Method of Purifying Liquids, more particularly Sewage and Waste Water, and Apparatus appertaining thereto.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 14th Aug., 1891-Accepted, 19th Sept., 1891
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Method of Purifying Liquids, more particularly Sewage and Waste
Water, and Apparatus appertaining thereto.
I, AUGUST MYLIUS, Dr. Med. of Berlin in the German Empire, Königgrätzer-
strasse 101, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement :-
The methods and apparatus employed up to now for purifying and sterilizing
liquids, effect a certain clarification and partial purification of the same; it is how-
ever not possible to eliminate the injurious nitrogen to any noticeable extent nor
to destroy the micro-organisms existing therein; as for instance in the case of
sewage.
The method forming the object of the present invention and the apparatus
employed in carrying out the same have for their object, a thorough purification of
the sewage or waste water, the elimination of the nitrogen contained therein, and
complete sterilization of such waste water by destroying the micro-organisms con-
tained in the same.
"
In order to make the invention more clear reference is had to the accompanying
drawings in which similar letters denote similar parts throughout the several
views,
Fig. 1 being a vertical section through an apparatus for treating sewage or waste
water for purification and elimination of the nitrogen of the same,
Fig. 2 a longitudinal section through the apparatus,
Fig. 3 a plan and
Fig. 4 a horizontal section through the same.
The waste water, having been clarified in the well known manner with lime milk,
is conducted by the pipe m into the gutter shaped receptacle A which latter is
arranged in a perfectly air tight exterior vessel K which may be exhausted by
means of the pipe connection L.
The water level in the exterior vessel may be determined by means of a gauge.
The quantity of waste water let into the apparatus is regulated by a valve or other
suitable device on the inlet pipe, so that the liquid in the gutter shaped trough A
may not overflow. The trough A is provided with branch troughs a a' a' a... in all
of which the waste water stands at an equal level.. Cloths of suitable
capillary material are arranged in these troughs in such manner as to allow the
short ends of the same to reach to about the bottom of the troughs, whilst the
other ends extend to the bottom of the exterior vessel K. The waste water rises
by capillary attraction from the troughs a a¹ a' a³ into the cloths 11³ and drips
down the same collecting at the bottom of the vessel K, whence it may be let or
pumped off according to the circumstances of the case.
A second trough system B is arranged in the interior vessel K having its branch
troughsssss extending between and alternating with the branches of the
system A, said system B being advantageously constructed of lead. By means of
the inlet pipe n diluted sulphuric acid is fed into the trough B in certain regulated
quantities, and is distributed over the trough systems arranged between the
branches a a' a' a' of the waste water trough system A. The sulphuric acid is in
similar manner conducted out of the troughs ss ss by means of suitable capillary
cloths PP p advantageously of asbestos, into a system of troughs U, uu¹u
arranged at or near the bottom of the exterior vessel K, whence the acid may be
let or sucked off from the end trough U by means of an outlet tube provided with
suitable cock h¹. In consequence of the high vacuum in the vessel K and the
extensive superficial area of the cloths PP..., the former will soon become filled

page_text: with a quantity of wastewater and ammonia vapour corresponding to the pressure
in the vessel. The sulphuric acid descending the cloths ppl p² ... a large super-
ficial area combines with the ammonia-gas: coming into contact with the cloths,
causing thus by a well known law a further generation of ammonia vapour by
the waste water. Thus in a short time the waste water is freed from the most of
its ammonia, the latter being obtained as a solution of sulphate of ammonia, which
may converted. into: solid.aminonia in the well known manner. The most advan-
tageous method of employing the apparatus is to arrange two or three apparatus K
-in a series, so that the first apparatus receives new waste water, and almost
'saturated sulphuric acid and the last one on the other hand waste water almost
freed from nitrogen; and fresh acid.
When required to purify large quantities of waste water, it is advantageous to
provide the trough system with fine perforations through which the waste water
may flow onto a gauze partition of wire or some other suitable material, and thence
in a finely divided state to the bottom of the apparatus.
I wish it to be clearly understood that I do not confine myself to the apparatus
herein particularly described and shown, reserving to myself the right of modifying
the same in any manner which may appear compatible with the practice and the
nature of this my invention as hereinafter claimed.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and the manner in which the same is to be performed. I declare that what I
claim is:
I
1. The treatment of waste water or liquids containing nitrogen or ammonia, for
'the purpose of combining the nitrogen; by exposing the same in finely divided
particles in a rarified space, to the action of correspondingly finely divided diluted
sulphuric acid substantially as described.
P
2. In the method claimed, finely dividing the liquid to be, treated and the diluted
sulphuric acid, by means of cloths 12 and pp² arranged as described in
trough systems a a¹ a² a³. . . or s §¹²
thus syphoning the liquids down to the
bottom of the apparatus by means of capillary attraction substantially as described.
3. The method of an apparatus for purifying sewage and waste water generally,
substantially as hereinbefore described and illustrated in the accompanying
drawings.
Dated this 14th day of August: 1891
W. P. THOMPSON &. BOULT, **
Agents for the Applicant.