Patent ID: 6454949
Filing Date: 2002-09-24
Classification: C02F,Y10S

Abstract:
A method for treating wastewater containing metals in solution, comprising:measuring the flow rate of the wastewater as it is fed into a first treatment tank; measuring the oxidation reduction potential of the wastewater; adjusting the pH of the wastewater to a level within a range of pH 8.5 to pH 10.2; mixing a first liquid elixir and a second liquid elixir into the wastewater, wherein said first elixir consists essentially of a mixture of water, ferrous sulfate, aluminum sulfate, a sulfuric acid solution, and a solution of an aluminum salt and a cationic polyelectrolyte coagulant; wherein the first liquid elixir is added to react with at least one metal in the wastewater to cause it to either precipitate out of solution, or convert into a form that will allow it to be precipitated out of solution by the second liquid elixir, and to bond with the metal to prevent it from re-dissolving back into solution, wherein the quantity of the first liquid elixir added to the wastewater is determined based at least in part upon the oxidation reduction potential of the wastewater and further based at least in part upon the flow rate of the wastewater; and wherein the second liquid elixir is added to react with at least one metal in the wastewater to cause it to precipitate out of solution, and to bond with the metal to prevent it from re-dissolving back into solution, wherein the quantity of the second liquid elixir added to the wastewater is determined based at least in part upon the quantity of the first liquid elixir added to the wastewater.