David D Digregorio, 803394 E Aura Cir, Salt Lake City, UT 84124

4940545, Jul 10, 1990

Mar 29, 1989

7/330017

David DiGregorio - Salt Lake City UT
Richard J. Eismin - Salt Lake City UT
Frederick M. Riser - Sandy UT

Baker Hughes, Inc. - Houston TX

C02F 314

210609

A thickener well is provided in one end of a digester orbital ditch having a pair of channels and an elongated center partition spaced from a pair of ditch endwalls, the overall ditch forming a basin for digestion of wasted sludge. A curved endwall of the ditch provides a common curved top outer peripheral wall of the thickener well. The remainder of the well has a cylindrical configuration integral with the orbital ditch bottom and extending downwardly therefrom to a position below the horizontal plane of the ditch bottom. A sludge raking structure is positioned at the bottom of the well for periodically raking settled sludge into a sludge outlet at the bottom of the well. A surface aerator is provided between and spaced from the other ditch endwall and a juxtaposed end of the partition or other aeration apparatus mounted in a channel(s) to aerate and propel a liquid-solids sludge mixture wasted from a secondary treatment apparatus and fed into the orbital ditch. The mixture is circulated in the ditch and across and through a top portion of the well. The orbital ditch may be decanted by turning off the aerator, allowing a clear liquid top layer to form in the ditch and decanting the clear liquid from the tank by lowering a weir or by adding additional activated sludge to the ditch to displace clear liquid over a fixed weir.

4936982, Jun 26, 1990

Mar 20, 1989

7/326143

David DiGregorio - Salt Lake City UT
Mark G. Biesinger - Salt Lake City UT
Brent C. Black - Salt Lake City UT

Baker Hughes, Inc. - Houston TX

C02F 314

2101953

A combined oxidation orbital ditch and intraclarifier has the intraclarifier in the form of an elongated clarifier vessel positioned on the top of a section of the center partition between the ditch sidewalls so that the overall clarifier vessel extends laterally into both of a pair of flow channels formed between the ditch sidewalls and the center partition but is spaced from the ditch sidewalls so as to minimize impediment of the mixed liquor flow being treated in the channels. A gated inlet below the flow surface is provided in the one half of the bow of the vessel facing into the mixed liquor flow for diverting a portion of the flow into the clarifier. That flow portion is distributed over the entire width of the vessel and arrested in flow velocity so that settling of sludge can be performed downstream in the vessel. Clarified liquid removal troughs are provided at the stern end of the vessel and sludge ports are provided in the vessel bottom to transport settled sludge into the mixed liquor flowing under the vessel width.

5234595, Aug 10, 1993

Jul 21, 1992

7/917557

David DiGregorio - Salt Lake City UT
David T. Berry - Sandy UT

Baker Hughes Incorporated - Houston TX

C02F 314

210605

A wastewater orbital treatment system includes an elongated racetrack-like tank containing a central partition wall. A surface aerator is mounted adjacent to at least one end of the partition wall to both aerate and propel the mixed liquor including biomass around the orbital tank. An aerobic zone for BOD and ammonia oxidation is provided in an upper layer of the moving volume of mixed liquor and an anoxic zone for reduction of NO. sub. x from the aerobic zone, by anoxic respiration by the biomass, is provided in a lower layer of the moving volume of mixed liquor. An imperforate horizontal baffle is provided under the surface aerator so as to prevent dissolved oxygen in the aerobic zone from entering the anoxic zone. The NO. sub. x from the aerobic zone is introduced through a free interface of the two vertically displaced zones downstream of the baffle. In a preferred embodiment a radial impeller connected by a common drive shaft to the surface aerator is positioned below the baffle and aids in propelling the anoxic zone layer around the circuit.

4275020, Jun 23, 1981

Sep 20, 1978

5/944116

David DiGregorio - Salt Lake City UT
Daniel McCarthy - Salt Lake City UT
Keith J. Mounteer - Salt Lake City UT
Charles D. Thompson - Hunter UT

Envirotech Corporation - Menlo Park CA

B01F 304
C02F 124

261111

A dissolving tank for dissolving a large amount of gas in a liquid and including a generally horizontally disposed tray (28) (29) mounted within the tank (2) (21) to divide the tank (2) (21) into an upper reaction zone (36) and a lower discharge zone (38). The tray (28) (29) has formed therein both a central opening (34) (35) for fluid communication between the discharge zone (38) and the reaction zone (36) and peripheral openings (32) (33) which allow any liquid which collects on the tray (28) (29) to flow from reaction zone (36) to discharge zone (38). The dissolving tank further includes liquid feed means (10) positioned within the tank (2) (21) below the tray (28) (29) to discharge liquid upwardly through the central opening (34) (35) of the tray (28) (29) and into the reaction zone (36). The dissolving tank further includes liquid distribution means (14) mounted within the tank (2) (21) above the tray (28) (29) and having flared sidewalls (15) and a vertically-oriented distribution orifice (16). The distribution means (14) is positioned so that a portion of the liquid discharged upwardly from the feed means (10) impacts on the flared sidewalls (15) and is distributed as droplets within the reaction zone (36) and another portion of the liquid discharged from the feed means (10) passes upwardly through the distribution orifice (16) toward the top (3) of the tank (2) (21).

5078869, Jan 7, 1992

Apr 18, 1990

7/510896

David DiGregorio - Salt Lake City UT
Brent C. Black - Salt Lake City UT

Baker Hughes Incorporated - Houston TX

B01D 2120
C02F 314

2101953

The apparatus of the present invention is a cleaning system to be employed in the clarifier. A track is mounted to opposing sides of the clarifier. A scraping blade spans the two rails. A mechanism connects the two ends of the blade to the tracks and provides for stepwise movement of the blade bidirectionally within the clarifier. Movement of the blade over slots found in the clarifier bottom results in displacement of sludge from the clarifier back into the orbital ditch. The moving mechanisms are preferably located adjacent the clarifier floor. The scraping blade moves in stepwise motion over each of the slots, displacing sludge through such slots. At the same time a suction header, with inlets on both sides of the blade, allows some of the sludge to be suctioned from the bottom of the clarifier and removed from the orbital ditch system.

4869818, Sep 26, 1989

May 8, 1987

7/047802

David DiGregorio - Salt Lake City UT
Mark G. Biesinger - Salt Lake City UT
Frederick M. Riser - Sandy UT

Baker International Corporation - Houston TX

C02F 316
C02F 320

210194

An improved wastewater aeration and mixed liquor pumping arrangement for an orbital-type actuated sludge purification method includes the addition of a radial flow impeller on a shaft extension below the normal surface aerator. Both the combined radial flow impeller and surface aerator are positioned with respect to an end of a partition wall forming the flow channels of the orbital system such that both the impeller and the aerator pump the mixed liquor in the same direction, so that the mixed liquor is moved at a sufficient velocity through and around the various channels and returned. The radial flow impeller is positioned adjacent to the bottom of the orbital channel and enhances the propulsion of the mixed liquor along the bottom of the channel thus permitting deeper channels with attendant concrete and land area savings in constructing the system. The system may be operated at various wastewater levels so that when oxygenation levels are high or oxygenation needs are low, the level is lowered by a weir so that only the lower radial impeller functions to propel the mixed liquor. Auxiliary compressed or aspirated air may also be inputted through the lower radial impeller.