Waste material treatment apparatus

Abstract

A sewage or waste material treatment plant or apparatus includes adjacent aeration and clarifier chambers with an intermediate internal wall having a bottom opening normally providing the sole communication between the chambers. A deflector member in the upper portion of the aeration chamber in the path of incoming material, a deflector surface on the lower portion of the internal wall, together with a diffuser assembly, provides a substantially circular flow of fluid and solids to promote maximum suspension of solids and their oxidative or bacteriological breakdown. A specially configured deflector on the lower portion of the internal wall further directs the moving fluid in the aeration chamber so as to promote the circular movement of material therein and also to enhance the return of settled floc from the adjacent clarifier chamber back into the circulating stream in the aeration chamber. The deflector member in the path of the incoming material also works in concert with a fixed skimmer device to provide a solution for drawing floating accumulations from the clarifier chamber to the aeration chamber. In a preferred embodiment, unique motion attenuating means in the clarifier chamber allows the use of unusually high air flow volumes to the aeration chamber without adversely affecting floc and float material recycling functions of the apparatus.