Patents Examined by Julia L. Wun
  • Patent number: 11447409
    Abstract: The invention relates to a method for the biological treatment of nitrogen in the form of ammonium in wastewater, by nitritation in a biological reactor, comprising: at least one step a of aerating the biological reactor containing the wastewater to be treated, at least one step b of eliminating at least part of the nitrites produced in step a, and a step c of extracting, from the reactor, a fraction of the sludge resulting from steps a and b. The invention also concerns a method for the biological treatment of nitrogen in wastewater, by nitritation/denitritation and/or deammonification, wherein the nitritation is implemented using the nitritation method according to the invention.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 4, 2018
    Date of Patent: September 20, 2022
    Assignee: Suez International
    Inventors: Marc Caligaris, Thibaut Saur, Irène Mozo
  • Patent number: 11407664
    Abstract: The present invention concerns a method for biological treatment of carbon, nitrogen and optionally phosphorus in water, in a reactor system (1) comprising a sequencing batch reactor (SBR) (2) and a moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) (3). The method comprises a step (10) of filling said SBR reactor (2) with water to be treated (5), a step (20) of anoxic/aerobic biological treatment in said reactor system (1) and a step (30) of discharging treated water (35) from said SBR reactor (2). The anoxic/aerobic biological treatment step (20) comprises: a biological treatment (210) under largely anoxic conditions in the SBR reactor (2), producing a first effluent (215), a biological treatment (220) under aerobic conditions in the MBBR reactor (3), producing a second effluent (225), and a continuous recirculation of the first and second effluents. The present invention also concerns a corresponding facility.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 22, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 9, 2022
    Assignee: Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies Support
    Inventors: Romain Lemaire, Tristan Germain, Daniel Lamarre
  • Patent number: 11357900
    Abstract: Methods and systems for priming a disposable fluid circuit for the processing of a biological fluid are disclosed. The methods and systems allow for variable and configurable priming of the flow path(s) leading to one or more biological fluid source containers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 19, 2017
    Date of Patent: June 14, 2022
    Assignee: Fenwal, Inc.
    Inventors: Alaina Schlinker, Steven Binninger
  • Patent number: 11358889
    Abstract: Wastewater containing organic matter may be treated using a multi-zone apparatus. In a first zone, organic matter in the wastewater may, among other things, be converted to at least volatile fatty acids (VFAs) and, thereafter, a portion of the treated wastewater may flow to a second zone that may, among other things, convert the VFAs to methane.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 6, 2018
    Date of Patent: June 14, 2022
    Inventors: Justin Buck, Matthew Silver, Zhen Huang, Tzipora Wagner, Matthew Dorson
  • Patent number: 11345624
    Abstract: The invention relates to treatment of microorganisms from an activated sludge process operating with enhanced biological phosphorus removal in a reactor with baffles or other devices to induce similar plug-flow effort, designed to optimally release phosphorus and/or magnesium from the microorganisms with or without chemical addition. Further, the disclosure relates to a process designed to produce both a lower solids, phosphorus and magnesium enriched liquid stream and a higher solids, phosphorus and magnesium enriched stream. The reactor operates to give optimal performance by operating in a plug-flow mode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 17, 2020
    Date of Patent: May 31, 2022
    Assignee: Des Moines Metropolitan Wastewater Reclamation Authority
    Inventors: Patrick Anderson Brown, Eric Anthony Evans
  • Patent number: 11325853
    Abstract: A sewage treatment system includes dehydration means to dehydrate the received surplus sludge and/or the received return sludge; a microbial material production device configured to supply oxygen to the dehydrated sludge received from the dehydration means while maintaining the temperature of the dehydrated sludge to subject the dehydrated sludge to aerobic fermentation, thereby producing a microbial material; water feeding means configured to feed water from any part of the sewage treatment system to the after-mentioned microbe activation device; a microbe activation device configured to receive the microbial material from the microbial material production device, and supply the water from the water feeding means to the received microbial material; and oxygen supply means configured to supply oxygen to the sewage at any position of the relay pump station; wherein the sewage is sent from the relay pump station to the sewage treatment facility.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 25, 2019
    Date of Patent: May 10, 2022
    Assignee: KYOGYOKU ENGINEERING CO., LTD
    Inventors: Saburou Matsui, Takafumi Sugihara
  • Patent number: 11325852
    Abstract: Wastewater treatment plants and processes for treating wastewater are described. The wastewater treatment plant utilizes channel plug flow dynamics with attached growth media and pure oxygen or mixtures of pure oxygen and compressed air.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 14, 2014
    Date of Patent: May 10, 2022
    Assignee: McFadden Engineering, Inc.
    Inventor: A. Frank McFadden
  • Patent number: 11235997
    Abstract: A method, an apparatus, and a system for treating a waste in a vehicle. The waste is received from a lavatory in a waste tank through a waste input port connected to the lavatory in the vehicle. Anaerobic bacteria are introduced into the waste such that anaerobic digestion occurs to breakdown a biodegradable material in the waste in the waste tank.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 25, 2019
    Date of Patent: February 1, 2022
    Assignee: The Boeing Company
    Inventors: Saurabh Aggarwal, Rajeev Shastri, Subramaniam Natarajan
  • Patent number: 11231406
    Abstract: A ground injection agent concentration estimation method including a injecting an injection liquid to which an injection agent and a marker exhibiting similar behavior in subsurface ground to that of the injection agent have been added, into the subsurface ground through a water injection well; measuring a concentration of the marker at a location spaced apart from the water injection well, and estimating a concentration of the injection agent in the groundwater from the concentration of the marker.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 29, 2017
    Date of Patent: January 25, 2022
    Assignee: TAKENAKA CORPORATION
    Inventors: Haruka Kiyotomo, Takaaki Shimizu, Tomohiro Nakashima, Yamato Shimizu, Nobuyasu Okuda, Yasuhide Furukawa, Yuji Yamazaki, Kazuhiro Mukai, Kaoru Inaba
  • Patent number: 11202996
    Abstract: A filtration filter comprises a metallic mesh having a circumferential shape and radially inner and outer portions. The metallic mesh is adapted to filter out a filtration target object contained in a fluid passing through the membrane. First and second frame members hold the outer portion there between so as to create first and second bent sections separated by a transition section extending between the first and second bent sections. The transition section includes at least one streaked projection.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 15, 2019
    Date of Patent: December 21, 2021
    Assignee: MURATA MANUFACTURING CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Takashi Kondo, Masaru Banju, Seiichi Matsumoto, Seiji Kamba, Wataru Yamamoto, Yoshiji Okamoto
  • Patent number: 11180393
    Abstract: An anammox reactor capable of improving nitrogen removal efficiency by maintaining activity of microorganisms, and a water treatment method using the anammox reactor are provided. The anammox reactor includes a raw water feed pipe through which raw water is supplied, a raw water discharge pipe through which raw water is discharged to an outside, and a first chamber configured to accommodate ammonium oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and anammox bacteria for performing an anammox process, wherein the raw water feed pipe and the raw water discharge pipe are configured to communicate with the first chamber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 2, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 23, 2021
    Assignee: DOOSAN HEAVY INDUSTRIES & CONSTRUCTION C
    Inventors: Hwan Chul Cho, Chul Woo Lee, Su Nam You, Yang Oh Jin
  • Patent number: 11124437
    Abstract: A modular and mobile unpressurized bioreactor for removing nitrate from water, and methods and systems thereof.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 10, 2018
    Date of Patent: September 21, 2021
    Assignee: Tailwater Systems, LLC
    Inventor: John N. Skardon
  • Patent number: 11117821
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a process and device for selectively removal of deflocculated sludge below a pre-selected size from a sludge mixed liquor. The invention resides in the concept of removing from the sludge mixed liquor deflocculated sludge. The removal is preferably carried out by a two-step separation providing a fraction comprising sludge flocs, substantially freed from deflocculated sludge, and a fraction containing mostly deflocculated sludge. The fraction comprising sludge flocs is returned into the sludge mixed liquor, while the fraction containing mostly deflocculated sludge is removed from the system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 28, 2017
    Date of Patent: September 14, 2021
    Assignee: Grundfos Holding A/S
    Inventors: Dominik Marek Dominiak, Tom Jæger
  • Patent number: 11066314
    Abstract: An aerator assembly for wastewater treatment includes a draft tube and an air supply assembly. The draft tube includes a sidewall and presents open top and bottom tube ends. The air supply assembly includes an air supply conduit and a diffuser body. The diffuser body has an inlet aperture and a bubble generator connected to the inlet. The inlet aperture is connected to the air supply conduit such that the bubble generator receives air from a source of air, to which the air supply conduit is connected. The bubble generator has a plurality of air openings for generating fine air bubbles. The diffuser body is sealingly engaged to the sidewall adjacent the bottom tube end so as restrict upward flow of wastewater through the draft tube past the diffuser body.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 29, 2019
    Date of Patent: July 20, 2021
    Assignee: BioMicrobics, Inc.
    Inventors: Reza Shamskhorzani, Heather Renee Anderson
  • Patent number: 11034602
    Abstract: Oxygen permeable membrane modules are provided in a reactor in multiple stages. An oxygen-containing gas from a blower B is sequentially circulated through the oxygen permeable membrane modules via pipes and is discharged from a pipe. Raw water flows out into a bottom part of the reactor through a plurality of nozzles, and a fluidized bed F of a biological carrier such as activated carbon is formed inside the reactor. Treated water flows out of a trough via an outflow port.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 13, 2017
    Date of Patent: June 15, 2021
    Assignee: KURITA WATER INDUSTRIES LTD.
    Inventors: Hideki Kobayashi, Tetsurou Fukase
  • Patent number: 11008821
    Abstract: A process for recovering weight material for reuse in drilling fluids from a previously unavailable source of feed stock. The process described herein includes a process of cleaning drilling waste through either low temperature thermal or solvent washing to remove hydrocarbon or water based drilling fluid contamination. The cleaned drilling waste, substantially free of liquids is sifted and the bulk fraction is further treated by employing conventional separation technology to recover a high gravity solids phase while discarding low gravity solids phase as tailings. Additionally, described is a process where the recovered high gravity solids phase can be reused as a high density weight material, or lower cost weight material, either of which is desirable to the drilling of modern oil and gas wells. The process of adding drilling fluid back into the recovered weight material to simplify the process of transporting the weight material into an active drilling fluid system is also described.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 24, 2017
    Date of Patent: May 18, 2021
    Assignee: RECOVER ENERGY SERVICES INC.
    Inventors: Greg Steger, Brian Coston, Stan Ross
  • Patent number: 10995025
    Abstract: A liquid flow distribution system comprises a flow chamber and a rotor. The flow chamber has a flow chamber inlet, a flow chamber outlet and a chamber flow path extending from the flow chamber inlet to the flow chamber outlet. The flow chamber path is curved so as to generate a generally vortical flow in liquid passing through the chamber flow path. The rotor has a plurality of rotor blades rotatably mounted about a rotor axis. The rotor is mounted in proximity to the flow chamber outlet and positioned such that a flow of liquid exiting the flow chamber outlet impacts one or more of the rotor blades to rotationally drive the rotor. Rotational driving of the rotor in turn disperses liquid impacting the rotor blades.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 10, 2017
    Date of Patent: May 4, 2021
    Assignee: BIOGILL ENVIRONMENTAL PTY LIMITED
    Inventors: Mark John Smith, John David West, Jeremy Michael Wilson, Christopher Jeffrey Locker
  • Patent number: 10981817
    Abstract: A technique for wastewater treatment involves ensuring that all paths for wastewater must pass through at least one porous microbial support to go from the inlet to the outlet, and allowing a biofilm to grow on the porous microbial support under microaerobic conditions (concentration of oxygen between 0.05 and 0.35 mg/L). The biofilm formed comprises a population of anaerobic microbes for digesting organics in the wastewater including methanogenic microbes, and an aerobic methanotrophic and heterotrophic population that catabolizes methane from the methanogenic microbes, and oxygen from the injector, to produce heat. The support may be an electrode, and the technique is applied in a microbial electrolysis cell, with substantial COD removal rates.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 19, 2018
    Date of Patent: April 20, 2021
    Assignee: National Research Council of Canada
    Inventors: Boris Tartakovsky, Yehuda Kleiner
  • Patent number: 10968127
    Abstract: The invention relates to treatment of microorganisms from an activated sludge process operating with enhanced biological phosphorus removal in a reactor with baffles or other devices to induce similar plug-flow effort, designed to optimally release phosphorus and/or magnesium from the microorganisms with or without chemical addition. Further, the disclosure relates to a process designed to produce both a lower solids, phosphorus and magnesium enriched liquid stream and a higher solids, phosphorus and magnesium enriched stream. The reactor operates to give optimal performance by operating in a plug-flow mode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 7, 2018
    Date of Patent: April 6, 2021
    Assignee: Des Moines Metropolitan Wastewater Reclamation Authority
    Inventors: Patrick Anderson Brown, Eric Anthony Evans
  • Patent number: 10961140
    Abstract: The invention relates to a bioreactor having a tank with at least one bioreactor compartment containing a carrier medium, on the surface of which a biofilm may grow; wherein the first longitudinal end of the compartment comprises an inlet, and the second longitudinal end of the compartment comprises an outlet. The bioreactor comprises an aeration device for supplying reaction gas required for the purification process, and for agitating the carrier medium and the water to be purified into a rotary motion inside the compartment. A perforated pipe is arranged within the bioreactor compartment at a distance from the inner walls of the compartment. Inside the perforated pipe is a closing. Guide plates are arranged outside the perforated pipe, which guide water to be purified into the bioreactor space outside the perforated pipe.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 10, 2018
    Date of Patent: March 30, 2021
    Assignee: CLEWER AQUACULTURE OY
    Inventors: Martti Naukkarinen, Pasi Korvonen