Patent ID: 8663478

Claim:
A method of treating water utilizing chemical treatment and ballasted flocculation to remove dissolved and suspended solids, the method comprising: a. mixing water in an oxidation reactor with hydrogen peroxide and a transition metal salt; b. reacting the hydrogen peroxide with the transition metal salt to yield hydroperoxyl radicals and reacting the hydroperoxyl radicals with the transition metal to yield metal oxides; c. adsorbing dissolved and suspended solids onto the metal oxides creating adsorbed solids in the water; d. contacting the water, suspended solids and adsorbed solids with a flocculant and a ballast including insoluble granular material, in a flocculation reactor, and yielding a mixture that includes ballasted floc where the ballasted floc comprises the insoluble granular material, metal oxides, and adsorbed solids; e. separating treated water from the ballasted floc by settling the ballasted floc in a settling tank where the ballasted floc forms a part of a sludge settled in a settling tank; f. transferring the sludge from the settling tank to a separation device and separating the sludge into a stream containing the ballast and relatively heavy solids and a sludge stream having relatively lighter solids including metal oxides; recycling at least a portion of the stream having the ballast and relatively heavy solids to the flocculation reactor and mixing the ballast and heavy solids with the water and the flocculant; and g. recycling the sludge stream having the relatively lighter solids including metal oxides to the oxidation reactor and mixing the relatively lighter solids including the metal oxides with the water, hydrogen peroxide and the transition metal salt in the oxidation reactor wherein the recycled metal oxides improves the kinetics of the oxidation reactions and generally reduces treatment time.