A method for treating wastewater and an activator for treating wastewater that maximizes the utilization of microorganisms such as Bacillus bacteria in an activated sludge treatment of wastewater while minimizing treatment cost. In the method for treating wastewater, wastewater including organic matter is introduced into a treatment tank and the wastewater is subjected to an activated sludge treatment by microorganisms in the treatment tank, wherein an activator containing a component for activating the microorganisms is added to the wastewater to be subjected to the activated sludge treatment in the treatment tank; and at least 50% (by quantity) of the entirety of the activator has a particle size of less than 10 pm. Also provided is an activator therefor. The microorganisms preferably include Bacillus bacteria.

The object is to provide an activated sludge treatment method whereby production of excess sludge is brought substantially to zero; and a method for upgrading existing waste water treatment equipment, employing this method. The method includes a step (1) in which sludge 1 produced in a bioreactor is supplied to a waste water aeration-conditioning tank for activated sludge treatment; a step (2) in which waste water into which the sludge 1 has been mixed is subjected to aeration-conditioning to bring the oxidation-reduction potential to a positive value, and the conditioning treated waste water 1 supplied to the bioreactor; a step (3) in which released water from the bioreactor is considered to release water.

Disclosed is a separation membrane cartridge-cleaning apparatus for sewage treatment process. The apparatus conveniently cleans the separation membrane cartridges, thereby improving workability, as the separation membrane cartridges mounted within the membrane separation aerobic tank of the sewage treatment process are removed which have been contaminated while performing the solid-liquid separation of the contaminants contained in the sewage, and then the cartridges are separably mounted on the cartridge-cleaning apparatus of water mill type rotatably installed within the cleaning tank containing the cleaning liquid, and thereafter, the contaminated separation membrane cartridges are immersed in the cleaning liquid and the water and air are sprayed from filter-cleaning means above the cartridges to clean the cartridges.

The present invention relates to a filtering device for a water treatment system comprising a biological treatment device adapted to provide a sludge from wastewater or filtrated wastewater, and/or the biological treatment device being fluidic connectable to or in fluidic connection with the filtering device for receiving filtrated wastewater from the filtering device and for delivering sludge to the filtering device. The filtering device is a cake filtration device comprising a fluid penetrable support structure and the support structure is provided as one or more tubular elements having a filtration cake provided on the inside of the fluid penetrable support structure. The filtering has device an inlet being connectable to receive liquid to be filtered so that the flux of liquid to be filtered is from the inside of the support structure, through the filtration cake and to the outside of the support structure thereby providing a filtrate, an outlet for outletting liquid from the interior of the tubular element, and a filtrate outlet for outletting filtrate from the filtering device. The filtration cake is being provided by deposition of solids from the sludge formed in the biological treatment device.

A pharmaceutical composition is provided comprising a highly soluble arsenic carbonate and/or bicarbonate compound and which is useful in the treatment of a variety of cancers, including acute promyelocytic leukaemia. The arsenic carbonate and/or bicarbonate salt acts as a solid, and so orally deliverable, improved bioequivalent delivery form of arsenic trioxide IV solutions.

The present invention is a composting bioreactor system that continually receives biodegradable solid wastes, waste waters and exhaust gases, automatically recycles the biodegradable wastes into nutrients and heat energy, and automatically supplies the nutrients and heat into an integrated hydroponic or aquaponic system. This invention together with integrated food growing system may be installed onsite such as balconies, backyards and premises of restaurants and food factories etc. therefore may lead to zero mileage targets both for recycling wastes and for supplying foods. This invention integrates composting process and aquaponic technology together and may establish a closed-loop recirculation of both water and gases therefore upgrades aquaponics into compoponics. A compoponic system has both soil and soilless growing beds and mimics nature recirculating nutrients, carbon and energy among human being, animals, microorganisms and plants by way of photosynthesis, slow burning by cellular respiration and burning by combustion.

A mobile device for biological treatment of bioreactor-type wastewater with a submerged membrane enabling treatment of greywater and blackwater has an inlet duct for effluent to be treated and an outlet duct for treated and filtered water connected to a permeate pump. The device includes a container, the interior volume of which has a parallelepiped appearance with two large vertical lateral sides, and a membrane filter having an assembly of parallel, planar filtration membranes also with a vertical appearance. The membranes are connected to a downstream collector collecting the filtered water and connected to the outlet duct. The permeate pump ensures a transmembrane flow less than the subcritical flow. At least one diffuser of fine air bubbles is located at the base of each column. Each diffuser is connected to a regulating solenoid valve and to pump, ensuring therein an airflow greater than or equal to 10 Nm.sup.3/h per diffuser.

Settling devices for separating particles from a bulk fluid with applications in numerous fields. The particle settling devices include a stack of cones with a small opening oriented upwardly or downwardly. The cones have an interior surface that is convex. These devices are useful for separating small (millimeter or micron sized) particles from a bulk fluid with applications in numerous fields, such as biological (microbial, mammalian, plant, insect or algal) cell cultures, solid catalyst particle separation from a liquid or gas and waste-water treatment.

Settling devices for separating particles from a bulk fluid with applications in numerous fields. The particle settling devices include a stack of cones with a small opening oriented upwardly or downwardly. The cones have an interior surface that is convex. These devices are useful for separating small (millimeter or micron sized) particles from a bulk fluid with applications in numerous fields, such as biological (microbial, mammalian, plant, insect or algal) cell cultures, solid catalyst particle separation from a liquid or gas and waste-water treatment.

Disclosed are methods of treating wastewater using a membrane bioreactor and achieving a target phosphorus concentration for the membrane permeate stream. These methods include the steps of dosing a wastewater stream with a rare earth clarifying agent and passing the dosed wastewater stream through the membrane to obtain a membrane permeate stream with a permeate concentration that is less than the phosphorus concentration of the influent stream. This permeate concentration also can be equal to or less than a target phosphorus concentration. In the methods as disclosed herein, the rare earth clarifying agent can be chloride salts of one or more rare earth elements and in certain embodiments, the rare earth clarifying agent can be CeCl.sub.3 and LaCl.sub.3.