An anaerobic reactor (1) for treating waste water includes a reaction vessel (2) and a three phase separator (4) above the reaction vessel and arranged to receive effluent from the reaction vessel. The three phase separator includes an outer wall (10, 14) connected at its bottom to the top of the reaction vessel and a liquid outlet (42), a lid (16) closing the top of the outer wall. The lid has a gas outlet (17) above the level of the liquid outlet. The three phase separator also includes a funnel (18) arranged above the reaction vessel, a guide wall (30) spaced from and arranged radially outward of the funnel so to surround an upper aperture of the funnel and a baffle wall (36) spaced from and arranged between the guide wall and the liquid outlet.

The invention relates to an anaerobic waste water purification tower (21) comprising a sludge reactor (22) with a waste water inlet zone (23), an active zone (24), a first set (25) of three phase separating means for separating sludge, gas and water, comprising at least one layer of adjacent gas hoods (26) connected to a gas collector tank (27) positioned above the reactor (22), and a clean water effluent outlet (31), wherein the gas hoods (26) are hooded lamellas for improving the separation of gas, sludge and water.

A method of treating wastewater comprising soluble chemical oxygen demand and particulate chemical oxygen demand is described as well as an apparatus therefor that is an anaerobic migrating blanket reactor apparatus (AMBR). The method provides an AMBR structure with wastewater influent inlet(s), biogas outlet(s) and effluent outlet(s). The AMBR structure defines at least three reaction chambers that are configured to permit bidirectional, generally transverse flow, in a first direction and a second direction, through the at least three reaction chambers. Wastewater influent enters the first reactor chamber and flows in a first direction through the first reactor chamber, the second reactor chamber, the third reactor chamber and through an effluent outlet for a first period of time. Wastewater influent enters the second reactor chamber and flows in the first direction through the second reactor, the third reactor and an effluent outlet for a second period of time. Wastewater enters the third reactor chamber of the AMBR and flows in a second direction through the third reactor chamber, the second reactor chamber, the first reactor chamber and an effluent outlet for a third period of time. Wastewater enters the inlet to the second reactor chamber and flows in the second direction through the second reactor, the first reactor and an effluent outlet for a fourth period of time. A mass load of the particulate chemical oxygen demand to the second reactor chamber (i) in the first direction of flow during the first and the second periods of time while the third reactor chamber acts as a clarifying chamber, and (ii) in the second direction of flow while the first reactor chamber acts as a clarifying chamber during the third and the fourth periods of time, allows for substantially complete digestion of biodegradable loads of the particulate chemical oxygen demand and the soluble chemical oxygen demand.

An anaerobic purification device for purification of wastewater, the anaerobic purification device comprising: a reactor tank (10) configured to, when in operation, have a sludge blanket formed at the bottom part; a fluid inlet (12) for, in operation, introducing influent into the reactor tank, the fluid inlet located in the lower section of the reactor tank (10); at least one gas-collecting system (13); at least one gas-liquid separation device (30); at least one riser pipe (22) connected to the at least one gas-collecting system (13) and discharging into the gas-liquid separation device (30); a downer pipe (24) connected to the gas-liquid separation device (30) and discharging into the bottom of the reactor tank (10); and a fluid outlet (16) comprising means for, in operation, varying the height of the fluid level (19) in the reactor tank within a predetermined range, the fluid outlet arranged at the upper section of the reactor tank (10);
wherein the fluid level control means comprises: a fluid valve (15) configured to control the height of the fluid in the reactor tank within the predetermined range, a fluid level detector (17), a gas flow meter (33) configured to measure the production rate of gas in the anaerobic purification device, and
a controlling unit configured to regulate the fluid valve (15) to vary the height of the fluid level in the reactor tank (10) based on at least one of the fluid level detected by the fluid level detector (17) and the gas production rate detected by the gas flow meter (33).

A gas-liquid separation device (30) for an anaerobic purification device for purification of wastewater, the gas-liquid separation device comprising: a gas-liquid riser pipe (32); a separation pipe (34) attached to the gas-liquid riser pipe (32), the separation pipe defining an angle with the direction perpendicular to the gas-liquid riser pipe between 45 degrees and +45 degrees, the separation pipe (34) configured to receive fluid from the gas-liquid riser pipe (32); at least one pipe gas outlet (35) located, when assembled with an anaerobic purification device, in a surface along the separation pipe (34) facing away from the ground, the at least one pipe gas outlet (35) configured to lead at least a portion of the gas in the separation pipe (34) outside the gas-liquid separation device; a hydraulic cyclone (36) attached to the separation pipe (34), the hydraulic cyclone configured to receive fluid from the separation pipe; at least one cyclone gas outlet (37) located in the upper side of the hydraulic cyclone (36); the at least one cyclone gas outlet configured to lead the gas entering the hydraulic cyclone (36) outside the hydraulic cyclone; and a liquid outlet (38) attached to the bottom part of the hydraulic cyclone (36), the liquid outlet configured to guide degassed fluid outside the hydraulic cyclone.

A method of removing organic carbon in biological wastewater treatment includes the steps of: (a) oxidizing organic carbon to carbon dioxide with elemental sulfur as an electron carrier, and reducing the elemental sulfur to sulfide; (b) oxidizing the sulfide to elemental sulfur by recycled nitrate through controlling one or more of a recycling ratio to maintain an oxidation reduction potential (ORP) within the range of 360 mv to 420 mv, using an auto ORP controller; (c) recycling the elemental sulfur formed during oxidation of the sulfide back to the oxidation of the organic carbon; and (d) oxidizing ammonium to nitrate then partially recycled back for sulfide oxidation.

Wastewater containing organic matter may be treated using a multi-zone apparatus. In a first zone, organic matter in the wastewater may, among other things, be converted to at least volatile fatty acids (VFAs) and, thereafter, a portion of the treated wastewater may flow to a second zone that may, among other things, convert the VFAs to methane.

An induced sludge bed anaerobic reactor system that includes at least two stages of bioreactor processing, a first-stage feeding system, a second-stage feeding system, a pH balancing system, an effluent recirculation system, a gas management system, and a controller. In addition, any given stage of reactor processing may be comprised of a plurality of reactors that are configured to operate in parallel with each other.

Disclosed are methods and systems for minimizing downtime for waste processing plants by serially processing a potentially mixed waste stream including a solid fraction, low-strength wastewater, and/or high-strength wastewater in a plurality of anaerobic digesters (e.g., plug flow, upflow and fixed-film), and treating the processed liquid output with a plurality of tertiary wastewater treatments (e.g., ultrafiltration, reverse osmosis, precipitation), to produce a low suspended solids liquid and a high suspended solids liquid, and returning at least a portion of the high suspended solids liquid to the plurality of anaerobic digesters.

A system for wastewater treatment process control comprising a set of measuring means arranged to obtain a dataset, the dataset comprises a plurality of process variables related to a parameter of the wastewater treatment process; a prediction module arranged to receive the dataset and predict the parameter of wastewater treatment process based on a soft sensor; a troubleshooting module arranged to compare the predicted parameter with a predetermined criterion; wherein if the predicted parameter does not satisfy the predetermined criterion; the troubleshooting module is operable to identify at least one process variable from the plurality of process variables which causes the predicted parameter not to satisfy the predetermined criterion and determine whether the identified at least one process variable from the plurality of process variables is controllable. An optimisation module for use in a wastewater treatment system is also disclosed.