Water treatment structures may have at least a first geotextile fabric layer; a second geotextile fabric layer; a third geotextile fabric layer; a first filler layer with plastic particles, arranged between the first and second geotextile fabric layers; and a second filler layer with plastic particles, arranged between the second and third geotextile fabric layers, wherein the geotextile fabric layers and the filler layers are within a housing, and wherein the structure is configured such that contaminated water proceeds sequentially through the first geotextile fabric layer, the first filler layer, the second geotextile fabric layer, the second filler layer, and the third geotextile fabric layer. Methods of treating wastewater may involve passing wastewater, after optional oxygenating and pre-filtering, through such alternating layers of geotextile, preferably nonwoven, and polymer particles.

A wastewater treatment arrangement for efficiently cleaning variously polluted partial streams of wastewater, in particular of industrial effluents, includes the following components: an electrodialysis unit; an accidental-damage reservoir, a buffer tank, wherein the buffer tank is designed such that it can be reached by partial streams of some of the wastewater indirectly by way of the electrodialysis unit and/or directly, and wherein the buffer tank is designed such that it can be reached by the partial streams of wastewater indirectly by way of the accidental-damage reservoir and/or directly, and wherein downstream of the buffer tank, a first flotation tank, an anaerobic reactor and an SBR unit are arranged in series before the outflow.

Bioconversion processes are disclosed in which two or more biocatalysts including microorganisms or isolated enzymes that are substantially irreversibly retained in the interior of an open, porous, highly hydrophilic polymer are used in a common aqueous medium. In one exemplary embodiment, one biocatalyst produces a chemical product that is a substrate to at least one other biocatalyst. In another exemplary embodiment, the feed includes two or more substrates and one biocatalyst bioconverts at least one substrate and another biocatalyst bioconverts at least one other substrate. This aspect is particularly useful for treating water including disparate contaminants by metabolic degradation in a bioreaction zone including multiple types of biocatalysts.

Described herein are systems and methods for treatment of contaminated water employing a mobile supported biofilm. The treatment systems include a bioreactor, a mobile biofilm disposed within the bioreactor, and a solid-solid separation unit attached to the bioreactor. The solid-solid separation unit is adapted to receive an effluent stream from the bioreactor, wherein the effluent contains the mobile biofilm, and separate at least a portion of the mobile biofilm from the effluent and return it to the bioreactor.

The present invention is a self-regenerating biofilter. The biofilter tank receives untreated water through an intake inlet, filters it through a filtration mass and expels purified water through an output outlet. The filtration mass includes gravel and activated carbon layers separated by a mesh screen. A compressed air line is located below the mesh screen. Periodically, the biofilter self-cleans by opening a flush valve that expels a flush water stream carrying debris. The biofilter self-regenerates by periodically stopping filtration for a time, allowing biological matter left on the activated carbon to degrade into biomass. Periodically, the biofilter removes and flushes out biomass by application of water or a combination of air and water.

A granular or particulate composition of matter that includes algae and bacteria is described. The algal-sludge granules are generated by incubating a wastewater system with algae under specific quiescent conditions with illumination. Once the algal-sludge granules are present, it is no longer necessary to maintain quiescent conditions, and reaction with wastewater under stirred conditions is possible. The methods described include ab initio generation of the algal-sludge granules, use of the algal-sludge granules to remediate wastewater, and use of the algal-sludge granules to generate biomass. It is believed that the remediation of wastewater by algal-sludge granules will save the energy for wastewater treatment, recover the energy in wastewater in the form of biomass, and reduce the wastewater treatment carbon footprint.

The present invention relates to compositions and methods for the remediation of contaminated solids and liquids. In particular, embodiments of the present invention relate to the bioremediation of solids and liquids by a composition comprising a biocatalyst or mixture of biocatalysts. The present invention also relates to methods for producing the bioremediation compositions and methods for applying the bioremediation compositions to contaminated sites, including treatment, storage, and disposal facilities, as well as various contaminated water sources, such as aquifers and reservoirs.

Provided is a method for forming aerobic granules in which a semibatch reactor for forming granules is used, the method involving repeatedly carrying out an inflowing step for causing organic-matter-containing wastewater that includes organic matter to flow in, a biological treatment step for biologically treating substances to be treated in the organic-matter-containing drainage water by using microbial sludge, a settling step for allowing the microbial sludge to settle out, and a discharge step for discharging biologically treated water which has been biologically treated, wherein the reaction time is adjusted such that the value obtained by dividing the total cycle time by the reaction time and multiplying the resulting quotient by the ratio of the MLSS concentration to the BOD load charged into the semibatch reactor is within a range of 0.05 to 0.25 kgBOD/kgMLSS/d, and the sludge is drawn such that the sludge retention period is 5 to 25 days.

Described herein are systems and methods for treatment of contaminated water employing a mobile supported biofilm. The treatment systems include a bioreactor, a mobile biofilm disposed within the bioreactor, and a solid-solid separation unit attached to the bioreactor. The solid-solid separation unit is adapted to receive an effluent stream from the bioreactor, wherein the effluent contains the mobile biofilm, and separate at least a portion of the mobile biofilm from the effluent and return it to the bioreactor.

A bioreactor has a biofilm supporting bed with at least two types of media. An upper media is relatively porous, preferably porous enough to admit particles of a lower media. In use, wastewater flows downwards through the bed. Soluble nitrogen is reduced in the upper media and converted into nitrogen gas. Nitrogen gas bubbles rise through the upper media and escape from the bed. Selenium is reduced in the lower media and converted into elemental selenium. The elemental selenium is released periodically by backwashing the bed, which may cause fluidization or other expansion of the lower media into the upper media.