Patent EA-001562-B1 (EA)
Title: Bioreactor
Inventor: SCHENK WOLFGANG
IPC: C02F3/10
Filed: 1997-08-16
Abstract: 1. A bioreactor for treating water loaded with organic substances, in particular from car washes, wherein the reactor vessel has a fixed bed consisting of a porous supporting material capable of adsorbing the organic ingredients of the wastewater and colonized with microorganisms known in the art which degrade the organic ingredients of the water, characterized in that the fixed bed (48) is located on a permeable support (47), a water collecting chamber (46) is provided below the fixed bed upstream of the outlet (26) for treated water, the outlet (26) being at the same time formed as a backwash inlet, and an inlet (24) and a backwash outlet (28) are provided above the fixed bed (48) and by a return pipe (19) with an inserted air injector (10) for recycling clean water saturated with air into the bioreactor (8). 2. The bioreactor of claim 1, characterized in that the permeable support (47) consists of screen gauze. 3. The bioreactor of any of the above claims, characterized in that the inlet (24) and/or the outlet (26) are formed as distributing manifolds. 4. The bioreactor of any of the above claims, characterized by a run-dry protection in the bioreactor (8). 5. The bioreactor of claim 5, characterized by a level control controlled via control lines (S) and having switching points for the minimum and maximum water levels in accordance with the particular operating condition. 6. The bioreactor of any of the above claims, characterized in that the backwash outlet (28) is formed as an overflow disposed in the middle of the bioreactor (8) and tapering upward. 7. The bioreactor of any of the above claims, characterized in that the porous supporting material is present as bulk material. 8. The bioreactor of claim 8, characterized in that the porous supporting materi al consists of coal, clay, silicagel or zeolites in pelletized form or of plastic foam flakes. 9. The bioreactor of any of the above claims, characterized in that the porous supporting material consists of activated carbon or foamed clay with a grain size of 1 to 10 mm, a density of 0.40 to 1.0 cm<3>/g and a surface ~ 500 m<2>. 10. The bioreactor of any of the above claims, characterized by pressure measuring units (40) downstream of the bioreactor (8). 11. The bioreactor of any of the above claims, characterized by a horizontal projection of the reactor vessel (8) which is constructionally given in one areal dimension (52, 53), the other areal dimensions (54, 56) of its horizontal projection being adapted with consideration of the vessel height (H) to a vessel volume which corresponds to the module (50, 51) of a modular system corresponding to a constructionally given capacity of the treatment plant through multiplication of the vessels (50, 51). 12. The bioreactor of any of the above claims, characterized in that the vessel horizontal projection is rectangular to square. 13. The bioreactor of one or more of the previous claims, characterized in that the vessel has flat rising walls (57 to 60) and a flat bottom which are made of a thermoplastic resin and interconnected in material-locking fashion, for example welded, at their mutually associated edges (63). 14. The bioreactor of any of the above claims, characterized in that the thermoplastic resin used is a high-pressure polyethylene (HP-PE). 15. The bioreactor of any of the above claims,characterized in that a common base frame is provided for holding several vessels of the modular system together. 16. The bioreactor of any of the above claims, characterized in that the constructionally given areal dimension is the width of a 80 cm doorway forming the access to an installation room of the treatment plant.