DE3323691A1 - Effluent plant for radioactively contaminated media, such as for example faecal matter - Google Patents

Abstract

An effluent plant is proposed for radioactively contaminated effluent, such as for example faecal matter, which plant includes at least one decay vessel (14, 16) intended to collect the effluent and a low pressure source (18) to convey the effluent from the point of origin, such as for example a sanitation facility (10), to the decay vessel (14, 16). In order to enable simple conveying of the radioactively contaminated effluent into the decay vessel (14, 16) by structurally simple means, where a problem-free, energetically favourable aerobic rotting is to be provided during the storage in the decay vessel, it is proposed that the low pressure source (18) is connected via the pressure-resistant and sealed decay vessel (14, 16) to the point of origin (10) and that gaseous fluid taken in by the low pressure source can be returned to the decay vessel. <IMAGE>

Description

STRASSB ■ & STOFFRBGBN

Patent Attorneys · European Patent Attorneys
ΓΗρΙ.-Intr. Joachim Straese. Munich . Dlpl.-Phys. Dr. Haiie-HerberC Stoffrogen, Hanau

Wilhelm Roediger GmbH & Co. Haustechnik Kinzigheimer Weg 104 6450 Hanau / Main

Twilight confltriillp 15 D - 8 0 0 0 M ü η οh «η 2 (opposite the Piitontmuc) Toloion (OHt)) 2H 2G QQ Telex S 2 2 0 S 4

Am Markt 11, P.O. Box 2144 D - 6450 H u n ti u 1 Telephone (08 181) 2 43 83 Telex 4184782

Drainage system for radioactively contaminated media such as faeces

The invention relates to a wastewater system for radioactively contaminated wastewater such as, for example, including at least feces a decay tank intended to collect the wastewater and a vacuum source for conveying the wastewater from its place of origin such as a sanitary facility towards the decay container.

In the case of nuclear medicine departments, for example, this is used for toilet facilities, urinariums or pidets or showers or sink accumulating water in so-called collecting tanks or sinking basins added to the sewer system for the usual To protect wastewater from radioactive residues. The contaminated media remain in these collecting or decaying containers Depending on the half-life of the radioactive substances present, in order to then be fed into the sewage system.

During this deposition in the decay containers, which are open, aerobic rotting should take place at the same time. To this end For example, air containing oxygen can be injected into air via compressors the Abklingbeckon are pressed in.

BAD ORIGINAL COPY

3323631

The conveyance of the sanitary facilities to the Abklingbehäl ter can take place by means of an overpressure or underpressure. So if you use a Vacuum source, the sucked in gaseous fluids must be over an elaborate separation and filter system can be performed, but it cannot be completely ensured that the exhaust air does not still have radioactive traces that exceed the permissible values.

The object of the present invention is to provide a waste water plant to be designed at the outset in such a way that the radioactively contaminated can be easily conveyed with structurally simple means Waste water such as feces are carried into the decay container can that a problem-free, energy-efficient aerobic rotting is given during storage in the decay container and that it is ensured is that the air released into the environment only shows traces of radioactive substances to an acceptable extent.

The object is achieved according to the invention in that the vacuum source Ie via the pressure-tightly closed abbreviation container is connected to the point of origin, and that gaseous fluid sucked in by the unit can be fed back to the cooling basin is. The vacuum source is preferably a vacuum pump like a liquid ring pump, the suction side of which with the upper ι Area of the decay container and its pressure side with the lower one Area of the decay container is connectable.

According to the invention, a wastewater system is therefore provided!

in which the gaseous fluid (air) conveying the wastewater:

is performed in the circuit via the Abk I inqbehäl ter to the vacuum pump, ι to either be delivered to an exhaust duct or back

to be sucked to the decay container. The latter occurs when ' the line connected to the pressure side of the vacuum pump in one

BATH ^

• · · 'GOPV

. The area of the Abki ingbehäl ters opens, which has already accumulated radioactive waste water such as feces is covered. This has the advantage that the environment is largely affected Air sucked in only at the beginning of the filling of a decay container is released so that there is hardly any risk of radioactive contamination. Due to the in the decay container above the fviedien existing negative pressure taking place suction of the The air to be removed from the pressure side of the vacuum pump also has the advantage that the air required for aerobic rotting is achieved Oxygen that Ahvvasser penetrates well. At the same time, as the air rises from the wastewater, it is circulated, which to the desired extent regardless of the use of for example! Plumbing can be done.

So, when the supply line from the sanitary facilities to the AbK ii ngbehäl ter was closed, a circuit via the vacuum pump was established in order to return air extracted from the decay container to it . This has the advantage that the vacuum pump is more frequently in operation, preferably in the form of liquid pumps.

': 0 must be taken, so that deposits in the pump area only in occur to a negligible extent, thus ensuring a long service life is. If, on the other hand, a corresponding circulation would not be possible, the water ring pump is only put into operation, when the vacuum in the decay container is no longer sufficient

~ 5 is enough to suck in wastewater, otherwise if it is too frequent Switching on the pump would release too much exhaust air into the environment, i.e. the separators and filter systems present in the exhaust air were unnecessarily burdened.

According to one embodiment of the invention to be emphasized, the gfis-shaped fluid coming from the pressure side of the vacuum pump is transferred lances in the fluid outlet openings having at their free ends Bottom area of the decaying container, whereby the

BATH ORIGINAL

3 3 2 3 6 3

mentioned upheaval is intensified. The lances can either run through the main axis of the container or offset from it. The former would be an overturning of the contents by two cause opposing currents.

The arrangement of the lances is preferably chosen such that the gaseous fluid is returned to the Abk I inqbehäl ter only after the outlet openings have been covered and that further conveying of the radioactively contaminated wastewater is prevented by the fact that the level of the accumulated wastewater is related to ι The pressure generated at the outlet openings of the lances is equal to or greater than the atmospheric pressure minus the pressure prevailing above the media. In this case, no more air is sucked in via the lances, which can trigger a signal to indicate to the operator that the cooling is being carried out ter is filled. In addition to these signals derived from the fluid circuit, there are other monitoring devices that are required mechanically or electronically and also indicate the level of the container.

To ensure the continuous operation of a sewage system for radioactive To ensure contaminated wastewater, several decaying tanks are preferably arranged parallel to each other in terms of lines to to be able to fill them one after the other and to use the waste water collected in a decay tank depending on the half-life to be able to deposit the radioactive substances sufficiently.

A method of removal and subsequent aerobic rot of radioactive contaminants that can be introduced into a decay container Sewage like feces is characterized by the process steps

- Removal of the media through in the closed pressure-resistant trained Decay container existing negative pressure and collecting in

this, .., .. ■

BATH ORIGINAL

Feeding oxygen-containing gaseous fluid into the Decay container by means of the negative pressure and

Circulation of the wastewater through the in the bottom area of the decaying tank sucked fluid.

Such a process can be carried out regardless of the type of the vacuum source or the introduction of the fluid and ensures that a simple ^C 5rdern the contaminated media and an optimal aerobic Verrot: is added on, without having to run the risk that with the. Radioactively contaminated sewage conveyed air unnecessarily pollutes the environment.

Further details, advantages and features of the invention result in "iZ sk .us" from the exemplary embodiment shown in the drawing.

The radioactive originating from a toilet facility 10 or other sanitary facility in a nuclear medicine department, for example contaminated sewage such as feces will be over

-10 a line 12 optionally a first decay container 14 or a /. wide decay container 16 supplied. Thereby the abatement containers are 14 and 16 sealed against atmospheric pressure and pressure-tight educated. To the waste water in the decay tanks 14 and 16 to be able to promote, is in this a negative pressure by means of a

■ -'j vacuum device 18 is formed, which consists of two liquid ring pumps 20 and 22 connected in parallel to one another in the exemplary embodiment. The connection between the Abk I ingbehäl tern 14 and 16 and the vacuum device 18 takes place via a line system 24. For the functionality of the pumps 20 and 22 must be inside the pumps

> ίΰ there must always be a liquid in the water supply container 26 and 28 can be seen, which in turn automatically over a container 30 are supplied with fresh water to the Wassermenqen to replace, which carried away during operation and in the template

b ^ containers 26 and 28 do not remain.
., _r BAD ORIGINAL

3323G91

Like the suction sides of pumps 20 and 22, their pressure sides are also Via a line system opening into the Abkl inqbehäl tern 14 and 16 3CL connected, which passes through the water storage tanks 26 and 28. The line system 32 ends in the execution example! above Lances 34 in the floor area of the abbreviation I inqbehäl ter 14 and 16. Furthermore starts from the line 32 a branch 36, for example via a droplet separator 38 or an activated carbon filter 40 with a Venting device 42 is connected to optionally via the Line 32 and 36 to be able to give off flowing air to the environment. 10

The liquid quantities separated from the droplet separators can - as indicated by arrows - be supplied to the water reserve for the water ring pumps 20 and 22.

Furthermore, it can be seen from the drawing that via lines 44 and 46, respectively, by means of unspecified pumps of the The contents of the cooling pools 14 and 16 are pumped out and, for example, the usual sewer 48 can be fed. If necessary, can between the decay containers 14 and 16 a lockable emergency connection 50 exist, which is activated when, for example, the contents of the container are pumped from one container to the other must be, if the storage has not yet been sufficient to deliver the contents into the sewer 48 can.

The functioning of the wastewater system according to the invention will be explained by way of example below. ··> ^:

After using the toilet facility 10, for example via handbetätiqte. Diaphragm valves 52 connect to one of the decay containers 14 and 16, in which there is a negative pressure that is sufficient to be able to suck off the toilet contents. The negative pressure in the containers 14 and 16 is via the line 24 through one of the

BAD ORIGINAL COPY

V water ring pumps 20 or 22 built (the presence of two Water ring pumps 20 and 22 are basically not required, however, for safety reasons, at least two Darallel pumps should be used be connected to each other in order to be able to continue working at least with the other pump in the event of a fault in one pump).

The air sucked in by one of the water ring pumps 20 or 22, which brings about the conveyance of the faeces, arrives at an empty one Re-container 14 and 16 via the line 32 and 36 for venting, wherein before the droplet separator 38 and the activated carbon filter 40 flows through must be so that radioactive substances are largely retained. However, as soon as the container has been put into operation 14 or 16 has filled to the extent that the air outlet openings having free ends of the lances 34 are covered, the connection to the line 36 is closed or at least throttled to such an extent that, due to the negative pressure present in the container 14 or 16, the pressure on the pressure side of the pump 20 or 22 existing air can be sucked in via the lances 34. This has the advantage that the collected sewage like feces

• - ^u receives the oxygen required for aerobic rotting in sufficient quantities. As the air bubbles rise from the lance tips to the surface of the radioactively contaminated waste water, there is also the advantage that the contents are circulated, which ultimately activates the rotting process.

Finally, it is advantageous that the air supplied to the wiper already has a temperature which roughly corresponds to that of the waste water itself, so that the process is extremely favorable in terms of energy

expires.
30th

Back through the 14 or 16 extending from the cooling pond put into operation via the line 24 to c \ he Wa.ssorringpumpp 20 or 22 and then via line 32 and via lances 34 dio

BAD ORIGJNAL COPY

3 3 2 3 6 01 - P-

qebildeten into the container 14 or 16 closed circuit ensures, among other things, that only a very small proportion of the air is discharged to the bypass via the Entlüftunq 42, which may be entered into contact with radioactive substances. Furthermore, due to the circuit, the required oxygen is supplied to the aerobically decaying wastewater without additional units such as a compressor. During this process, the contents of the container are circulated at the same time.

As soon as a decay container 14 or 16 is filled to the desired extent, the other container can be put into operation in order to be able to deposit the contents of the first container according to the half-lives of the radioactive substances, so that a subsequent emptying to the sewer network 48 via line 44 or 46 can be done.

By using the vacuum pumps 20 and 22 to penetrate the waste water with oxygen-containing air, there is also the advantage that pumps are actuated more frequently compared to an operation where these only to maintain the vacuum required in the containers 14 and 16, respectively , which should be in the range of 0.3 bar. The more frequent use, on the other hand, ensures that deposits of dirt in the housing can hardly occur due to the short breaks in operation, so that in the end a longer service life should be given despite the long operating time. In terms of maintenance, the system according to the invention also offers fewer problems than known systems in which the decay containers used are connected to the atmosphere, since in this case the air removed from the container is always released into the environment, so that a previous passage through dry separators and / or Activated carbon filters must be carried out, which are therefore exposed to high wear.

BATH ORIGINAL

If in the exemplary embodiment two cooling basins 14 and 16 are shown, which are wired in parallel to each other, so can in practice, these can be replaced by one or more.

BAD ORIGINAL COPY

Claims (1)

STJiASSE & STOFFHFi (JEN I'lUmitmiw / llU · · Ιβιιΐ · ι> ρ «· ιι · ι l'iUoiU Auoriic-yH ί. Jonohiin SlrnsHO, Mftnolion. nipl.-l'liyn. ]> r. IliiiiH-I Icrborl Stciffrogon, Grove Wilhelm Roediger GmbH & Co. Haustechnik Kinzigheimer Weg 104 6450 Hanau / Main V, w ο I br 0 <· k on H t r M Ii r> 1 Π 1) - HOOO M (ι η c! Ι ο ii 2 ((Jo ^ onübor dom l'ntciitmnt) Tolofon (OHl)) 2ü 'J 5 f> () T ο 1 «χ B 2 2 0!> Λ Aiii Mnrkt 11, l'oHtfrieh 2144 IJ - (5 4 13 0 Il a η ii U 1 Telephone ((Xi IHl) 2 43 8;) To) ox 41847Ha Patent claims: Wastewater system for radioactively contaminated wastewater such as feces, comprising at least one decay container intended to collect the wastewater and a negative pressure source for conveying the wastewater from a place of origin such as a sanitary facility to the decay container,
characterized, that the negative pressure source (18, 20, 22) via the pressure-resistant and closed decay container (14, 16) with the point of origin (10) is connected and that gaseous fluid sucked in by the vacuum source can be fed back to the decay container is. System according to claim 1, characterized, that the unlerdruckquelle (18) a vacuum pump (20, 22) preferably is in the form of a liquid ring pump, the suction side of which is connected to the upper region of the decaying container (14, 16) and the pressure side of which can be connected to the lower region of the decay container. BATH ORIGINAL COPY 3. Plant according to claim 2, characterized, that the fluid originating from the vacuum pump (18) into the bottom area of the decaying container (14, 16) via lances ", (34) having fluid outlet openings at their free ends Umv / älzung of the existing wastewater can be introduced. 4. Plant according to claim 1 and / or claim 3,
characterized, that the lances (34) are arranged so that a re-supply of the gaseous fluid in the decaying container (14, 16) only takes place after the outlet openings of the lances have been covered and that a pumping of the waste water is prevented by the fact that the pressure caused by the waste water column is based on the Ιί The outlet openings are equal to or greater than the atmospheric pressure minus the pressure above the sewage. 5 system according to claim 1, characterized, .. ^: 1 that the lances (34) are offset from the main axis of the container are arranged. 6. Plant according to claim 1, characterized, that at least two decay containers (14, 16) are provided which are arranged parallel to one another in terms of lines. 7. Plant according to claim 2, characterized, that at least two vacuum pumps connected in parallel to one another (18) are provided. BAD ORIGINAL COPY 8. Method for removing and then aerobic rolling of radioactively contaminated material which can be introduced into a decaying container Sewage, marked by - Remove the sewage through in the closed pressure-tight trained decay tank existing negative pressure and collecting in this,
- Feeding oxygen-containing gaseous fluid into the decay container by means of the negative pressure and - Circulation of the wastewater through the in the bottom area of the decay tank sucked fluid. I3AD ORIGINAL
COPY