Patent ID: 6200470
Filing Date: 2001-03-13
Classification: B01D,C02F,Y02W

Abstract:
A wastewater treatment apparatus, suitable for sub soil installation, comprising:(a) a liquid sealed vessel having a substantially horizontal floor, a substantially vertical first end wall, a substantially vertical second end wall, substantially vertical left and right sidewalls, and a substantially horizontal top;(b) a first deflection wall having a flow passageway therethrough and a top, the first deflection wall being positioned within the vessel, where the first deflection wall sealingly extends along said floor of said vessel and upwardly along said left and right side walls of said vessel to a point at which the top of said first deflection wall is in close proximity to the top of said vessel;(c) a first aeration chamber within said vessel between said first end wall and said first deflection wall;(d) a second deflection wall having a top and a bottom, the second deflection wall being positioned within said vessel between said first deflection wall and said second end wall, where said second deflection wall sealingly extends along said left and right side walls of said vessel to a point at which the top of said second deflection wall is in close proximity to the top of said vessel, creating an air passage between the top of said second deflection wall and the top of said vessel, and the bottom of said second deflection wall is in close proximity to the floor of said vessel, creating a flow passageway between the bottom of said second deflection wall and the floor of said vessel;(e) a second aeration chamber within said vessel between said first deflection wall and said second deflection wall;(f) a clarifier chamber within said vessel between said second deflection wall and said second end wall;(g) an influent line extending into said vessel through an upper part of said first end wall;(h) an effluent line extending into said vessel through an upper part of said second end wall;(i) a pipe tee connected to said effluent line within said vessel;(j) a weir-tee flow divider extending downwardly from said pipe tee, the weir-tee flow divider comprising an open bottom, an outer surface, and a cross-sectional area the weir-tee flow divider further comprising a plurality of thin plates sealably disposed through a portion of said outer surface so as to block a portion of said cross-sectional area, the thin plates positioned at a downward angle through said outer surface, the weir-tee flow divider further comprising openings through said outer surface adjacently below each of said plurality of thin plates, where said openings provide return passages into the clarifier chamber so that substantially all of the suspended solids entering said weir-tee flow divider are directed through said openings and returned to the clarifier chamber and second aeration chamber for further biodegradation;(k) an air supply line having a first outlet disposed in said first aeration chamber and a second outlet disposed in said second aeration chamber, said air supply line supplied with pressurized air from a remote source;(l) a first generally planar inclined surface for directing settling solids in said clarifier chamber back through said flow passageways in said second deflection wall, the first inclined surface extending transversely to the left and right side walls of said vessel, and having(1) a lower portion which intersects said floor of said vessel within said second aeration chamber, and(2) an upper portion which intersects said second end wall, whereby the settling solids in said clarifier chamber are directed back into said aeration chamber wherein the settling solids are subjected to further biodegradation;(m) a second and third generally planar inclined surfaces forming a centrally positioned wedge shaped structure extending longitudinally between said second deflection wall and said first inclined surface, said second and third inclined surfaces having a lower portion which intersects the floor of said vessel at a line contiguous with the interiorly disposed edges of the flow passages in said second deflection wall.