Apparatus and method for treatment of liquids
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for treating aqueous waste material having a biochemical oxygen demand. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     An apparatus for treating aqueous waste material having a biochemical oxygen demand is described in U.S. Pat. application Ser. No. 874 700 filed on Feb. 2, 1978 and comprises a vessel for containing a volume of the material; means for continuously advancing a stream of the aqueous waste material through a passage in communication with a confined stilling zone of the vessel spaced above the bottom of the vessel; means for combining with the said stream a stream of aqueous liquor containing bacterial sludge; baffle means defining said stilling zone and keeping liquor within it separate from an upper layer of clarified liquor which in operation of the apparatus surrounds the stilling zone and from which, in operation of the apparatus, clarified liquid is withdrawn; means for introducing the streams into the stilling zone such that, in operation of the apparatus the momentum of the liquid is substantially reduced before the liquid passes to a lower zone of the vessel in which, in operation of the apparatus, biological treatment of the aqueous material takes place and which contains the bacterial sludge; means for introducing oxygen or oxygen containing gas mixture into the combined stream so as to form discrete bubbles of oxygen gas therein and thereby facilitate dissolution of the oxygen; and means for recycling aqueous material containing bacterial sludge from the liquor in the lower zone and for forming the aforesaid continuously advancing stream of aqueous liquor containing bacterial sludge. 
     During the development of the above defined apparatus it was noticed that the momentum of the recirculating liquor, particularly in apparatus treating strong effluents with high recirculation rates, persisted and caused difficulties in maintaining a satisfactory clarified liquid zone within the vessel. 
     OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION 
     It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method for treating aqueous waste material having a biochemical oxygen demand which includes means for reducing the momentum of the recirculating liquor. 
     It is a further object of the present invention to provide means for directing moving streams of liquor such that the mixing of the aqueous waste material at a lower zone of a vessel is enhanced whilst the disturbance of the clarified aqueous waste material at an upper zone of the vessel is reduced. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     According to the present invention, an apparatus for carrying forth a method for treating aqueous waste material having a biochemical oxygen demand comprises a vessel for containing a quantity of the aqueous waste material at a lower zone in the vessel, a stilling box located within the vessel at an upper zone above the said lower zone which stilling box, in operation of the apparatus, is suspended in a clarified aqueous waste material occupying said upper zone, an outlet at the lower end of the vessel, a pipeline for the passage of aqueous waste material therethrough extending from the outlet and terminating at a position within the stilling box, means for introducing oxygen or an oxygen containing gas into the aqueous waste material, means for withdrawing the aqueous waste material from the lower zone in the vessel, through the outlet and along the pipeline such that, in operation of the apparatus, oxygen is dissolved in the aqueous waste material which material is then discharged into the stilling box which reduces the momentum of the aqueous waste material so introduced before it falls to the lower zone of the vessel, baffle means located within the vessel for deflecting and reducing still further the momentum of the aqueous waste material as it leaves the stilling box and falls to the lower zone of the vessel and means at the upper zone for withdrawing clarified aqueous waste material from the vessel. 
     The baffle means included in the apparatus of the present invention defined above directs the moving streams of liquor such that the mixing of the aqueous waste material at the lower zone is enhanced whilst the disturbance of the clarified aqueous waste material at the upper zone is reduced. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     Embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of example, reference being made to the figures of the accompanying diagrammatic drawings in which: 
     FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic representation of a sewage treatment apparatus and described in U.S. Pat. application Ser. No. 874 700; 
     FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic representation of a modification of the apparatus of FIG. 1; and 
     FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic representation of yet a further modification of the apparatus of FIG. 1. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Referring to FIG. 1, there is illustrated an apparatus for treating aqueous waste material having a biochemical oxygen demand as described in U.S. Pat. application Ser. No. 874,700. The apparatus comprises a vessel in the form of a treatment tank 110 having a sloped bottom leading to an outlet 111. An open ended tubular stilling box 112 is suspended in an upper zone 124 of the tank 110 normally occupied by a clarified aqueous waste material or liquor. A recirculation liquid pipeline 113 leads from an outlet 111 and a pump 114 in the line 113 withdraws a flocculent slurry containing bacterial sludge which settles towards the bottom of the tank 110 and circulates it at a pressure in the range of 3 to 20 ft water gauge through a gas/liquid contacting device 115 from which it passes into the sewage in the tank 110 at a position within the stilling box 112. Oxygen or oxygen rich gas, usually containing at least 30% and preferably 90% by volume of oxygen is passed into the liquid flowing through pipeline 113 through an oxygen supply pipeline 116. Additional feed for the bacteria in a form of liquid effluent is passed into the liquid line 113 through a conduit 120 which is connected to a supply of such feed. 
     Oxygen is introduced via the pipeline 116 at a rate to provide a quantity of dissolved oxygen in the liquid stream of 25 parts per million or more. 
     The contactor device 115 is substantially as described in U.S. Pat. application Ser. No. 874 700 and a liquid stream containing dissolved oxygen and small bubbles of undissolved gas passes into the tank 110. 
     The oxygenated liquid stream enters the volume of sewage in tank 110 within the stilling box 112 and its momentum is reduced in the volume of liquid contained in the stilling box. A relatively calm flow of oxygenated bacterial sludge, slightly denser than the clear aqueous waste material or liquor flows downwards out of the confines of the stilling box 112 into a lower treatment region 122 of the tank 110 without causing any substantial agitation of this region. The bacteria contained in the sludge in zone 122 utilises the oxygen to metabolize soluble organic materials contained in the liquid. Some treated liquor rises through the sludge into the zone 124 when further separation from bacteria and contains solids occurs. The zone 124 contains clear liquid. The boundary 126 between the zone 124 and the zone 122 is relatively pronounced. 
     As the oxygenated liquid enters the stilling box 112 so carbon dioxide rich gas tends to be released therefrom in the form of bubbles which rise to the surface of the liquid in the tank 110. 
     Clarified liquor is run off from the upper zone 124 of the tank over an outlet weir 128. Settled sludge at the bottom of the tank 110 is recycled through the pipeline 113 for further oxygenation. 
     The apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1 and described briefly above is perfectly adequate for normal usage. However, when used for treating strong effluents with high recirculation rates there is a tendency for the momentum of the recirculating waste material to persist and cause difficulties in maintaining a satisfactory upper clarification zone 124 within the tank 110. 
     Referring now to FIG. 2, an apparatus 2 for treating aqueous waste material having a biochemical oxygen demand differs from the apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1 in the following particulars. The bottom 150 of tank 110 is generally flat and the tank contains a scraper 152 driven by a motor 154 through a scraper shaft 156 extending centrally through the stilling box 112. Furthermore, attached to the scraper shaft 156 is a first baffle means 158 and fixed to the stilling box 112 is a second baffle means in the form of a skirt 160. Attached to the side of the tank 110 immediately opposite the skirt 160 is a third baffle means in the form of a further skirt 162. 
     When the oxygenated liquid stream enters the volume of sewage in the tank 110 within the stilling box 112 its momentum is reduced but not destroyed and as a consequence liquor leaves the stilling box 112 in a generally downward direction and impinges against the first baffle means 158 which reduces the momentum of the liquor and deflects it towards the side of the tank 110. On engaging the wall of the tank 110 the liquor is again deflected towards the outlet 111 where it will enter the recycle stream. The skirts 160, 162 are provided to minimise the entrainment of the upper clear liquor with the moving stream. 
     It has been found that the baffle means 158 together with the skirts 160, 162 direct the moving stream of liquor such that mixing of the sludge in the lower zone 122 is enhanced and the disturbance of the upper zone of clear liquor is reduced. 
     Referring now to FIG. 3, an apparatus 3 for treating aqueous waste material having a biochemical oxygen demand is similar to the apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1 but differs in the following particulars. Mounted within the stilling box 112 adjacent the lower end of the stilling box are a plurality of &#34;air stones&#34; 170. Each air stone consists of a stiff tubular polythene member the interior of which is connected to a gas supply. When gas is supplied to the air stones 170 the bubbles diffuse through the material of the tubes and strip carbon dioxide from the oxygenated liquid stream entering the stilling box 112. The bubbles also destroy the momentum of the oxygenated liquid stream. It is preferred that the gas supplied to air stones is oxygen or oxygen rich gas. 
     It has been found that where recirculation rates of 25-1 or above are used then the modifications to the apparatus of FIG. 1 which have been described above and illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3 increase the chances of maintaining a satisfactory upper clarification zone 124 within the tank 110.