The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Mar. 23, 2004
Filed:
Apr. 26, 2002
Stefan Rosenberger, Moembris, DE;
James H Wilson, Columbia, SC (US);
Howard Whitehead, Saint Helena Island, SC (US);
Randall B. Underwood, Lexington, SC (US);
John M Raymount, Jr., Columbia, SC (US);
Rwe Nukem Corporation, Columbia, SC (US);
Abstract
A method and apparatus for processing waste streams wherein a slipstream is formed on the upstream side of an ultrafiltration membrane ( ) to carry collected and concentrated filter reject to a microfilter ( ) via a slipstream through a conduit ( ) at a very low flux through the microfilter. The low flux gives the particles in this stream a chance to interact and thus form an irregular matrix that itself helps to trap particles. The effluent from this matrix and microfilter is returned upstream of the ultrafiltration membrane via a conduit ( ) to be repeatedly collected and concentrated. The suspended solids removed from the reject stream and microfilter may then be disposed of directly without further processing. For metal ions, the removal efficiency of ultrafiltration membrane can be improved by injecting sulfide compounds or other compounds upstream of ultrafiltration membrane. Water, a combination of air and water, or a combination of ozone and water can be used to back flush or to clean the ultrafiltration membrane. The water used for back flushing can be the filtrate from the ultrafiltration membrane.