CA1144082A

CA1144082A - Process for combined waste utilization and the clarification of waste water and a multi-stage filtration device for the performance of the process

Info

Publication number: CA1144082A
Application number: CA000309146A
Authority: CA
Inventors: Adolf H. Borst
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1977-08-12
Filing date: 1978-08-11
Publication date: 1983-04-05
Also published as: GB2002647A; DE2834717A1; PL209011A1; PT68417A; ATA585178A; DE2834717C2; SU1061705A3; GB2003128B; YU192378A; IL55260A; FI782355A; BE869694A; ATA585078A; PL118046B1; FR2399859B1; DD138884A5; SE7808559L; AU3880778A; BR7805184A; DE2834718A1

Abstract

ABSTRACT

Process and device for the combined waste utilization and clarification of waste water, whereby the waste water is mixed with at least a part of the shredded waste, a separation into organic and inorganic components takes place , the waste water flow with the dissolved or suspended components of the waste in it is led through the two-stage filter consisting of non-activated and activated coal, the majority of the filter coal saturated with sludge is thermally treated for regeneration in the first reactor of a multireactor pile whereby the sludge which is deposited on the coal filter is thermally decomposed, producing coal and combustible gas, in at least a second reactor solid waste or a part of the filter coal saturated reactor solid waste or a part of the filter coal bustible gas, or is partly incinerated, and the regenerated filter coal of the first reactor is introduced again into the waste water filter zone, thereby characterized in that the waste water laden with the waste is led through a multi-stage filter system in motion, in which the roughing filtration is effected at least partly by loose fillings of coal, which are produced from the organic components of the waste and are optionally pretreated for increasing the adsorption and adhesion of the coal, and the fillings which are laden with organic contaminants are led back into the multireactor pile for carbonization.

Description

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ADCIF H. BORST, SCHLOSS RA~ ERG~ DO~DORF
F~DERAL REPUBLIC 0~ GERMA~-Proc~ss for combined was~ve utilization and the cl~ri~ica'vion o~ waste water ar.d a multi-stage ~ilkration device for the performance o~ fvhe process The invention concerns a process ~or combined waste utiiization /clarification of was4e ~ter, where~y the .laste water ~s mixed wlth at least a part o~ the shredded wasteJ a se~aration in'~o organic and inorganic components takes place, the ~2ste water flow with the dissolved znd suspended componen~4s cf th~
waste in it is led through a two-stage filter of non-activated and æctivated coal, in the first reactor of a multireactor pile the ma~ority Or 'he fil'4er coal sa~u.a4ed with sludge is thermally treated to .egenerzte the coal, whereby t~e sludge which has been deposited on t~e filter coal is 'hermally decomposedproducing coal and combustible gas3 ~n a~ least a second reactor solid wasfe or a part of the filter coa~ Wh~ ch $~
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' ' ';' , ~ ~ 2 ~4~2 is saturated with sludge is incinera~ed or partl-y rcir.e~ated producing heat and combustible ~as, and fhe regene~ted er ccal of the ~ir~t reactor is ther. reintroduced in~o the waste wa~er filter zone.

The inve~tion concerns additionally multi-stage filtrætion devices ~or carryin~ ou~ the process.

From German Offenlegungschrift No. 25 58 703 of Adolf H. Borst published July 7, 1977, a process of the first-named type is known.
In this process a simple and at the same time economic method shows how:
1) the used wæter is employed as transport means for the waste as well as to separate it in~o substantially inorganic and organic components;

2) the contaminated waste-laden water is clarified by filtration using normal and active coal;

~) a part o~ ~he waste or of the active coal carrying sludge i5 incinerated gi~ing off a ~ombustible gas, which delivers energy for thermolysis; and also ~) the majority o~ the ~ er coal laden wi~h sludge is thermally decompo3æd in a thermolysis reactor, ~hereby the filter c021 iS regenera~ed and a carbonlzation gas rich in hydrocarbons is produced.

Even though by this process many advantages are obtair.ed, and especiaily an optimal use of the energy content of the waste as well as its utilization additionally for the treatment o~
waste water i~ made possibleJ in the practical implementation of the proc~ss, some difficulties have appeared.

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~; - 3 These appear es~ecially if waste of a constantly chan~-n~
ini~ial composition is fed into the system, an.d there is simultaneously a variation in the co~position of the -;;æste water being supplied. Hereby, due to particularly obs~inate and un~leasant pollu~ants there may be difficulvies ~arvicul-arly for the vital separation and filtration processes. ~ne continuous processing of waste and used water may ~e i~peded by the clogging or stopping-up of the coal filter, by changes o~ flow and by excessive abrasion o~ the filter coal. Thereby there may also be some passage of impurities, espec1al1y of polar substances, through the fine filter which is charged .ith active coal.

The inv-ention therefore is based on the objective of -mproving the filtration processes and separation methods in the process mentioned initially in simple and continuously-operating ways.
Thus in particular, by varying the filter conditions cr by establishing a new type of filtration device ænd oper~ti~g them, an improvement Or the adhesion process OL the pcllu'ants at the filter media is attaîned, without the passage OL the used water which is to be clarified being impeded. B~J chosen variations of the filter media and use of the waste assembling, læstl~ a further improvement of the attainable filter effec~
with additional collection of the strongly polar substances should be achieved.

This ob~ective is thereby attained in that the used water carrying was~e is led throu~h a moving mu~ti-stage s-~ste~ o fil~vers, in which the rou~hing filtration is a' leas'v ~artly eLfected by loose fillinæs of coal, which are producec from .
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, , the organic components of the waste and are optionally pretreated to increase the adsorption and adhesion, and the filling laden with organic contaminants is led back into the multireactor pile for the carbonlzation of the sludge. The fillings of coal are bulk matter which is (loosely) distributed over the filter or poured into the containers respectively.

The invention is substantially built upon the recognition that by using a multi-stage filter system, in which the filtration processes take at least partly through loose fillings which contain coal, the avoidance of the formerly observed disadvantages is made possible.
By dividing the filtration processes into several stages, and especially by the previous use of the roughing filters which contain loose fillings of filtration materials, a mechanical and partly also adsorptive separation of the sludge from the used water is possible, without stoppages or the clogging OL
the perforated walls, screens and similar filtration devices.
~he blockage or clogging of the perforated walls and screening units is avoided by the fact that the sludge adheres to Lhe particles of the filtration fillings, and the removal by a simple tipping or tilting process of the filtration material whl_h is laden with sludge together with the freeing of the unclogged perforated screen surfaces is possible. Thus the continuous refilling of the emptied filter system with fxesh filtra.ion material and thereby an undisturbed cycle of the filtration process becomes possible. The fillings laden with sludge which are extracted are then led back for the subsequent carbo?ization of the contaminants into a reactor of the multi-stage reactor pile~ producing new filtration coal.

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It is advisable to carry out the filt-ation by loose fillings in suitable devices as roughing filtration, before later a ., ~

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further ~iltration and clarification of the used ~la'~r which is passed through non-activated and 2ctivated ~
coal contained in further ~ilter units ta~cs place. Even tnough it is possible to provide a ~echanical rakir.~ ~nit be~ore the prelilter which has a loose ~illing of filtration material containing coal, the unit can be completely r~placed by the pre~ilter itsel~, since the blockage of the operational parts of the ~iltration devices is largely excluded by the filtratior. by means o~ the fillings.

The pre~ilters which serve as the ~irst rou&hing ~ilte. are ln general operated in counter current to the p~ssing ~olluted used water, whereby a filtration takes place on the basis of the gravity effects. But the rou~hing filters can ælso be rotated in standing water or can be moved by used water ~low-ing away.

The fillings of filtnation material contain mainly coal.
In the roughing filters which are ~irst passed throu~h, thl~ coal is in general in non-activated lumps and thus ser~es as 2 mechanical ~ilker. The coals are produced ~rom the organic com-ponents of the waste without activation. Depending on the ~ype of composition of the waste water to b~ treated or of its contaminants, a certain proportion of activated ooal can be added to the roughing filter, and this too is produced ~ro~., the organic components of the waste.

Acc~rding to a preferred embodiment of the invention, th~
fillings contain coal in a pelletized stateJ to ~.eep the abrasion into coal dust as low as possible. This pelle'i7ation of the coal fillings is pref~rably p~rLormed both or ~he rou~hing ~iltration and ~or the fine filtration, in ~he case of the latter with activated coal.

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Proceeding from the coal produced by carbonization in tre reactor from waste, this is finely crushed after cooling, ~i~ed with an organic binding means such zs tar, briquette pi~ch, 2~c and then compacted at hi~h temperature and pressure, e.O. 80 C
with apressure of 1200 kp/cm .This compacted coal can then be again reduced to the desired core size by crushing. It is then non-activated filter coal which is suitable for roughing filtration. Should the use of the coal for fine filters be planned, the splint granu~te obtained is activated in the pe~ se known manner, which for example can be achieved by heat treat~ent for several hours in the gas-tight sealed reactor of the multireactor pile, by introducing ste2m and/or zinc chloride.
The active coal which is pelletized and thus obtained from the organic component~ of the waste has a good abrasive quality with a simultaneously high surface development.

The quality of the pelletized coal can be additionally increased by spraying the waste be~ore it is ~ed into the ~irst thermal stage or in the first therm21 stage with liquid combustible organic waste products, such as used oil, for example By this kind of pelleti~ing, the abrasion ef~ects on the coal and the stoppages caused by it can be largely avoided.

Specially favorable filtration ef~ects are achieved by loose coal filtration material which contains a proportion of polar substances. This share of polar substances can be achieved b-~mixing with the waste and/or used water such waste products as appear durinæ the heat treatment in ~iltration-produc~ive ænd actively adsorptive form.

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- ~ -This can be achieved for example by adding to the housekold and industrial waste to be treated, which is conveyed or the used water, usually communal effluent, a certain propo~4iGn of used ~ater from paper manuf2cture or porcelain processing.
Waste or used water from industry usually contain pol~
substances, e.g. fillings such as alumina,cilicon oxide, titanium oxide, etc which are o~tained during conversion of the organlc components present in coal at coking te~peratures of from ~00 to maximally 800 C. in activated form. O~rer polar metal oxides ~Ihich come into question , which frequently have a small positive charge, are e.g. iron oxide and mzgnesium oxide, as they are found in the ceramic and aluminum ~roducing industries as waste sludge. By the planned admixture cf waste sludge which yield during the coking process activa~ed polar oxides, it is possible to attain at the mechanical co~l filters not only additional filtration effects due to pola~ electro- -static effects, but there is also a favorable e~fect o~ the clarification and sedimentation behavior Or the used ~ater.
Therefore this step of the composition of the loose fillings from both ¢oal and also polar waste products, apart from the pelletization of the fillingsJ is pre~erred in the ~xdi~nt of the process according to the invention especially. This is particularly true of the fine filtration.

According to a further embodiment of the process according to the invention, at least the fine filters are backwashed with usable water before the charged filling is emptied out~ and this waker is preferably taken from already clarified used ~later in a branch current, The filtration processes using loose fillings, prefer2bly in pelletized form~ can thereby be partly furkher improved by :.

-, achieving the constant motion of the fillings. In ',he motiono~ the fillings, e,g. by the motion of the container holding the~, care must be t~ken that tnis ~oes no~ attain a T71u~diz~d bed state, since that reduces the mechanical filter e~ec~.

The process according to the invention is prel'rabl~ ^~rried out so that the filtration system is constantl~ filled with fillings, then traversed by the.used ~later lade~ wi~h waste, optior~ally freed of polluted ~illings after previous bacl~ashing, and after refilling with fillings is again used ~or fil~ration.
These various measures undertaken continuously can for example be achieved at spatially s~parat~d s~ations of a single filtrat~on davice. Such multi-st~ge ~iltration devices are iater descriked ~or the performance of the invention's p-rocess but it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to these particular devices.

Fig. la, lb describe the principal stages of a multi-stage filtratlon process according to the invention;

Fig. lc shows a circulating bucket filter, which can be used both as roughing filter and as fine filter;

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Fig.2 shows a belt filter, and Fig . 3a, ~b represent a continuously operating ~iltraticn belt.

Fig. la shows the ~ain filtration cycle of the pr~cess according to the invention, whereby the necessary reactors required lor the system to re~enerate and optionally to combust the ~iltration coal which is polluted in the multireactor pile~ in which the org~nic componentS of the waste ære converted in40 coal, partly in activated and partly in non-activaked for~, as well as the waste combustion can take place, 2re not shown. Re these additional devices, the first-named DE.OS 25 58 7~
of the applicant, as well as the parallel patent application to the present application which was simultaneousl~ filed "Process for combined waste utilization and clarification of waste water" File No ...~.., are expressly mentioned. As multireactor pile~ the process according to the inven'~ion uses an arrangement which consists of at least two, preferably

3 or more, essentially cylindrical, horizontally moun~ed ar.d parallel drums which can each be rotat~d about their z~is. In a preferred reactor arrangement, they are mount d in a trizngle above one ano~her, so that one may speak of a pair of reactors below and an upper reactor above them mounted between them.

In the following the filtration process according to the irlvent-ion is ex~lained separately on the basis of follow~n~ the path of the used water and the solid waste:

The usad water, ~ooth urban used water and industrial e~luent~
is led ~hrou~h aneffluent intake channel 108 via a nozzle system 170, in which by gas in~ection, e.gl airJ æ mixirO
and ~ine distribut~on of the incoming pollutants takes place, to a set41ing basin 110, a scree~ 112 and then to a m-lti-st20e filter device 106.In front of ths multi-stage coal filte- 106, a prefilter 142 ls provided: which can be inserted in the used water as a roughing filter. This pre~ilter serves acco-^ding to the invention to catch very heavy or stubborn impu~ities~

-- --and can if desired fully replace the mechanical rake or t~e screen li2 This pre~ilter 142 rotates in counter cu~rer,~
to the arri~ring lls~d .JatQr. Tn a pre~er~Qd ~or~ of the i"-Jer.ticr., as sho~m in Fig. lb, the pre~ilter consists of individua filter elements 144, which contain a coal filling, whereby the filter elements are mounted on a slowly or intermitterltly moving chain belt 146 or the like, which transports the filter element in the direction of the arrow in Fig.2 into the used water condu~ in the outflow end 148 of the prefilter and then in the counter ~low direction upstream to the up-stream point 150, at which the now polluted single filter elements are withdrawn from the ~low in the upstream direction.
An advantage of this design of the rotating prefilter ~s that the duration of the insertion o~ the filter elements in ~he used water can easily be made dependent on the observed degree of i~purities by increasing or reducing the speed of the conveyor chain 146. Naturally this type or a similar desi~n can also be used ~or tha subsequent roughing filter and fine ~ilter 116.

The ~ilter elements 144 of the prefilter comprise in general a suitable frame, wh~ch contzins a loose filling at least of a proportion of coal particles, preferably in pelletized for~..
This frame is perforated in the area laden with fillings, to allow the passage of liquids.

_ 12 ~ 2 After removal of the filter elements from the used T,rater f' o7~r, the polluted c021 fillings are led by ch~in conve~or 1~6 to a reactor of the multireactor pile(not sho~m 'n the Li~ure~, in which the regeneration of the coal and the simult~neous pyrolysis of the collected organic impurities takes ~l~ce.
Thus the impur~ties are transformed directly into usæb~e ~ilter coal. Here it is advantageous to provide a dr~ppi~
mechanism for the filter elements, through which the liquid assembled on the polluted filter coal can be best removed before the coal is regenerated or incinera~ed. This drip device can contain e.~. a shaker mechanism(not shown) to improve the remo~al of the water.

The now empty filter elements, whose per~orated screen s~lr-iaces are maintained in a non-blocked and non-clogged form bg the filling can now be charged with ~resh, regener~ted coal from a reacto~ ol the mul'ireactor pile(not shown in the ~iOure.
Here it may be advisable to provide interim washing processes in the event of stoppages, but this is not shown in the figure.
The empty filter elements a~e then led back with fresh coal fillings to the prefilter 142. Between the coal outlet of the (not shown) reactor and the prefilter, a heat collector device 156 for cooling the hot regenerated coal via suitable heat exchangers (not separately shown) by heat transporting media, e.g. water can be provided.

By the rotating prefilter 142, to which optionally a mechanical rake can be connected before or after it, a large part of the .

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,- - 13 -suspended or floating organic components in the water, which have been brought into the used -~ater by the waste, can be relatively simply removed.Further it can be seen from the figure that the floating or suspended, primaril~J organic impurities, which are caught by the screen or rake 112, can be led through b~J means o~ 2 upwards moving conveyor bel~
132 from the used water and fed into the combustion or coking process.Here the conveyor 132 is so designed or arranged ~hat relatively unimpeded passage of water is possible during tne c~le~ion: and removal of the floating and suspended p2rticles.

The prepurified used water cleaned by the prefilter 142 and option-ally b~ screen 112 now enters a system of roughing filter 114 and fine filters 116, before it leaves as usab'e water via outlet conduit 118.

The roughing filter 114 consists of a multitude of roughing ~ilter elements 120, which leave the roughing filter b~J raising and lowering it for regeneration or can be led bac~ into it.
The filter elements 120 are usually filled with normal filter coal o~ suitable particle sizeJ preferably in pelletized ~orm.
The fil~er elements are moved during operations in counter -current from the ~nd of filter 122 to the start of filter 124.

The fine filter 116 consists also of a number of fil~er elements 126, which are also moved in counter current to tha used water from the lower end 128 to the upper end 1~0 by st2ges. The fine fi1ter can be cleaned by bac~^lashing, optionally in a bac~washing unit 134 which is provided for the purpose.

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Pre~erably the bac~ash water is taken direct ~rom the usable water conduit 118 and can if desired be stored .~ the reSerVO~r 136J which has a heat~r coil 1~8.The water cortamin-~ed by the backwashing ~lows through a return condui~ 3~ck to the used water inlet 108, After the end of the back~iashing, the ~ilter element 1~6 can again be led back into the ~ine ~ilter 116 to be ~sed again.
The back~ash is however only an optional measure, since the usual regeneration o~ the individual filter elements ~ich are polluted and used up is carried out in a reactor of ~ke not shown multireactor pile, where also optionally a co~le~e .
ashing and removal of the ash can take place from the ~eactor.
In the latter case the bins o~ the fine filter elements 126 aPe filled with fresh active coal ~rom a irst re~ctor-of.
the multireactor pile, whose heat content is still usable within the heat collector 156 before inserting it in the used water.

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If we now ~ollow the path o~ the mainly solid waste to be proce-ssed, ~-hich inter .alia may comprise ~oodstuffs wastes, p2per, synthetic materials, oil and tar residues, old tyres, -,Jocd~
glass~ ashes, etc~ th-s is sub~ected to a first trea~e~ or separation ~rom a bin 160 via a magnetic belt 162, a coveyor belt 166, and the shr~dd~ rollers 16~. In the set~lir~ b2sin llo the substances of a density of ~1 are left, and re~oved 3y means o~ a conveyor, e.g. the bucket conveyor 168. Via a se~ies of Jet nozzles 170 a basic mixing o~ used water and waste takes place to improve the desired separation in~o or~aric and inor~anic compnn~nts . Via a conveyor 1~2 ~he swimming organic co~ponents o~ the waste are remoYed from the screen 112 and are transferred to a reactor for co~ins.
In the multireactor pile tal~es pl2ce in the indi-~7-dual reactors which are directly adjacent to each other(not sho~n in the figure) a thermolysis and p~rolysis both of the mechanically removed impurities and o~ the polluted filling coal ar.d other caol filters, whereby to the desi~ed degree a partly direct introduction of waste into the reactors can bs provided.

In Fis. lc another preferred embodiment of a prefilter 188, which also can be used as a fine filter, is shown. This consists of mainly a track 1~o mounte~ sytem of tipping, upwards opened single buckets 182, whose floors 184 are perforated and contai~
loose filter material 186, whereby the track 180 makes possible the unloading of the polluted filter material and t~.e reloading with f~esh filter material by e.g. a tipping, tilting or -~eight-induced guide motion sro. As can be seen from Fig. lc, the single containers 182~ here shown as buckets, move to meet the used water, which unloads its sludge on40 the ~illings and then penetrates the perforated floors. Here the fili~a~ion can easily be ad~usted to the requirements deper~ding on speed, charge of used water with contamlnants etc, so that a selected number of containers 182 are led toward the used wa~er.Thus a used water flow t:~ough one or more containers ca~ be achieved as desired, as the single bins can be taken sideways out of the used -.~ater stream 194 round the track 180 ænd can be inserted in it. The empvying provoked e.g. by the tirp-n~

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, _16 , of the polluted filtration material leads the poll~tec filtration material to a belt which leads to the f~lrnzce 190.
The re-.illing of the container 182 with filtration ~a'er~al then takes place ~ith a conveyor device, e.g. 192. co~-rg from the furnace.

This device has proved itsel~ for the constantly cha~ing conditions of the waste water/waste utilization operation to be excellent, since both a stoppage of the filter media is avoided by a simple feeding and removal of filtration material, and also by the easy switching in of containers 182, ~;hcse speed can be regulated against that of the used water,a ver~ flexible system is attained In Fi~. 2 an equall~ suitable filtration system is sho~n, which has an endless bucket filter ~0 on a belt, which can be placed in the used water flow at a suitable point. ~ne bucket filter comprises in general a pair of laterally moun~ed conveyor belts ~32 which are driven by rollers ~34, ~ha~ 2n upper part of the belt 336 is moved upwa~ds to the left, as sho~n in Fig.2,on the belt a number of buckets are mo~nted, of which the solid floor surfaces 340 may be square, rectangular or the like, and are closed off by a pair of e.g. triæ~ular side walls. The single buckets are connected with e~c:~ other by per~orated walls 34~ hich allow the flow of the -~sed water to be clarified and the deposi~ of the suspendec conta~-inants from the filtratior, ma~erials.Via correspondin~
topped up fillings~ the protection of the screen ~lalls is attained and thereby a continuous operation of the pr~cess is possible~As car, well be seen from Fig 2s a 102din~ of fresh filtration materials or the empt~Jing of polluted filt-a'ion matPrials can easily be carried out at the ends o~ ~h~
arrangement.

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It is preferable that the floor surface of the bucket-- ,38 is struct~red, i.e. knubbed~ to prevent as far as possible s~rong movements of the filter materials. For this, option211y further subdivisions of the surface of the containers c2n be ~rovided, which is preferably done in the longitudinal direction.

Tn Fig 3a and ~b there is finally a device 400 usable as prefilter and/or as fine filter shown in cross-section znd in longitudinal section, which essentially consists of a circulating endless bel~ 402 which is perforated and is loa~ed with filtration materials at spatially separated stations 420, 4~0 440, passed through by polluted used water ar.d freed of contaminated fillings. As shown in Fig 3b, in the 102ding area 440 via a conveyor coming from the furnace 4289 ~resh filtration materials are c~rried, while the fillings which are polluted in the ~hroughput area 420 are then tipped in a suitable manner in the unlQading area 430 onto a belt 426 leading to ~he furnace. Here the belt can be driven by suitable drive elememnts 422, which preferably are located outside the throughput ar~a.

According to a preferred embodiment of the process accord~ng to the invention, the circulating belt is V-shaped in the throughput area ~20, in the loading area 440 it is V-shaped or flat and in the unloading area 430 it is led flat on the drive element~ 422 in the tipping or tilted posikion. In ~ic. ~a, ~here is a V-shaped guide track of the belt 402 visible in the throughput area.Here the belt 402 is led on the drive rollers 404 whereb~J the filtration mater~als 406 are loc~ted on the surface structure of the belt 412. By these or s~milzr me2nsJ
the s~rong displacement o~ the filtration materials ccn be prevented~ In .

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- _ 18 _ Fig ~a the unloading of sludge particles is sho~m as 410, while the water 408 exits via the porous belt downwards at 424.

It should be noted that the belt can be continuously driven a~ varying speeds or intermittently.Here too the cor-tinuous supply and removal of the ~iltration fillings permits a surface pro~ection of the otherwise easily blocked perforated filter elements.

It is ezsily recognised that by the use of filter elements ~hich provide:a continuous protection ~or the perforated screen surfaces of the system by means of filtration materials and which can conveniently be continuously supplied or removed, a ~lexible and trouble-free operation of the whole system is achieved. This is especially favored by the pelleti~a~ion of coal materials, which are used in the prefilters, rough~ng filters and fine filters~ as well as by the planr.ed prasence o~
proportions of polar materials, which are also producible from waste and/or used water, particularly calcinated metal oxides, such as ferrous oxide, alumi~a, silica etc, as they e...erge from the multireactor pile.

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Claims

THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE PROPERTY
OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:

1. A process for the combined treatment and disposal of solid and liquid waste, comprising admixing the liquid waste with solid waste which has previously been shredded; separating the resulting mixture into organic and inorganic components;
leading the waste liquid with the dissolved and suspended com-ponents of solid waste therein through a two-stage filter in a filtration zone, one of said filter stages containing non-activated coal and the other activated coal; thermally treat-ing the majority of the filter coal laden with sludge removed by the filter in a first reactor of a multireactor pile so as to regenerate the filter coal and cause thermal decomposition of the sludge, producing carbon and combustible gas; at least partly incinerating the solid waste or a part of the filter coal saturated with sludge in at least a second reactor, pro-ducing heat and combustible gas; returning the regenerated filter coal of the first reactor into the filtration zone;
leading the liquid waste laden with solid waste through a moving multi-stage filter system, including coarse and fine filters having charcoal fillings, said fillings being pro-duced from the organic components of the waste mixture and be-ing previously treated to increase their adsorption and adhe-sion; and returning the charcoal fillings laden with organic contaminants into the multireactor pile for carbonization of the contaminants.

2. A process according to claim 1, wherein the liquid waste passes first through said coarse filter, which contains non-activated coal.

3. A process according to claim 2, wherein the multi-stage filter includes a filter following the coarse filter which contains at least partly active coal.

4. A process according to claim 1, claim 2 or claim 3, wherein the fillings contain coal in a pelletized state.

5. A process according to claim 1, wherein the fillings also contain a proportion of polar substances.

6. A process according to claim 5, wherein the polar substances are aluminum oxide and/or silicon oxide.

7. A process according to claim 6, wherein the propor-tion of aluminum oxide and/or silicon oxide results from the mixture of waste or waste water from paper manufacture with a starting system from which the carbon is produced.

8. A process according to claim 1, claim 2 or claim 3, wherein the filter system is driven in countercurrent to the flow of waste.

9. A process according to claim 1, claim 2 or claim 3, wherein at least the fine filter is backwashed with usable water before the laden fillings are emptied away.

10. A process according to claim 1, claim 2 or claim 3, wherein the filter system is continuously filled with filling ma-terial, then is passed through by waste, is freed from laden fil-lings after previous backwashing, and after a renewed filling with filling material it is again used for filtration.

11. A process according to claim 1, claim 2 or claim 3, wherein the filter system is moved or rotated countercurrently towards the waste to improve the filtration effect so that a constant motion of the filling is achieved.

12. A multi-stage filtration device for use in the pro-cess according to claim 1 comprising:
a coarse filter, including containers which are pro-vided at least partly by screen-walls in which non-activated coarse particles of charcoal are contained, and a chain con-veyor device on which said containers are mounted and which is adapted to move the containers countercurrently to a waste liquid stream;
a rotating prefilter, which is insertable into said liquid stream and which has individual, separable filter ele-ments which contain a charcoal filling, and a chain conveyor device on which said filter elements are mounted and which is adapted to move the elements countercurrently to said stream;
and, a fine filter including containers, which are pro-vided at least partly by screen-walls, in which activated particles of charcoal are contained.

13. A device according to claim 12, wherein the prefilter, comprises an assembly of individual buckets defining said fil-ter elements, said buckets being open topped, and being pivotably mounted on a rotating track, the bottom walls of said buckets being perforated and said buckets contain-ing loose filtering material, said track allowing unloading of laden filtration material and a reloading of fresh filtra-tion material by pivotting of the buckets.

14. A device according to claim 12, wherein the pre-filter comprises a series of buckets defining said filter elements, said buckets being mounted on conveyor belts, which are driven by rollers, said conveyor belts moving counter-currently to said stream, and said buckets being open topped, and containing a charcoal filling, the walls of the buckets being perforated in the direction of movement of said stream.

15. A device according to claim 14, wherein the bottom surfaces of the buckets are knubbed and have subdivisions.

16. A device according to claim 12, wherein fine filter or said prefilter comprises a circulating, perforated endless belt, which is charged with filtration material at spatially separated intervals, and which is led by or to drive elements in a V-shape in a throughput area, V-shaped or flat in a load-ing area, and flat in an unloading area.

17. A device according to claim 16, wherein the belt has an upper surface structure adapted to prevent turbulence of the fillings in the throughput area.

18. A device according to claims 16 and 17, wherein the endless belt forms part of a system of at least three indivi-dual belts which are driven separately, one of said belts being arranged to accept fresh filtration material and to transfer that material to a subsequent belt, which belt con-veys the filtration material laden with sludge to the last belt for transportation to the multireactor pile.