Patent ID: 6405580
Filing Date: 2002-06-18
Classification: G01N,Y10T

Abstract:
An apparatus for detecting and measuring foam in wastewater, comprising:a vertically positioned tubular column having an inner wall, said tubular column having first and second openings disposed within an upper portion of said tubular column; programmable logic control means for generating a plurality of control signals, said programmable logic control means enabling and controlling operation of said apparatus by generating said plurality of control signals; first valve means having an inlet for receiving a sample of said wastewater and an outlet port connected to the first opening of said tubular column, said first valve means, responsive to a first signal of said plurality of said control signals, opening to allow said wastewater to pass through the first opening of said tubular column and flow down the inner wall of said tubular column to a lower portion of said tubular column; air supply means, responsive to a second signal of said plurality of control signals, generating compressed air; second valve means having an inlet port connected to said air supply means to receive said compressed air, a first outlet port connected to the second opening of said tubular column and a second outlet port, said second valve means being activated by a third signal of said plurality of control signals; said second valve means diverting said compressed air through the first outlet port thereof and the second opening of said tubular column into said tubular column when said second valve means is deactivated, said valve means directing said compressed air through the second outlet port thereof when said second valve means is activated; an aeration stone positioned in the lower portion of said tubular column, said aeration stone having an inlet port connected to the second outlet port of said second valve means to receive said compressed air directed through the second outlet port of said second valve means; said aeration stone upon receiving said compressed air from said second valve means generating air bubbles within said wastewater causing a formation of said foam within said tubular column; third valve means having an inlet port connected to the lower portion of said tubular column and an outlet port, said third valve means, responsive to a fourth signal of said plurality of control signals, opening to allow said wastewater and said foam to drain from said tubular column; a spherical-shaped float positioned above the lower portion of said tubular column, said foam raising said spherical-shaped float in an upward direction within the upper portion said tubular column; measuring means positioned at the top of said tubular column, said measuring means generating ultrasonic waves, said measuring means measuring time of travel for said ultrasonic waves between said measuring means and said spherical-shaped float, said measuring means providing an analog signal which is a function of foam height within said tubular column; and optical sensing means for measuring a density of said foam within the upper portion of said tubular column, said optical sensing means providing a electrical signal representative of the density of said foam within the upper portion of said tubular column; said programmable logic control means simultaneously deactivating said second valve means and opening said third valve means diverting said compressed air from said aeration stone to the upper portion of said tubular column forcing said wastewater and said foam out of said tubular column through said third valve means.