Patent ID: 7060186

Claim:
A batch process for treating wastewater in a wastewater treatment system employing anaerobic and aerobic zone reaction vessels under elevated pressure comprising steps of: (a) introducing an amount of processed activated sludge material from a source of stored activated sludge into an anaerobic zone of a wastewater treatment system; (b) introducing a batch of wastewater to be processed from an inlet supply charge system into the wastewater treatment system including into one or more aerobic zones to provide a charged system; (c) closing the inlet supply and pressurizing the charged system by introducing ambient air at high pressure and continuously infusing air and circulating material being treated among anaerobic and aerobic zones as a multiphase bubble flow, and venting an amount of circulated air of reduced oxygen content through a vapor release system thereby controlling system pressure and wherein said material being treated is circulated through said one or more aerobic zones and periodically further circulated through one or more anaerobic zones; (d) after said material being treated is processed reducing pressure throughout said water treatment system, over a timed interval through said vapor release system; and (e) discharging said batch of wastewater as a treated batch to an effluent storage system for separation of treated water and sludge.