METHOD FOR THE BLODEGRADABLE CONNERSION OF SEWAGE OR INDUSTRIAL EFFLUENT TO RENDER IT LESS NOXIOUS

摘要

A method for the biodegradable conversion of sewage or industrial effluent to render it less noxious which comprises the steps of providing within a reaction vessel a biological material support medium, and causing said biodegradable substances to contact and enter the support medium within the vessel, thus to feed and enhance the growth of a biological population sustained within said medium, characterised in that said support medium is provided in the form of a multiplicity of freely movable bodies each having an internal reticular structure throughout defining a substantial voidage therein such as to provide a protective environment which will promote active biological material growth there-within and thus support and contain the biological material as a substantially integral mass throughout said voidage, each said body having an extensive area of access by way of a multiplicity of openings or cavities in the external surface of each body, to the whole of said voidage therein thus permitting each said body substantially to fill with biological material over a period of time, and further characterised in the each said body is caused to move freely within the vessel during the growth process, thus to permit the biological material to metabolise on, and thus biologically degrade, the said substances.