Appeal No. 1998-0425 Page 22
Application No. 08/272,527
2. Wastewater treatment apparatus comprising:
a tank, having a bottom surface, equipped for biological
treatment of said wastewater;
a gas distribution network in said tank including
generally
horizontal acid resistant supply piping in said tank
positioned
above said bottom surface and having synthetic resin inner
surfaces;
a compressor or blower for introducing air into said
network;
a high pressure storage vessel for introducing HCl gas
into
said network, intermittently, alone or in admixture with
said air;
a plurality of flow regulating orifices of fixed or auto
adjustable size distributed about a submerged portion of the
network for receiving the aforementioned air and HCL gas and
for
discharging them at predetermined flow rates into a plurality
of
plenums downstream of the flow regulating orifices;
a plurality of multi-pore ceramic flat plate diffusion
elements, free of fastener through holes, in communication
with
said plenums for receiving said gases, said diffusion
elements
being members each comprising a multiplicity of closely spaced
fine pores of about 120 to about 300 microns in diameter
defining paths for discharge of said gases and which exhibit
an increase in dynamic wet pressure, as compared to a base
condition of said
pressure, as a result of deposition of foulants, each of said
diffusion elements having, and being in communication, through
its plenum, with its own individual~flow regulating orifice;
at least about 90% of said diffusion elements being
capable,
when new, of delivering a flux which is within about +/-
15% of the average flux of all such elements, when operated at
2 inches of water gauge in a dry unsubmerged condition;
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