1. A membrane supported biofilm apparatus comprising a module having a plurality of gas permeable hollow fiber membranes collected at a lower end in a header and having upper ends adapted to be held or floated near a water surface when the module is immersed in a tank of water with the header on or near the bottom of the tank.
2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the membranes impermeable to bulk or advective water flow and have an outside diameter of about 200 microns or less and a length within the range of about 3-10 metres.
3. The apparatus of claim 1 comprising a tank, wherein the membranes are placed in the tank at a dry fiber packing density in the range of about 0.5% to 4%.
4. The apparatus of claim 1 comprising a tank, wherein the membranes are located in the tank and support a biofilm occupying about 40% or more of the volume of the tank.
5. The apparatus of claim 1 comprising a spreader near the header to horizontally space some of the plurality of membranes from others of the plurality of membranes.
6. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the header is attached to an air supply manifold on or near the bottom of a tank containing the membranes.
7. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein a first module located in a first tank has a lower dry fiber packing density than a second module located in a second tank downstream of the first tank.
8. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the module is located in a tank and further comprising a mixer and a solids removal port on or near the bottom of the tank.
9. The apparatus of claim 1 comprising a tank, wherein the membranes are located in the tank and support a biofilm occupying about 80% or less of the volume of the tank.
10. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the membranes are located in a tank comprising channels at a feed end of the tank for feed dispersal.
11. A method of handing a module of hollow fiber membranes comprising the step of wrapping the membranes in a water soluble film or wrap, installing the wrapped membranes into a tank of water, and allowing the film or wrap dissolve into the water.
12. A process for treating water comprising the steps of introducing hydrogen into the inner volume of a gas permeable membrane immersed in water and introducing a carbon source to the water to grow a biofilm on the membrane having autotrophic organisms near the membrane and heterotrophic organism near the water.
13. The process of claim 12 further comprising introducing carbon dioxide into the inner volume.
14. The process of claim 12 further comprising recirculating the water.
15. The process of claim 12 wherein the carbon source is added at a CODN ratio in the range of about 2:1 to 4:1.
16. The process of claim 12 wherein the ORP of the water is maintained in the range of about 0 to \u2212100 mV.
17. The process of claim 12 comprising maintaining a biomass concentration of about 20 gL or more and a biofilm surface area of about 1000 square meters per cubic meter of reactor volume or more.
18. The process of claim 12 further comprising removing accumulated solids from the tank.
19. A process for treating water comprising the steps of providing hollow fiber gas permeable membranes in a tank of water to be treated, growing a biomass on the membranes and removing accumulated solids from the tank.
20. The process of claim 19 wherein the biofilm has a concentration of at least 20 gL and a surface area of about 1000 square meters per cubic meter of water in the reactor or more on the surface of the membranes.
21. The process of claim 19 wherein the feed water contains over 2000 mgL of CODt and the biofilm supported on the membranes is grown to occupy between about 50% and 80% of the volume of a tank containing the membranes.
22. The process of claim 19 further comprising operating at a FM ratio of between about 0.1 and 0.2 g CODtg Total Biofilm Solidsd.
23. The process of claim 19 further comprising recirculating the water.
24. The process of claim 23 wherein the water is recirculated to provide an inlet concentration in the range of about 500-5000 mgL of CODt.
25. The process of claim 12 comprising a step of providing an apparatus according to claim 1.
26. A bioreactor having a tank for holding water to be treated containing both a suspended biomass and a membrane supported biofilm.
27. The bioreactor of claim 26 having a downstream solids separation device and a recycle of separated solids to the tank.
28. The bioreactor of claim 27 wherein the recycle passes through an anoxic stage before returning to the tank.
29. The bioreactor of claim 26 having a mixer to kept the suspended biomass in suspension.
30. The bioreactor of claim 26 comprising the apparatus of claim 1.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A method for the preparation of a reinforced polyvinyl chloride comprising the steps:
a) preparing a pre-reinforced polymer by mixing polyvinyl chloride polymer with a quantity A of a naturally occurring mineral filler at a temperature lower than the melting temperature of the polyvinyl chloride polymer; and
b) mixing the pre-reinforced polymer obtained under a) with a quantity B of a naturally occurring mineral filler at a temperature higher than 180\xb0 C. to obtain a reinforced polyvinyl chloride polymer,
wherein the ratio of quantity A over quantity B is at least 0.1, and wherein the total quantity of naturally occurring mineral filler (A+B) to the quantity of polyvinyl chloride polymer is between 0.6 to 2.4 by weight.
2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the naturally occurring mineral filler is selected from a group including wollastonite, vermiculite, talc, mica, andor combinations thereof.
3. The method according to claim 1 wherein the naturally occurring mineral filler is talc.
4. The method according to claim 1 wherein the naturally occurring mineral filler is mica.
5. The method according to claim 1 wherein the naturally occurring wherein the naturally occurring mineral filler comprises talc and mica.
6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the total quantity of naturally occurring mineral filler (A+B) to the quantity of polyvinyl chloride polymer is between 0.8 and 1.2, and wherein the ratio of quantity A over quantity B is at least 0.25.
7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the reinforced polyvinyl chloride polymer comprises at least 35 weight % of polyvinylchloride polymer and at least 40 weight % of said naturally occurring mineral filler, wherein said naturally occurring mineral filler is talc, mica, or both.
8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the reinforced polyvinyl chloride polymer comprises at least 35 weight % of polyvinylchloride polymer and at least 45 weight % of said naturally occurring mineral filler, wherein said naturally occurring mineral filler is talc, mica, or both.
9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the ratio of quantity A over quantity B is at least 0.2.
10. The method according to claim 1, wherein in step a) the temperature lower than the melting temperature of a polyvinylchloride polymer is a temperature lower than 130\xb0 C., and wherein the quantity A of a naturally occurring mineral filler is between between 2-25 phr.
11. The method of claim 10 wherein the reinforced polyvinyl chloride polymer obtained in step b) is processed into a reinforced polyvinyl chloride device by profile extrusion, and wherein the reinforced polyvinyl chloride polymer has a ratio of flexural stress over flexural strain of at least 10.8.
12. The method of claim 1 wherein the polyvinylchloride polymer has a K-value between 50 and 68.
13. A method for the preparation of a reinforced polyvinyl chloride comprising the steps:
a) providing a pre-reinforced polymer, said pre-reinforced polymer being prepared by mixing polyvinyl chloride polymer with a quantity A of a naturally occurring mineral filler at a temperature lower than the melting temperature of the polyvinyl chloride polymer; and
b) mixing the pre-reinforced polymer obtained under a) with a quantity B of a naturally occurring mineral filler at a temperature higher than 180\xb0 C. to obtain a reinforced polyvinyl chloride polymer,
wherein the ratio of quantity A over quantity B is at least 0.1, and wherein the total quantity of naturally occurring mineral filler (A+B) to the quantity of polyvinyl chloride polymer is between 0.6 to 2.4 by weight.
14. The method according to claim 13 wherein the naturally occurring mineral filler is talc.
15. The method according to claim 13 wherein the naturally occurring mineral filler is mica.
16. The method according to claim 13 wherein the naturally occurring wherein the naturally occurring mineral filler comprises talc and mica.
17. The method according to claim 13, wherein the total quantity of naturally occurring mineral filler (A+B) to the quantity of polyvinyl chloride polymer is between 0.8 and 1.2, and wherein the ratio of quantity A over quantity B is at least 0.25.
18. The method according to claim 1, wherein the reinforced polyvinyl chloride polymer comprises at least 35 weight % of polyvinylchloride polymer and at least 40 weight % of said naturally occurring mineral filler, wherein said naturally occurring mineral filler is talc, mica, or both.
19. The method according to claim 1, wherein the reinforced polyvinyl chloride polymer comprises at least 35 weight % of polyvinylchloride polymer and at least 45 weight % of said naturally occurring mineral filler, wherein said naturally occurring mineral filler is talc, mica, or both.
20. The method according to claim 13, wherein in step a) the temperature lower than the melting temperature of a polyvinylchloride polymer is a temperature lower than 130\xb0 C., and wherein the quantity A of a naturally occurring mineral filler is between between 2-25 phr.
21. The method of claim 13 wherein the reinforced polyvinyl chloride polymer obtained in step b) is processed into a reinforced polyvinyl chloride device by profile extrusion, and wherein the reinforced polyvinyl chloride polymer has a ratio of flexural stress over flexural strain of at least 10.8.
22. The method of claim 13 wherein the polyvinylchloride polymer has a K-value between 50 and 68.
23. A method for the preparation of a reinforced polyvinyl chloride comprising the steps:
a) mixing polyvinyl chloride polymer with a quantity A of a naturally occurring mineral filler at a temperature lower than the melting temperature of the polyvinyl chloride polymer; and
b) mixing the pre-reinforced polymer obtained under a) with a quantity B of a naturally occurring mineral filler at a temperature higher than 180\xb0 C. to obtain a reinforced polyvinyl chloride polymer,
wherein the quantity A is between 2 and 40 phr and wherein the quantity A plus B is at least 60 phr.
24. The method according to claim 23 wherein the naturally occurring mineral filler comprises talc, mica, or both, and wherein the reinforced polyvinyl chloride contains said naturally occurring mineral filler in a quantity between 35 and 70 weight percent.
25. The method according to claim 23 wherein the naturally occurring mineral filler comprises talc, and wherein the reinforced polyvinyl chloride contains between 35 and 70 weight percent talc.