Segmented Septic Tank Recycling for Cold-Weather Denitrification
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing septic tank systems face challenges in achieving near-complete denitrification during colder weather operations and higher than normal total nitrogen levels, as they rely heavily on wood chips for organic carbon, which are insufficient in cold weather and higher flow rates.
Innovation Solution
A supplemental concrete tank with a multiple compartmented design, incorporating an air lift pump for wastewater recycling, sulfur-enhanced denitrification, and a winter mix emulsion to boost denitrification, ensuring robust nitrifying and anammox bacterial populations and continuous flow, even in cold weather.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If wood chips are used for denitrification in septic tank systems, then organic carbon is provided for bacterial conversion, but during colder weather and higher flow rates, the wood chips become insufficient to maintain effective denitrification
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines wood chips with sulfur and a winter mix emulsion to create a composite denitrification media. This composite provides organic carbon from multiple sources (wood chips, sulfur, emulsion) that maintains effectiveness across varying temperatures and flow rates, resolving the contradiction between reliability and adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a winter mix emulsion that changes the chemical parameters of the denitrification environment. This emulsion contains organic compounds that supplement carbon availability when wood chips alone are insufficient, allowing the system to adapt to colder weather conditions while maintaining denitrification effectiveness.
2Reliability
If a supplemental concrete tank with multiple compartments is added to enhance denitrification, then total nitrogen reduction is improved to 60-90%, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the supplemental tank into multiple compartments (first compartment with wood chips, second compartment with sulfur and winter mix emulsion). This segmentation allows each compartment to perform specific denitrification functions, achieving high total nitrogen reduction while organizing the complexity into manageable, functionally-distinct sections.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges multiple denitrification mechanisms (wood chip decomposition, sulfur oxidation, emulsion breakdown) into a single integrated tank system. By combining these processes in sequence within one tank, the system achieves enhanced nitrogen reduction without requiring multiple separate treatment units, thus managing device complexity.
3Reliability
If an air lift pump is used for wastewater recycling and aeration, then nitrifying and anammox bacterial populations are enhanced, but the use of energy increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses an air lift pump that operates on pneumatic principles to recycle wastewater and provide aeration. This pneumatic system uses air pressure differentials to move water and oxygenate the denitrification media, enhancing bacterial activity while using less energy than mechanical pumps by exploiting gas-fluid dynamics.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system achieves 60-90% total nitrogen reduction, maintaining effective denitrification even in cold weather and high flow conditions, with the air lift pump recycling and sulfur-enhanced denitrification processes, and the winter mix emulsion ensuring consistent performance.
Implementation Method 1
using the same air pressure used for aeration in an innovative manner
Implementation Method 2
enhancing the biological conversion of organic and ammonia nitrogen ultimately to nitrogen gas is accomplished by first converting ammonia to both nitrite-N and nitrate-N under aerobic conditions, then converting the nitrite-N and nitrate-N to nitrogen gas
Implementation Method 3
adding an oil-based emulsion to enhance denitrification, seasonally, as a 'booster' when colder temperatures warrant the addition
Implementation Method 4
converting ammonia to both nitrite-N and nitrate-N under aerobic conditions
Implementation Method 5
facilitates the anammox process (i.e., the conversion of ammonia plus nitrite-N to nitrogen gas)
Data Source
AI summary
An enhanced multiple compartmented (segmented or chambered) supplemental tank system that (i) adds another media to enhance wood chip denitrification, and (ii) includes a component for recycling treated wastewater back to the front end of the system with mainly nitrate-N recycled back and combined with organic carbon (present in wastewater) under anoxic to form nitrogen gas and CO2. The latter uses an aeration pump and tubing to reduce soluble organics and assist with the conversion of ammonia-N to nitrite-N and nitrate-N.