take into consideration a number of factors, including tolerance and adaptive resistance of the microorganisms to fluctuations of sewage load and to ever-changing ambient conditions, efficiency in utilizing the reactor working volume, maintenance of the active biomass concentration in the bioreactor, prevention of the biomass losses, and others.
• the objectives of the system optimization include reducing the time of wastewater treatment, for example by reducing hydraulic retention time (HRT), preventing the generation of surplus sludge, and limiting the sludge recirculation, treatment, transportation, and landfilling.
• HRT hydraulic retention time
• the system stability and the purification efficiency will be best ensured by synergistic effects of optimized subsystems, further also resulting in reducing the capital investment, energy consumption, and maintenance costs.
• the known bioreactor systems maintain the high concentration of biomass by the biomass recirculation, including biomass transfer from secondary or tertiary sedimentation tanks to the initial stage of the purification process. Such systems expose the working bacteria to loading shocks, after which the organisms adapt to the new conditions with significant delays.
• the biomass recirculation interferes with the natural trophic chain of the microorganisms' metabolism in the sewage treatment process, reducing the bacterial active phase time.
• a part of bacteria form cysts or encapsulate in the secondary or tertiary sedimentation tanks in response to the nutrient depletion, resulting in the accumulation of inactive bacterial forms and released polysaccharides - biofouling effects - which contaminates and clogs the carrier surfaces, reduces the purification efficiency, and necessitates periodic regeneration steps.
• the biofilm thickening deteriorates the diffusion of nutrients and oxygen into the carrier, limits the overall metabolic processes, and prolongs the treatment. The process degradation and instability lead to active biomass losses, repeated carrier regeneration steps, and shutdowns of the facility.
• Another frequent problem is related to the choice of a suitable medium as a bacterial carrier, and to the ratio between the effective carrier surface area and the net volume of reactor. Eventual clogging leads to narrowing the effective working surface, requiring more powerful blowers and compressors which, on the other hand, may leads to increased shearing forces and biomass losses.
• the mentioned problems are usually addressed by increasing the size of the purification facility, by adding complex auxiliary systems, for example aiming at the carrier regeneration, which significantly increases the demands on energy consumption, personnel size, and maintenance equipment.
• the invention provides a unit for purification of wastewater flowing through it, comprising i) a framework comprising at least edges of a rectangular parallelepiped, the edges defining the inner volume of said unit; ii) an air dispersing system situated near the bottom of said parallelepiped; iii) a first woven or knit fabric material arranged in an equidistant set of horizontal planes, and iv) a second woven or knit fabric material arranged in a set of vertical planes being situated essentially perpendicularly to the flow of said wastewater, the fabric in the horizontal planes being firmly attached to said framework, and the fabric in the vertical planes being firmly attached at least to the fabric in the horizontal planes, said second fabric being denser than the first one and both fabric material forming a stable three- dimensional network essentially uniformly filling said inner volume; wherein said dispersing system provides air bubbles to said flowing wastewater, said first fabric material breaks and further disperses said bubbles, and said second fabric material serves as a carrier for
• Said dispersing system may comprise a number of dispersers and regulating means.
• said fabric in the vertical planes is firmly attached to the fabric in the horizontal planes, said second fabric material being denser than the first one and both fabric materials forming a cluster of rectangular fabric elements arranged in a stable three-dimensional network essentially uniformly filling said inner volume.
• intended is an approximating plane, averaging the material positions, as the material forming the plane, such as fabric can move and be deformed at least at some stages.
• intended is a plane approximately perpendicular to the flow vector or to its non-zero component.
• the unit preferably comprises a steel or polymer framework, and an air dispersing system integrated with the framework, and a three-dimensional cluster of essentially planar fabric elements arranged in two perpendicular sets of planes, the first set being horizontal and the second being perpendicular to the first one and also essentially perpendicular to the water flow, the fabric in said first set serving for creating micro bubbles or ultrafine bubbles, and the fabric in said second set being denser than the fabric in the first set and serving as a carrier for growing the biomass degrading the pollutant in said wastewater.
• the unit is further provided with walls enclosing said inner volume, with an inlet or an inlet hole or clearance through which the wastewater enters the inner volume and an outlet, or an outlet clearance, on the opposite site of the parallelepiped though which the water flows out.
• the unit advantageously comprises one or more flow-diverting members.
• the unit of the invention is in one embodiment built of polymers and of metals. In one embodiment, the unit is completely made of polymers.
• the sets of planes are usually essentially equidistant.
• Said second fabric is inoculated with water purifying bacteria before the process is started.
• the unit of the invention may work by itself or together with other units of the invention, or within other existing purification system.
• the unit of the invention may work in a series of other units.
• the invention relates to a wastewater purification unit comprising interconnected clusters of essentially planar fabric elements, the vertical elements being biologically active and the horizontal physically active, the former hosting bio-purifying microorganisms and the latter breaking the air bubbles and improving the mass transfer (bio-clusters, abbreviated BC).
• the bio-clusters form a three-dimensional system of planar elements essentially filling the inner volume of said unit, and together with the framework and integrated disperser constitute a compact, possibly modular, unit (abbreviated BC3D).
• the unit is preferably provided with stream deflector members guiding the water flow into the unit.
• the unit according to the invention may comprise the framework adjusting device in line with water- level.
• the framework arrangement can be adjusted for height, up and down, in accordance with water level in bioreactor using these adjusting device.
• the invention provides an autonomous plant for purifying wastewater in accordance with the predetermined regulations, comprising a series of units, each one comprising i) a rectangular parallelepiped framework defining its inner volume; ii) an air dispersing system situated near the bottom of said parallelepiped; iii) a first woven or knit fabric material arranged in an equidistant set of horizontal planes, and iv) a second woven or knit fabric material arranged in a set of vertical planes being situated essentially perpendicularly to the flow of said wastewater, the fabric in the horizontal planes being firmly attached to said framework, and the fabric in the vertical planes being firmly attached at least to the fabric in the horizontal planes, said second fabric being denser than the first one and both fabric material forming a stable three-dimensional network essentially uniformly filling said inner volume; wherein said dispersing system provides air bubbles to said flowing wastewater, said first fabric material breaks and further disperses said bubbles, and said second fabric material serves as a carrier for growing
• the series may comprise units with different succession of microorganisms, creating trophic chain and spatially separated zones in which different reactions occur.
• the series comprises the framework adjusting device in line with water-level, means for regulating and coordinating the dispersers and the flow-directing members in all units.
• the invention relates to a process of wastewater purification, comprising i) providing a steel rectangular parallelepiped framework with an integrated air dispersing system, the parallelepiped framework defining the inner volume of a purification unit; ii) providing a three-dimensional cluster of essentially planar fabric elements arranged in two perpendicular sets of planes, the first set being horizontal and the second being perpendicular to the first one, the fabric in said second set being denser than the fabric in the first set, the cluster essentially filling said inner volume; iii) providing said framework with outer walls, with an inlet clearance, and with an outlet clearance; iv) inoculating the vertical planes with water purifying bacteria, providing dispersed air at the bottom of the unit, and allowing the wastewater to flow through the unit, essentially perpendicularly to said vertical planes; and optionally v) repeating steps i to iv, possibly more times, thereby obtaining one or more additional units, and allowing to work said units in series.
• the process according to the invention comprises a step of providing a three-dimensional cluster of essentially planar fabric rectangular elements arranged in two perpendicular sets of planes, the first set being horizontal and the second being perpendicular to the first one, the fabric in said first set being firmly attached to said framework, the fabric in said second set being firmly attached to the fabric in the first set and being denser than the fabric in the first set, the cluster essentially filling said inner volume.
• Fig. 1 Shows a fragment of a three-dimensional textile cluster (bio-cluster, BC) in a purification unit according to the invention (BC3D), serving partially as a carrier for microorganisms biologically purifying water and partially for physically breaking air bubbles;
• Fig. 2. shows a rigid framework for hosting the bio-cluster and building a purification unit according to one embodiment of the invention;
• Fig. 3. shows a rigid framework according to another embodiment of the invention, comprising the framework adjusting device in line with water-level;
• Fig. 4. shows a purifying unit according to one embodiment of the invention (isometric view);
• Fig. 5. shows schematically creating horizontal set of the fabric planes in creating a unit according to one embodiment of the invention
• Fig. 6. shows a series of three units according to one embodiment of the invention (6A), and a series of two units (6B);
• Fig. 7. shows the amount of the biomass fixed (immobilized) in the bio- clusters according to the invention, for six different sections of a bioreactor.
• Fig. 8. shows DO (dissolved oxygen) in the sections shown in Fig. 7. Detailed Description of the Invention
• the invention provides an apparatus, called Bio-Cluster 3D (shortly BC3D), for complete biological reclamation of domestic and industrial sewage.
• BC3D is a three-dimensional cluster of essentially planar fabric elements filling essentially the whole volume inside a rigid framework to be populated by water-processing bacteria, effectively working in the whole of said volume, even though being bound in certain planes defined by said cluster.
• the fabric is inert to the sewage and also to the usual bacterial activities, the apparatus thus being a multilayer inert carrier for working microorganisms.
• the process of removing organic and inorganic contaminants from sewage water includes installing a single BC3D or a group of BC3Ds, working as a series of continuous flow-through bioreactors (here denoted as Integrated Spatial Biological Systems, shortly ISBS).
• BC3D comprises fully integrated air dispersers inside the framework, situated at the bottom of the apparatus, delivering air fine bubbles to the treated volume at the bottom of the apparatus.
• the fine bubbles are broken on the horizontal parts of the planar fabric elements to micro bubbles (up to 300 ⁇ ) and ultrafine bubbles (less than 300, or less than 100, or less than 10, or less than 1 ⁇ ).
• the flow of treated water is directed into the apparatus. Under selected mode, the fabric elements remain free of undesired biofouling.
• BC3D invented for complete reclamation of municipal and industrial wastewaters, provides solution to a broad range of tasks and, among others, can be used alone as a functionally autonomous treatment device, or can be used in groups of apparatuses, also enabling a multi stage biological purification process with ideal spatial trophic chain in the bioreactor ecosystem.
• BC3D decreases the production of surplus activated sludge by more than lOOfold, compared to the traditional technologies and, consequently, cuts down expenses for capital construction and energy consumption associated with sludge treatment and burial.
• Said BC3D exhibits a surprising efficiency and it is easy to produce, to operate, and to maintain.
• the biomass in the BC3D has a superior ability for sustainable development and its self-maintenance.
• the apparatus of the invention lacks electromechanical devices, and its simplicity contributes to longtime uninterrupted operations.
• the effective mass-transfer contributes not only to the markedly increased oxygen transfer efficiency (OTE), but also to optimized electricity consumption - which is lower by 30% than comparable methods; the lowered production of the surplus activated sludge further reduces operation and maintenance costs, which may be 70% lower than other comparable methods.
• OTE oxygen transfer efficiency
• the choice of material for producing the inner carrier and its spatial structuring in BC3D takes into consideration unhindered hydraulic flow in the bioreactor, good access of nutrients to the biofilm at all points of the bioreactor, keeping the biomass activity (prevention of biomass losses from the fabric, prevention of biofouling films growth, prevention of the mutual friction among the carrier elements), good aeration in the whole bioreactor volume, and optimal maintenance of the air dispersers and preventing their biofouling and clogging.
• the invention provided a method of biological wastewater treatment using apparatus, BC3D, comprising a solid outer framework defining a volume of treated water volume, a three-dimensional cluster of essentially planar fabric elements filling essentially the whole volume defined by said framework, and air dispersers inside the volume.
• the planar elements are preferably arranged in two sets of planes, one set comprises a plurality of horizontal planes, and the other set comprises vertical planes not parallel with the water flow.
• the horizontally situated fabric elements break the air bubbles from the dispersers, the vertically situated fabric elements serve as a bacterial growth carrier.
• the present invention relates to an apparatus and to a method for biological treatment of municipal and industrial wastewater by means of various bacteria and other microbiological organisms, of which a part are suspended and a part are attached to an inert fabric carrier, forming trophic (nutritional) chain, regulated by the liquid composition, such as type and quantity of water pollutants, and the concentration of oxygen or other oxidants.
• the BC3D apparatus may be employed separately or in a series connected as desired, and optionally combined with other purification devices and techniques.
• the BC3D may be an important part of a biological wastewater purification system or a multi-stage process comprising a set of technological units, subsystems, steps, or equipment elements, aiming at sewage treatment.
• the BC3D unit consists mainly of three parts, solid framework, fabric 3D structure, and air disperser.
• the disperser is preferably integrated into the framework, together forming a stiff structure to which the 3D fabric network can be stably attached.
• the disperser units are preferably connected to a low-pressure air supply system.
• the framework may comprise guide plates or flow-diverting members directing the wastewater flow into the inner parts of the unit, and also the means for adjusting the unit in line with water-level.
• BC3D rigid frame construction may be made of metallic or plastic parts, such as tubes (round cross-section or rectangular cross-section) and L-bars. The construction parts of the framework may serve as air suppling tubes.
• the BC3D may be installed, for example, onto the bottom of a bioreactor (floor-mounted device), or it may be supported by the vertical walls of the outer bioreactor (linkage-mounted device).
• the BC3D may be completed separately and transported to the working site, for example inside a wastewater flow.
• Said BC3D may be provided with an adjusting device in line with water-level.
• Two or more BC3D units may be installed in series, for example in a corridor of a waste water flow, as the only active purifying elements or as a part of a purification system.
• Any air delivery system used in biological reactors may be employed.
• Air supply valves, distribution elements, sensors of dissolved oxygen, and microprocessors can be employed according to the desired air volumes.
• the fabric elements have two main functions: they provide carrier structure for the growing microorganisms, and they also improve the mass transfer by breaking the dispersed bubbles.
• the former function is preferably performed by vertically situated denser fabric elements, and the latter by horizontally situated thinner fabric elements.
• the bacteria and other microorganisms are attached to the fibers of the fabric and metabolize organic and inorganic impurities from water.
• the fabric elements in one or more BC3D are inoculated by specific strains of microorganisms (such as bacterial culture) in accordance with the specific step of purification, with the water characteristic, temperature, and the purification system parameters (flow velocity, etc.).
• the trophic chain and spatial succession of the aquatic organisms is created along the whole system of the purification units as well as inside each unit. Successively, depending on the parameters, the pollutants are degraded, mostly to ⁇ 0 2 and water.
• the fabric elements usually comprise a plurality of horizontally situated planes of a thinner (less densely knit or woven) fabric attached to the solid, preferably steel, framework.
• the horizontal planes are equidistantly placed inside the framework along its height, for example 10-60 cm far from each other.
• the 3D fabric structure comprises a plurality of vertically situated elements, more densely knit or woven than the horizontal fabric, for example arranged in vertical planes oriented essentially perpendicularly to the water flow.
• the vertical elements are usually crosslinked with the horizontally situated fabric, for example by sowing, whereby creating connecting edges essentially perpendicular to the water flow and to the bubbles movement.
• the fabric forming the 3D network structure of the BC3D may comprise any polymer stable in wastewater, including polyamide, polyester, polypropylene, or mixtures thereof.
• the fiber structure and the fabric knitting or weaving parameters are chosen according to the needed service. A skilled person will know that a denser texture will host more organisms, but may offer greater flow resistance, etc.
• the important feature of the 3D structure is filling the reactor volume, offering sufficient bacteria hosting capacity while offering acceptable flow resistance, and its working, long term, physical stability. Attached the vertical elements to the horizontal ones, for example by sewing, thereby creating sufficiently high number of the seam edges provides surprisingly efficient and stable multilayer structure.
• the adjacent parallel elements both horizontal and vertical
• the adjacent parallel elements should have a minimal distance, which should be usually more than 5 cm, such as more than 15 cm, or more than 20 cm, depending on the BC3D unit dimensions; for greater units the minimal distances should be greater (taking into consideration system oscillations).
• turbulences are formed in the moving liquid, and the fabric elements vibrate, which still more contributes to improved mass transfer, and also to the fiber ridding of aggregation of impurities.
• BC3D thus comprises a multilayer fabric cluster, installable singly or in groups, for example in a bulk bioreactor environment.
• said BC3D is installed in a specific zone of the bioreactor, for example in anoxic zone, aerobic zone, nitrification zone, etc.
• Each BC3D is previously inoculated by the specific culture of the microorganisms, such as nitrobacteria, denitrifying bacteria such as for example Nitrosolobus multiformis, Nitrobacter hamburgensis, Nitrococcus mobilis, Nitrobacter vulgaris, Nitrobacter winogradskyi., and oligotrophic bacteria, copiatrophic bacteria, and others.
• the installed surface of the bio- cluster in each BC3D is designed according to the stage of purification, organic loading and type of metabolic process, in accordance with the main limiting factors of biological treatment, such as amount of dissolved oxygen, quantitative composition, and concentration of pollutants.
• the construction parts of the BC3D framework simultaneously serve as air delivery pipes, air distribution system (diffusers), and device for the fabric element fixing.
• some of the construction parts of the BC3D framework simultaneously serve both as strengthening construction parts and as air supply auxiliaries.
• the longitudinally or transversally arranged dispersers (of a suitable cross-section), usually tubular members, are integrated into the BC3D framework.
• Each BC3D may be supplied with regulating butterfly valves, and other regulation elements.
• the valves enable to regulate air quantity to dispersers (diffusers) either manually or with the help of solenoid magnet.
• the solenoid magnet can use the electric signals from sensor(s) of dissolved oxygen level.
• the BC3D can be installed onto the actual bottom of the bioreactor (floor-mounted device), and can be supported by the bioreactor walls or other parts (linkage.mounted method).
• the BC3D can be provided with a means for adjusting the unit in accordance with the water. level.
• special faceplates are assembled, close the front and rear clearance spaces, such as between the outer BC3D walls and the reactor's walls.
• the water flow may be also regulated by flow.
• Two or more bio-clusters can be installed in consecutive order in a bioreactor corridor, arranged suitably to allow the desired water flow.
• the vertical surfaces of the bio- cluster serve mainly for binding (fixing) bacteria and microorganisms, and utilizing their metabolism for removing various organic and inorganic impurities.
• the horizontal surfaces of the bio-clyster serve mainly as breakers and disperser of fine bubbles to micro.fine and ultra-fine bubbles. Dispersers are situated on horizontal levels of the BC3D, advantageously as a part of the framework.
• the fabric weaving parameters, and its density are predetermined by the process needs.
• the connections between vertical and horizontal parts of the bio-cluster, the seams also serve for further strengthening of the whole 3D structure of the BC3D, providing sufficient stability for long-term purification operations under the desired contamination levels.
• the performance specifications and compositions of the yarns and threads used for weaving (or knitting) the bio-cluster fabric elements may be modified in accordance with the process requirements.
• the yarns density in the vertical parts of the bio-cluster is higher than the density of the horizontal parts; as an example, in one case of the BC3D the yarn count was 448 threads per 10 cm of vertical fabric and 64 threads per 10 cm of horizontal fabric.
• a system and a device for purification of wastewater comprise a first fabric material, firmly attached and spaced at regular intervals throughout the height of the rigid framework of a device, forming the set of planes which are horizontally positioned, and a second fabric material firmly attached to the first fabric and arranged in vertical planes, said first fabric material breaks and disperses bubbles from aerators, and said second fabric material being denser than the first one and comprising texturized voluminous yarn, and serving as a carrier for growing biomass, the two fabric materials forming a stable three-dimensional network essentially uniformly filling the unit.
• the invention thus preferably employs two different fabric types, crosslinked and essentially independent on the water flow.
• the inventors addressed technical problems encountered in their previous work in the same field; one of the issues, for example, was structural dependence of the fabric on the flow velocity, and the three dimensional crosslinked network of the invention solved the problems and brought additional advantages, including the possibility of independently managing the biomass growth capacity and the bubble dispersion ability by independently choosing two types of fabrics arranged in two perpendicular sets of planes, their surface divided in a cluster of rectangular fabric elements arranged in a stable three-dimensional network filling the reactor volume.
• the woven planes according to the invention located one above the other in a plurality of levels, also enable to organize oxygen transfer between the planes, so that required values are attained throughout the whole unit volume.
• each level of woven horizontal planes may have a different density (surface weight in g/m 2 ) and fabric porosity to provide the required bubble breaking intensity.
• Lower horizontal planes may comprise woven or knit fabric with a lower surface weight than the upper ones, for example continually, or according to a predetermined rule, increasing the surface weight along the levels toward the higher ones.
• Such arrangement in fact provides a multilevel disperser of air bubbles rising from the bottom diffuser.
• the type of fabric including the chemical composition and the yarn structure, may be selected according to the biological demands and the mechanical demands.
• the surface weight of the vertically arranged warp threads and of the horizontal layers may differ at each rectangular cluster.
• such an integrated disperser comprises a vertical gradient of fabric density, namely the fabric surface weight of the horizontal layers increases from a lower to greater thread count, allowing dispersing the bubbles of air, from coarse in the lower layers to fine in the higher levels, including micro-fine to ultra-fine bubbles in the upper layers of the multilayer cluster.
• the invention may provide a possibly mobile compact unit, enabling a multi-stage biological treatment capable of operating by itself or in a series of units.
• FIG. 1 shows a scheme of a three-dimensional fabric structure for a water purification unit according to the invention.
• Multifilament threads of the vertical fabric elements (1) connect horizontal fabric elements (2) with an adjacent fabric plane situated above (not shown); vertical elements (5) connect equidistantly situated horizontal fabric planes (4) and (2), and other planes below (not shown).
• Fabric elements (1) and (2), essentially perpendicular, may be connected by sewing their fabric, forming a seam (3).
• the three-dimensional fabric structure comprises essentially planar elements situated in two perpendicular sets of planes, one set being horizontal during the purification process, and the other essentially facing the liquid flow.
• the fabric is arranged as a cluster of textile planar elements suitable as biological carriers for bacterial growth (bio-cluster), the cluster essentially filling the whole space of a purification unit (bio-cluster in three dimensions or BC3D), the volume of the unit is defined by a solid framework.
• the framework usually comprises steel edges defining a rectangular parallelepiped, for example 2x3x3m 3 or 3x3x2m 3 , for example such as seen in Fig. 2 or Fig. 3.
• the three- dimensional bio-cluster may be woven and sewed to fit to a certain framework, but outside the framework and late placed into the framework and attached to the solid skeleton of the framework.
• Ready-to-work fabric structure comprises a plurality of horizontal fabric layers, preferably equidistantly situated, between 10 and 80 cm apart, such as 40 cm, and a plurality of vertical fabric elements, arranged equidistantly from each other, possibly in a set of vertical planes, between 10 and 80 cm apart, such as 40 cm.
• the arrangement is schematically shown in Fig. 4 and Fig. 6A.
• the vertical fabric elements are woven more densely than the horizontal ones.
• Multifilament fibers used for weaving the structure may comprise any strong and stable polymer, including polyester or polyamide, polycaprolactam or capron cord.
• the density of the multifilament fiber may be, for example, 144 ⁇ * 2, or 187 ⁇ * 2, or ⁇ 250 ⁇ * 2, depending on the concentration of the pollution entering the bioreactor.
• the quantity of the multifilaments which form the thread is preferably not less than 140.
• the textile bio-cluster filling the three-dimensional unit may be constructed in-situ inside a solid framework.
• Several rectangular fabric pieces (2) may be woven and attached to the edges of a solid framework (1) as shown in Fig. 5.
• the fabric density may be, for example, 200 g/m 2 .
• the distance (H) between the horizontally oriented sheets may be, for example, 1/3 or to 1/5 of the bio- cluster overall height.
• Vertical fabric elements are woven to fit between the horizontal planes and are attached into the parallelepiped unit in a predetermined amount.
• the width (W) of said bio-cluster may be for example 2m, length 3m, and height 1.5m.
• Said horizontally.oriented sheets and the vertically-aligned elements may be fixed to the bars (8) as shown in Fig. 2, by means of a hooks or plastic bands. To avoid snarling of the threads during the work vibrations, the distance between the vertical elements should be preferably greater than 7-8 cm.
• the framework (9) and (6) in Fig. 2 also comprises parts of the air supply, such as dispersers 7 in Fig. 2 or 15 in Fig. 3.
• the dispersers also strengthen the whole structure of the BC3D unit (all-in-one-piece). This technical solution simplifies the installation, possibly enabling to deal with one- cartridge unit, or several simple parts comprising a framework, inner fabric structure, and aeration auxiliaries.
• BC3D may be installed, for example, on the bottom of a bioreactor or in a wastewater flow corridor.
• special directing members may be assembled on the framework.
• faceplates 10 in Fig. 4 close the front and rear clearance space between the outer framework surface and the corridor or bioreactor side walls.
• Faceplates 10 may be made of polymers and /or metals.
• Said directing members may comprise flow-diverting devices, such as (11) in Fig. 4, Fig. 6A and Fig. 6B.
• Two or more bio-clusters may be installed in series. In consecutive BC3D units, the microbial successions are adjusted to the actual compositions of the passing liquid.
• BC3D a bio-cluster unit according to the invention
• the efficiency of BC3D was tested in a bioreactor system having a capacity of 150 m 3 per day, comprising and six treatment sections. Uniform mass transfer to the fabric surfaces of the BC3D was observed, with good access of both the pollutants and oxygen along the whole BC3D surface.
• the quantity of immobilized biomass (biofilm) in the BC3D of the first section of the bioreactor was 23 g/1 or 97 g/m 2 of the fabric.
• the oxygen transfer efficiency in that case amounted to 4 kg/kW-h, by contrast with air-lift aerators and fine-bubble aeration which provided not more than 2 kg/kW-h to 2.7 kg/kW-h.
• the dissolved oxygen level did not differ more than by 3 - 5%, confirming high efficiency of the apparatus.
• the yield of surplus sludge was less than 3 mg/1, meeting the strict requirements for TSS being less than 10 - 15 mg/1.
• the electricity consumption had been reduced by 25% - 30% through the effective mass-transfer.
• the air supply saving was 80 m 3 - 85 m 3 (30% of all air supplied to bioreactor).
• Effective surface of fabric is 256m 2 /m 3 .
• o COD inflow average value 800 mg/L.
• the minimum rate of carbon oxidation in the bio- cluster is 11.5 mg COD per hour per gram of biomass (for sewage purification without biomass cumulative gain).
• bio-cluster three-dimensional structure of the invention is denoted here also as Multilayer Inert Carrier, or MIT.

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