B01D 21/02 (2006.01) F04F 10/00 (2006.01) C02F9/00 (2006.01)

)
(51) International Patent Classification: SC, SD, SE, SG, SK, SL, SM, ST, SV, SY, TH, TJ, TM, TN,
B01D 21/02 (2006.01) F04F 10/00 (2006.01) TR, TT, TZ, UA, UG, US, UZ, VC, VN, ZA, ZM, ZW.
C02F9/00 (2006.01)
(84) Designated States (unless otherwise indicated, for every
(21) International Application Number: kind of regional protection available) . ARIPO (BW, GH,
PCT/US20 19/055698 GM, KE, LR, LS, MW, MZ, NA, RW, SD, SL, ST, SZ, TZ,
UG, ZM, ZW), Eurasian (AM, AZ, BY, KG, KZ, RU, TJ,
(22) International Filing Date:
TM), European (AL, AT, BE, BG, CH, CY, CZ, DE, DK,
10 October 2019 (10. 10.2019)
EE, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, HR, HU, IE, IS, IT, LT, LU, LV,
(25) Filing Language: English MC, MK, MT, NL, NO, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, SI, SK, SM,
TR), OAPI (BF, BJ, CF, CG, Cl, CM, GA, GN, GQ, GW,
(26) Publication Language: English
KM, ML, MR, NE, SN, TD, TG).
(30) Priority Data:
62/743,870 10 October 2018 (10. 10.2018) US Published:
— with international search report (Art. 21(3))
(71) Applicant: 3D RENEWABLES, LLC [US/US]; 326 Elm
— before the expiration of the time limit for amending the
Street, San Carlos, California 94070 (US).
claims and to be republished in the event of receipt of
(72) Inventors: VOGEL, William S.; 326 Elm Street, San amendments (Rule 48.2(h))
Carlos, California 94070 (US). HINES, Thomas; 4538
Grenadier Place, Castro Valley, California 94546 (US).
(74) Agent: HAUGEN, James L.; Kramer Levin Naftalis &
Frankel LLP, 990 Marsh Road, Menlo Park, California
94025 (US).
(81) Designated States (unless otherwise indicated, for every
kind of national protection available) : AE, AG, AL, AM,
AO, AT, AU, AZ, BA, BB, BG, BH, BN, BR, BW, BY, BZ,
CA, CH, CL, CN, CO, CR, CU, CZ, DE, DJ, DK, DM, DO,
DZ, EC, EE, EG, ES, FI, GB, GD, GE, GH, GM, GT, HN,
HR, HU, ID, IL, IN, IR, IS, JO, JP, KE, KG, KH, KN, KP,
KR, KW, KZ, LA, LC, LK, LR, LS, LU, LY, MA, MD, ME,
MG, MK, MN, MW, MX, MY, MZ, NA, NG, NI, NO, NZ,
OM, PA, PE, PG, PH, PL, PT, QA, RO, RS, RU, RW, SA,
(54) Title: AUTOMATED ZERO WASTE SYSTEMS AND METHODS
FIG. 1
(57) Abstract: Systems and methods for employment in a Zero Waste (ZW) treatment system are disclosed. The ZW treatment system
includes a ZW process employing the following individual processes: a separation and extraction process, a blend-heat process, a
hydrolysis and acidification process, first-in, first-out (FIFO) anaerobic digestion process, an aerobic boost-blend process, and smart
delivery process. A separation and extraction system, a blend-heat system, hydrolysis and acidification system, and a FIFO system
performing the ZW treatment process may include a variety of tanks, where each tank may be placed in an enclosure comprising a
modular container which, in turn, comprises a modular container system designed for mobility and transportable to remote sites as part
of the smart delivery process.
AUTOMATED ZERO WASTE SYSTEMS AND METHODS
BACKGROUND
[0001] Many Zero-Waste (ZW) treatment projects are fee-based
community sites with on-site personnel that receive and organize ad-hoc deliveries,
directing materials to one or more treatment areas. This model does not apply to waste
at agricultural, commercial and industrial locations - which constitute 100s of times the
volume of municipal sources. Regulations designed to avoid specific forms of pollution
have been created, reducing farm income and food production per acre.
[0002] At the risk of oversimplifying, a majority of existing farm waste
management systems focus on (a) inflexible methods of treating bulky materials using a
partial process for limited forms and types of waste streams, (b) reducing methane
emissions using anaerobic digesters as containment vessels that capture biogas, and
(c) finding use for bulky biosolids, spreading massive volumes of lagoon water across
acreage to comply with groundwater regulations. Some bulk biogas production projects
at farms use low intensity methane capture methods such as, for example, covering
lagoons with massive tarps that accumulate biogas and hold materials for lengthy
periods, thereafter leaving huge volumes of residual solids and fluids that are difficult to
use and impractical to export as fertilizer. With respect to precise organic farming and
its objectives, finding uses for mixed materials with random content and low quality
could be at odds.
[0003] In contrast, automated ZW systems serve acute needs to convert
agribusiness and industrial byproducts into high-volume, high-quality resources that

avoid fossil fuels and improve farm productivity. Automated ZW systems may be
integrated subsystems that convert organic materials from voluminous sources of
agricultural and industrial waste into safe and usable fluids-solids-energy which may be
critical to avoiding pollution, enabling organic farming, expanding renewable fuels and
reducing the burden of complex compliance rules on agricultural and industrial
operators. One goal of ZW is an elimination of pollution by producing precise
coproducts that could be more beneficial and marketable than existing alternatives for
bioenergy and biofertilizers. A ZW project may place an emphasis on specific forms of
renewable energy, specific markets for organics, natural chemicals and/or remediation
services for organic waste streams are made up of water, volatile organic solids,
liquefied biochemicals and inorganic materials. To address these issues, modular-
configurable-controllable subsystems that treat wastewater, solid and liquefied sources
of agricultural and industrial byproducts may be developed to meet a core need.
[0004] The rate of waste-based project development is slow with a spotty
operating history, a low return on investment and a high-incidence of project failures
that inhibit could investment. Projects may be inflexible with respect to business growth
and contraction. Project designs may be structured around one site’s waste rather than
networks of remediation-based services. As such, society’s interest in reducing
pollution may not be served by scalable-repeatable development. With respect to new
advancements in (a) Variable flows with complex constituents and problematic
materials; (b) Variable solid waste with seasonal availability of crop residues, rejects
and food preparation materials; (c) Multiple forms of incompatible equipment that are
difficult to integrate and operate; (d) High-incidence of downtime from digester failure
with extended maintenance for cleaning up vessels; (e) Configuring and synchronizing
the above variables in a continuous process flow (f) Construction-intensive integration
that inhibits project development and modular expansion; (g) High capital cost from
custom configurations of disparate assets to variable flow rates and composition; (h)
Lack of standards for integrating and operating multi-function waste management; (i) In
ability to support variable treatment methods on diverse recipe content for biofertilizer
production; and (j) Waste-based development involves custom design with multiple
forms of construction and integration.
[0005] One problem is the wide diversity and geographically dispersed
nature of organic byproduct sources, such as, but not limited to, livestock manure and
livestock food byproducts, crop residues and rejects, food packing waste, food and
beverage production byproducts, food distribution rejects, institutional food waste,
mining, fuel extraction and fuel production. These sources and factors constitute
pernicious forms of waste for which cost-effective remediation and offer potential
sources of bioenergy and bio nutrition that may be required. The volume, location and
seasonality of many of these sources do not lend themselves to a fee-based ad-hoc
waste services wherein remote waste is delivered to geographically limited availability of
sustainable disposal processing sites and partial treatment assets that are dedicated to
specific types of waste, customized around narrow tolerances of treatment, based on
static concepts of remediation or production. For instance, livestock operators could
experience changes in manure rates per cow, herd size and water volume changes. At
different periods during the year, dairy operators may allow grazing which reduces
manure volume per cow, since cows leave manure in the field, yet increase volume at
other periods when keeping cows in barns. High-volume dairy operations could use
more or less water throughout the year to move waste and cool animals with spray-
misters, increasing water volume per cow. Livestock manure is only one source of
material that occurs 24 hours per day 365 days per year. Whereas, diverse crop
harvests that produce all manner of crop residues and rejects may occur at different
points throughout a year.
[0006] Conventional waste management methods and systems may be
considered as construction-intensive, highly specialized and inflexible with respect to
diversity, volumes and composition of ever-changing sources. Conventional waste
management systems are may be considered limited from a project development and
integrated operations perspective. Many digester systems are based on waste
management principals rather than bioproduction, resulting in significant limitations and
challenges that stem from waste-oriented digester development. From an anaerobic
systems perspective, ZW may require precise ingredients using precise and adaptive
treatment methods, thorough destruction with adaptive control over materials and
process. Some farm-based digester systems focus on specific vessel formats, one form
of heating, one type of agitation and one method of material migration, to name just a
few of the limitations. Advanced food waste and biogas production systems involve, for
example, customized projects of temperamental, proprietary assets that are neither
cost-effective nor robust and flexible, thus, unable to build, operate, adapt and repeat
project development, a critical requirement to scale across regions and industries.
[0007] Many methods of waste treatment may be considered as highly
specialized around the composition and volume of one waste stream, for instance dilute
manure wastewater, sequentially removing or chemically treating materials. From a ZW
perspective, these designs are not general purpose, resulting in capital-intensive,
inflexible systems design with strict limits over volumetric, solids concentration, particle
size and solids type. Livestock and grower operations produce a wide diversity of
solids, fluids, sludge and dry matter.
[0008] Many of the challenges with existing digester designs as
implemented on US farms as of this writing include the following: (a) low solids
operation with high parasitic heat; (b) low volatility per unit of material; (c) low
destruction rates combined with disorderly material migration; (d) bulk materials
management with limited control over feedstock; (e) single line of digestion (production)
that focuses on one large containment vessel; (f) inability to maintain temperatures
throughout vessels; (g) extended downtime for excavating settleable solids; (h)
feedstock conflicts, insufficient agitation or (alternatively) aggressive mixing; (i)
settleable solids jamming agitation equipment; (j) insufficient feed pipe and pumping
resulting in slow or clogged loading of digesters; (k) digestion failures from ammonia/pH
degradation; (I) dilute organic loads with low energy and nutrient density; (m) limited
control over environmental and biochemical conditions; (n) low grade biogas requiring
costly cleaning where needed to comply with either air quality, power density and/or
biofuel quality standards; (o) low grade digestate that is unable to comply with organic
standards without expending additional energy for post digestion pasteurization; (p)
customized development challenges wherein scaling decisions result inconsistent
performance due to variable design parameters from one application/site to the next
application/site; and/or (q) low quality dilute digestate that impedes the operators ability
to export nutrients off the farm, for purposes of sale and water contamination
compliance.
SUMMARY
[0009] Embodiments of the inventive concepts disclosed herein are
directed to a zero waste (ZW) treatment system
[00010] In one aspect, embodiments of the inventive concepts disclosed
herein are directed to a zero waste (ZW) treatment system that produces filtered water,
bioenergy and biofertilizers; comprising one or more fluidic separation subsystems
using stratification-syphoning tanks to enable separation/filtration assets to segment
and extract inorganic and organic materials from multiple fluid streams, one or more
feedstock pretreatment tank subsystems that convert raw feedstock into treated
ingredients, one or more blend-heat-inoculate tank subsystems that integrate-heat
ingredients with or without one or more inoculate-hydrolysis tank subsystems, two or
more FIFO anaerobic tank subsystems of one or more formats, one or more organic
treatment subsystems with or without aerobic integration and one or more formulaic
blend-boost subsystems with or without one or more smart delivery subsystems; all
subsystems of which control treatment methods and intensity, environmental and
biochemical conditions, residence time and routing paths, managed by recipe control
logic through facility and enterprise software.
[0001 1] In a further aspect, embodiments of the inventive concepts
disclosed herein are directed to a ZW treatment system wherein the feedstocks to be
treated is selected from a variety of organic materials, including wastewater, sludge, dry
matter, excreted manure, crop residues, silage dust, produce rejects, fats, oils, greases,
food waste and other organic materials in such a way that supports multi-feedstock
processing with specific treatments for each type of feedstock to achieve specific
ingredient requirements of recipe-based production.
[00012] In a further aspect, embodiments of the inventive concepts
disclosed herein are directed to a ZW treatment system wherein ingredients are
selected from a variety of pretreated or received organic materials such as concentrated
organic matter from wastewater, pretreated feestock, biochar, compost, worm castings,
nutrient adders, enzymes, compost teas, nitrogen fixing microbial/fungus/absorbent
materials and other adders; supporting injection of each type of ingredient or blend of
ingredients at one or more stages with the process as well as one or more zones within
a digester based on recipe instructions.
disclosed herein are directed to a ZW treatment system that filters wastewater and
treats organic waste to (a) produce high quality, organically certified biofertilizers of
multiple formulas, grades and methods of delivery, (b) maximize bioenergy production
of high-density biofuels, (d) select chemical byproducts and (d) select biomaterials
byproducts.
disclosed herein are directed to a ZW treatment system that supports multiple reaction
temperatures and/or treatment by feedstock, ingredient, stage and/or zone or tank with
a stage of treatment to ensure organic and food safety compliance via multiple
methods, including; pasteurizing feedstock, ingredients and/or digested materials,
subjecting recipe batches to intense anaerobic digestion by employing hybrid
temperature digestion with minimum residence time by temperature level and/or

specialized forms of material destruction such as hydrothermal cavitation or other
steam-assisted injection, sonic destruction, irradiation and/or microwave.
disclosed herein are directed to a ZW treatment system wherein each of the stages and
assets support monitoring and control over environmental, material and/or biochemical
parameters of assets, stages and/or multiple tanks and/or zones, feedstock, anaerobic
and/or aerobic stage of treatment, including but not limited to tank level, temperature,
conductivity, pressure, ammonia, ammonium, nitrate, nitrite, pH, particle size, gas
content and composition, solids density, rotation rate, injector pressure, calcium,
potassium, phosphorus, chloride and/or flow rates.
disclosed herein are directed to a ZW treatment system that employs modular units of
physical capacity that aggregate multiple types of functional equipment into physical
and logical units of controllable capacity as subsystems which are able to be quickly
installed (one install to many assets) and/or moved from one location to another for
mobile/satellite services and/or repurposing capacity from one site to another.
disclosed herein are directed to a ZW treatment system that employs standardized,
modular container-structures with internal and/or external vessels that can support
diverse capacity and functionality options, including; multi-container integration (e.g.
peer/parallel, sequential and/or stacking), shipping and crane interfaces, mobility (e.g.
wheels/sleds), footings mounts for securing, elevating and/or elevation control, seismic
stabilizers, one or more internal mounts/saddles for one or more tanks, air vents and/or
HVAC exchange ports, gas relief areas with gas evacuation interfaces, manway access,
skid mountings, equipment mountings, cabinets for subsystem controls and other
equipment, insulation, environmental controls, internal/external bulkhead manifolds for
pipes-hoses-conduits, wire troughs as well as overhead riser mounts for shade, solar
and/or other equipment at one or more points of the container with internal routing
mounts and connectors for piping, wiring and hoses.
disclosed herein are directed to a ZW treatment system that supports a variety of vessel
formats, shapes and capacities yet employs multi-functional treatment standards to
enable shared, dedicate, repurposed and consolidated capacity options into one or
more containers using one or more general or dedicated-purpose, multi-processing
tanks.
disclosed herein are directed to a ZW treatment system wherein multiple stages and/or
portions of any stage can be located at one or more, fixed or mobile, sites to enable
distributed production and distribution supporting hub and spoke sourcing, hub and
spoke treatment as well as hub and spoke distribution.
disclosed herein are directed to a ZW treatment system wherein general purpose,
intelligent processing tanks of vertical or horizontal format add multiple processing
features in one or more tanks, of various capacities, such that few vessels can operate
as one or more functional derivative of stratification tank, blend tank, hydrolysis tank
and/or digester tank by ensuring control over flow rates, multi-source inoculation,
agitation rates, material migration, pH, temperature, ingredient injection, solid reduction,
solids destruction and/or solids concentration.
disclosed herein are directed to a ZW treatment system that employs a plurality of
vertical and/or horizontal digesters in a series of functionally enhanced configurations
that ensure retention time with persistent temperature levels, orderly destruction and
compliant material injection at one or more points in the anaerobic process in order to
maximize biogas while producing digestate that complies organic and food safety
standards.
disclosed herein are directed to a ZW treatment system wherein material concentration,
macro to micro particle reduction, multi-source thermal systems, multi-source inoculant
exchange and interconnected fluidic jet systems that extract-inject-agitate; working in
concert with precise monitoring and control systems to enable high-solids with
accelerated destruction rates to maximize bioenergy yield, minimize parasitic energy,
and produce a variety of organically-compliant mediums, including ultrafine yet
concentrated mediums for micro irrigation delivery.
disclosed herein are directed to a ZW treatment system that enables hydration and
material concentration combined with macro-to-micro particle reduction to enable
precise ingredients that can be integrated at one or more points within a distributed
process.
disclosed herein are directed to a ZW treatment system that supports extreme particle
size reduction using a variety of techniques, including soaking, grinding, chopping,
milling, sonic destruction, steam cavitation, radiation and/or microwave as a means to
reduce particle size below 50 microns and destroy cell walls while preserving biological
characteristics of each recipe batch by allocating multiple source ingredients to unique
forms of treatment and inoculating from multiple downstream sources under recipe
control.
disclosed herein are directed to a ZW treatment system that employs multiple methods
of thermal transfer, under process control, using multiple sources of energy to
accelerate heating and control energy costs by applying select forms of heating to
concentrated feedstocks, treated ingredients and recipe batches, thereby avoiding
energy wasted on dilute and/or combined substrates. A thermal treatment system of
claim x wherein multi-source heating includes industrial instahot, solar thermal, internal
heating coils and heat exchange for preheating from exhaust or digestate with or
without supplemental hot water or steam boiler systems.
disclosed herein are directed to a ZW treatment system wherein blend-heat-inoculate-
digest systems, under process control, employ multiple heating methods, internal and/or
external, including one or more heating blankets, dimple jackets, internal pipes, heating
coils and/or heated fluidic injection all of which are supported by multiple forms of
thermal transfer mediums and sources of energy such as electric power, gases, liquid
fuels, solar power and/or solar thermal with the ability to simultaneously and/or
selectively employ multiple energy forms to enhance cost-performance.
disclosed herein are directed to a ZW treatment system that enables inoculant
exchange from and to multiple points within the process, including aerobic and/or
anaerobic, any vessel, stage of treatment, zone within vessel, source of enzyme and/or
blend of inoculants to optimize biological activity by recipe under process control a ZW
treatment system of claim 1 wherein inoculation can occur at multiple steps within the
process and be derived from multiple sources, including multiple stages, batch recipes,
zones within digesters and/or dedicated inoculant tanks.
disclosed herein are directed to a ZW treatment system that monitors material,
temperatures and biochemical conditions and employs mechanical and/or fluidic
agitation at one or more points within the process with control over agitation rates,
direction and internal momentum by stage of treatment as well as zones within vessels.
disclosed herein are directed to a fluidic injection and agitation system which includes a
single or multi circuit assembly; one or more pumps of one or more types including two-
way recirculation pumps or other pump; one or more controllable valves; one or more
injection points of varied forms and functions including pipe openings, jets, nozzles,
venturi mixers, sprayer with or without venturi affect and/or other injection devices; one
or more sensor manifolds or chambers; one or more circuits of which connect sampling
(in) and injection points (out) to pumps with optional inoculant delivery and/or supply,
sonic reduction chambers and/or material injection tanks that supply pH and/or other
ingredients.
disclosed herein are directed to a ZW treatment system wherein the wastewater
separation-concentration subsystems adapt to volatile flow rates and variable solids
concentration using stratification tanks with variable rate syphoning allocating multiple
forms of inorganic and organic material separation/filtration/absorption assets to multiple
syphon streams.
disclosed herein are directed to a wastewater separation system wherein primary feed
rates, stratification tank levels, syphon rates by stratification layer within tanks, one or
more cyclone feed valves, one or more screens, one or more filtration systems,
equipment backwashing cycles, stratification tank jets, tank elevation controls, organic
absorption assets, organic holding tanks, and other relevant parameters of diverse
equipment options can be controlled by process controls, based on multiple measured
parameters.
disclosed herein are directed to a wastewater treatment system wherein volatile flow
rates of high-volume wastewater with variable solids rates as well as sludge and
hydrated solids are separated via fast settling and syphoning into multiple streams of
secondary treatment using sand removal, hydrocyclone, screens, filtration and other
tertiary treatment, thereby producing one or more inorganic, one or more organic
extracts and filtered water.

disclosed herein are directed to a wastewater treatment system wherein each syphon
stream can be treated to multiple types and combinations of one or more secondary
extraction, separation, filtration, absorption or other techniques, including but not limited
to active carbon absorption, biochars absorption, carbon filters, centrifuge, disk filters,
hydrocyclones, media filters, membrane filters, screens, fabric filters, filter tanks, disk
filters, dissolved active filtration, etc.
disclosed herein are directed to a wastewater treatment system wherein filtered water
can be further treated to multiple tertiary forms of treatment, including activated carbon,
charcoal or biochar absorption, media filtration as well as various membrane filtration
systems.
disclosed herein are directed to a wastewater treatment system wherein organic
extracts are stored in general purpose holding tanks that agitate, concentrate, combine,
reduce particles and/or preheat substrates for interfacing to downstream systems.
disclosed herein are directed to a ZW treatment system wherein the feedstock
pretreatment subsystems receive-store-convey diverse materials, apply multiple
methods of material treatment to raw materials, including; composting, extracting,
vermicomposting, soaking, hopping, milling, micro particle destruction and/or other
specialized method; the sequence, intensity and retention of which are based on the
type of feedstock and recipe requirements.

disclosed herein are directed to a feedstock logistics and pretreatment system wherein
one or more hoppers, one or more routing paths, one or more specialized treatment
assets and two or more recipe holding tanks are managed by process control systems.
disclosed herein are directed to a feedstock logistics and pretreatment system that can
reduce particle size and destroy cell walls via multiple progressive methods including
grinding, soaking, chopping, milling and/or micro particle destruction, the sequence,
intensity and retention of which are based on the type of feedstock and recipe
requirements.
disclosed herein are directed to a feedstock logistics and pretreatment system wherein
sonic destruction, high performance pumps, fluidic agitation and post-loading fluidic
injection enable high solids concentration within anaerobic loading and retention under
recipe process control.
disclosed herein are directed to a ZW treatment system wherein blend-heat-inoculate
subsystems integrate precise ingredients and employ multiple forms of heating using
multiple source of energy with or without micro particle destruction in order to accelerate
preparation and digestion while control energy costs.
disclosed herein are directed to a blend-heat-inoculate system that uses a uses

multiple, multiple forms of thermal transfer and heat sources in a variety of vessel
formats, including vertical and horizontal tanks of various capacities and shapes.
disclosed herein are directed to a vertical blend-heat tank system that uses external,
internal and/or direct heating, combined with fluidic thermal injection and agitation by
zone to ensure consistent temperature control across many sizes and shapes of vertical
vessel formats.
disclosed herein are directed to a horizontal blend-heat tank system that uses multiple,
length-wise sub-vessel heat blankets and/or internal heat blankets or pipes, combined
with fluidic thermal injection and agitation by zone to ensure consistent temperature
control across many sizes and shapes of horizontal vessel formats.
disclosed herein are directed to a ZW treatment system wherein multipurpose inoculate-
heat-agitate tanks subsystems can avoid or extend residence time for hydrolysis-
acidification-methanization by recipe in order to optimize capacity and enhance
performance under routing control.
disclosed herein are directed to a hydrolysis-acidification tank system wherein sources
of inoculation include previous batch and/or peer hydrolysis tanks, digester zones,
digestate, enzymes and/or inoculant blend tanks.

disclosed herein are directed to a hydrolysis-acidification tank system wherein control
over inoculation rate, inoculant content, temperature, pH, ammonia, agitation, and other
relevant parameters are managed per recipe instructions which include event-threshold
driven process logic that asuage hydrolysis and acidification process, based on real
time data and objective criteria.
disclosed herein are directed to a ZW treatment system wherein inoculation can occur
at multiple steps within the process and be derived from multiple sources, including
multiple stages, batch recipes, zones within digesters and/or dedicated inoculant tanks.
disclosed herein are directed to a hydrolysis-acidification tank system wherein retention
management and functionality can facilitate acetogenesis and methanization as needed
to manage capacity, for instance, permanent or temporary repurposing of vessel
capacity to increase through put.
disclosed herein are directed to a hydrolysis-acidification tank system wherein fluidic
injection is employed in order to boost biohydrogen, biomethane and/or carbon dioxide
production by metering in pretreated carbohydrate-lipids-proteins-other materials,
injected at one or more fluidic injection zones within a digester, yet comply with material,
time and retention requirements of organic and food safety restrictions.
disclosed herein are directed to a ZW treatment system of claim 1 wherein high-solids,

first-in, first-out anaerobic digestion tank subsystems process organic loads of
decreased particle size yet increased solids concentration; feeding digesers using
combinations of high performance pumps for loading micro particle recipes, fluidic
control of environmental and biochemical conditions within digesters, zonal heat
injection with or without sonic destruction, pH injection, inoculant extraction and new
solids injection and/or post-loading ingredient injection in order to optimize performance
per recipe instructions.
disclosed herein are directed to a FIFO digestion subsystem of claim X that employs a
plurality of tank formats using controllable agitation, multi-location heating, plug flow
and/or multi-tank configurations that ensure orderly material migration with minimum
temperature and time, necessary to comply with organic and food safety standards.
disclosed herein are directed to a ZW treatment system of claim x wherein FIFO
digestion vessels employ combinations of sub-vessel, internal and fluidic injection
heating, with or without mechanical agitation, with or without material injection, with or
without baffles, to ensure precise temperature and material migration along horizontal
vessels of various sizes and shapes.
disclosed herein are directed to a FIFO digestion subsystem of claim y wherein zones
are defined by the fluidic system design rather than baffles.
disclosed herein are directed to a FIFO digestion system that uses horizontal digesters
using intelligently controlled, fluidic agitation, with or without mechanical assist, that
maintains plug flow integrity using zonal jet controls, with or without baffles, supported
by inoculant and heated material injection at one or more zones.
disclosed herein are directed to a horizontal digestion system that uses multiple, length-
wise sub vessel heat blankets and/or internal heat blankets or pipes, combined with
fluidic thermal injection and agitation by zone to ensure consistent temperature control
across many sizes and shapes of horizontal vessel formats.
disclosed herein are directed to a FIFO digestion system that uses multiple vertical
digesters in an orderly sequence that ensures with retention time and temperature,
using intelligently controlled, fluidic agitation, with or without mechanical assist, that
ensures orderly destruction, temperature management and inoculation at one or more
points, using zonal jet controls, supported by inoculant and heated material injection at
one or more digesters and areas within vertical tanks of varying sizes and shapes.
disclosed herein are directed to a FIFO digestion system that allows fluidic injection to
add new organic substrates at multiple time and locations within the vessel in order to
maximize methanization rate and biomethane ratios within biogas.
disclosed herein are directed to a FIFO digestion system that allows fluidic injection to
migrate materials backwards from one zone to another without allowing raw feedstock
and/or pathogens to migrate forwards.

disclosed herein are directed to a FIFO digestion system wherein FIFO digestion
vessels employ combinations of sub-vessel, internal and fluidic injection heating, with or
without mechanical agitation, with or without material injection, with or without baffles, to
ensure precise temperature and material migration along horizontal vessels of various
sizes and shapes.
disclosed herein are directed to a FIFO digestion system wherein fluidic injection and
agitation optimize anaerobic activity using through chamber mixing with control over
fluidic pressure (stimulus), flow rates, frequency, material volume, inoculation, new solid
injection and material direction by zone.
disclosed herein are directed to a ZW treatment system wherein fluidic injection is
employed in order to boost biomethane production by metering in pretreated lipids-
proteins-other methane rich materials, injected at one or more fluidic injection zones
within a digester, yet comply with material, time and retention requirements of organic
and food safety restrictions.
treats organic waste to [a] produce high quality, organically certified biofertilizers of
multiple formulas, grades and methods of delivery, [b] maximize bioenergy production of
high-density biofuels, [c] select chemical byproducts and [d] select biomaterials
byproducts.
disclosed herein are directed to a FIFO digestion system of claim x wherein fluidic
injection is employed in order to boost biohydrogen, biomethane and/or carbon dioxide
production by metering in preteated carbohydrate-lipids-proteins-other materials,
injected at one or more fluidic injection zones within a digester, yet comply with material,
time and retention requirements of organic and food safety restrictions.
disclosed herein are directed to a FIFO digestion system of claim x wherein thermal-
fluidic injection and one or more heat pipes and/or one or more length wise heat
blankets ensure persistent control across the length of a diversity of horizontal tank
formats, including shape, size and length.
disclosed herein are directed to a ZW treatment system of claim 1 that filters
wastewater and treats organic waste to [a] produce high quality, organically certified
biofertilizers of multiple formulas, grades and methods of delivery, [b] maximize
bioenergy production of high-density biofuels, [c] select chemical byproducts and [d]
select biomaterials byproducts.
disclosed herein are directed to a ZW treatment system that boosts biohydrogen and
biomethane density ratios via extended hydrolysis and/or fluidic injection of specific
ingredients, combined with advanced biogas treatment from one or more stages within
the process that supports separation into constituent gases and chemicals.
treats organic waste to [a] produce high quality, organically certified biofertilizers of
multiple formulas, grades and methods of delivery, [b] maximize bioenergy production of
high-density biofuels, [c] select chemical byproducts and [d] select biomaterials
byproducts.
disclosed herein are directed to a biogas production and treatment system wherein
multiple stages of blend-heat-inoculate, hydrolysis-acidification, acetogenesis and
methanization can be boosted with fluidic injection of precise inoculants and secondary
ingredients, at one or more points, extending retention times per recipe, such that ratios
of biohydrogen, biomethane and/or carbon dioxide are enhanced for separation of end-
use content.
biogas is converted to multiple constituents of biohydrogen, biomethane, hydrogen-
sulfide, carbonic acid or carbonated liquids and residual water, gaseous products being
injected and/or compressed to various export standards.
disclosed herein are directed to a biogas production and treatment system wherein.
biomethane achieves purity levels above that enables compression and transport to
injection points, conversion operators or end-use locations.
carbon dioxide liquids can be used as ingredients for organic formulas.
disclosed herein are directed to a ZW treatment system that supports converting
multiple raw feedstocks to organic standards for use in boosting ingredient content
and/or producing organically compliant teas and inoculants that enhance biofertilizers
and organic pest control mediums.
disclosed herein are directed to a feedstock conversion system that supports purpose
grown feedstock, in-vessel composting, worm castings, biochar, grinding, milling,
photobioreactors and/or other biomaterial conversion methods that enable precise
integration of specific characteristics and ingredients for use with aerobic and/or
anaerobic batches of organic blends.
disclosed herein are directed to a feedstock conversion system that facilitates reception,
allocation and transference of material via multiple methods including pumping via
pipes, conveyor, elevator, mobile bins, robotic bin systems, front-end loader,
compressed air ingredient kits and/or other methods which facilitate precise ingredient
supply.
disclosed herein are directed to a feedstock conversion system that employs aerobic
extractors and/or brewers to produce organic teas and aerobic inoculants for combining
with anaerobic digestate in aerating-blend tanks.
disclosed herein are directed to a feedstock conversion system that uses multiple
methods to safely store seasonal feedstocks and treated ingredients for later use.
Bagging, bottling, containers, cooling, aerating, etc.
disclosed herein are directed to a ZW treatment system wherein multiple organic
mediums from aerobic and/or anaerobic sources can add, blend, brew, screen, filter,
inoculate, aerate, cool and/or heat per recipe requirements.
disclosed herein are directed to an organic blend system that separates, filters, aerates,
boosts and further treats digestate and organically compliant feedstocks to produce a
variety of formulas, grades, characteristics and application methods that enable
persistent and just-in-time biofertilizer optimization for organic crop feeding, organic pest
control, aquaponic and/or photobioreactor applications.
disclosed herein are directed to an organic blend system that produces ultrafine
particles yet concentrated mediums for drip irrigation, foliar feeding mists and foliar pest
control.
disclosed herein are directed to an organic blend system that supports converting
multiple raw feedstocks to organic standards for use in boosting ingredient content
and/or producing organically compliant teas and inoculants that enhance biofertilizers
and organic pest control mediums.
disclosed herein are directed to an organic blend system that screens and filters
mediums to remove macro solids for use in mulch, pelletizers, crop dressings, jet
sprayer, soil injection and other crop feeding methods.
disclosed herein are directed to an organic blend system that produces organic teas,
liquefied biofertilizers and organic pest control by combining filtered anaerobic
concentrates with aerobic mediums or inoculants, nutrient adders, milled biosolids, pest-
control ingredient and/or other characteristics that enable unique blends for micro
irrigation, foliar feeding, aquaponics, root-injection, root-sprayers, pest control sprays or
mists and/or other application methods.
disclosed herein are directed to a ZW treatment system wherein base recipes can be
adjusted and boosted per formulaic requirements, including microbial activation, micro
solids adders, nutrient concentration, pelletization, nitrogen-fixing materials and/or
cultures, enzymes and other desirable characteristics per application and customer
requirements.
disclosed herein are directed to a formulaic adjustment system wherein various grades
and formulas can be further adjusted by adding various boosters to satisfy precise
nutrient requirements of various crops, soil and/or aqua feeding combinations that
evolve with weather, irrigation and growth cycles at each location.
disclosed herein are directed to a formulaic adjustment system wherein various grades
and formulas can be biologically activated via warm aeration, heated brewing systems,
chemical aeration, inoculant blending, enzymes and/or other microbial stimulation
methods.
disclosed herein are directed to a formulaic adjustment system wherein final formulas
can be concentrated; using pelletizers, drying, bottling and/or other methods; for
storage, long-range shipping and/or retail delivery, with or without activator mediums
that would be applied prior to use.
disclosed herein are directed to a ZW treatment system wherein customer mediums can
be further treated in-transit, at distributors and/or on-site, adjusting and/or blending
formulaic characteristics to enhance and/or replenish content with or without information
from customer monitoring systems, including tank-level, crop sensors, smart irrigation,
aquaponic and/or other nutrient management systems.
disclosed herein are directed to a smart organic delivery system that employs multiple
interconnected fluid tanks with various blends, adders and inoculants able to change
blends, in-transit or at the customer site, adjusting formulaic delivery per customer-
request or in response to crop control systems.
disclosed herein are directed to a smart organic delivery system that employs multiple
interconnected biosolids tanks with various biosolid blends, adders able to integrate
biosolids blends, in-transit or at the customer site, adjusting formulaic delivery per
customer-request or in response to crop control systems.
disclosed herein are directed to a smart organic delivery system that uses geospatial
data, robotics, fixed and/or drone video-analyzed data, and/or satellite provided data,
monitoring crop feeding plans, local environmental conditions, tank levels, weather
conditions, smart irrigation schedules and/or crop-monitoring data for use in anticipating
and responding to replenishment requirements.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[00092] For a fuller understanding of the inventive embodiments, reference
is made to the following descriptions taken in connection with the accompanying
drawing in which:
[00093] FIG. 1 illustrates a first block diagram of an exemplary ZW
treatment process, ;
[00094] FIG. 2 illustrates a second block diagram of an exemplary ZW
treatment process, in accordance with some embodiments;
[00095] FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary module container system, in
accordance with some embodiments;
[00096] FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary separation and extraction system, in
[00097] FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary stratification-syphoning tank, in
[00098] FIG. 6 illustrates exemplary standard operations and maintenance
procedures, in accordance with some embodiments;
[00099] FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary a blend-heat system, in accordance
with some embodiments;
[000100] FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary controllable feedstock pretreatment
system, in accordance with some embodiments;

[000101] FIG. 9 illustrates an exemplary hydrolysis and acidification system,
in accordance with some embodiments;
[000102] FIG. 10 illustrates exemplary vertical digesters of a first-in, first-out
(FIFO) anaerobic digestion system, in accordance with some embodiments;
[000103] FIG. 11 illustrates exemplary first horizontal digesters of the FIFO
anaerobic digestion system, in accordance with some embodiments;
[000104] FIG. 12 illustrates an exemplary second horizontal digesters of the
FIFO anaerobic digestion system, in accordance with some embodiments;
[000105] FIG. 13 illustrates exemplary multiple digester configurations, in
[000106] FIG. 14 illustrates an exemplary aerobic boost-blend system, in
[000107] FIG. 15 illustrates an exemplary smart delivery system, in
accordance with some embodiments; and
[000108] FIG. 16 illustrates an exemplar of the embodiments disclosed
herein, in accordance with some embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[000109] In the following description, several specific details are presented to
provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the inventive concepts disclosed
herein. One skilled in the relevant art will recognize, however, that embodiments of the
inventive concepts disclosed herein can be practiced without one or more of the specific
details, or in combination with other components, etc. In other instances, well-known
implementations or operations are not shown or described in detail to avoid obscuring
aspects of various embodiments of the inventive concepts disclosed herein.
[0001 10] Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2 , block diagrams of an exemplary
ZW treatment process 1 suitable for implementation of the inventive concepts described
herein is illustrated. ZW treatment process 1 may be configured to accept multiple
sources of material input to deliver multiple material outputs. In some embodiments,
sources of material input could include, but not be limited to, raw wastewater, sludge,
bulky materials, raw feedstock, certified organic feedstock, and certified organic
boosters. In some embodiments, the material outputs could include, but not be limited
to, sand, fiber, filtered water, renewal natural gas, bio-hydrogen, solid soil amenders,
liquefied bio-fertilizers, liquefied organic pest control organic concentrates, hydrogen-
sulfide chemicals, and carbon dioxide liquids.
[0001 1 1] ZW treatment process 1 could include the following individual
processes: a separation and extraction process 100, a blend-heat process 200, a
hydrolysis and acidification process 300, a first-in, first-out (FIFO) anaerobic digestion
process 400, an aerobic boost-blend process 500, and a smart delivery process 600.
As will be discussed below, some of the processes including blend-heat process 200,
hydrolysis and acidification process 300, and FIFO anaerobic digestion process 400 will
include heating which could be provided by multiple energy sources including, but not
limited to, electric power, renewable fuels, propane, solar energy, and wind energy.
[0001 12] Referring now to FIG. 3 , exemplary illustrations of a module
container system 10 suitable for implementation of the ZW treatment process 1 is
illustrated. Module container system 10 may include module containers 12, 14, 16, 18,
and 20 having different sizes, where the actual size that is needed may depend on, for
the purpose of illustration and not of limitation, the number of tanks and/or vessels
required to perform one or more of the individual processes of the ZW treat process 1.
Where multiple modular containers are employed, they may be arranged so that one is
adjacent to another such as, for instance, the serial arrangement 22 of three module
containers 18 as shown. For the purpose of discussion herein, modular container 16
will be referred to herein an exemplar for any size module container.
[0001 13] In some embodiments, each modular container could include
various types of equipment mounted on structurally-reinforced, pre-plumbed and
prewired containers, or custom-designed jig-skid assemblies that may be stacked and
connected for self-sufficient applications with limited space for waste treatment systems.
As shown, each modular container 16 could include an enclosure 24 configured to
house one or more containers such as tanks and vessels. For the purpose of
illustration, a container 26 is shown inside enclosure 24, where container 26 could be a
stratification-syphoning tank 112 discussed below. It should be noted that, although not
illustrated, enclosure 24 includes the components and attaching hardware needed to
secure container(s) 26 within enclosure 24.

[0001 14] Each enclosure 24 could include multiple fittings and/or couplings
28 and 30. In some embodiments, fittings and/or couplings 28 and 30 may facilitate, as
shown with internal plumbing lines and/or conduits configured within enclosure 24, a
user’s ability to couple to various ports 32, 34, and 36 of container 26 from outside of
enclosure 24 (and modular container 26). In some embodiments, enclosure 24 could
include an opening(s) 40 for facilitating a user’s ability to directly couple to a port(s) 38
from outside of enclosure 24 (and modular container 26) without a need for internal
plumbing lines and/or conduits configured within enclosure 24.
[0001 15] Modular container 16 could also include one or more footings 44;
one or more structural reinforcements 46; one or more mounts 48 for various types of
equipment 50; one or more enclosures for controls and equipment 52; one or more
network connections 54; one or more catwalks with rails 56; one or more manway
access areas (not shown); stairs and/or ladders 58; and/or one or more modular
supports 58 for overhead structures for providing shade and/or supporting solar energy
assets for solar thermal, photovoltaic or hybrid thermal-photovoltaic options. In some
embodiments, modular container 16 could include electrical components and/or
hardware for providing power to some or all of the electrically-powered equipment
supporting the ZW treatment process 1 such as, but not limited to, sources of heat,
various valves, and a control system. In some embodiments, modular container 16 may
be fitted with insulation and/or HVAC for severe climate conditions.
[0001 16] Referring now to FIG. 4 , an exemplary diagram of a separation and
extraction system 110 suitable for implementation of separation and extraction process
100 is illustrated. In some embodiments, separation and extraction system 110 may be
configured to accept input materials such as wastewater and/or sludge (including and
hydrated dry materials) and deliver filtered water and organic materials.
[0001 17] The separation and extraction system 1 10 may include a
stratification-syphoning tank 1 12 with a feed port 1 14 configured to receive the input
materials; although one feed port 1 14 is presented, there may be more than one to
facilitate feeds from separate sources. The input materials may originate from multiple
sources and could include, but not be limited to, wastewater (e.g., fluids effected by
human use), sludge, bulky materials, certified organic feedstock, certified organic
boosters, manure and separated barn flush, varying degrees of manure sludge, leftover
fluids associated with ethanol production, produce packaging, food and beverage
production, mining, oil extraction, and fracking, and dry matter and/or sludge that has
been hydrated to facilitate a removal of sand and other fibrous solids during separation
and extraction process 100. In some embodiments, feed port 1 14 may be configured to
support continuous, discontinuous, and/or volatile flows of wastewater and sludge of
variable compositions.
[0001 18] Stratification-syphoning tank 1 12 includes lower, middle and upper
ports 1 16, 118 , and 120, respectively, through which inorganic and organic materials
may be segmented and extracted from the materials found in stratification-syphoning
tank 1 12. Lower port 116 may be a siphoning port through which a stream of settling,
sediment, and/or settleable solids, i.e. , solids that have settled at the bottom of
stratification-syphoning tank 1 12 may be siphoned and pumped by constant- or
variable-flow pump 122 to a series of devices such as separators 124 and 126 which
could be screen-, centrifugal-, centripetal-, and/or filter-based systems, where the pump
and separators may be controlled through a control system discussed below. In some
embodiments, separator 124 may be configured to separate the settleable solids into
inorganic solids such as, but not limited to, sand, grit, and/or fiber from the organic
solids found in the stream. Then, the stream may be subjected to separator 126
configured to extract macro organic solids that may be provided to a holding tank 128
for subsequent processing. In some embodiments, separator 126 could be configured
to support organic materials of variable sizes such as, for the purpose of illustration and
not of limitation, 100 to 300 microns. The remaining stream may be returned to
stratification-syphoning tank 1 12 through a return port 130. In some embodiments, the
remaining steam may impart turbulence near feed port 1 14 which could improve the
separation of small solids entering though feed port 1 14.
[0001 19] Middle and upper ports 118 and 120 may siphoning ports through
which a stream of organic solids which may be comprised of suspended and/or buoyant
solids as discussed below. These suspending or buoyant solids may be siphoned by
controllable constant- or variable-flow pumps 132 and 134, respectively, subjected to
parallel controllable filters 136 and 138, respectively. As shown, filters 136 and 138
may extract micro organic solids from fluid that may be provided to holding tank 140 for
subsequent processing. Each filter 136 and 138 could be configured to support variable
sizes such as, for the purpose of illustration and not of limitation, 5 to 100 microns. In
some embodiments, each filter 136 and 138 may support different sizes; if so, then
filtered organic material from each filter could be routed to individual tanks (not shown).
After being subjected to filters 136 and 138, the remaining stream may then subjected
to controllable filter 142, where a portion of the fluid may be routed to input port 114.
[000120] In some embodiments, an overflow port (not shown) may be
included near the top of stratification-syphoning tank 112 to accommodate those times
when the flow into feed port may be excessive and causing stratification-syphoning tank
112 to fill to its limit; in such instance, a line may be connected to the overflow part and
connected to another stratification-syphoning tank 112 which could serve as an overflow
tank. If needed, more tanks could be used to form a daisy chain of lines connecting
overflow ports to feed ports.
[000121] As discussed above, fluidic separation system 110 provides macro
and micro organic solids to holding tanks 128 and 140, respectively, each of which
could have the same or different sizes but share the same configuration for agitating,
chopping, and/or sonically destructing the organic solids to reduce particle size and
destroy cell wall of less digestible materials such as, but not limited to, lignin. Each
holding tank 128 and 140 includes a feed port configured to receive organic solids.
Controllable recirculation and/or chopper pump(s) may be employed to agitate and/or
chop the organic solids while controlling the direction and rate of flow of the
recirculation. In some embodiments, controllable fluidic jet(s) that may be employed to
further agitate the organic solids. In some embodiments, sonic destructors may be
employed to further reduce particle sizes of the organic solids. A controlled, switchable
valve may be configured to control the delivery of the organic solids for subsequent
processing.
[000122] It should be noted that the ZW treatment process 1 employs a
control system with one or more processing devices communicatively coupled with,
either on-site or remotely, the various components to control some or all of the
operations of the various components discussed herein such as, but not limited to,
separating/filtering/extracting devices, pumps, jets, agitators, and/or material destructing
devices. Although not shown herein, sensors representative of a variety of
measurements are employed throughout the ZW treatment process 1 for providing
sensory input to the processing device(s) so that, in accordance programmable
instructions/algorithms, the receiving, routing, production, and/or delivery of some or all
of the various materials used in the ZW treatment process 1 are monitored and
controlled through the programmed manipulation of the various components.
[000123] Referring now to FIG. 5 , an exemplary stratification-syphoning tank
112 is illustrated in which materials may be stratified into multiple layers after being
received through the feed port 114 and/or return port 130, respectively. Through a
natural stratification process, a sludge (bottom) layer 154 may include dense sludge and
solids that have settled at the bottom and may be siphoned via lower port 116, a cloudy
(middle) layer 156 could include suspended solids that may be siphoned via middle port
118 , and a cloudy/buoyant (upper) layer 158 could include buoyant solids that may be
siphoned via upper port 120. To facilitate a downward movement of materials entering
through feed port 114, stratification-syphoning tank 112 could be configured with a
clarifier and/or flanges 160. In some embodiments, siphon(s) 162 could be extended
within stratification-syphoning tank 112 to prevent of large solids from entering cloudy
layer 156 and/or to extend siphoning from sludge layer 154 along relatively lengthy
horizontal dimension of stratification-syphoning tank 112 (as opposed to tipping the tank
to facilitate solids migration).

[000124] In some embodiments, stratification-syphoning tank 112 could be
placed in enclosure 24 configured with fitting and/or coupling 28 for facilitating coupling
to feed port 1 14; openings 40 for facilitating coupling to bottom, middle, and upper ports
1 16, 118 , and 120; respectively; and opening 166 for facilitating coupling to return port
130. In some embodiments, enclosure 24 could include additional openings such as a
manway(s) 168 and/or vent(s) 170. In an arrangement in which stratification-syphoning
tank 112 is gradually elevated, enclosure 24 could include saddles 173, 174, and 175
having variable heights. Although not illustrated, stratification-syphoning tank 1 12 could
be comprised of footings having variable heights to achieve the same arrangement.
[000125] Stratification-syphoning tank 1 12 could be configured with one of a
plurality of tank formats including, but not limited to, round 176, oval 177, u-shape 178,
multi-channel 179, and water-tight enclosure 180. In some embodiments, filter tanks
include filter blinding and narrow turbulence conditions.
[000126] Referring now to FIG. 6 , these factors may become manageable
with standard operations and maintenance procedures such as an addition of sprayer
systems 180 having fixed flanges or moving clarifier blades 18 1 and tank/channel level
monitors 182, and/or syphon filters 183. Filter tanks may support multiple feed port
options 184 including various mesh sizes, multiple mesh layers, multiple mesh types per
panel for directional optimization and various type of mesh material. Filter tanks may
also support multiple capacities using a variety of container sizes. These
enhancements include adding feed 184 and syphoning ports 185, sprayers where
necessary, and control system enclosures 186 for tank sensors and filtration control.
These same tanks could be used in a fixed application on site at the ZW treatment
facility or as a satellite concentration system in a hub-n-spoke network configuration,
wherein organic concentrates are delivered to a nearby ZW treatment site through
delivery means such as, for example by pipe or truck.
[000127] Proceeding now to FIG. 8 , an exemplary diagram of a blend-heat
system 2 1 0 suitable for implementation of blend-heat process 200 is illustrated. In
some embodiments, blend-heat system 2 1 0 may be configured to accept raw feedstock
materials that may be subjected to a controllable feedstock pretreatment system 212
for the production of ingredients that may be subjected to one or more controllable
blend-heat tanks 214 and 216 for accelerating heating and mixing via fluidic agitation
and/or mechanical agitation to prepare each batch recipe for subsequent processing.
[000128] Controllable metering device 2 1 8 may be employed to supply
quantity metered supply of ingredients as determined from recipe requirements stored
by the control system. A controllable pump 220 may provide the metered ingredients to
blend-heat tanks 214 and 216 through controllable, switchable valve 222. Switchable
valve 222 could also be configured to receive metered organic materials (controllable
metering device not shown) contained in holding tanks 128 and 140 such as those
produced by separation and extraction process 100, where these materials could be
pumped from holding tanks 128 and 140 (controllable pumps not shown).
[000129] In some embodiments, the organic materials contained in holding
tanks 128 and 140 may be pumped to a pre-heating holding tank 224 (controllable
pump not shown) prior to being routed to blend-heat tanks 214 or 216 via switchable
valve 222 because, for instance, a recipe may require the use of pre-heated organic
material. In some embodiments, the materials may be recirculated by a controllable

pump 226 and fluidic jets 228, where the fluidic jets 228 could be a source of agitation.
In some embodiments, the materials injected by fluidic jets 228 may be heated as
indicated by a heat source 230. In some embodiments, blend-heat tanks 214 and 216
and pre-heating holding tank 224 could be configured with controllable sonic destructors
for reducing sizes of particle in the material. It should be noted that, although heat
source 230 is shown as part of the recirculation loop here and elsewhere herein, heat
source 230 is presented to indicate that, in some embodiments, the material injected
into pre-heating holding tank 224 may be heated by one heat source located elsewhere.
In some embodiments, the materials in pre-heating holding tank 224 may be heated (by
the same or another hear source) through physical contact with plumbing through which
hot fluid heated is pumped (controllable pump not shown). As shown, the fluid has
been heated by controllable solar source 232 in this embodiment.
[000130] In some embodiments, a recipe may require the use of an
inoculant, where such inoculant could be produced and/or provided by anaerobic
digestion process 400; in such case, the inoculant could be pumped to switching valve
222 (controllable pump not shown) for addition into the blend-heat tanks 214 and 216.
In some embodiments, the inoculant could also be injected into blend-heat tanks 214
and 216 via fluidic jets 234 and 236, respectively, (not shown) where the inoculant could
be heated prior to being injected. Similar to the pre-heating holding tank 224, the
materials in blend-heat tanks 214 and 216 could be recirculated by controllable pumps
are shown. Also, similar to the pre-heating holding tank 224, the materials in blend-heat
tanks 214 and 216 may be heated (by the same or another heat source) through
physical contact with plumbing through which hot fluid is pumped (controllable pump not
shown). As shown, the fluid has been heated by industrial instahot heating system in
this embodiment. In some embodiments, materials in holding tanks may be agitated
through mechanical agitators 238 and 240.
[000131] The organic materials and/or inoculants do not need to be added to
the blend-heat tanks 214 and 216 through switchable valve 222. In some
embodiments, materials may be added directly to blend-heat tanks 214 and 216 (not
shown). For example, materials including raw materials 242 represented as F.O.G.
(fats, oils, and greases) may be preheated with a heating element (represented by a
coil) powered by a heat source 242. Additionally or alternatively, a centrifuge may be
applied to raw materials 242 to separate materials as necessary.
[000132] Referring to FIG. 8 , an exemplary implementation of controllable
feedstock pretreatment system 212 is illustrated which includes a feed hopper 250 that
may accept material from multiple methods of conveyance. In some embodiments, the
material may be gravity fed and routed, via a controllable switchable valve 252, to a
hopper-tank 254 directly or a controllable grinder-mincing asset 256, where direct
routing could depend upon the composition of the material and recipe requirements.
Controllable hopper-tank 254 may be configured to hydrate, chop, and/or remove
unwanted materials, such as but not limited to sand and grit, with a controllable
hydrocyclone or other equivalent asset 258 prior to being delivered to a tipper tank 260
or the ground or bin. Depending upon the recipe, materials could be routed, via a
switchable valve, to holding tank 262 directly or indirectly through a mill 264 for milling
destruction or a holding tank 262 through a chopper pump 268 for destruction by sonic
destructors 270. Each batch of material may be held in a respective holding tank 262
as ingredients for the recipe. In some embodiments, holding tank 272 may be a
configured as a pretreatment tank in which the ingredients such as, but not limited to,
ligneous materials therein may be subjected to one or more methods including soaking,
microwaves, sonic waves, flash temperatures, acids, and/or ultraviolet light to improve
the quality as anaerobic ingredients. When required by the recipe, the ingredients in the
holding tanks may be routed to metering device 218 through controllable switchable
valve 274.
[000133] Proceeding now to FIG. 9 , an exemplary diagram of a hydrolysis
and acidification system 3 1 0 suitable for implementation of hydrolysis and acidification
process 300 is illustrated. In some embodiments, batch material produced by blend-
heat process 200 could bypass hydrolysis and acidification system 3 1 0 through
controllable, switchable valve 312; that is, batch material may proceed directly to FIFO
anaerobic digestion process 400. Examples of such situations include, but are not
limited to, where balancing of the materials load throughout ZW treatment process 1 is
not needed; that is, no one individual process is overwhelmed with a material load. In
some embodiments, recipes may not require an extended retention of the batch
material prior to being subjected to FIFO anaerobic digestion process 400.
[000134] In some embodiments, the hydrolysis and acidification system 3 1 0
may need to be employed. Examples of such situations include, but are not limited to,
the material load being routed through ZW treatment process 1 is unbalanced; that is,
one of the individual processes may be causing a back-up for another process. In such
cases, batch materials received from blend-heat process 200 may be diverted by
switchable valve 312 to a hydrolysis-acidification tank 314 for holding until an

unbalanced material load condition rectifies itself. In some embodiments, recipes may
require an extended retention of the batch material prior to being subjected to FIFO
anaerobic digestion process 400. In such cases, the batch material could be subjected
to controlled agitation may be performed by a controllable mechanical agitator 316
and/or controllable fluidic jets 3 1 8 . Material temperature could be monitored by the
control system and, similar to blend-heat tanks 214 and 216, heat could be applied by
one or more heat sources 320 and 322. In some embodiments, pH levels could be
monitored and, as shown, a pH additive could be pumped into hydrolysis tank 314
(controllable pump not shown).
[000135] Referring now to FIG. 10 , an exemplary diagram of a FIFO
anaerobic digestion system 410 suitable for implementation of the FIFO anaerobic
digestion process 400 is illustrated. In some embodiments, FIFO anaerobic digestion
system 4 1 0 could include a vertical digester(s) 412 having one or more digester tanks
414, 416, and 418 configured to receive batch material produced from blend-heat
process 200 and/or batch material subjected to hydrolysis and acidification process 300.
In some embodiments, digester tanks 414, 416, and 4 1 8 may be similarly configured as
hydrolysis-acidification tank 314. Through the control system, each digester tank 414,
416, and 4 1 8 may be filled with batch material through controllable selectable valves
420 and 422. To fill digester tank 414, selectable valve 420 could be positioned to
direct batch material into digester tank 414 while simultaneously blocking off
downstream flow to valve 422. To fill digester tank 416, selectable valves 420 and 422
may be simultaneously controlled: selectable valve 420 could be positioned to allow
batch material to flow past digester tank 414 while simultaneously blocking off flow into
it, and selectable valve 422 could be positioned to direct batch material into digester
tank 4 16 while simultaneously blocking off downstream flow to digester tank 418. To fill
digester tank 4 1 8 , selectable valves 420 and 422 may be controlled: selectable valves
420 and 422 could be positioned to allow batch material to flow past digester tanks 414
and 416, respectively, while simultaneously blocking off flow into them, thereby allowing
batch material to flow into digester tank 4 1 8 . In some embodiments, digester tanks 414,
416, and 4 1 8 may be placed into enclosure 24.
[000136] Referring now to FIG. 11, FIFO anaerobic digestion system 4 1 0
could include a horizontal digester(s) 432 having one or more digester tanks 434, 436,
and 438 configured to receive batch material produced from blend-heat process 200
and/or batch material subjected to hydrolysis and acidification process 300. In some
embodiments, digester tanks 434, 436, and 438 may be similarly configured as
hydrolysis-acidification tank 314. Through the control system, each digester tank 434,
436, and 438 may be filled with batch material through controllable selectable valves
440, 442, 444, and 446. When digester tank 434 is initially filled, selectable valve 440
may be opened to allow batch material to flow into it. When digester tank 436 is initially
filled, selectable valve 442 may be opened to allow batch material to flow into it from
digester tank 434, and selectable valve 444 may be opened to allow fresh batch
material to flow into digester tank 434. When digester tank 438 is initially filled,
selectable valve 444 may be opened to allow batch material to flow from digester tank
436 into digester tank 438, selectable valve 442 may be opened to allow batch material
to flow from digester tank 434 into digester tank 436, and selectable valve 440 may be
opened to allow batch material from blend-heat process 200 and/or batch material to
flow into digester tank 434. When digestant is ready to be provided to aerobic boost-
blend process 500, selectable valve 446 may be opened to allow batch material to flow
from digester tank 438, selectable valve 444 may be opened to allow batch material to
flow from digester tank 436 into digester tank 438, selectable valve 442 may be opened
to allow batch material to flow from digester tank 434 into digester tank 436, and
selectable valve 440 may be opened to allow batch material from blend-heat process
200 and/or batch material to flow into digester tank 434. In some embodiments,
digester tanks 4 14 , 4 16 , and 4 1 8 may be placed into enclosure 24.
[000137] Referring now to FIG. 12, FIFO anaerobic digestion system 4 1 0
could include a horizontal digester(s) 452 having one or more digester zones divided by
zone boundaries 454, 456, and 458 and configured to receive batch material produced
from blend-heat process 200 and/or batch material subjected to hydrolysis and
acidification process 300. As batch material is received, it flows through the digester
zones. A first zone could include controllable fluidic jets 1(a) through 1(d). Similarly,
second, third, and fourth zones could include controllable fluidic jets 2(a) through 2(d),
3(a) through 3(d), and 4(a) through 4(d), respectively. In some embodiments, fluidic jets
1(a) through 4(d) could be a source of agitation, heat, and/or injection device for a
variety of ingredients required for the process including, but not limited to, those
ingredients that are shown. In some embodiments, fluidic jets 1(a) through 4(d) could
be sources of agitation, heat, and/or injection device of one or more zone ingredients as
shown. In some embodiments, additional and/or alternative sources of heat may be
incorporated per zone (not shown). In some embodiments, horizontal digester 452
could be placed by an enclosure configured to permit it to perform its digestive functions

per recipe. In some embodiments, horizontal digester 452 may be placed into
enclosure 24 (not shown).
[000138] The implementation of fluidic agitation within a horizontal format is
illustrated to enable advanced functions for ZW treatments including one or more of the
following: (a) zonal agitation with directional control variations via control of fluidic jets;
(b) multi-zone inoculation using one or more inoculant sources within a ZW treatment
facility; (c) multi-zone boosting by injecting volatile substrates to maintain carbon to
nitrogen ratios and comply with organic standards (e.g., pretreated material) while
maintaining and/or gradually cooling or heating internal temperature; and (d) fluidic
zones that sample of temperature, material, and biochemical conditions with zonal
adjustment of temperatures of zonal recirculation via in line heat exchange or other
method from one or more heat sources. Fluidic agitation could enable secondary
heating with monitoring and control of several biochemical parameters, such as pH,
secondary inoculants, and thermal ingredients fed through fluidic agitation via jets. As
fluids are drawn from a zone within the digester, they may be heated while integrity
while maintaining integrity by either returning fluids to the same zone or propagating
microbial culture by moving extracts backwards to an upstream zone.
[000139] With horizontal tanks, elevating the feed side may be preferred to
allow for downhill material migration while maintaining plug flow integrity. However, the
ability to support variable jet agitation rates and directions may reduce the need for
significant elevation, increasing the control over material movement by using jet design
to facilitate material migration. Using fixed jets that either alternate jet action to facilitate
directional flows via alternating jet activity, may slightly forward directional jets and/or
vary the flow rates of individual jets to slowly coax materials forward. Although not
illustrated, a horizontal tank may have one or more jet-injector groupings with a
switchable valves to choose which jets are operating at any one time, supported by one
or more pumps with reversible flow control, one or more sensors for pH, temperature
and other desirable parameters as well as one or more thermal injection or heat
exchange heating to adjust internal temperature with one or more valves to control the
rate of heating by zonal area, one or more pH injection and one or more downstream
injection points for alternate/top off ingredients that can adjust pH and alternate
ingredients.
[000140] Jet design variations with or without baffles and/or with or without
mechanical agitation assistance may be necessary for increasing tank size and formats
(e.g., round, oval, square or u-shape). Advantages of fluidic jet agitation include one or
more of the following: (a) flexibility adjust agitation rates and directional characteristics
to adapt from low to high solids loads with variable particle distribution; (b) sample
temperature, pH, and other characteristics at many locations; (c) inject higher
temperatures, pH adjustment materials as well as other fast digestion materials at one
or more points to facilitate anaerobic digestion and thereby increase bioenergy
production; (d) adjust intensity to initiate movement of materials to established
consistent rotation and/or folding material flows; (e) pulse materials off the bottom to
ensure solids remain in suspension; (f) alternate or adjust jets to facilitate migration; (g)
adjust pressures and flow rates based on initially heavy yet reduced solids along the
length of the digester; and (h) reverse flows, if needed. The above process may be
calibrated with a fixed paddle and/or controlled with temporary paddle wheel with sensor
that monitors internal rotations per minute, thereby allowing for the precise rotational
control over independent zones.
[000141] Some of the advantages and benefits of FIFO anaerobic digestion
process 400include one or more of the following: (a) high solids with high destruction
rate and orderly migration while minimizing settling; (b) support of multiple digesters,
types/sizes/formats in sequential/parallel/mixed process flows; (c) enablement of an
ability to control digester parameters throughout the tank per recipe requirements by
batch of materials (i.e. , multiple recipes in multiple digesters as well as an introduction
of new recipes while minimizing degradation in microbial activity); (d) variable methods
of agitation with variable agitation rates and directional characteristics to ensure
material suspension and optimize anaerobic activity by zonal area; (e) an adjustment of
biochemical conditions at multiple points within a digesters, either before, during, or
after material migration; (f) thorough agitation while averting the risk of jamming
between agitator and tank components; (g) proficient feeding of high-solids without a
clogging of pipes or pumps; (h) self-cleaning digester operations that move materials
towards evacuation and/or decanting ports; (i) an ability to add new materials at one or
more points along zonal-FIFO progression; (j) an ability to control temperature, content,
and agitation rates and flow direction at one or more points within digester tanks per
recipe requirements and material composition within each zone; and/or (k) an ability to
support multiple types of baffles at multiple locations within the digester to enable
multiple baffle configurations via self-stabilizing, sliding, and/or securing connection
points and connectors.

[000142] In some embodiments, FIFO anaerobic digestion process 400 may
be performed through bio-methane and bio-hydrogen upgrading enhanced by fluidic
agitation methods for thermal mixing. In some embodiments, thermal agitation vessels
may be employed to maintain thermal conditions, monitor and adjust bio-chemical
conditions per recipe instructions, agitate to keep materials in suspension, and
propagate anaerobic culture to ensure thorough destruction, capturing, and cleaning
biogas to produce bio-hydrogen, high density bio-methane, hydrogen-sulfide chemicals,
and carbon dioxide effluent.
[000143] FIFO anaerobic digestion process 400 may be considered a
distributed production process that is capable of ensuring organic and food safety
requirements of multiple unique batches per day, in which the focus is thorough heating,
destruction rate and time, using “orderly” material migration - i.e. , FIFO. The process
could avoid settleable solids build up and ensure precise temperature control with a
consistent temperature throughout the vessels. Generally, smaller vessel size than bulk
tank designs matched with thermal and biological persistence measures help to ensure
consistent and effective treatment.
[000144] Referring now to FIG. 13 , illustrate multiple digester configurations
with a potential to comply with organic and food safety standards drawn towards time
and temperature with orderly material migration are illustrated. Pluralities of vertical
digesters 462 and 464may be configured to comply with organic standards which could
require thermophilic temperature with one or more processes for a minimum of three
days. To facilitate microbial cultures, FIFO anaerobic tank subsystem 4 1 0 control of
inoculant could cause a backwards migration of inoculant (as shown). For the purpose
of illustration and not of limitation, vertical digesters 462 and 464 could be loaded every
three or more days or hold materials in a sequence to maintain migration integrity by
moving from one vessel to the next. If there are less than three digesters, organic
loading could occur every three or more days to ensure that materials remain longer
than three days. This design of vertical digesters 462 and 464 could support parallel
loading of tanks every three days, totaling three days retention in at least one tank, or a
sequential loading of one tank every three days, using the second tank as a second
stage, thus totaling six days retention for two stages.
[000145] Pluralities of horizontal digesters 466, 468, and 470 could be
configurable to comply with existing organic standards are illustrated. In some
embodiments, as long as material integrity and migration of a plug flow is maintained at
the required temperature throughout the vessel (e.g., a minimum of 4 days retention of
materials), digestate could comply with organic standards. A number of enhancements
could be used to allow existing digester designs to comply. These include the ability to
load digesters in one or more sequences 472, 474, and 476 over time yet ensuring a
minimum of three days retention per load, reducing tank size, sub-tank and/or internal
heating with optimum control over agitation rates and direction, using through-chamber
fluidic thermal agitation 428 as well as orderly and precise exchange of inoculants (as
shown) from one or more zone within digesters to another digester. In some
embodiments, digester designs may be combined in a sequence of either
mesophilic/thermophilic, thermophilic/mesophilic, and/or with or without/pre- or post-
pasteurization. This may be a necessary approach to enhance digester sites with
concentrated thermophilic or pasteurization operations.

[000146] The preceding stages of the ZW process could provide improved
recipe inputs, concentrate organic matter, remove and/or reduce problematic settleable
solids such as, for example, sand from existing processes. The preceding steps may
feed high solids recipes with very small organic matter.
[000147] At the time of this writing, existing organic standards within the
United States require one-hundred thirty-one degrees Fahrenheit (thermophilic)
treatment for a minimum of three days with orderly migration of organic materials in
order to comply with periodic testing requirements and avoid food safety risks.
Alternative treatments include pasteurization for sixty minutes; however, pasteurizing
organic materials destroys anaerobic (i.e. , digester) and beneficial soil bacteria, thereby
reducing biogas release and nutrient efficiency of biofertilizers
[000148] In some embodiments, ZW treatment process 1 may enable either
compliance measure via pre-heating, batch digestion, and/or feedstock-specific heating;
for example, an implementation of more stringent requirements for slaughterhouse
byproducts. In some embodiments, ZW treatment process 1 enables higher levels of
pathogen destruction while maintaining or propagating anaerobic culture for digestion
as well as aerobic cultures for biofertilizers. As standards evolve, ZW treatment
process 1 has built-in capabilities for adjustable destruction methods, thermal treatment
and retention time by feedstock, batch type and/or stage of processing
[000149] The ability to modify existing digesters and other related equipment
could help to facilitate market scalability. Enhancements may be made to improve
performance of bioenergy/biofertilizer production; however, as vessel size increases, it
becomes increasingly difficult to ensure consistent temperature without increasing the

rate of mixing. When agitation or mixing rates accelerate, anaerobic shock may occur
from disturbances and/or cavitation (e.g., complete mix tanks). Hybrid heating
treatment (e.g., thermophilic/mesophilic or mesophilic/thermophilic) within this design
may rely on multiple tanks being arranged in sequence. This may be enabled via
combinations of horizontal and/or vertical tanks as well as upgrading existing mesophilic
sites to hybrid treatment to increase bioenergy production while producing organic
grade biofertilizers.
[000150] ZW treatment process 1 enhancements over existing processes
and common to both vertical and horizontal tank designs disclosed herein include one
or more of the following: (a) smaller vessel size (typically below 100,000 gallons); (b)
supporting variable temperature conditions among one or more digester vessels; (c)
employing one or more methods with variable rates of agitation to maintain materials in
suspension; (d) sub-tank, internal, and/or fluidic injection heating to ensure consistent
temperatures and material suspension throughout the tank; and (e) multi-zone
monitoring and control of anaerobic parameters such as ammonia, temperature, and
pH.
[000151] In some embodiments, the ability to adjust material characteristics
and control the rate and breadth of agitation, relative to material composition factors,
could be essential for thorough destruction of diverse loads based upon unique recipe
requirements.
[000152] Existing designs for vertical and horizontal systems may lack the
ability to agitate to facilitate biological activity without experiencing challenges related to
settleable solids or causing anaerobic shock. For instance, horizontal systems may
experience buildup and temperature control problems as solids concentration increases
and/or tank size becomes larger. Without fluidic agitation and multiple heat blankets, a
long chamber with sub-heating source may lose external temperature as it proceeds
downstream. A wide chamber may have sub-optimal temperature gradients within the
tank. The ability to add thermal energy at multiple points could support consistent
temperature control throughout horizontal designs of increasing length and diameter.
Some existing designs include the use one heat blanket or multi-zone heat blankets
distributed along the underbelly of the tank, both with slow mechanical agitation. For
the former, temperature gradients may form within the heat blanket along a long tank as
well as limited agitation control. For the latter, two temperature zones within a tank may
form, resulting in temperature gradients from one zone to the next.
[000153] Some of the advantages and benefits of the ZW treatment digester
design standards disclosed herein include maintaining consistent temperature within
many configurations of tanks (e.g., larger and/or longer, curved and/or square sides),
supporting moderate-to-high solids concentration via scalable heating, and agitation
methods that are both complementary and controllable.
[000154] In some embodiments, one ZW treatment digester design standard
could be associated with optional specialized baffles. The methods discussed above
may be used with or without internal baffles, where the use may be dependent on the
range of consistency, particles distribution, and solids concentration of expected organic
loads. The ability to control baffle apertures and fluidic circulation rates based on the
composition of organic materials could enable flexibility by recipe, particle distribution,
material type, solids ratios, and direction in a variety of vessel formats, sizes, and
shapes. Although not illustrated, an insulating baffle with controllable apertures could
be used to support differentiated zonal heating.
[000155] In some embodiments, one ZW treatment digester design standard
could be associated with biogas to biofuels and chemicals. Biofuel markets may require
upgrading of biogas to higher grades of near pure biomethane and biohydrogen. The
ability to control feedstock, optimize materials, and maximize thermophilic destruction
may maximize methane ratio within raw biogas. Higher quality biogas from greater
volume of bioenergy could reduce the cost and complexity of upgrading biogas to
biomethane. The gas treatment subsystem functions of the embodiments disclosed
herein are illustrated and described below.
[000156] Referring now to FIG. 14, an exemplary diagram of an aerobic
boost-blend system 510 suitable for implementation of aerobic boost-blend process 500
is illustrated. A selection of individual processing methods is illustrated to support
variable treatment and blending of organic mediums for anaerobic and/or aerobic
composition. Similar to the controllable feedstock pretreatment system 212 discussed
above, various feedstocks may be received 512 in the aerobic boost-blend process 500
for use in organic refining, aerobic propagation, and integration processes. Various
pretreatments 514 may be applied on-site or at remote site away from a ZW facility
including purpose-grown feedstock production, drying, biochar, brewing, chopping,
grinding, milling, composting and/or verm icom posting (worm castings), photobioreactor,
microbial fuel cell, extraction, and/or other methods that produce or refine organic
materials into a variety of ingredients with desirable characteristics. Digestate produced
by FIFO anaerobic tank process 400 may be routed via controllable, switchable valve
5 1 8 for screening/pressing 520 and/or filtering 522 to the desired particle distribution
range, extracting macro solids for mulch and/or crop dressings 524 and/or subjected to
sonic destruction or other methods to convert macro particles into micro particle
distribution that supports various delivery methods such as drip, spray, or mist
applications. In some embodiments, a controllable aerator 526 and/or controllable sonic
destructors (not shown) may be added to any holding tank 528, 530, 532, 534, 536,
538, and 540 for subsequent processing. Since the digestate has been heated to
thermophilic temperatures, these source mediums could provide heat for any blend,
brew, and/or extract process. Conversely, water and/or cool mediums may be used to
regulate temperatures via blending and/or heat exchange.
[000157] Some of the advantages and benefits of aerobic boost-blend
process 500 include one or more of the following: (a) an ability to produce multiple
formulas and grades of organically compliant mediums that support the full scope of
agronomic feeding methods including aquaponics, aquaculture, mulch-tilling, mulch-
injection, crop dressings, sprays, drips, foliar mists, and natural pest control; (b) an
ability remove or destroy large solids that might clog irrigation equipment; (c) an ability
to produce aerobic inoculants and compost teas; (d) an ability to enhance digestate with
inoculants, nutrient-adders, blends, concentrates, micro solids, enzymes, and other
booster-adder values; (e) an ability to concentrate organic medium into storable-
shippable-hydratable formats that increase value while adapting to seasonal demand
and user preferences; (f) an ability to convert anaerobic mediums to aerobic mediums
via aeration, heating, chemically-motivated oxygen producers and/or inoculant adders;
(g) an ability to optimize for various grades by batch treatment and/or adder mediums;
and (h) an ability to use specialized feedstocks that add desirable characteristics that
satisfy buyers, such as enzymes, worm castings, biochar, humic/fulvic acids, leafy
compost, woody compost, and/or other materials
[000158] Aerobic boost-blend process 500 performs several functions that
may include the following: (a) processing aerobic feedstocks and mediums; (b)
separating wide particle distribution mediums into multiple grades of material; (c)
converting anaerobic mediums to aerobic; (d) blending mediums and ingredients to
achieve formulaic objectives by product; (e) preparing and holding bioactive mediums
for delivery [e] producing inoculants and/or activator mediums; and (f) concentrating
and/or converting mediums for storage and/or long range shipping.
[000159] Biofertilizers with concentrated micro particles of fresh organic
matter (micro-FOM) could stimulate beneficial microbial activity within soils. Although a
pretreatment of anaerobic materials with sonic destruction may be beneficial, digested
mediums and aerobic materials may require further treatment. Alternatively, the
operator may choose to digest with larger particles for certain biosolids production
options (e.g., mulch production).
[000160] Referring now to FIG. 15 , an exemplary diagram of a smart delivery
system 700 suitable for implementation of smart delivery process 700 is illustrated.
Examples and processes are presented to illustrate that the transport side of delivery
may be integrated with just-in-time application intelligence at various delivery locations
supporting variable nutrient applications across many crop areas at each location.
[000161] Smart delivery system 600 could include product containers
6 12 . Formulaic metering-blending 614 may be integrated into a mobile tank system 616,
a drop-off/changeout tank system (not shown), and/or fixed on-site tank systems 6 1 8 .
Formulas may be delivered via multiple transport methods or mobile systems 616 that
enable smart nutrient-irrigation services. In some embodiments, a device may be
configured to share multiple functions such as, but not limited to, aeration 620, fluidic
recirculation 622, heating 624, and/or agitation drive 626 among product containers
612, each with a tap 628 for delivering the medium. A control system 630 could include
wireless communications 732 with controls of aeration 620, fluidic recirculation 622,
heating elements 624, and ingredient and/or microbial inoculant 634. In some
embodiments, dedicated tank level monitoring systems 636 may be retrofitted to
existing storage systems.
[000162] In some embodiments, a heat exchanger may interface with the
exhaust of the vehicle for moderate heating requirements. In some embodiments,
additional equipment such as, but not limited to, inoculant tanks and/or on-board brewer
for delivering or exchanging activated biological characteristics in transit, filter-pump for
extracting mediums for final delivery, sensor/quality control items (e.g. pH), and/or
smaller adder tanks for any last-minute adjustments are supported by smart delivery
process 600.
[000163] In some embodiments, delivery methods include tanker-trucks,
multi-container flatbed trucks, smart-tank changeout, aerating containers for maintaining
or propagating aerobic microbial cultures in transit, and smart nutrient irrigation services
which entail many variations including, but not limited to, jet sprayer tanks for roadway
and golf courses. In some embodiments, intensive soil recovery and turnkey crop
control services may integrate with sensor-enabled soil/crop monitoring telemetry

networks and micro irrigation controls. In some embodiments, smart tanks may blend-
activate mediums per the crop area and growth stage requirements. For instance, the
ratio of nutrients, micro solids, and microbial characteristics may vary based on
weather, soil, growth stage and market demand (i.e. , price signals). One area may
benefit from bio stimulant characteristics such as on-site brewer that activates soil
biology within the medium as applied. Based on soil tests, another crop area may
require no biostimulant, yet may benefit from increasing the ratios of fresh organic
matter as well as adjusting potassium and calcium content before harvest.
[000164] A group of containers or tanks may be combined in a transportable
jig to drop off the same functions as an intelligent tank that interfaces with irrigation
equipment. In some embodiments, an intelligent controller with communications
monitors and/or controls the tank as well as communicates with smart irrigation and/or
crop monitoring and control systems. Under this approach, delivered assets are able to
adjust the ratios of blends/characteristics as well as dilution rates based on the crop-
feeding regimens. Greenhouses, landscaping and non-soil applications such as
aquaculture, aquaponics, algae ponds and photobioreactors for algal biofuel facilities
are also capable of being monitored and/or controlled. A solar canopy with or without
canvas draping sides may be added to this configuration to provide power at remote
that are remote from power connections.
[000165] There may be many forms of bioenergy and chemicals variations
from the ZW treatment process 1 with many ways to deliver fuels and chemicals, each
with specific regulations and logistics. Leveraging the value of multiple fuel and
chemical types with controllable content may imply a delivery capability that respond to
dynamic market conditions of various uses, such as commercial and industrial users,
gas reformers, locational biofuel storage with or without power dispatch services,
plastics producers, medical industries, nitrogen-fixation producers, remote power
applications, transportation refueling stations and utilities pipelines.
[000166] When delivered to a pipeline, insertion content may be required to
comply with existing utility standards. However, on-site insertion of renewable natural
gas (RNG) may have different logistics than virtual pipeline (remote insertion using
compressed renewable natural gas (R-CNG) or long-range shipping, typically liquefied
renewable natural gas (R-LNG) or fuel conversion (e.g. biodiesel). In some
embodiments, direct delivery of R-CNG may be an option. In some embodiments,
biohydrogen may have its own methods of delivery. In some embodiments, liquefied
carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide have a variety of end-uses as well.
[000167] Referring now to FIG. 16, some advantages of some of the
disclosed herein are presented to illustrate one possible configuration of
interconnectivity between multiple locations so that the locations may each work
together to remediate waste streams and maximize bioenergy and biofertilizer
production with a plurality of modular containers 16, where within each there may be
one or more enclosures shown by dashed lines inside the modular containers 16. In
some embodiments, a mobile pick up system could receive material near the harvest
that is then transported to one or more ZW treatment sites (Location A). In some
embodiments, a remote wastewater concentration facility could extract manure solids
from one or more nearby livestock sites (Location B), transporting materials via pipeline
or truck. In some embodiments, Location A operates as the remediation and biofuel

production facility implementing stratification and extraction, blend-heat, hydrolysis and
acidification, and FIFO anaerobic digestion processes 100 - 400, respectively, with
smart bioenergy delivery pickup (G3) that could deliver to an insertion point and/or one
or more customer locations. In some embodiments, organically-compliant digestate
may be piped or transported to one or more organic treatment sites (Location C) where
aerobic boost-blend process 500 supply precise organic mediums to smart delivery
systems (Gl and G2) that activate and adjusts formulas per the needs of each delivery
location. In some embodiments, specialized pretreatment of various organic ingredients
may be prepared at one or more additional sites (Location D+).
[000168] As used herein, the term "embodiment" means an embodiment that
serves to illustrate by way of example but not limitation.
[000169] It will be appreciated to those skilled in the art that the preceding
examples and embodiments are exemplary and not limiting to the scope of the inventive
concepts disclosed herein. It is intended that all modifications, permutations,
enhancements, equivalents, and improvements thereto that are apparent to those
skilled in the art upon a reading of the specification and a study of the drawings are
included within the true spirit and scope of the inventive concepts disclosed herein. It is
therefore intended that the following appended claims include all such modifications,
permutations, enhancements, equivalents, and improvements falling within the true
spirit and scope of the inventive concepts disclosed herein.

CLAIMS
What is claimed is:
1. A wastewater separation and extraction system, comprising:
a tank comprised of at least one feed port and a plurality of siphon ports, where
the at least one feed port is configured to receive liquid waste material;
a first siphon port through which settleable solids are removed from the bottom of
the tank and subjected to a device configured to extract inorganic material from
the settleable solids; and
a second siphon port through material other than the settleable solids are
removed from the tank and subjected to a device configured to extract organic
material from the material other than the settleable solids.
2. The system of claim 1, wherein the liquid waste material includes solid
waste material.
3. The system of claim 1, wherein
the device configured to extract organic material is a first device configured to extract
first organic material, and further comprising:
a second device configured to extract second organic material and downstream

of the device configured to extract inorganic material from the settleable solids.
4. The system of claim 3 , further comprising:
a return port downstream of the second device and configured to receive material other
than the second organic material extracted by the second device.
5. The system of claim 1, further comprising:
a overflow port.
the material other than the settleable solids is first material other than the settleable
solids;
the device configured to extract organic material is a first device configured to extract
first organic material; and further comprising:
a third siphon port, located above the first, through which second material other
than the settleable solids is removed from the tank and subjected to a second
device configured to extract second organic material from the second material
other than the settleable solids.
a third device downstream of the first device and the second device and configured to
extract filtered water from materials other than the first and second organic materials
extracted from the first and second devices, respectively.
8. The system of claim 6 , wherein
the first material other than the settleable solids is buoyant on the liquid waste material
prior to being removed from the tank, and
the second material other than the settleable solids is suspended in the liquid waste
material.
a third device downstream of the device configured to extract inorganic material from
the settleable solids and configured to extract third organic material.
10 . The system of claim 9 , wherein each one of the first, second, and third
extracted organic material is provided to one of a plurality of holding tanks.
11 . A wastewater separation and extraction method, comprising:
receiving liquid waste material through a feed port of a tank;
providing first organic material to one of a plurality of holding tanks through a first siphon
port of the tank; and
providing second organic material to one of the plurality of holding tanks through a
second siphon port of the tank.
12. The method of claim 11, wherein the first organic material, prior to being
provided to the one of the plurality of holding tanks, is routed through a device
configured to extract inorganic material from settleable solids removed from the bottom
of the tank through the first syphon port.
13 . The method of claim 12, wherein the first organic material, prior to being
provided to one of the plurality of holding tanks, is further routed through a device
configured to extract the first organic material from material flowing downstream from
the device configured to extract inorganic material.
14. The method of claim 11, wherein the second organic material, prior to
being provided to one of the plurality of holding tanks, is routed through a device
configured to extract the second organic material from material removed from the tank
through the second siphon port.
15 . The method of claim 11, further comprising:
providing filtered water.
16. The method of claim 13, wherein the filtered water, prior to becoming
filtered water, is routed through a device configured to extract the second organic
material from material removed from the tank through the second siphon port.
providing third organic material to one of the plurality of holding tanks via a third siphon
port of the tank located above the first siphon port.
18 . The method of claim 17, wherein the third organic material, prior to being
provided to one of the plurality of holding tanks, is routed through a device configured to
extract the third organic material from material removed from the tank through the third
siphon port.
providing filtered water.
20. The method of claim 19, wherein the filtered water, prior to becoming
filtered water, is routed through a device configured to extract the third organic material
from material removed from the tank through the third siphon port.
2 1. A zero waste method, comprising:
receiving liquid waste material;
producing at least one organic material and filtered water from the liquid waste;
receiving a plurality of ingredients from first feedstock material;
producing at least one batch of blend-heat produced material from the at least one
organic material and the first ingredients;
producing at least one digestate from the at least one batch of blend-heat produced
material;
receiving a plurality of second ingredients from second feedstock material; and
producing at least one of organically compliant mediums supporting agronomic feeding

methods, aerobic inoculants, and compost teas from the at least one digestate and the
second ingredients.
22. The method of claim 2 1 , wherein at least one digestate is produced from
at least one batch of blend-heat produced material subjected to a hydrolysis and
acidification process.
23. The method of claim 2 1 , wherein the at least one organic material and
filtered water from the liquid waste are produced by a fluidic separation and extraction
process.
24. The method of claim 23, wherein the fluidic separation and extraction
process includes a natural stratification process of liquid waste materials received in a
tank.
25. The method of claim 2 1 , wherein the first feedstock is subjected to a

feedstock pretreatment process to produce the plurality of first ingredients.
26. The method of claim 2 1 , wherein the at least one batch of blend-heat
produced material is produced from a blend-heat process.
27. The method of claim 26, wherein the at least one batch of blend-heat
produced material is produced from at least one produced organic material and at least
one of the first ingredient subjected to the blend-heat process.
28. The method of claim 26, wherein the blend-heat process includes at least
an application of heat and fluidic jet injection.
29. The method of claim 2 1 , wherein the at least one digestate is produced
through a first-in, first-out digester process.
30. The method of claim 29, wherein the first-in, first-out digester process is
performed by a horizontal digester.
3 1. The method of claim 30, wherein the horizontal digester is divided into a
plurality of zones.
32. The method of claim 3 1 , wherein each of the plurality of zones is

configured to receive ingredients through injection jets.
33. The method of claim 29, wherein the first-in, first-out digester process is
performed by a vertical digester.
34. A blend-heat system, comprising:
at least one heating source; and
a fluidic jet system configured for variable agitation and inoculation.
direct, in-line heating is applied when tanks are loaded, and
sub-vessel heating is performed via at least one heating source of thermal energy and
recirculation heating via the fluidic jet system.
36. The system of claim 34, wherein in-line heating is configured to provided
controllable particle destruction as part of the loading process to improve the quality of
organic particles for increasing methane production and ensuring irrigation delivery and
soil integration of biofertilizer mediums.
37. A first-in, first-out digester system, comprising:
at least one heating source configured to apply heat to at least one blend-heat tank; and
a fluidic jet agitation configured to perform variable agitation and accept inoculation.
38. A fluidic-exchange and interconnection system, comprising:
a plurality of blend-heat, hydrolysis, and digester tanks configured to exchange

inoculants and receive biochemical adjustments including at least one of pH and
secondary ingredients.
39. The system of claim 38, wherein downward migration of pathogens within
a first-in-first-out digestion sequence is prevented.
40. A digestate treatment system, comprising:
a system configured to produce a plurality of multiple grades, formulas, and organic

materials by separating grades of solids and blending ingredients to produce and
propagate soil inoculants in blend-aerate tanks.
41. The system of claim 40, wherein super-concentrate liquids are produced
with at least one of particle destruction and recirculating filtration cycles for long-range
transport and storage.
42. A biofertilizer distribution system, comprising:
a multi-formula delivery system via combinations of base adder blends with or without
biological activation.
43. The system of claim 42, wherein packaging and transfer via smart tanks
with control of at least one of totes and larger containers configured to recirculate and
aerate materials.
Form PCT/ISA/2 10 (second sheet) (July 2019)
INTERNATIONAL SEARCH REPORT International application No.
PCT/US 19/55698
Form PCT/ISA/210 (continuation of second sheet) (July 2019)

Form PCT/ISA/210 (continuation of first sheet (2)) (July 2019)
Form PCT/ISA/210 (extra sheet) (July 20 19)

B01D 21/02 (2006.01) F04F 10/00 (2006.01) C02F9/00 (2006.01)

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

B01D 21/02 (2006.01) F04F 10/00 (2006.01) C02F9/00 (2006.01)

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

B01D 21/02 (2006.01) F04F 10/00 (2006.01) C02F9/00 (2006.01)

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

)

(54) Title: AUTOMATED ZERO WASTE SYSTEMS AND METHODS

[0001] Many Zero-Waste (ZW) treatment projects are fee-based

volume of municipal sources. Regulations designed to avoid specific forms of pollution

[0002] At the risk of oversimplifying, a majority of existing farm waste

[0003] In contrast, automated ZW systems serve acute needs to convert

agribusiness and industrial byproducts into high-volume, high-quality resources that

integrated subsystems that convert organic materials from voluminous sources of

reducing the burden of complex compliance rules on agricultural and industrial

operators. One goal of ZW is an elimination of pollution by producing precise

bioenergy and biofertilizers. A ZW project may place an emphasis on specific forms of

liquefied biochemicals and inorganic materials. To address these issues, modular-

configurable-controllable subsystems that treat wastewater, solid and liquefied sources

of agricultural and industrial byproducts may be developed to meet a core need.

[0004] The rate of waste-based project development is slow with a spotty

operating history, a low return on investment and a high-incidence of project failures

networks of remediation-based services. As such, society’s interest in reducing

pollution may not be served by scalable-repeatable development. With respect to new

advancements in (a) Variable flows with complex constituents and problematic

the above variables in a continuous process flow (f) Construction-intensive integration

forms of construction and integration.

[0005] One problem is the wide diversity and geographically dispersed

beverage production byproducts, food distribution rejects, institutional food waste,

seasonality of many of these sources do not lend themselves to a fee-based ad-hoc

waste services wherein remote waste is delivered to geographically limited availability of

specific types of waste, customized around narrow tolerances of treatment, based on

static concepts of remediation or production. For instance, livestock operators could

points throughout a year.

[0006] Conventional waste management methods and systems may be

considered as construction-intensive, highly specialized and inflexible with respect to

diversity, volumes and composition of ever-changing sources. Conventional waste

integrated operations perspective. Many digester systems are based on waste

management principals rather than bioproduction, resulting in significant limitations and

challenges that stem from waste-oriented digester development. From an anaerobic

example, customized projects of temperamental, proprietary assets that are neither

project development, a critical requirement to scale across regions and industries.

[0007] Many methods of waste treatment may be considered as highly

perspective, these designs are not general purpose, resulting in capital-intensive,

solids, fluids, sludge and dry matter.

[0008] Many of the challenges with existing digester designs as

feedstock conflicts, insufficient agitation or (alternatively) aggressive mixing; (i)

customized development challenges wherein scaling decisions result inconsistent

[0009] Embodiments of the inventive concepts disclosed herein are

directed to a zero waste (ZW) treatment system

[00010] In one aspect, embodiments of the inventive concepts disclosed

bioenergy and biofertilizers; comprising one or more fluidic separation subsystems

using stratification-syphoning tanks to enable separation/filtration assets to segment

ingredients, one or more blend-heat-inoculate tank subsystems that integrate-heat

ingredients with or without one or more inoculate-hydrolysis tank subsystems, two or

subsystems of which control treatment methods and intensity, environmental and

logic through facility and enterprise software.

[0001 1] In a further aspect, embodiments of the inventive concepts

disclosed herein are directed to a ZW treatment system wherein the feedstocks to be

ingredient requirements of recipe-based production.

[00012] In a further aspect, embodiments of the inventive concepts

disclosed herein are directed to a ZW treatment system wherein ingredients are

selected from a variety of pretreated or received organic materials such as concentrated

nutrient adders, enzymes, compost teas, nitrogen fixing microbial/fungus/absorbent