Patent ID: 8617400

Claim:
A method of treating wastewater including: a. measuring a concentration of pollutants in the wastewater to form a measurement of pollutants in the water; b. directing the wastewater to a ballasted flocculation system; c. forming a sludge-ballast mixture in the ballasted flocculation system; d. separating ballast from the sludge-ballast mixture and recirculating the separated ballast into the ballasted flocculation system; e. determining, utilizing the measurement of pollutants in the wastewater, a ballast concentration level that is required in the system to produce a treated water of a predetermined quality; f. measuring the ballast concentration level in the ballasted flocculation system; g. when the ballast concentration level is less than the required ballast concentration level, calculating an additional amount of ballast required to be added to the system in order to increase the ballast concentration in the system to the required level; and injecting the required additional amount of ballast into the system and h. wherein the additional amount of ballast injected into the ballasted flocculation system is in addition to the recirculated ballast directed back to the ballasted flocculation system.