Aerobic treatment of sewage

Claim 1

PROCESS FOR TREATIN GA WATER MEDIUM SEWAGE STREAM CONTAINING A WEIGHT RATIO OF CARBON TO PHOSPHORUS OF LESS THAN ABOUT 100 TO 1 WHICH COMPRISES THE STEPS OF; (A) CLARIFYING SAID SEWAGE STREAM TO A DEGREE SUCH THAT THE SUSPENDED ORGANIC SOLIDS CONTENT THEREOF IS LESS THAN ABOUT 0.0100 WEIGHT PERCENT ON AN ANHYDROUS BASIS; (B) FEEDING THE CLARIFIED LIQUID TO A DISPERSED CULTURE AEROBIC REACTOR MAINTAINED AT A TEMPERATURE OF FROM ABOUT 10* C. TO ABOUT 50*C., MAINTAINING THE PARTIAL PRESSURE OF OXYGEN IN THE LIQUID AT LEAST AT 20 MM. HG, THE PH AT A VALUE OF FROM 3 TO 11, AND SUPPLEMENTING THENUTRIENT CARBON CONTENT OF THE SEWAGE ATREAM FED TO SAID DISPERSED CULTURE AEROBIC REACTOR TO MAINTAIN A WEIGHT RATIO OF CARBON TO PHOSPHORUS SUCH THAT THERE IS A BALANCE OF CARBON TO PHOSPHORUS APPROPRIATE FOR PROTOPLASM PRODUCTION USING SUBSTANTIALLY ALL OF SAID PHOSPHORUS, AND AGITATING THE COMPOSTION THUS ESTABLISHED IN SAID REACTOR FOR A PERIOD OF ABOUT 1 HOUR TO ABOUT 24 HOURS; (C) FLOCCULATING AND SEPARATING THE CELL MASS FORM THE WTER IN THE DISCHARGE FROM THE DISPERSED CULTURE AEROBIC REACTOR; (D) PASSING THE RAW SLUDGE SOLIDS SEPARATED FROM THE LIQUID IN STEP (A) TO A SLUDGE AEROBIC REACTOR CONTAINING BACTERIAL INOCULUM NCLUDING CO2-FIXING AND PROTOPLASMIC FLOC FORMING SPECIES, AND TREATING SAIM THEREIN AT A TEMPERATURE OF FROM ABOUT 25*C. TO 35*C. FOR FROM ABOUT 5 TO 10 DAYS AT A PH OF FROM 6 TO8 AHILE BUBBLING THROUGH THE LIQUID PHASE CARBON DIOXIDE AND AN OCYGEN CONTAINING STREAM OF AT LEAST 30 PERCENT OXYGEN AT THE RATE OF 0.05 TO 0.5 VOLUMES PERMINUTE PER LIQUID VOLUME; AND (E) SEPARATING THE WATER THEREFROM.