COMBINED WATER TREATMENT APPARATUS

Abstract

A water treatment system is provided by the present disclosure that includes at least one porous pavement portion having an aggregate material containing post-consumer recycled glass or rubber and a binder. The system includes a water quality unit in fluid communication with the porous pavement portion and the porous pavement portion directs a flow of fluid to the water quality unit. The water quality unit filters pollutants contained in the fluid.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/672,727 filed on Jul. 17, 2012, which is incorporated herein in by reference its entirety.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates to storm water drainage, control, and filtering.

BACKGROUND

The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.

Stormwater management is a challenging issue to many landowners and municipalities. Not only does the flow of stormwater have to be properly controlled in order to avoid flooding, but contaminants that exist in the stormwater must also be filtered. These contaminants include substances such as fertilizers, pesticides, brake and tire dust, and sediments from construction, among many others. The contaminants eventually reach rivers, lakes, and the ocean, and a portion also infiltrates the soil and contributes to contamination of groundwater. Therefore, improved methods of controlling and filtering stormwater is continually desired.

SUMMARY

In one form of the present disclosure, a water treatment apparatus is provided that comprises at least one porous pavement portion comprising a composite composition layer made from a combination of an aggregate material, recycled glass and a binder. A base element comprises an aggregate material and a drain member, below the base element, is in fluid communication with at least one water quality unit. The porous pavement portion directs a flow of fluid to the water quality unit, and the water quality unit filters pollutants contained in the fluid.

In another form of the present disclosure, a water treatment apparatus is provided that comprises at least one porous pavement portion comprising a composite composition layer having recycled glass and a binder. A base element comprises an aggregate material and a drain member, below the base element, is in fluid communication with at least one water quality unit. The porous pavement portion directs a flow of fluid to the water quality unit, and the water quality unit filters pollutants contained in the fluid.

In still another form of the present disclosure, a walkway or roadway comprises a water treatment apparatus comprising at least one porous pavement portion. The porous pavement portion comprises a composite composition layer having recycled glass and a binder. A base element comprises an aggregate material and a drain member, below the base element, is in fluid communication with at least one water quality unit. The porous pavement portion directs a flow of fluid to the water quality unit, and the water quality unit filters pollutants contained in the fluid.

Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the description provided herein. It should be understood that the description and specific examples are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.

DRAWINGS

In order that the disclosure may be well understood, there will now be described various forms thereof, given by way of example, reference being made to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side cross-sectional view of the water treatment apparatus constructed in accordance with the teachings of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the porous pavement portion.

The drawing described herein is for illustration purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure in any way.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the present disclosure, application, or uses.

Referring to FIG. 1, a water treatment apparatus according to the present disclosure is illustrated and generally indicated by reference numeral 20. The water treatment apparatus includes at least one porous pavement portion 30, and a water quality unit 40 in fluid communication with the porous pavement portion 30.

The porous pavement portion 30, in one form, as shown in FIG. 2, comprises of a composite composition layer 50 made of a recycled glass, an adhesive binding agent and aggregate material. The aggregate material is a material that is capable of withstanding compressive load, including but not limited to stone, gravel, rock, crushed glass or other composite material. The porous pavement portion 30 in one form may further include a choker course 32 made of an aggregate material having a rock diameter between about ¼ to about ⅜ inches and having thickness of approximately 1.5 inches. The choker course 32 can utilize various rock diameters to further control the flow of the fluid into the base element 60. The porous pavement portion 30 further comprises of a base element 60 that comprises of an aggregate material having a rock diameter of about 0.5 to about 2 inches. The base element 60 can vary in thickness depending on the needed load rating and application variables, as discussed in greater detail below.

For example, the porous pavement portion 30 for a trail or sidewalk includes the composite composition layer 50 having an approximate thickness of about 2.5 to about 4 inches and the base element 60 having an approximate thickness of about 4 to about 12 inches. In another example, the porous pavement portion 30 for heavier loading applications, such as parking lots, roadway and highways, requires an increased thickness of the composite composition layer 50 to an approximate thickness of about 3.5 to about 5 inches and the base element 60 is increased to an approximate thickness of about 8 inches and may be increased to more than about 12 inches. The base element 60 varies in thickness to achieve a desired weight bearing rating, or bearing ratio and further additional application considerations, such as the amount water flow, square footage of the porous pavement portion 30 and water storage within the system 20. Water storage within the porous pavement portion 30 is one particular design consideration that impacts the thickness of the base element 60 since the base element 60 can act as a reservoir for the system 20 to allow for the needed storage capacity of the application. For example the porous pavement portion 30 can act as a reservoir for storing the water within the system 20 by designing the system 20 where the fluid flow and drain flow are sized to allow for fluid to be retained within the base element 60 of the porous pavement portion 30.

Additionally, various forms of the porous pavement portion are described in greater detail in U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,142,101, 8,025,456, and 8,137,024, which are commonly owned with the present application and the contents of which are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.

In one form, the composite composition layer 50 has a light reflective property that can reduce a temperature around and within the system 20. The reflective property allows for the porous pavement portion 30 to counteract a heat island effect by providing a reflective, permeable surface and moist environment to reduce the temperature around the surface of the system 20 and of the directed flow of fluids to the water quality unit 40. The composite composition layer 50 has a Solar Reflectance Index (SRI) due to the glass surface and varies dependent on the pigment color of the layer 50. The SRI is a composite measure of a surface's solar reflectance and emittance. Emittance is a measure of how well a surface emits or releases heat after it has been absorbed. For example, the composite composition layer 50 having a jade green pigment has an SRI of about 62. In another example, the composite composition layer 50 having a sapphire blue pigment has an SRI of about 49.

As shown in FIG. 1, the porous pavement portion 30 comprises, in one form, a base element 60 below the composite composition layer 50 and a drain member 70, below the base element 60, which directs the fluid to the water quality unit 40. The drain member 70 is sized and placed within the porous pavement portion 30 according to the fluid flow and fluid storage of each application. In one form, as shown in FIG. 1, the drain member 70 has a thickness of approximately 4 inches, and is an under drain, such as a perforated pipe, to assist in draining the base element 60 and directing the fluid flow into the water quality unit 40. However, it would be appreciated by one skilled in the art that the drain member can vary in location, length and thickness to accommodate the desired fluid flow characteristics for allowing the fluid to exit the porous pavement portion 30. The drain member 70 of the porous pavement portion 30 is connected to a pipe 90 for fluidly connecting the porous pavement portion 30 to the water quality unit 40. The pipe 90 may be configured to connect multiple sections of porous pavement portions 30 to a single or multiple water quality units 40, as needed to achieve the desired handling of the fluid into the system and the treatment capacity of the system.

By employing the flow characteristics of the porous pavement portion 30, the bypass piping of the water quality unit 40 can be removed, allowing for treatment of entire flows that pass through the system 20 rather than a first flush. The water quality unit 40 filters pollutants or contaminants contained in the fluid. (e.g., stormwater). Additionally, by using a sediment removal feature, such as baffles, dividers or filter media, within the water quality unit 40, the fluid exiting the outlet 80 will have a reduced count of Total Suspended Solids (TSS).

In one form, the water quality unit 40 is made by Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (ADS). In another form, by way of example, the water quality unit 40 may be a biological filter media, a mechanical filtration system, or an organic filtration system. Furthermore, an irrigation component (not shown) may be employed in order to re-use the filtered fluid from the water quality unit 40 for irrigation of, for example, crops or other vegetation.

It should also be understood that a plurality of porous pavement portions 30 may be employed with either one or a plurality of water quality units 40 while remaining within the scope of the present disclosure.

It should be noted that the disclosure is not limited to the various forms described and illustrated as examples. A large variety of modifications have been described and more are part of the knowledge of the person skilled in the art. For example, the composite composition layer 50 may include just the recycled glass, with or without the aggregate and binder while remaining within the scope of the present disclosure. As an additional example, the composite composition layer 50 may also include recycled rubber, among a variety of other fillers and/or binders while remaining within the scope of the present disclosure. These and further modifications as well as any replacement by technical equivalents may be added to the description and figures, without leaving the scope of the protection of the disclosure and of the present patent.

Claims

1. A water treatment apparatus comprising:

at least one porous pavement portion comprising a composite composition layer made from a combination of an aggregate material, recycled glass and a binder;

a base element comprising an aggregate material; and

a drain member below the base element is in fluid communication with at least one water quality unit,

wherein the porous pavement portion directs a flow of fluid to the water quality unit, and the water quality unit filters pollutants contained in the fluid.

2. The water treatment apparatus according to claim 1 further comprising a plurality of porous pavement portions in fluid communication with a single water quality unit.

3. The water treatment apparatus according to claim 1 further comprising a plurality of porous pavement portions in fluid communication with a plurality of water quality units.

4. The water treatment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the water quality unit is an Advanced Drainage Systems (ADS) water quality unit.

5. The water treatment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the water quality unit is biological filter media.

6. The water treatment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the water quality unit is a mechanical filtration system.

7. The water treatment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the water quality unit is an organic filtration system.

8. The water treatment apparatus according to claim 1 further comprising an irrigation component.

9. The water treatment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the composite composition layer has a thickness between approximately 2.5 to 5 inches.

10. The water treatment apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the composite composition layer further comprises a choker course is made of an aggregate material having an approximate diameter between ¼ to ⅜ inches and the choker course has a thickness of approximately 1.5 inches.

10. The water treatment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the base element has an approximate thickness between 4 to 12 inches.

11. The water treatment apparatus according to claim 10, the base element is made of an aggregate material having an approximate diameter between 0.5 to 2.0 inches.

12. The water treatment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the drain member has an approximate thickness of 4 inches.

13. The water treatment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the composite composition layer has a solar reflectance index that is approximately between 49 to 62.

14. The water treatment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the composite composition layer further comprises recycled rubber.

15. A water treatment apparatus comprising:

at least one porous pavement portion comprising a composite composition layer having recycled glass and a binder;

a base element comprising an aggregate material; and

a drain member below the base element is in fluid communication with at least one water quality unit,

wherein the porous pavement portion directs a flow of fluid to the water quality unit, and the water quality unit filters pollutants contained in the fluid.

16. The water treatment apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the composite composition layer further comprises recycled rubber.

17. The water treatment apparatus according to claim 14 further comprising a plurality of porous pavement portions in fluid communication with a single water quality unit.

18. The water treatment apparatus according to claim 14 further comprising a plurality of porous pavement portions in fluid communication with a plurality of water quality units.

19. A walkway or roadway comprising:

a water treatment apparatus comprising: at least one porous pavement portion comprising a composite composition layer having recycled glass and a binder; a base element comprising an aggregate material; and a drain member below the base element is in fluid communication with at least one water quality unit,

wherein the porous pavement portion directs a flow of fluid to the water quality unit, and the water quality unit filters pollutants contained in the fluid.

20. The walkway or roadway according to claim 19, wherein the composite composition layer further comprises an aggregate material.