Search

US-20260125300-A1 - SYSTEM FOR VALVE-BASED WASTEWATER TREATMENT CONTROL THROUGH MICROORGANISM METABOLIC PATHWAY OPTIMIZATION

US20260125300A1US 20260125300 A1US20260125300 A1US 20260125300A1US-20260125300-A1

Abstract

Increased control and efficiency over the wastewater purification can be achieved by allowing to selectively prioritize catabolic over anabolic processes via prioritization of the digestive function of microorganism in the activated sludge. The gas-dispersion return sludge is created using pure oxygen or oxygen containing trace amounts of ozone, which is blended with return sludge to create a mixture of gas and liquid, which is passed through an atomizer or a pump to instantly render the reactive gas to an ultra-fine bubble state. At least a portion of the ultra-fine bubbles dissolve within the sludge, raising oxygen to a critical level within a short time, activating the dormant microorganisms. The microorganisms accumulate enough cATP upon initial encounter with the pollutants to prioritize their digestive function, and when exposed to pollutants present in wastewater, digest the pollutants using biochemical pathways different from the ones used in nature.

Inventors

  • Akiyoshi Ohki
  • Whitney Rich

Assignees

  • Akiyoshi Ohki
  • Whitney Rich

Dates

Publication Date
20260507
Application Date
20260105

Claims (20)

  1. 1 . A system for valve-based wastewater treatment control through microorganism metabolic pathway optimization, comprising: a gas generator under a control of the computer and configured to generate an at least one reactive gas; one or more valves that control a speed with which the at least one reactive gas is provided to a machine; a computer configured to: receive a user input associated with a digestion of one or more pollutants by microorganisms in a sludge capable of digesting one or more of the pollutants by exercising a digestive function via one or more catabolic pathways to obtain energy and store the energy in a form of ATP, wherein the sludge is substantially free of the pollutants; determine a time during which the at least one reactive gas needs to dissolve to a predetermined concentration within the sludge based on the user input; and control one or more of the valves based on the determined time; and a machine under a control of the computer and comprising one of an atomizer or a pump, the machine configured to: form a gas-dispersion return sludge by at least partially dissolving the at least one reactive gas in the sludge in the determined time to reach the predetermined concentration within the sludge; form a mixed liquor by providing the gas-dispersion return sludge for combining with a wastewater that comprises one or more of the pollutants, wherein upon encountering the pollutants in the wastewater, the microorganisms store an amount of the ATP during an initial time period that is dependent on the determined time and wherein the microorganisms exercise the digestive function during the further time period based on the amount of the ATP created and stored during the initial time period.
  2. 2 . A system according to claim 1 , further comprising one or more apertures formed on the machine, each of the apertures coupled to one of the valves, wherein the at least one reactive gas enters the machine through the one or more valves.
  3. 3 . A system according to claim 1 , further comprising an aperture serving as an outlet of the machine and a further valve coupled to the aperture, wherein the computer controls the further valve.
  4. 4 . A system according to claim 3 , wherein the computer is configured to control at least one of timing and amount of the gas-dispersion return sludge that is used to form the mixed liquor by controlling the further valve.
  5. 5 . A system according to claim 1 , further comprising an aperture comprised at an inlet of the machine and an additional valve under a control of the computer, wherein the computer controls via the additional valve a speed with which the sludge enters the machine.
  6. 6 . A system according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one reactive gas comprises oxygen and the predetermined concentration of the oxygen is at least 10 mg/l.
  7. 7 . A system according to claim 6 , wherein the at least one reactive gas further comprises ozone.
  8. 8 . A system according to claim 1 , wherein the time is 2 seconds to 4 seconds.
  9. 9 . A system according to claim 1 , wherein the computer is further configured to determine a volume of the wastewater and to determine a volume of the gas-dispersion return sludge to be used to form the mixed liquor based on the volume of the wastewater.
  10. 10 . A system according to claim 9 , wherein the volume of the gas-dispersion return sludge is further based on a source of the wastewater.
  11. 11 . A system according to claim 10 , wherein the source comprises one of a ship, a sewage plant, and a dairy farm.
  12. 12 . A system according to claim 1 , further comprising a mixer/distributor within which the mixed liquor is formed and which is configured to distribute the mixed liquor to a plurality of further vessels.
  13. 13 . A system according to claim 1 , wherein the computer controls the generation of the at least one reactive gas by the gas generator based on the user input.
  14. 14 . A system according to claim 1 , wherein a length of the initial period is further dependent on a temperature of the wastewater.
  15. 15 . A system according to claim 1 , wherein the user input comprises a desired amount of further sludge to be produced by the microorganisms.
  16. 16 . A system according to claim 15 , wherein the determined time is proportional to the amount of the further sludge to be produced.
  17. 17 . A system according to claim 1 , wherein the time is determined using an association between how quickly the at least one reactive gas dissolves to the predetermined concentration within the sludge and the degree to which the microorganisms exercise the digestive function.
  18. 18 . A system according to claim 17 , wherein the association is inversely proportional.
  19. 19 . A system according to claim 1 , wherein the gas generator comprises a plurality of generators.
  20. 20 . A system according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one reactive gas comprises one of pure oxygen and oxygen-enriched air.

Description

FIELD The present invention relates in general to wastewater purification, and in particular, to a system for valve-based wastewater treatment control through microorganism metabolic pathway optimization. BACKGROUND The activated sludge method is employed widely today for the purification of wastewater. The activated sludge method is a biochemical treatment and oxidation process which employs microorganisms and oxygen to immobilize organic pollutant substances which are dissolved in wastewater into activated sludge utilizing the reproductive function of the sludge, and then utilizes the digestive function of the sludge to break down a portion of the organic pollutants into water (H2O) and carbon dioxide gas (CO2) for removal. Other pollutants present in the wastewater, such as ammonia, can be similarly broken down into water and other byproducts. The typical activated sludge wastewater treatment techniques have over a century of history and many challenges are associated with such traditional techniques. For instance, the biochemical cleansing of organic pollutant substances depends largely on the quantity of microorganisms (return sludge), the density of the microorganisms, and the degree of their activity. However, to increase the quantity of microorganisms, their density, and their activity, increasing the supply of dissolved oxygen, which is essential to the microorganisms, is necessary. Without adequate supply of dissolved oxygen, the wastewater treatment may not be effective. When the activated sludge method is employed under natural environmental conditions, namely, at 20° C. under standard pressure, 1 DO (mg/L) of dissolved oxygen is required to purify 1 BOD (biochemical oxygen demand in mg/L) of organic pollutants in a five-day period. Similarly, 1 DO (mg/L) of dissolved oxygen is required to purify 1 COD (chemical oxygen demand in mg/L) of organic pollutants at 20° C. under standard pressure in a 30-minute to two-hour period. Therefore, under standard environmental conditions, the purification processing performance of the standard activated sludge method does not exceed 1 BOD per 1 DO, and in the same way, 1 DO is required to purify 1 COD. In other words, to purify either 1 BOD of pollutant or 1 COD of pollutant, 1 DO of dissolved oxygen is required. As for the time required, 1 BOD of pollutant require five days and 1 COD of pollutant requires 30 minutes to two hours. While many enhancements and improvements have been proposed to traditional activated sludge-based wastewater treatment, most of them presume conditions which exist naturally in the environment. To date, no innovative technology or method that brings about a revolutionary improvement in performance has been proposed. The activated sludge method employs microbes and oxygen to effect a biochemical treatment and oxidation, isolating organic pollutants in the wastewater in the form of activated sludge, so that a portion of the organic pollutants can be broken down, most commonly, to water (H2O) and carbon dioxide gas (CO2), for removal. For this reason, the biochemical purification of the organic pollutants depends greatly upon the quantity of return sludge (microbe flora), the density of the microbe flora, and the degree to which the microbe flora is activated. One enhancement to traditional activated sludge-based wastewater treatment is known as “preliminary aeration.” When preliminary aeration is used, the return sludge is aerated in advance, and the return sludge (microbe flora) thus activated is supplied to an aeration vessel. However, the capacity enhancement from preliminary aeration is limited to about 30%, and due to this low improvement ratio the cost of aeration is immense. The additional cost of aeration is roughly 100%, so for a 30% improvement in performance the cost is doubled, which is clearly not cost-effective. Similarly, another technique used today is long-term continuous aeration bubbling technology, in which the wastewater to be purified and a return activated sludge are combined in an aeration basin into a mixed liquor. Air is provided through a blower into the aeration basin. Bubbles of about 1 mm are produced, aerating the mixed liquor so that the air is 30 dissolved into the wastewater, providing oxygen for aerobic microorganisms and activating them so they can break down organic solids in the wastewater more efficiently. However, as oxygen is not easily soluble, even with the bubbling, the achieved concentration of dissolved oxygen is not high enough to bring about a large increase in microorganisms, generally being 2-4 mg/l, a level similar to what is observed in nature, such as in rivers and lakes. While a greater number of microorganisms can be provided by increasing the amount of return sludge inserted into the aeration basin, to be effective, the increase would have to be accompanied by increasing the supply of available oxygen, which may not be possible without physically changing the existing setup. Furt