Patent GB-1412662-A (GB)
Title: Apparatus for detoxicating effluent waters
IPC: B01D17/02
Filed: 1973-03-23
Abstract: 1412662 Effluent water detoxicating apparatus E B BURDON ENGS Ltd 23 March 1973 14282/73 Heading C1C Effluent waters, particularly industrial effluents such as those arising from electrolytic processes, pickling, brass dipping, metallurgical heat treatment processes and photographic processes, are detoxicated in an apparatus comprising a reaction chamber for reciving effluent, a floor in the chamber having at least one outlet for removing sludge, agitating means for the chamber contents, means for supplying one or more chosen reagents to the contents, means for extracting detoxicated effluent from at least two vertically spaced points in the reaction chamber, a filtering device arranged to receive sludge discharged from the sludge outlet, and an oil separator chamber in advance of the reaction chamber with an inlet and an outlet below the normal liquid level in the separator chamber, effluent flowing in through the inlet and out to the reaction chamber through the outlet, desirably at a position below the normal liquid level of the reaction chamber. The incorporation of the separator chamber is an improvement over the apparatus claimed in Specification 1,238,171. Preferably the reaction and separator chambers are constructed as an integral vessel and are separated by a dividing wall, and the separator chamber has, opposite to the dividing wall, an inlet wall having an inlet connection in an exterior face of the wall at a position upwardly spaced from the floor of the chamber and communicating means in an interior face of the inlet wall at a position downwardly spaced from the inlet connection, and an internal passage interconnecting the said communicating means and the said inlet connection which communicating means is extensive over substantially the whole width of the compartment so as to provide for a laminar flow of liquid into the separator chamber (see Specification 1,412,611). The communicating means may for example be in the form of at least one horizontal slot; it may take the form of a number of discreet openings which approximate to a continuous slot. The inlet wall may for example comprise interior and exterior plates which are separated to provide an internal space defining the said passage; in this ease the communicating means may be defined between a lower lip on the interior plate and the the chamber floor. Preferably the dividing wall comprises an outlet opening from the oil separator chamber which is similarly formed so as to provide for a lamina flow of liquid out of the separator chamber, and it is of advantage for the dividing wall to be hollow and include an interior passage which is vertically extensive and an inlet opening into the reaction chamber also designed for laminar flow entry of the liquid into the reaction chamber. A preferred form of dividing wall consists of three spaced vertical plates, the central plate being provided with communicating means at a level above the inlet and outlet openings and which is extensive over substantially the whole width of the vessel to provide for a laminar flow of liquid therethrough. Thus the communicating means in the central plate may be formed similarly to the other communicating means described above. The Figure in which the arrows show the direction of liquid flow, illustrates the above features and is largely self-explanatory.