Abstract:
A system and process for removing contaminants from wastewater where the wastewater is treated into a cleaned water that can be reused or discharged into the environment. The wastewater is transported through purification sections, depending on the system including several of the following: pre-treatment via screening and weirs to remove debris and certain heavy solids; a second pretreatment via a sump; strainer; conductivity solution injection system and electrolytic coagulation system; polymer injection system; inline mixers for mixing the polymer in the wastewater stream; retention tubes for providing residence time for the polymer to react in the wastewater stream; a multi-stage separation system comprised of a plurality of water separation compartments for consecutively separating contaminants from the wastewater stream by removing contaminants that float and heavy contaminants that settle to the bottom; and an ozone treatment system. Except for the pretreatment sections, each of the treatment sections are contained within an enclosure cabinet that includes controller and control panels as well and feed containers for the conductivity fluid and polymer.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATION DATA 
     This application claims priority to provisional application No. 60/906,664 filed Mar. 12, 2007 hereby incorporated by reference. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     The field of the present disclosure is directed to wash fluid containment and fluid treatment systems such as used for treating and recycling fluids. 
     In certain environments there is a need to wash vehicles, trailers and various equipment. It is desirable to contain the wastewater fluids from washing activities and treat these fluids for recycling and reuse. 
     The present inventors have recognized various limitations in the prior systems and the desirability for an improved system. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a front top perspective view of a wash fluid containment and water treatment system according to a preferred embodiment. 
         FIG. 2  is a process diagram of the wash fluid containment and water treatment system of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  is a top plan view of the wash fluid containment and water treatment system of  FIG. 1  with the sump section positioned along a lateral side of the wash pad. 
         FIG. 3A  is a detailed view of the sludge separator of the system of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 4  perspective view of the water treatment system of  FIGS. 1-3  with certain panels removed to expose internal components. 
         FIG. 5  is schematic diagram of a preferred wash fluid treatment process for the wash fluid containment and water treatment system of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 6  is a front elevation view of the control panel of the water treatment system of  FIG. 1 . 
     
    
    
     Additional aspects and advantages will be apparent from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Preferred embodiments will now be described with reference to the drawings. To facilitate description, any element numeral representing an element in one figure will represent the same element in any other figure. 
       FIGS. 1-4  illustrate a combined system  10  for a wash water containment and water treatment system according to a preferred embodiment. The combined system  10  includes a wash pad  40 , a sump  30 , and a water treatment system  50 . A vehicle or other piece of equipment to be washed may be moved or driven onto the wash pad  40 . As the equipment is washed via the pressure washer  48 , wastewater is directed inwardly by the sloped surfaces of the wash pad sections  42 , collected via central trench  44 , and then transferred via a hose or pipe  38  to the sump  30 . The sump  30  comprises a sludge tank/separator  32  and a trench section  34  including a weir  35 . The wastewater entering the trench section  34  from the pipe  38  must pass over the weir  35  in the trench section  34  and thereafter enters the treatment system  50  via hose  22 . The trench section  34  of the sump  30  has a hinged cover  34   a  that may be pivoted open to provide access to the inside enabling removal of debris/solids collected by the weir. Recycled/treated water from the system  50  is returned to the wash pad area via line  92  for use by the pressure washer  48 . Sludge waste from the treatment system  50  is purged into the tank  32  via hose  24 . The tank  32  filters/separates the sludge waste from the water, the water passing through and into the sump trench  34 . The sludge waste may be manually removed from the tank  32 . 
     The water treatment system  50  includes an enclosure or cabinet  52  that houses/encloses the various system components. The cabinet  52  is drawn generally to scale to itself but at a slightly enlarged scale relative to the wash pad. The size dimensions for the cabinet  52  are illustrated in  FIG. 1 , namely 92 inches (230 cm) long by 40 inches (100 cm) wide by 58 inches (150 cm) high, these dimensions constituting a preferred size of cabinet. The cabinet  52  includes: removable upper doors  58 ,  59 ; removable side panels  54   a ,  54   b  (two side panels on each lateral side); hinged front doors  53   a ,  53   b ; and removable rear panel. The water treatment system  50  and cabinet  52  enclosing the system are sized to be movable, such as by a forklift, the system having a capacity for treating wastewater from a wash pad sized for washing vehicles such as automobiles or pickups and various rental equipment. 
     Further details of the wash pad  40  are described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/032,562 filed Feb. 15, 2008 hereby incorporated by reference. In a preferred configuration, the trench  44  is reversible. Depending on the orientation of the trench  44 , wastewater may be drained either forwardly or rearwardly for connection to the sump hose  38 .  FIGS. 1-3  illustrates the trench  44  oriented for drainage in the rearward direction connected by the pipe  38  to the sump  30 . 
     The wash pad assembly  40  may also include an integrated pressure washer system comprised of a hose reel and housing assembly  46  and pressure washer assembly  48 . The pressure washer assembly  48  includes a trigger valve mechanism, a wand and nozzle attached to a water source by a hose  48   a . The hose  48   a  is wound onto a hose reel that is disposed within the hose reel housing  46 . The hose reel housing  46  may be located either on the right side of the wash pad (as shown in  FIG. 1 ) or on the left side (as shown in  FIGS. 2-3 ). 
     A grating  44   a  is installed over the trench  44  between the left and right wash pad sections  42 . The grating  44   a  has perforations for allowing the water flowing downward from the wash pad sections  42  to pass therethrough and into the trench  44 . The perforations are preferably of a desired size large enough to allow for passage of the water into trench  44 , but small enough to prevent passage of larger size debris. Such debris may then be removed from the pad by sweeping or other manual collection. Under the grating  44   a , the trench  44  includes two weirs and a screen (not shown) disposed near the exit end of the trench  44  such that water must pass over the weirs and through the screen whereby some debris and heavy solids are inhibited from reaching the exit pipe  38 . 
     The wastewater from the trench  44  then passes via pipe  38  to the sump  30 . The sump  30  comprises a sludge separator  32  and a holding tank  33  including a weir (not shown). The wastewater from pipe  38  must pass over the weir in the holding tank  33 , the weir capturing certain debris and heavy solids, and the wastewater thereafter is transferred to the treatment system  50  via hose  22 . Recycled/treated water from the treatment system  50  is returned to the wash pad area for use by the pressure washer assembly  48 . Sludge waste from the treatment system  50  is purged into the sludge separator  32  via hose  24  through fitting  24   a . The sludge separator  32  includes an outer tank  32   a  with a top lid  32   b . Inside the tank  32   a  is a bucket-shaped filter screen  32   c  that filters/separates the sludge waste and other particulates from the water, the water passing through the filter and into the holding tank  33 . A fabric filter  32   d  is disposed in the filter screen  32   c  to provide enhanced particle removal. The sludge waste (which may be referred to as solids) may be manually removed from both the holding tank  33  and the filter screen  32   c . The fabric filter  32   d  is typically a disposable element. 
     Thus even before reaching the water treatment system  50 , the wastewater has undergone three processes for removing debris and solids namely: (a) grating  44   a , (b) the trench  44  (via the weirs and screen) and (c) the sump  30 . 
     Details of the water treatment process will now be described with particular reference the perspective view of the water treatment system of  FIG. 4 , the schematic diagram of  FIG. 5 , and the process diagram of  FIG. 2 . Wastewater in the holding tank  33  is pumped via pump  112  into the treatment system via piping  22 . A level switch  33   a  is disposed within the holding tank  33  providing a signal to a controller pertaining to the water level within the holding tank  33 . Operation of the sump pump  112  is controlled by a switch  146 . The switch  146  is manually actuated between the ON and OFF positions, and in the ON position during normal operation with a controller controlling the operation of the sump pump  112  depending upon the output of level sensor  33   a  in the sump tank  33 . Just upstream of the pump  112  is disposed an in-line internal strainer, acting much like a pool filter for protecting the pump  112  by preventing large particles from entering the pump inlet. In operation, while the sump pump  112  is pumping water from the holding tank  33  to the electrolytic cell  114 , a metering pump  142  injects a conductivity solution from vessel  140  via injector  144 . Backflow of fluids toward the holding tank  33  is prevented by a one-way check valve  110  disposed in the piping  22  upstream of injection point of injector  144 . The conductivity fluid is essentially a salt brine designed to assist in the electrolytic process at the electrolytic cells  114 . A suitable conductivity solution is made by mixing a salt in water. The electrolytic cell  114  is powered by power supply  113   a  passing a current across the cells resulting in flocculation and coagulation in the waste water. A suitable electrolytic cell  114  is constructed of multiple individual cell plates. The conductivity metering pump  142  is controlled by an on-off switch providing a desired amount of conductivity fluid to the system and in response to a sensor control. The current flow provided by the power supply  113   a  to the electrolytic cell  114  may be manually controlled or automatically controlled to provide electrical current to the water stream at the electrolytic cell  114 . 
     After passing through the electrolytic cell  114 , the wastewater enters a mixer  118  which is preferably one or more in-line static mixers. A suitable static mixer is the series  50  mixer available for TAH Industries Inc., Robbinsville N.J. A second metering pump  132  injects a polymer solution from vessel  130  via injector  134  into the water line between the electrolytic cell  114  and the static mixer  118 . In its preferred form, the polymer solution is an organic long-chain high molecular weight emulsion flocculent designed to enhance conglomeration, i.e., enlarge the impurity particles to facilitate removal of particles later in the process. One preferred polymer is the NALCLEAR 7763 polymer flocculent available from Nalco Chemical Products of Naperville, Ill. The actual polymer solution selected will depend upon various factors including the input flow and the expected system impurities being treated by the water treatment system. After passing through the in-line mixer  118 , the wastewater is passed through retention tubes  120 ,  122 . This portion of the treatment system is a continuous flow system and the retention tubes  120 ,  122  are intended to provide sufficient residency and development time (reaction time) for the electro-coagulation and polymer flocculation to operate on the wastewater. 
     Upon leaving the retention tube  122 , the wastewater proceeds via piping  61  into the water tank having three water compartments  60 ,  70 ,  80  arranged in a side-by-side, consecutive arrangement disposed within the cabinet  52 . Pipe  61  enters the first water compartment  60  and is directed into a swirling cone mixer  62 , the cone mixer  62  is a cone-shaped sub-compartment preferable disposed in the first water compartment  60  (for space efficiency reasons but could be located elsewhere). Wastewater entering via the pipe  61  is directed in a centrifugal motion around the cone mixer  62  (due to the cone shape and the tangential inlet direction of the inlet stream from the pipe  61 ) to create a swirling motion for the water flow. Some of the flocculated material is heavier than the remaining water and passes downward out through the bottom opening of the cone  62  and to the bottom of the first stage water compartment  60 . Flocculation material and certain oils that are lighter than the remaining wastewater float to the surface of the first water compartment  60 , is removed via oil skimmer or funnel  64 , and purged out via piping  66  for recirculation to the sludge separator  32 . As shown in  FIG. 4 , the cone mixer  62  is supported by a bracket  63  between the side walls of the tank compartment  60 . 
     Wastewater from the first water compartment  60  passes through an opening  68  in tank divider  60   a  and then passes laterally through pipe  72  into the second water compartment  70 . The opening  78  is at a mid-level position within the tanks. Heavy particles pass to the bottom of the tank  60  and are purged out through opening  69  into purge pipe  24 , while lighter particles floating to the top of the tank are purged out through funnel  64  and purge pipe  66 . It is intended that the wastewater at the mid-level of the tank  60  passing through the opening  78  would have the fewest particles. The pipe  72  provides a tortuous path for the “cleaned” wastewater (cleaned wastewater meaning somewhat cleaner wastewater due to the removal of certain particulates, etc. in the first water compartment  60 ) exiting the first water compartment  60  and entering the second water compartment  70  for further enhancing particle removal. Once in the second water compartment  70 , the wastewater is provided with a relatively long residency time to allow for heavier particles and flocculation to settle down into the bottom of the compartment and be purged out of opening  79  into the recycle line  24 . Exit pipe  74  is also positioned at mid-level within the tank compartment  70  and has an opening at an opposite side of the tank  70  from the inlet of the pipe  72 . Thus the “cleaned” wastewater enters the tank  70  at one lateral side but must exit at the other lateral side. Similar to pipe  72 , the pipe  74  provides a tortuous path for the water to pass from compartment  70  out through opening  78  and into the third tank compartment  80 . Any heavy particles or heavy flocculation is purged out through the bottom opening  89  into recycle line  24 . The flow of sludge water through recycle line  24  is controlled by a control valve  88  and passed to the holding tank  32  and the sludge separator  30 . One-way check valves are provided below opening  79  and  89  to prevent backflow of sludge water into the tank  70 ,  80 . 
     The cleaned wastewater within the third water compartment  80  is recirculated out from the tank via line  92  by pump  152  and through an ozone generator  156 , thereby neutralizing bacteria within the water. The ozone pump  152  is controlled via manual switch  154  as permitted by level switch  159  on the tank compartment  80 . 
     At the conclusion of these steps, the water within the tank compartment  80  is recyclable clean water and is pumped out by pump  90  via line  91  for reuse by pressure washer  48 . 
     Since there is some water loss within the system, a fresh water line  158  is controlled by control valve  158   a  and level switch  157  allows additional water to be injected into the tank compartment  80 . 
     A space heater  170 , preferably controlled by a thermostat, is provided within the cabinet structure to provide a desired internal temperature in cold weather climates. 
     The treatment system  50  is provided with a control panel  165  located behind the doors  53   a ,  53   b . Control panel  165  includes various controllers and gauges for the system, including the sump pump switch  146 , the ozone system switch  154 , the tank purge switch  167 , and the electrolytic cell check light  169 . When the sump pump  112  is running, the amperage gauge  172  will normally have an expected reading. For example, the operator may make the necessary adjustments on the amperage potentiometer  113  to provide a desired amperage reading on the gauge  172  corresponding to the electrolytic cell  114 . The control panel  165  also includes a cell voltage gauge  174  to visually monitor cell condition, a cell check light  169  to visually identify cell depletion, a voltage light  178  to show that electrical is connected, and a run-time meter  176  to indicate hours of run time for electric cell. The pressure washer is preferably provided with a time-delay shutdown mechanism that turns off the pressure washer if too much time has elapsed since the trigger gun was activated, such as when the operator walks away without turning it off. 
     An example operation at first use by the following steps may comprise the steps of: 
     Adding a five-gallon container  130  with the polymer solution, inserting pump tubing into the container and setting a control dial on the pump  132  to a desired position; 
     Mixing the desired conductivity fluid solution within the tank  140 , inserting pump tubing into the tank  140  and setting the controller on the pump  142  to the desired position; 
     Connecting electrical power to the control panel  165 ; 
     Connecting fresh water supply  100  to connection  102  wherein control valve  158   a  will cause compartments  80 ,  70 , and  60  to automatically fill to proper levels; 
     Priming the sump pump  112  as needed by connecting freshwater  100  to connection  102   a;    
     Turning on the various systems from the control panel  165 , including the sump pump switch  146 , the ozone system switch  154 , the conductivity solution pump  142  and the polymer pump  132 . 
     Though the present invention has been set forth in the form of its preferred embodiments, it is nevertheless intended that modifications to the disclosed systems and methods may be made without departing from inventive concepts set forth herein.