A method and apparatus for conditioning the settled solids in the bottom of a wastewater filtration tank to reduce the acidification of the sludge and prevent the excessive growth of undesirable biological growth.

The present disclosure relates to settler plates for a plate settler. The settler plates generally include a hollow support with a hollow interior to receive clarified liquid from a flow channel between adjacent settler plates. An orifice is formed through the hollow support to direct clarified liquid from the flow channel into the hollow interior. The orifice can be positioned such that clarified liquid can flow upwardly out of the flow channel and downwardly through the orifice into the hollow interior. The hollow support can be integrally formed with the settler plate. For example, the hollow support can be formed by bending a tab extending from an end of the settler plate. The tab can be bent into a hollow support with a cross section that is generally polygonal.

A solid-liquid separator including a hollow structure. The hollow structure may include a separator portion having a solid-liquid-mixture inlet and a curved-funnel-shaped inner separator surface. The hollow structure may further include a collector portion having a frustoconically-shaped inner liquid guide surface. The separator portion and the collector portion may be disposed such that a spout of the curved-funnel-shaped inner separator surface and a narrower end of the frustoconically-shaped inner liquid guide surface may be directed towards each other.

The present invention provides method for separating contaminants from a liquid mixture comprising the steps of a) providing a feed of said liquid mixture to be purified, b) adding a separation aid to the liquid mixture to be purified, wherein said separation aid is capable of binding said contaminants and c) supplying a flow of compressed air into said feed after step b) has been performed to provide a feed comprising air. The method further comprises steps d) removing air from said feed comprising air to provide a deaerated feed; and e) supplying said deaerated feed to a separator, and f) separating a phase comprising contaminants and said separation aid from said liquid mixture in said separator, wherein the separation aid added in step b) is insoluble in said liquid mixture at the separation conditions in step f). The present invention further provides a system for separating contaminants from a liquid mixture.

A floating sludge discharge device for a square settling tank, and belongs to the field of water treatment. In order to solve the problem of scraping of floating sludge in the square settling tank, by disposing a water outlet hole below a liquid level and designing a pulling barrel mechanism that changes its overall gravity by using secondary settlement water, to move up and down to pull a sludge scraping plate to move back and forth, the stretching-out end of the sludge scraping plate of a sludge scraping plate mechanism automatically goes deep into the liquid level and automatically lifts up when it returns.

A fluid reaction tank is provided having an inlet vortex tube for receiving fluid having suspended solids therein and to impart a vortex motion on the fluid flowing therethrough into a reactor housing having one or more cartridges containing a flocculant composition. The cartridges can have perforated inner sidewalls to allow contact of fluid with the composition. The cartridges can further have vortex forming ridges therein to impart or to maintain the vortex motion of the fluid flowing through the fluid reaction tank.

The “sludge dehydrator” equipment is a machine that permits to remove low turbidity water from sludge or watery pastes of industrial or mining origin, with the following objectives: To optimize ore recovery processes such as flotation by means of an increase of the sludge density; To thicken sludge or watery pastes for optimizing the filtering and drying processes, as well as to dispose of mining tailings; To concentrate and dispose of solids in suspension and to recover and recycle clean or clarified water. The “sludge dehydrator” equipment has been designed on the basis of a rectangular tank provided with the necessary infrastructure for containing inside a series of suction plates being connected to a vacuum system, through which the process of solid-liquid separation is carried out and, on the other hand, to contain the cleaning mechanism—the cleaning car—with its motor system made up by pneumatic or hydraulic components required to clean suction plates the filtering medium and to keep them permanently operative. In accordance with the “sludge dehydrator” feeding and the design of the lower or bottom cone of the rectangular tank will benefit to be derived from the industrial and mining operation.

A floating sludge discharge device for a square settling tank, and belongs to the field of water treatment. In order to solve the problem of scraping of floating sludge in the square settling tank, by disposing a water outlet hole below a liquid level and designing a pulling barrel mechanism that changes its overall gravity by using secondary settlement water, to move up and down to pull a sludge scraping plate to move back and forth, the stretching-out end of the sludge scraping plate of a sludge scraping plate mechanism automatically goes deep into the liquid level and automatically lifts up when it returns.

Various examples are provided for systems and apparatus for separation of particulate matter from fluid. In one example, an apparatus has a first wall and a second wall connected to and separated by an end edge wall and one or more side edge walls. The first wall has a fluid outlet. The apparatus has a separation chamber with a volume defined by the first wall, the second wall, the end edge wall, and the one or more side edge walls. Each of the side edge walls extends from a respective end of the end edge wall. The side edge walls taper from the end edge wall to a fluid exchange port, to guide contaminants or other particulate matter out the fluid exchange port.

A microfluidic device and method of using same to separate whole blood into at least a plasma serum fraction and a red blood cell-containing fraction. The microfluidic device uses the principle of sedimentation and the different densities of the cells relative to the plasma serum to separate whole blood into at least the two fractions.