abstract |
A method and an apparatus for treating wastewater such as sewage are disclosed. Designed principally for complete on-site wastewater treatment and disposal, the system separates wastewater into liquid wastes and solid wastes by filtration, treats the liquid wastes with ultraviolet radiation and disperses them into unsaturated ground. The solid wastes are periodically removed, along with used portions of the paper filter medium and delivered, in the case of sewage, to a composting area where the solids can be composted. A preferred embodiment includes the use of ultraviolet radiation having wavelengths effective both to destroy pathogens directly and to produce ozone from entrained air in the liquid filtrate, to react with pathogens to form stable compounds. An alternate embodiment of a wastewater delivery and filtration suction subsystem is disclosed, whereby filtration is made continuous and capacity is approximately doubled. |