Patent ID: 7037432

Claim:
A process for separating suspended material from a fluid in a system comprising a flocculation chamber, a flotation chamber, a buoyant media recovery unit and a recycling line, said process comprising: (a) adding at least one coagulant and/or at least one flocculant to said fluid in said flocculant chamber to form a mixed fluid; (b) adding buoyant media to the mixed fluid; (c) directing the mixed fluid to said flotation chamber and separating the suspended material and buoyant media from the mixed fluid by flotation resulting in floating sludge being formed in an upper portion of the flotation chamber and clarified fluid formed in a lower portion of the flotation chamber; (d) removing the floating sludge from the flotation chamber; (e) removing clarified fluid from the lower portion of the flotation chamber; (f) removing separated sludge from the solid buoyant media in said buoyant media recovery unit; and (g) recycling at least a portion of said solid buoyant media after separation in step (f), via said recycling line, to said flocculation chamber.