Vermi-Trickling Filters (or vermifilters) for Sewage Treatment (looking for help to design)

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Re: Vermi-Trickling Filters for Sewage Treatment (looking for help to design)

Hello Guilherme!


Could you please , share what is volume of your primary vermifilter and what was approximate waste water load on it per day including grey water from the shower?

Regards,
Bogdan
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Re: Vermi-Trickling Filters for Sewage Treatment (looking for help to design)

I´ve done that Dean. I´ve set up a vermifilter initially for a local NGO site for black water only, but the system receives high doses of greywater (shower) during the courses they offer there every now and then. I felt that the effluent was not adequate for shallow infiltration because it´s quite near a swimming pond, so I decided instead to add on a constructed wetland as a 2nd stage, before actual infiltration. The vermifilter handles this additional flow quite well during the course of events, which usually lasts no more than 3 days, but one can see that there´s a real restriction on flow throughout theses days.

You can see its overall aspect on the image below. Looks great and no fowl odor at all.

I haven´t had a chance to do lab tests on this one as of yet, but as soon as I do I´ll let you know.
--
Guilherme Castagna
Fluxus Design Ecológico
Pedra Bela/SP - Brazil

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Re: Vermi-Trickling Filters for Sewage Treatment (looking for help to design)

Hi Bogdan,
from memory they are 1m x 1.2m and about 900 high, about a cubic metre of capacity.
I tend to pipe greywater directly to the secondary reactor because the purpose of the primary digester in my design is to filter out and digest solids, not purify the wastewater. Thus kitchen greywater could go through the primary digester to remove any solids, but bathroom/laundry greywater gushing over poo might actually pick up fine solids? Piping laundry/bathroom greywater directly to the secondary filter for purification along with primary-treated blackwater makes more sense to me. I'm sure I could put all my wastewater through the primary treatment vermifilter though and welcome anybody trying out alternatives then sharing the results from these... this is an evolving technology!

cheers
Dean
Dean Satchell, M For. Sc.
Vermifilter.com
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Re: Vermi-Trickling Filters for Sewage Treatment (looking for help to design)

Hi Dean! Plastic fruit crates are gifts from saniation Gods! What size do you use
for the primary filter? I have used them as composters and then they can be used directly as grow boxes.

What about mixed flow (grey+black)? Do you think it's possibly to use vermifilter in this case? Maybe it should be some kind of middle way system with more volume ot top but still deep enough with recirculation.?

Regards
Bogdan
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Re: Vermi-Trickling Filters for Sewage Treatment (looking for help to design)

Hi Kris, thought about it but possibly am a little too privileged to try and recover protein from my poo! I like the convenience and low maintenance of flush and forget, but would certainly be interested in hearing of any developments and experiences. At times there is an abundance of earthworms which could possibly be harvested?
Dean Satchell, M For. Sc.
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www.vermifilter.com

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Re: Vermi-Trickling Filters for Sewage Treatment (looking for help to design)

A bit off topic, but have you thought about doing the primary treatment with Black Soldier Fly larvae to do some resource recovery?

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Re: Vermi-Trickling Filters for Sewage Treatment (looking for help to design)

Great questions Bogdan!
Okay, now to the primary treatment vermifilter. Here is a diagram of a twin chamber digester:



You will see that the two baskets are contained within the one chamber. The worms can migrate from one basket to the other depending on where the best food source is. This allows you rotate the influent from one basket to the other and to dig out humus from the rested basket without fresh poo deposit in the way (say every 5 years).

I use plastic fruit crates for baskets:



They are the right size, durable and hold the weight of 5 years of accumulated solids. They allow air flow below and through the sides. Two of these sit side by side against each other on a concrete sump. The walls/roof are screwed to the crates with a cavity for ventilation. Inside the basket is lined with shadecloth and a 20-30cm layer of coarse bark is provided for the worm refuge.

Now, the other thing is that if you have the fall to design a passive (gravity) system you can stack the crates for primary (top) and secondary treatment (directly below). Greywater and recircultion can go to the secondary crate, which is almost filled with media.

cheers
Dean
Dean Satchell, M For. Sc.
Vermifilter.com
www.vermifilter.com
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Re: Vermi-Trickling Filters for Sewage Treatment (looking for help to design)

Hi Dean! Thank you and happy Easter!

As far as I understood you shared the secondary treatment vermifilter arrangement. What about the primary vermifilter for black water? Could it also be a basket filled all the way down with wood chips but wider ? In the tiger toilet article that you shared before the layering is quite elaborating consisting of diffrent granular material as well as charcoal.
Also as far I understood you system is of batch type with one chamber resting and one active. What is happenning in the resting chamber when worms eat completely the nutrients? Also is there danger that resting chamber go dry?

Regards
Bogdan
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Re: Vermi-Trickling Filters for Sewage Treatment (looking for help to design)

Hi Bogdan,
the basket is cylindrical (my photo might have been misleading) and all the way to the bottom. There is an outlet at the bottom of the drum.

cheers
Dean
Dean Satchell, M For. Sc.
Vermifilter.com
www.vermifilter.com

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Re: Vermi-Trickling Filters for Sewage Treatment (looking for help to design)

Hello Dean!

Thank you ! The basket idea is great! So this means in the bottom there is even bigger air gap between the drum walls and busket. How do you drain the water from the drum then? A pipe outlet in the drum wall near the bottom?
Is conical basket shape essential? What if the basket will be more or less cylindrical following the shape of the drum? Wouldn't we get more substrate volume this way (and worms population) and therefore more water treated?
Bogdan Popov
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Re: Vermi-Trickling Filters for Sewage Treatment (looking for help to design)

I wanted to ask you about the profile of your vermifilter.

We probably should be discussing primary treatment and secondary treatment vermifilters separately. In a secondary treatment vermifilter you don't need much space above the media because solids don't really build up over time. This is because only liquid circulates through the secondary treatment module. Depth of media is also important.

On the other hand, primary treatment vermifilters need lots of space above for buildup of solids, they should be wide to allow the solids to spread out rather than build up, and they don't require much depth of media.



Media basket using plastic mesh, shadecloth, polythene pipe and plastic cable ties




Basket installed in 250 litre plastic drum



Coarse pine bark media installed in basket

Because there is air surrounding the media there is no need for a coarser drainage layer at the bottom. I do use a free draining media that doesn't impede percolation and air penetration into the media though. If you use a fine media such as peat or sawdust, you might need a coarse gravel drainage layer at the bottom. Keep in mind that using a basket means that impeded drainage doesn't result in over-saturation/flooding. You can't drown the worms this way and the environment always remains aerobic. Also note that I drill lots of fine holes in the drum to allow ventilation (but not flies). In your case you'd have insulation and a ventilation system to ensure the reactor doesn't freeze.

cheers
Dean
Dean Satchell, M For. Sc.
Vermifilter.com
www.vermifilter.com
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Re: Vermi-Trickling Filters for Sewage Treatment (looking for help to design)

I agree with you Dean in terms of proprietary issues applied to vermifiltration. You can't patent worms, plants, bacteria and water -- it's like trying to patent nature itself. We are to achieve nothing in terms of solving global water and sanitation challenges if resort to this attidude.
Bogdan Popov
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