Patent ID: RE39203

Claim:
In an aerobic wastewater treatment plant comprising: a vessel defining an aeration chamber and having a substantially flat bottom wall and a substantially cylindrical side wall, said aeration chamber containing aerobic bacteria into which wastewater containing organic solids flows to be exposed to aerobic bacteria to convert aerobically digest the organic solids in the wastewater to water and CO 2 , said aeration chamber having a bottom and side walls , means for injecting an oxygenation gas into the wastewater an aeration system in the aeration chamber to support growth of the aerobic bacteria, and a clarifier chamber formed in said vessel and into which wastewater from the aeration chamber flows upwardly toward an outlet pipe through which the wastewater flows from the wastewater treatment plant, said clarifier chamber being defined by a partition in the form of an inverted, truncated cone into the bottom of which the wastewater flows from the aeration chamber, the improvement comprising a diffuser for releasing the oxygenation gas as bubbles into the wherein said aeration chamber of the wastewater treatment plant, said diffuser providing system forms an aeration area adjacent the intersection of the bottom and side wall of the vessel and provides sufficient flow such that all solids suspended within the plant are forced into circulation, said diffuser being placed close to the bottom of the aeration chamber of the wastewater treatment plant and close to the side wall of the aeration chamber, said diffuser aeration system providing sufficient oxygenation gas to allow the aerobic bacteria to convert digest the organic solids in the wastewater into CO 2 and water and a current pattern having at least one first component flowing upwardly in a direction perpendicular to the bottom wall of the vessel and adjacent to the side wall of the vessel, second and third components that flow in opposite directions around the partition which defines the clarifier chamber, a fourth component that flows along said side wall opposite said first component to the bottom, a fifth component that flows across the bottom under the opening to the clarifier chamber, and sixth and seventh components that flow in opposite directions adjacent the bottom wall of the vessel, said current pattern being such that wastewater in said clarifier chamber remains largely undisturbed .