Slurry feed system and method

Abstract

The invention can provide or facilitate systems and methods for feeding a slurry and, in particular, to systems and methods for treating wastewater streams with a slurry having periodic flushing of conduits.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method of controlling odor in a wastewater stream comprising:
 introducing a treating slurry for a predetermined treating period through a conduit to the wastewater stream;   introducing a flushing fluid to the conduit for a predetermined forward flushing period; and   introducing the flushing fluid to the conduit for a predetermined reverse flushing period.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the predetermined forward flushing period is in a range of from about 60 seconds to about 180 seconds and the predetermined reverse flushing period is in a range of from about 20 seconds to about 120 seconds. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the predetermined treating period is in a range of from about 30 minutes to about 120 minutes. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising measuring one or more parameters of at least one of the wastewater stream, the treating slurry, and the source of the treating slurry. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the measured parameter is selected from the group consisting of flowrate, pH, pressure, temperature, volume of the treating slurry, pump speed, and viscosity. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , further comprising adjusting a flowrate of the treating slurry based at least in part on the measured parameter. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 measuring a wastewater stream parameter and a treating slurry parameter;   identifying a control profile based at least in part on the wastewater stream parameter and the treating slurry parameter; and   regulating addition of the treating slurry into the wastewater stream based at least in part on the control profile.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising generating an alarm condition when a magnitude of a difference between at least one expected value and at least one measured parameter of the system exceeds a predetermined tolerance value. 
     
     
         9 . A computer readable medium including computer readable signals stored thereon defining instructions that, as a result of being executed by a controller, instruct the controller to perform a method of wastewater odor control comprising:
 generating at least one first control signal in a treating mode;   generating at least one second control signal in a flushing mode;   identifying a first triggering condition that initiates generation of the second control signal; and   identifying a second triggering condition that re-initiates generation of the first control signal.   
     
     
         10 . The computer readable medium of  claim 9 , wherein identifying the first triggering condition comprises:
 monitoring a duration of an elapsed treating time during which the first control signal is generated; and   comparing the duration of the elapsed treating time to a target treating period.   
     
     
         11 . The computer readable medium of  claim 10 , wherein identifying the second triggering condition comprises:
 monitoring a duration of an elapsed flushing time during which the second control signal is generated; and   comparing the duration of the elapsed flushing time to a target flushing period.   
     
     
         12 . The computer readable medium of  claim 9 , wherein identifying the first triggering condition comprises:
 measuring a flowrate of a treating slurry introduced into the wastewater; and   comparing the measured flowrate to an expected flowrate of the treating slurry to be introduced into the wastewater.   
     
     
         13 . A method of facilitating odor control of a wastewater stream comprising:
 providing a controller configured to actuate a pump that is disposed to deliver a treating slurry to the wastewater stream through a conduit.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , further comprising storing a predetermined treating period in the controller. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the treating slurry comprises at least one of calcium hydroxide and magnesium hydroxide.