Electrocoagulation reactor having segmented intermediate uncharged plates

Abstract

An electrocoagulation reactor for the treatment of wastewater. The electrocoagulation reactor typically engages a DC power source and a source of wastewater to be treated. It has a housing with walls and a wastewater inlet, and a treated wastewater outlet. There is at least one anode/cathode pair of oppositely charged spaced apart plates that engage the power source to charge the anode with a positive charge and the cathode with a negative charge. Between each anode/cathode pair is at least one segmented intermediate plate, which is not engaged to the power source of electrical energy, and which intermediate plate is segmented into multiple segments, which multiple segments lay generally in the same plane.

I claim: 
     
         1 . An electrocoagulation reactor for the treatment of waste water, the electrocoagulation reactor comprising:
 a housing including walls and an inlet for receiving waste water therein;   at least one pair of oppositely charged spaced apart anode/cathode plates engagable with a DC power source to charge the anode with a positive charge and the cathode with a negative charge; and   at least one segmented intermediate plate between a pair of anode/cathode plates, the segmented intermediate plate not engaged with the power source of electrical energy and comprising multiple segments that lay generally in the same plane.   
     
     
         2 . The electrocoagulation reactor of  claim 1 , wherein the segments of each segmented intermediate plate are rectangular. 
     
     
         3 . The electrocoagulation reactor of  claim 2 , wherein the housing is dimensioned to receive each of the multiple rectangular segments, to engage each segment at the side edges thereof to locate each segment with respect to the housing. 
     
     
         4 . The electrocoagulation reactor of  claim 1 , wherein each segmented intermediate plate engages the housing so it is perpendicular to a bottom wall thereof. 
     
     
         5 . The electrocoagulation reactor of  claim 1 , wherein the segments of each segmented intermediate plate have a top edge, two side edges, and a bottom edge and wherein at least one bottom edge of a segment is in contact with a top edge on another segment of the segmented intermediate plate. 
     
     
         6 . The electrocoagulation reactor of  claim 1 , wherein the housing is generally rectangular, having two end walls, two side walls, a bottom wall, and a substantially open top and wherein each segmented intermediate plate engages the housing so that it is perpendicular to the bottom wall. 
     
     
         7 . The electrocoagulation reactor of  claim 6 , wherein the segments of each segmented intermediate plate are generally rectangular each having a top edge, two side edges, and a bottom edge. 
     
     
         8 . The electrocoagulation reactor of  claim 7 , wherein the housing rests on a support surface and is dimensioned to receive each of the multiple rectangular segments, to engage each segment at the side edges thereof to at least partially locate each segment with respect to the housing. 
     
     
         9 . The electrocoagulation reactor of  claim 1 , wherein the segments of the intermediate plate are adapted to mate with each other. 
     
     
         10 . The electrocoagulation reactor of  claim 1 , wherein the segments of an intermediate plate consist essentially of the same material. 
     
     
         11 . The electrocoagulation reactor of  claim 1 , wherein an anode plate and cathode plate in a pair are parallel to each other. 
     
     
         12 . The electrocoagulation reactor of  claim 11 , a segmented intermediate plate between the anode plate and the cathode plate in the pair is parallel to the anode plate and the cathode plate. 
     
     
         13 . An electrocoagulation reactor for the treatment of waste water, the electrocoagulation reactor comprising:
 a housing having walls and having an inlet for receiving waste water;   at least one pair of oppositely charged spaced apart anode/cathode plates engagable with a power source to charge the anode with a positive charge and the cathode with a negative charge; and   at least one segmented intermediate plate between each pair and not engaged with the power source, the intermediate plate comprising multiple segments that lay generally in the same plane;   wherein the segments of each segmented intermediate plate are rectangular, each having a top edge, two side edges, and a bottom edge;   wherein the housing rests on a support surface and is dimensioned to receive each of the multiple rectangular segments, to engage each segment at the side edges thereof to at least partially locate each segment with request to the housing;   wherein each segmented intermediate plate engages the housing so it is perpendicular to a bottom wall thereof;   wherein the segments of the intermediate plate are adapted to mate with each other.   
     
     
         14 . The electrocoagulation reactor of  claim 13 , wherein at least one bottom edge of a segment is in contact with a top edge an adjacent segment of a segmented intermediate plate. 
     
     
         15 . The electrocoagulation reactor of  claim 13 , wherein the segments of an intermediate plate consist essentially of the same material. 
     
     
         16 . The electrocoagulation reactor of  claim 13 , wherein an anode plate and a cathode plate in a pair are parallel to each other. 
     
     
         17 . The electrocoagulation reactor of  claim 16 , a segmented intermediate plate between the anode plate and the cathode plate in the pair is parallel to the anode plate and the cathode plate. 
     
     
         18 . An electrocoagulation reactor for the treatment of waste water, the electrocoagulation reactor comprising:
 a housing having walls and having an inlet for receiving waste water;   wherein the housing is rectangular, having two end walls, two side walls, a bottom wall, and a substantially open top;   at least one pair of oppositely charged spaced apart anode/cathode plates engagable with a power source to charge the anode with a negative charge and the cathode with a positive charge;   at least one segmented intermediate plate between a pair of anode/cathode plates and not engaged with the power source, the segmented intermediate plate comprising multiple segments adapted to mate with each other and lay generally in the same plane, wherein the pair of anode/cathode plates are parallel to each other and the segmented intermediate plate is parallel to the anode/cathode plates.