Excreta treatment apparatus, excreta treatment method, and excreta treatment system

Abstract

To provide excreta treatment apparatus and excreta treatment system with improved daily treatment capacity for excreta.SOLUTION: An apparatus includes a first tank (2) that receives excreta from the toilet bowl and produces treated water to be used as toilet bowl washing water by microorganism treatment, a second tank (3) that stores the treated water from the first tank as washing water and performs germicidal treatment, and a third tank (4) that receives a part of the liquid from the first tank (2) and brings it into contact with the substrate to evaporate the water.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a human waste treatment device, a human waste treatment method, and a human waste treatment system. [Background technology]

[0002] Recirculating flush toilets have been developed for use at construction sites, temporary housing, etc. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a bio-toilet system that includes a treatment tank that performs microbial treatment of wastewater discharged from toilets, a blower that sends air into the treatment tank, and a control device that controls the entire bio-toilet system, in which the blower and the control device are arranged in a common space, the blower sucks in air heated by the control device and discharges the air from an aeration pipe arranged in the treatment tank, and a first adjustment tank that is arranged in front of the treatment tank, stores the water to be treated while aerobic treatment is performed by aeration of the blower, and discharges the stored water to be treated with a pump and sends it to the treatment tank. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2020-37824 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, when the facility is used frequently, the treated wastewater overflows due to the input of water, mainly from urination, which limits the facility's daily treatment capacity.

[0005] Therefore, the present invention has been made in consideration of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a sewage treatment device and the like that has an improved daily treatment capacity for sewage. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above problem, the invention described in claim 1 is characterized by comprising a first tank that receives human waste from a toilet and performs microbial treatment to produce treated water to be used as flushing water for the toilet, a second tank that stores the treated water from the first tank as the flushing water and performs a sterilization treatment, and a third tank that receives a portion of the liquid in the second tank and brings it into contact with a base material to evaporate the moisture that increases with use of the toilet.

[0007] The invention described in claim 2 is characterized in that the third tank has a fan for discharging gas in the third tank to the outside, a heater, and a stirring device.

[0008] The invention described in claim 3 is characterized in that the operating conditions of the fan, heater, and agitator are calculated from data relating to the moisture content of the base material.

[0009] The invention described in claim 4 is characterized in that the third tank receives the sludge in the first tank.

[0010] The invention described in claim 5 is characterized in that the first tank has an anaerobic section in which the microbial treatment is carried out by anaerobic bacteria, and an aerobic section in which the microbial treatment is carried out by aerobic bacteria.

[0011] The invention described in claim 6 is characterized in that the base material is wood chips.

[0012] The invention described in claim 7 is characterized in that the sterilization treatment in the second tank is electrolysis.

[0013] The invention described in claim 8 is characterized in that it includes a treated water production step in which a first tank receives human waste from a toilet and microbially treats the human waste to produce treated water to be used as flush water for the toilet, a sterilization step in which a second tank stores the treated water from the first tank as the flush water and a third tank receives a portion of the liquid in the second tank and brings the treated water into contact with a base material in the third tank to evaporate the water.

[0014] The invention described in claim 9 is characterized by comprising a wall-drained toilet, a first tank that receives human waste from the toilet and subjects it to microbial treatment to produce treated water to be used as flushing water for the toilet, a second tank that stores the treated water from the first tank as the flushing water and subjects it to sterilization treatment, and a third tank that receives a portion of the liquid in the second tank and brings it into contact with a base material to evaporate the water. Effect of the Invention

[0015] According to the present invention, there is provided a first tank that receives human waste from the toilet and treats it with microorganisms to produce treated water to be used as toilet flushing water, a second tank that stores the treated water from the first tank and performs a sterilization treatment, and a third tank that receives a portion of the liquid in the second tank and brings it into contact with a base material to evaporate the water.By providing this system, it is possible to efficiently evaporate water from the third tank, which is dedicated to evaporating water, and it is possible to improve the daily human waste treatment capacity. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0016] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of a sewage treatment system according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing an example of the operation of the sewage treatment system. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0017] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the embodiment described below is an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a human waste treatment system or the like.

[0018] [1. Overview of the configuration and functions of the sewage treatment system and each device] First, the configuration and general functions of a human waste treatment system according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

[0019] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of a human waste treatment system according to this embodiment.

[0020] As shown in Fig. 1, the human waste treatment system S according to this embodiment includes a toilet unit 1 having a toilet bowl, a treatment tank 2 (an example of a first tank) that receives human waste from the toilet bowl and performs microbial treatment to generate treated water to be used as flushing water for the toilet bowl, a water storage tank 3 (an example of a second tank) that stores the treated water from the treatment tank 2 and performs sterilization treatment, and an evaporation tank 4 (an example of a third tank) that receives a part of the liquid in the water storage tank 3, brings it into contact with a base material such as wood chips, and evaporates water from the surface of the base material. The size of the human waste treatment system S is such that it can be transported by a 4-ton truck like a container. The toilet unit 1, the treatment tank 2, the water storage tank 3, and the evaporation tank 4 are housed in a chamber that is smaller than or about the same size as the container.

[0021] The toilet unit 1 has a wall-drain toilet bowl, a toilet tank such as a low tank for storing treated water, and a pressure pump for sending human waste to the treatment tank 2. The human waste is sent from the toilet unit 1 to the treatment tank 2 through a pipe p1 by the pressure pump.

[0022] The treatment tank 2 has a purifier 20 that performs microbial treatment, and a blower pump and the like that supplies air to the purifier 20. The purifier 20 has a solid-liquid separation section 21, a contact aeration section 22, and a settling section 23. For example, the purifier 20 is a septic tank device in which the solid-liquid separation section 21, the contact aeration section 22, the settling section 23, and the like are integrated together. The blower pump and the like are started by power supplied from an external power source, and air is supplied to the purifier 20.

[0023] The solid-liquid separation section 21 has a tank structure and temporarily stores the human waste received from the toilet unit 1. The solid-liquid separation section 21 concentrates and separates impurities in the inflow water and sludge transferred from the settling section 23. The liquid in the upper part of the solid-liquid separation section 21 is transferred to the contact aeration section 22. An air lift pump may be formed in the solid-liquid separation section 21. Air is supplied from a blower pump to the air lift pump, and the sludge of the bottom deposits accumulated at the bottom of the solid-liquid separation section 21 is transferred to the evaporation tank 4 through the pipe p4 by the air lift pump in a liquid state containing sludge. The solid-liquid separation section 21 may also have an aeration pipe for aeration and agitation to crush the bottom deposits and floating solids. Anaerobic bacteria may be made to reside in the solid-liquid separation section 21, and microbial treatment may be performed by the anaerobic bacteria in an anaerobic or / and anoxic state.

[0024] The contact aeration section 22 has a tank structure, and a filter medium is filled in the middle part. Aerobic bacteria reside in the contact aeration section 22. The contact aeration section 22 is aerated from the bottom of the filled filter medium by an aeration tube connected to a blower pump or the like, and the removal of BOD (biochemical oxygen demand) and nitrification of nitrogen are promoted by microbial treatment by aerobic bacteria. The treated water, which is a liquid treated by the contact aeration section 22, is transferred to the settling section 23. The contact aeration section 22 is an example of an aerobic section that performs microbial treatment by aerobic bacteria. In addition to the aeration tube, the contact aeration section 22 may have another aeration tube to form two series of aeration tubes. During backwashing, the biological film attached to the filter medium can be peeled off by sending air from the other aeration tube.

[0025] The settling section 23 has a tank structure and temporarily stores the treated water from the contact aeration section 22. The settling section 23 separates suspended solids generated after the microbial treatment. The settling section 23 may have an air lift pump for transporting bottom mud.

[0026] The treated water in the purification device 20 is sent to the water tank 3 through piping p2. If the frequency of toilet use increases, a predetermined amount of treated water may be sent to the evaporation tank 4. Each air diffuser pipe of the purification device 20 is connected to a blower pump outside the tank through piping. An electromagnetic valve or the like is provided outside the tank to control opening and closing, thereby controlling the supply of air to the air diffuser pipe.

[0027] The treatment tank 2 may have multiple anaerobic sections and multiple aerobic sections, and may be any septic tank capable of purifying human waste. The treatment tank 2 may have a fan or heater that exhausts moisture from the tank to the outside, and may have the function of evaporating the moisture in the treatment tank 2.

[0028] The water tank 3 has a sterilizer and a water supply pump that supplies flush water to the toilet unit 1. The sterilizer installed in the tank of the water tank 3 has an electrolyzer having an anode and a cathode. Sterilization is performed by chlorine generated at the anode. The sterilized treated water is supplied to the toilet tank of the toilet unit 1 through the pipe p5. In addition, a part of the liquid in the water tank 3 is configured to be supplied to the evaporation tank 4 through the pipe p3. For example, a part of the liquid is supplied from the water tank 3 to the evaporation tank 4 as overflow water or a predetermined amount of water that does not exceed the evaporation capacity of the evaporation tank 4. This part of the liquid may be treated water from the treatment tank 2, treated water in the middle of being sterilized, sterilized treated water, or a mixture of these. In addition, the sterilizer may have an ultraviolet lamp and a photocatalyst to perform sterilization, or may be sterilized by ozone, sterilized by hypochlorous acid water, or sterilized by chlorine. A sterilizing agent may be added to the water tank 3. In cold regions, the water tank 3 may have a heater unit. The water tank 3 may have a blower pump that aerates the treated water in the water tank 3. The blower pump of the water tank 3 can be operated intermittently, for example, by aerating for 20 minutes and stopping for 40 minutes, thereby promoting nitrification and denitrification reactions and also enabling energy-saving operation.

[0029] The evaporation tank 4 has wood chips, an agitator for agitating the wood chips, a ventilation fan, a thermometer and hygrometer for measuring the temperature and humidity inside the evaporation tank 4, a heater for heating the wood chips, and a control unit for controlling the agitator, ventilation fan, and heater. The wood chips placed inside the evaporation tank 4 are cedar, cypress, etc. The top of the evaporation tank 4 is open, making it easy for water vapor to diffuse to the outside.

[0030] The blower fan is attached to the top of the evaporation tank 4 or the like, and forcibly exhausts gas inside the evaporation tank 4 to the outside, promoting the evaporation of water in the treated water and sludge. The direction of the blower fan may be such that it blows air directly onto the wood chips, or such that it exhausts air from inside the evaporation tank 4. There may be multiple blower fans.

[0031] In order to save electricity, it is preferable that the agitator be operated intermittently to agitate the wood chips. Moreover, the evaporation tank 4 does not have a pipe for discharging the liquid from the evaporation tank 4 to the outside.

[0032] The sensor unit of the thermo-hygrometer is inserted, for example, into wood chips spread in the evaporation tank 4 to measure the temperature and humidity of the wood chips. The thermo-hygrometer outputs the measured temperature and humidity to the control unit. The temperature and humidity of the wood chips are an example of data related to the moisture of the base material.

[0033] The heater is, for example, a belt heater for keeping the temperature constant, and is installed at the bottom of the evaporation tank 4 or the like.

[0034] The control unit is a computer having, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), a non-volatile memory, and the like. The control unit calculates the operating conditions of the agitator, the blower fan, and the heater in the evaporation tank 4 based on data from the thermometer and hygrometer, such as data on the heating rate, the cooling rate, and the amount of power required for heating. Examples of the operating conditions include the operation frequency of the agitator in intermittent operation, the operation frequency of the blower fan, and the energizing time and energizing interval of the heater. When there is a lot of moisture in the evaporation tank 4 and it is desired to promote the evaporation of moisture from the evaporation tank 4, the control unit controls to increase the frequency of the agitation, increase the rotation speed and operation frequency of the blower fan, lengthen the energizing time of the heater, and shorten the energizing interval of the heater. The data and programs related to the operating conditions are stored in the memory of the control unit. In addition, from the viewpoint of preventing the occurrence of insects in the evaporation tank 4, it is also possible to operate the heater so that the temperature is periodically maintained at 60°C or higher for a certain period of time.

[0035] Instead of wood chips, any porous material such as activated carbon on which microorganisms can settle may be used. The evaporation tank 4 may have a heater to promote evaporation or to activate the microorganisms. In addition to the blower fan, a ventilation fan or a chimney fan may be installed in the chamber of the sewage treatment system S to expel water vapor from the sewage treatment system S to the outside, promoting evaporation from the evaporation tank 4.

[0036] [2. Example of operation of sewage treatment system S] Next, an example of the operation of the sewage treatment system S will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0037] FIG. 2 is a flow diagram showing an example of the operation of the sewage treatment system S.

[0038] First, when a user uses the toilet unit 1, human waste and the like are sent from the toilet unit 1 to the treatment tank 2 via the pipe p1 by the pressure pump together with flush water for the toilet bowl.

[0039] Next, as shown in Figure 2, the water circulation bio-toilet human waste treatment system S receives human waste from the toilet unit 1 in the treatment tank 2 and produces treated water (step S1). Specifically, the solid-liquid separation section 21 of the purification device 20 receives the human waste from the toilet unit 1, and solid matter in the human waste settles in the lower part of the solid-liquid separation section 21 as sludge.

[0040] The supernatant from the solid-liquid separation section 21 flows into the contact aeration section 22. The contact aeration section 22 performs microbial treatment using aerobic bacteria. Air is supplied to the contact aeration section 22 from a blower pump, and aeration is performed by an aeration tube. The treated water generated through treatment in the contact aeration section 22 is transferred to the settling section 23.

[0041] The treated water transferred from the contact aeration section 22 is temporarily stored in the settling section 23, where suspended solids are separated. Sludge such as activated sludge generated or mixed in the contact aeration section 22 and the settling section 23 is returned to the solid-liquid separation section 21 by an air lift pump.

[0042] Next, the treated water is sent from the purification device 20 to the water storage tank 3 through the pipe p2. The surplus water in the water storage section 24 is sent to the evaporation tank 4 through the pipe p3 by utilizing the natural gradient drainage from the overflow pipe. The surplus water may be transferred from the water storage tank to the evaporation tank by a siphon pump in addition to the natural gradient drainage from the overflow pipe.

[0043] The sludge in the solid-liquid separation section 21 may be supplied to the evaporation tank 4 through a pipe p4 by an air lift pump or the like.

[0044] Next, the sewage treatment system S receives the treated water through the pipe p2 into the water tank 3 and sterilizes the water (step S2). Specifically, the water tank 3 sterilizes the treated water by a sterilizer so that the treated water does not spoil.

[0045] Next, the sewage treatment system S receives surplus water from the treatment tank 2 through the pipe p3 into the evaporation tank 4, where it evaporates (step S3). Specifically, the evaporation tank 4 sprinkles treated water, such as surplus water received from the water storage tank 3, onto wood chips, such as cedar chips, in the evaporation tank 4. The wood chips absorb the moisture in the treated water, etc. Microorganisms that have settled on the wood chips or that were contained in the treated water microbially decompose organic matter remaining in the treated water, etc. An agitator in the evaporation tank 4 intermittently agitates the wood chips. As the moisture is evaporated in the evaporation tank 4, there are no subsequent steps.

[0046] Air is supplied from the outside to the inside of the evaporation tank 4 as the water vapor inside the evaporation tank 4 is released to the outside by the ventilation fan. The air from the outside promotes the evaporation of moisture from the wood chips in the evaporation tank 4. The agitator in the evaporation tank 4 evenly exposes the wood chips to air, promoting the evaporation of moisture. The heater in the evaporation tank 4 promotes the evaporation of moisture and activates microorganisms. The operating conditions of the ventilation fan, agitator, and heater are calculated by the control unit of the evaporation tank 4 based on the temperature and humidity data from the thermometer and hygrometer in the evaporation tank 4.

[0047] Furthermore, when the evaporation tank 4 receives sludge from the solid-liquid separation section 21 of the treatment tank 2 through the pipe p4, the sludge is decomposed by microorganisms and the like that have settled on the wood chips. The evaporation tank 4 may be supplied with microorganisms that promote the decomposition of sludge.

[0048] Next, the sewage treatment system S supplies water from the water tank 3 to the toilet unit 1 (step S4). Specifically, the water tank 3 supplies sterilized treated water to the toilet tank of the toilet unit 1 as flush water through the pipe p5.

[0049] In this way, in the sewage treatment system S, sewage is flushed away with flushing water from the toilet unit 1 and becomes treated water in the treatment tank 2, which is stored and sterilized in the water storage tank 3, and becomes circulating water that is supplied to the toilet tank of the toilet unit 1 as flushing water.

[0050] As described above, the human waste treatment system S according to the embodiment includes the treatment tank 2 that receives human waste from the toilet bowl of the toilet unit 1 and generates treated water to be used as flushing water for the toilet bowl through microbial treatment, the water storage tank 3 that stores the treated water from the treatment tank 2 and performs sterilization treatment, and the evaporation tank 4 that receives a portion of the liquid in the water storage tank 3 and brings it into contact with a base material such as wood chips to evaporate the water. This allows the water to be efficiently evaporated from the evaporation tank 4 dedicated to evaporating water, improving the daily treatment capacity for human waste. The water storage tank 3 that performs sterilization treatment allows a large amount of treated water to be stored for a long period of time. By sterilizing the treated water, circulating water quality at the level of that of recycled water supply can be achieved.

[0051] It also eliminates the risk of treated water overflow, creating a margin in daily treatment capacity. In addition, if only treated water from the treatment tank 2 is used as flush water for the toilet bowl of the toilet unit 1, and water that has not passed through the evaporation tank 4 containing a base material such as wood chips is not used, the flush water is less likely to become colored by the base material.

[0052] When the evaporation tank 4 has a fan such as a blower fan that exhausts gas inside the evaporation tank 4 to the outside, outside air enters the evaporation tank 4, promoting evaporation of moisture from the base material inside the evaporation tank 4, and further improving the daily treatment capacity for human waste. Furthermore, when the operating conditions of the blower fan are calculated from data related to the moisture content of the base material, the blower fan can be controlled to optimize power saving, evaporation amount, etc.

[0053] When the evaporation tank 4 receives liquid containing sludge from the treatment tank 2, the volume of the sludge can be reduced by microbial treatment in the evaporation tank 4, preventing an increase in sludge in the treatment tank 2, and reducing the maintenance burden of the work of removing sludge from the treatment tank 2 for cleaning.

[0054] When the treatment tank 2 has a solid-liquid separation section 21 that performs microbial treatment using anaerobic bacteria and a contact aeration section 22 that performs microbial treatment using aerobic bacteria, the purification capacity is improved by dividing the treatment tank 2 into the solid-liquid separation section 21 and the contact aeration section 22.

[0055] When the base material of the evaporation tank 4 is wood chips, evaporation and microbial treatment can be carried out in the evaporation tank 4 by the wood chips.

[0056] When the treatment tank 2 has a function of evaporating the water within the treatment tank 2, the risk of the treated water overflowing is further reduced by combining this with evaporation from the evaporation tank 4.

[0057] The system is equipped with a wall-draining toilet, a treatment tank 2 that receives human waste from the toilet and processes it with microorganisms to produce treated water to be used as flushing water for the toilet, a water storage tank 3 that stores the treated water from the treatment tank 2 as flushing water and performs a sterilization treatment, and an evaporation tank 4 that receives some of the liquid in the water storage tank 3 and brings it into contact with a base material such as wood chips to evaporate the water.By doing so, the water can be efficiently evaporated from the evaporation tank 4, improving the daily treatment capacity for human waste.

[0058] In addition, the use of a pressure pump eliminates the need for space below the toilet unit 1, minimizing the step at the toilet entrance. The toilet unit 1 does not require a sewage tank to store human waste, and there is no sewage tank or natural slope drainage pipe leading to it, eliminating problems associated with them such as clogging and malfunctions.

[0059] In addition, the purifier 20 is an integrated device of the solid-liquid separation section 21 and the contact aeration section 22, so it is smaller in size and has improved purification capacity for circulating water compared to a device that combines an anaerobic tank, an aeration tank, etc. separately. The purifier 20 is structured so that sludge, including activated sludge generated or mixed in the settling section 23, is returned to the solid-liquid separation section 21 and as much sludge as possible is treated, reducing the burden of regular inspections and pumping out the sludge, which are normally required. In addition, the purifier 20 transfers sludge from the solid-liquid separation section 21 to the evaporation tank 4 through the pipe p4, so reducing the burden of regular inspections and pumping out the sludge.

[0060] In addition, because the sewage treatment device alone, which has the treatment tank 2, water storage tank 3, and evaporation tank 4, has the above-mentioned features, it is possible to provide an integrated sewage treatment system product that combines the toilet unit 1, which includes a wall-draining toilet, with the sewage treatment device, and a product that is just the sewage treatment device and is combined with the toilet unit 1. The integrated sewage treatment system product can be formed compactly by storing it in a chamber, and can be transported on a 4-ton truck like a container, making it easy to install and remove it at the construction site as is. [Explanation of symbols]

[0061] 1. Toilet System 2 Treatment tank (first tank) 3 Water tank (second tank) 4 Evaporation tank (third tank) S: Sewage treatment system

Claims

1. a first tank for receiving human waste from a toilet and subjecting the waste to microbial treatment to produce treated water to be used as flush water for the toilet; A second tank for storing the treated water from the first tank as the cleaning water and performing a sterilization treatment; a third tank for receiving a part of the liquid in the second tank and bringing the third tank into contact with a substrate to evaporate the water; A sewage treatment device comprising:

2. 2. The sewage treatment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the third tank has a fan for discharging gas from within the third tank to the outside.

3. 3. The sewage treatment device according to claim 2, wherein the operating conditions of the fan are calculated from data relating to the moisture content of the base material.

4. 4. The sewage treatment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the third tank receives the liquid containing sludge in the first tank.

5. 4. The sewage treatment device according to claim 1, wherein the first tank has an anaerobic section in which the microbial treatment is carried out by anaerobic bacteria, and an aerobic section in which the microbial treatment is carried out by aerobic bacteria.

6. 4. The sewage treatment device according to claim 1, wherein the base material is wood chips.

7. 4. The sewage treatment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sterilization treatment in the second tank is performed by electrolysis.

8. a treated water generating step of generating treated water to be used as flush water for the toilet by subjecting the human waste to microbial treatment in a first tank that receives the human waste from the toilet; A sterilization step of performing a sterilization treatment in a second tank storing the treated water from the first tank as the cleaning water; an evaporation step in which a third tank that receives a part of the liquid in the second tank is brought into contact with a substrate in the third tank to evaporate water; A method for treating sewage, comprising:

9. A wall-draining toilet, a first tank for receiving human waste from the toilet and subjecting it to microbial treatment to produce treated water to be used as flush water for the toilet; A second tank for storing the treated water from the first tank as the cleaning water and performing a sterilization treatment; a third tank for receiving a part of the liquid in the second tank and bringing the third tank into contact with a substrate to evaporate the water; A sewage treatment system comprising:

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