PARTITIONED SEPARATOR WATER TREATMENT SYSTEM WITH UPFLOW FILTER
A system designed to control and filter runoff water in storm drains is presented. Drain water frequently carries trash, organic matter, suspended solids, hydrocarbons, metals, nutrients and bacteria collected from streets and parking lots into a storm drain inlet, which enters storm water drain pipe systems. The present invention supplies a series of baffle boxes inserted in the drain water stream with a final box possessing an upflow filter comprising filtration media and filter cartridges. The system can also support a storm flow bypass that directs high-flow storm runoff water directly to the outlet to protect the filter system.
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This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application 61/902,614, filed Nov. 11, 2014, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThis invention relates to the fields of water filtration systems and storm water control systems.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention is designed to control and filter runoff water in storm drains. Drain water frequently carries trash, organic matter, suspended solids, hydrocarbons, metals, nutrients and bacteria collected from paved surfaces and other areas into a storm drain inlet, then sent into a storm water drain pipe system. Drain water often carries oil collected from the streets.
Various water bodies including ponds, rivers, and oceans can tolerate a certain amount of pollutant loading, but the amount allowed to flow into these collection areas should be minimized. The present invention is an in-line storm water drain filter system having a series of separation chambers for removing larger material followed by an upflow filter for smaller and dissolved material. The filter box is installed within a storm water drain pipe; this pipe directs drain water through the separation chambers and upflow filter to the storm water drain passing through an outfall into a lake, pond or retention area. There is an upflow filter between the separation chambers and the outflow to address collection of fine particulates and organics. A hydrocarbon collecting boom in a cage is placed at the last separation baffle on the influent side to absorb hydrocarbons.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe inline partitioned separator and upflow filter system is installed inline with the drain water flow path, and can be buried underground with access ports. The filter system includes a housing having an inlet and an outlet and a plurality of separation chambers formed therein. The separation chambers collect various densities of sediment for later cleaning. A housing cover allows access into the housing and a plurality of separation chambers and media cages.
An oil collection boom is removably mounted on one or more of the baffles near the outlet for collecting hydrocarbons in the drain water entering the system.
The separation chambers closest to the outflow are each equipped with an upflow filter. The upflow filter has two main components: the filter housing and the filter media. The filter housing is constructed of a cage that holds the media. It has top doors that open to allow the media to be changed out.
The media is a filter that removes fine TSS, nutrients, metals, bacteria, and emulsified hydrocarbons from the drain water as it flows upward through the last separation chamber.
One of the unique features of this system is that fall between the inflow and outflow pipes is not necessary as with downward flow systems. The internal weir, located on the side of the upflow filter opposite of the outflow pipe allows water pressure to build behind it which drives water through the upflow filter.
A standard 2 chambered separator works well enough to provide the necessary drain water pretreatment to prevent larger particles and solid pollutants from prematurely clogging the upflow filter.
Referring to
The system further possesses a bypass weir and an upflow filter assembly. The upflow filter assembly comprises media filtration unit 610 and filter cartridges 700. Media filtration unit 610 is in sealed connection with outflow end wall 208, lateral walls (not shown) of box 200, and bypass weir 500. Bypass weir 500 is in sealed connection with lateral walls (not shown) of box 200, but not the floor 202 or the ceiling 206 of box 200. Media filtration unit 610 is configured to support filter cartridges 700 in a manner that permits water to flow from secondary separation chamber 460 into outflow chamber 470 only by passing through filter cartridges 700 and then media filtration unit 610 itself.
Filter cartridges 700 each comprise a sheet of filter material, such as porous plastic, paper, or fiberglass, folded back into a series of pleats 702 formed into a hollow cylinder, the ends of the cylinder closed by bottom end 703 that is water impermeable and top end 704 that is only permeable to water through orifice 705 (
In the process of performing its filtration functions, the upflow filter assembly impedes the flow of water from secondary separation chamber 460 into outflow chamber 470. This impedance makes possible conditions in which water enters inflow opening 300 at a rate greater than it flows from secondary separation chamber 460 into outflow chamber 470. Under such conditions, the water level 900 can rise in the portion of box 200 frontward of bypass weir 500 to the point where water flows over the top 501 of bypass weir 500, into outflow chamber 470, and out outflow opening 350, as shown in
In some embodiments, filter cartridges comprise rigid housings made of strong, durable material such as metal, plastic, or fiberglass loaded with filtration material such as fiberglass, glass wool, and steel wool or filtration media and possessing screened or grated openings that permit water to pass through the filter cartridges and retain the filtration material or media within the filter cartridge housing. In some embodiments, filter cartridges are permanently attached to the bottom panel of a filtration media unit. In such embodiments, filter cartridges can be equipped with lids or hatches that provide access to the filtration media for removal or cleaning. In some embodiments, filter cartridges are reversibly mountable onto the bottom panel of a media filtration unit by, for instance, friction fittings, threaded fittings, bolts, screws, nails, clamps, and the like.
The content of U.S. Pat. No. 8,496,814 is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
The apparatus and methods described are the preferred and alternate embodiments of this invention, but other methods are possible and are within the contemplation of this patent.
Claims
1. A partitioned separator water treatment system, comprised of a box configured for insertion into the flow stream of a drain, the box possessing a ceiling, a floor, two lateral walls, an inflow endwall comprising an inflow opening and an outflow endwall comprising an outflow opening, the inflow end of the box possessing at least one separation chamber weir dividing the box into a plurality of separation chambers, the at least one separation chamber weir in sealing connection with the floor and two lateral walls of the box, but not the ceiling of the box, and having a top below a bottom level of the inflow opening,
- the drain, the box, and the at least one separation chamber weir situated such that water entering the inflow opening is capable of filling the plurality of separation chambers and flowing over the top(s) of the at least one separation chamber weir, allowing sediment and solid pollutants to be trapped in the plurality of separation chambers,
- the outflow end of the box possessing a bypass weir in sealing connection with an upflow filter assembly that comprises a media filtration unit and a plurality of filter cartridges,
- the bypass weir: i. in sealing connection with the lateral walls of the box, but not the floor or the ceiling of the box, ii. having a top that is above the top of the at least one separation chamber weir, and iii. having a bottom that is above the floor of the box, such that water entering the inflow opening is capable of flowing toward the outflow opening below the bypass weir during low flow periods and above and below the bypass weir during high flow periods,
- the media filtration unit in sealing connection with the lateral walls of the box and possessing: i. a top panel that is water permeable and positioned substantially even with a bottom level of the outflow opening, ii. a bottom panel that supports each of the plurality of filter cartridges and that is water impermeable apart from filter cartridge orifices inline with each of the plurality of filter cartridges, iii. side walls that are water impermeable, and iv. Filtration media between the top panel, the bottom panel, and the side walls, such that water is permitted to flow from an area in the box below the upflow filter assembly to the outflow opening only by passing through the plurality of filter cartridges and the filtration media unit,
- the filtration media capable of removing, from water that flows therethrough, fine sediment and particulates and dissolved pollutants, and
- each of the plurality of filter cartridges capable of removing, from water that flows therethrough, medium to fine sediments and particulates.
2. The partitioned separator water treatment system of claim 1, further comprising a hydrocarbon filtration unit mounted on a side of the bypass weir that faces the inflow endwall.
3. The partitioned separator water treatment system of claim 1, further comprising a bypass filtration basket mounted on a side of the bypass weir that faces the outflow endwall.
4. The partitioned separator water treatment system of claim 1, wherein the filtration media is a least one inorganic media selected from the group consisting of a zeolite, an expanded aggregate, a lava rock, an oxide-coated inert material, an alumina, an activated carbon, a perlite, a stonewool, a rockwool, and a pumice.
5. The partitioned separator water treatment system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of filter cartridges comprises a sheet of filter material selected from the group consisting of a plastic, a paper, a fiberglass, and a combination thereof folded back and forth into a series of pleats formed into a hollow cylinder, the ends of the cylinder sealed closed by a solid bottom end that is water impermeable and a solid top end that is water impermeable apart from an opening through which water can flow.
6. The partitioned separator water treatment system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of filter cartridges comprises a rigid housing made of metal, plastic, or fiberglass, the housing loaded with a filtration material selected from the group consisting of a fiberglass, a glass wool, and a steel wool and possessing a plurality of screened or grated openings configured to permit water to pass through the filter cartridges and retain the filtration material in the housing.
7. The partitioned separator water treatment system of claim 1, wherein the inflow opening is on one or more of the three walls on the inflow side of the bypass weir.
8. The partitioned separator water treatment system of claim 1, wherein the outflow opening is on one or more of the three walls on the outflow side of the bypass weir.
9. The partitioned separator water treatment system of claim 1, wherein the filter cartridges are in sealed connection with a coupler that is in sealed connection with the bottom panel and forms a path for water to flow from the orifice of the filtration cartridge to the orifice of the bottom panel of the media filtration unit.
10. The partitioned separator water treatment system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of filter cartridges is reversibly mounted on the bottom panel of the media filtration unit.
11. The partitioned separator water treatment system of claim 6, wherein at least one of the plurality of filter cartridges is fixedly mounted on the bottom panel of the media filtration unit, and wherein the filter cartridge fixedly mounted on the bottom panel of the media filtration unit comprises an access hatch on the ceiling.
12. A partitioned separator water treatment system, comprised of a box inserted in the flow stream of a drain, the box possessing a ceiling, a floor, two lateral walls, an inflow endwall comprising an inflow opening and an outflow endwall comprising an outflow opening,
- the inflow end of the box possessing at least one separation chamber weir dividing the box into a plurality of separation chambers, the at least one separation chamber weir in sealing connection with the floor and two lateral walls of the box, but not the ceiling of the box, and having a top below a bottom level of the inflow opening,
- the drain, the box, and the at least one separation chamber weir situated such that water entering the inflow opening is capable of filling the plurality of separation chambers and flowing over the top(s) of the at least one separation chamber weir, allowing sediment and solid pollutants to be trapped in the plurality of separation chambers,
- the outflow end of the box possessing a bypass weir in sealing connection with an upflow filter assembly that comprises a media filtration unit, a plurality of filter cartridges, and a filter drain cartridge,
- the bypass weir: i. in sealing connection with the lateral walls of the box, but not the floor or the ceiling of the box, ii. having a top that is above the top of the at least on separation chamber weir, and iii. having a bottom that is above the floor of the box, such that water entering the inflow opening is capable of flowing toward the outflow opening below the bypass weir during low flow periods and above and below the bypass weir during storm flow period,
- the media filtration unit in sealing connection with the lateral walls of the box and possessing: i. a top panel that is water permeable, ii. a bottom panel that is positioned substantially even with a bottom level of the outflow opening and that supports each of the plurality of filter cartridges and the filter drain cartridge and that is water impermeable apart from filter cartridge orifices inline with each of the plurality of filter cartridges and the plurality of filter drain cartridges, iii. side walls that are water impermeable, and iii. filtration media between the top panel, the bottom panel, and the side walls, such that water is permitted to flow from an area in the box below the upflow filtration assembly to the outflow opening only by passing through the plurality of filter cartridges and the filtration media unit or the filter drain cartridge,
- the filter drain cartridge positioned between the outflow opening of the box and the side wall of the media filtration unit that faces the endwall of the box, such that water in the media filtration unit, during no flow periods, is capable of flowing from the filtration media into the area of the box below upflow filter assembly and then to the outflow opening through the filter drain cartridge,
- the filtration media capable of removing, from water that flows therethrough, fine sediment and particulates and dissolved pollutants, and
- each of the plurality of filter cartridges capable of removing, from water that flows therethrough, medium to fine sediments and particulates.
13. The partitioned separator water treatment system of claim 12, further comprising a hydrocarbon filtration unit mounted on a side of the bypass weir that faces the inflow endwall.
14. The partitioned separator water treatment system of claim 12, further comprising a bypass filtration basket mounted on a side of the bypass weir that faces the outflow endwall.
15. The partitioned separator water treatment system of claim 12, wherein the filtration media is a least one inorganic media selected from the group consisting of a zeolite, an expanded aggregate, a lava rock, an oxide-coated inert material, an activated carbon, a perlite, a stonewool, a rockwook, and a pumice.
16. The partitioned separator water treatment system of claim 12, wherein at least one of the plurality of filter cartridges comprises a sheet of filter material selected from the group consisting of a plastic, a paper, a fiberglass, and a combination thereof folded back and forth into a series of pleats formed into a hollow cylinder, the ends of the cylinder sealed closed by a solid bottom end that is water impermeable and a solid top end that is water impermeable apart from an opening through which water can flow.
17. The partitioned separator water treatment system of claim 12, wherein at least one of the plurality of filter cartridges comprises a rigid housing made of metal, plastic, or fiberglass, the housing loaded with a filtration material selected from the group consisting of a fiberglass, a glass wool, and a steel wool and possessing a plurality of screened or grated openings configured to permit water to pass through the filter cartridges and retain the filtration material in the housing.
18. The partitioned separator water treatment system of claim 12, wherein at least one of the plurality of filter cartridges is reversibly mounted on the bottom panel of the media filtration unit.
19. The partitioned separator water treatment system of claim 17, wherein at least one of the plurality of filter cartridges is fixedly mounted on the bottom panel of the media filtration unit, and wherein the filter cartridge fixedly mounted on the bottom panel of the media filtration unit comprises an access hatch on the ceiling.
Type: Application
Filed: Feb 1, 2021
Publication Date: May 27, 2021
Applicant: Bio Clean Environmental Services, Inc. (Oceanside, CA)
Inventor: Zachariha J. Kent (San Antonio, TX)
Application Number: 17/164,513