Permaculture Institute ATLANTIC

Water recycling
WATER A key to our survival and for all living things, drinking water is becomin
g scarce and expensive. Some forecasts say that alarmists will lack drinking wat
er for a future not far away. Our most usual source of water abstraction, is wit
hdrawn from rivers, walking more and more polluted, requiring more treatments fo
r their consumption. The recycling of water within a few years is a practice tha
t will win many adherents. The water, which both need to consume a product will
become too valuable to waste.
RECYCLED WATER We can see in some places, the poor or uninformed, launches waste
into our streams and rivers. Systems such as cesspits widely used in some citie
s along the coast, eventually polluting our groundwater and that our source of w
ater consumption. Where I live, Ubatuba, Litoral Norte de São Paulo, this syste
m of cesspits is used widely. How much it rains, the water table rises and all c
esspools come together in communication and pollute an entire beach and also the
water table. The water pressure just up the hill and will arrive in spring that
supplies water to several people.
Where water is not easily found (as in desert regions), water recycling is a ver
y good alternative. There are recycling systems (filters) that can make the wast
ewater sanitary become drinkable! I could observe this system working on a perma
culture farm in Australia. To recycle the water, just go through a series of fil
ters.
WHAT WE CAN USE AS A FILTER? Every super-porous material such as crushed rock (w
ith its pores, absorbs enough particles), the activated carbon has more pores th
an the gravel and filter element that is more efficient. Many people use filters
at home to make tap water more drinkable. This is what the mayor of cities do w
ith the water that consumes all, attract water and make drinking polluted rivers
through chemical treatments and filters. If you recycle 100 liters of water for
3 times, you won 300litros water. There are several schemes to revitalize the w
ater, some use the oxygenation through waterfalls, others more revolutionary, ma
ke water move in spirals in many ways to acquire energy and this will vitalize.
E. crassipes (aquatic plant) is used to help filter the water, these plants are
efficient and has rapid growth and reproduction, we have only to remove the exce
sses from time to time (up to 80% efficiency)
WHAT IS SEWAGE. Sewage is the term used to characterize the evictions from the v
arious uses of water, such as residential, commercial, industrial, agricultural
... The domestic sewage is a very significant portion of sewage, come mainly fro
m residences, public buildings and commercial devices that concentrate toilets,
laundries and kitchens. Despite the variations in terms of customs and socio-eco
nomic conditions of the population, domestic sewage characteristics are well def
inidas.Resultado use man-made according to their hygiene habits and their physio
logical needs. The domestic sewage mainly consist of: swimming water, urine, fec
es, uneaten food, soap, detergent and washing water. The calculation to determin
e the amount of wastewater produced per capita in the region of São Paulo, vari
es from about 90-210 liters per day per person. Mean values between 130-170 gall
ons of sewage per day per person.
Composition:
All wastewater is composed primarily of water and 99.9% 0.1%
solids. 70% organic solids (protein, carbohydrates, fats) and 30% inorganic soli
ds (sand, salt and metals). The water itself is nothing more than a means of tra
nsport of many organic and inorganic substances and micro-organisms eliminated b
y man diariamente.Os solids are responsible for the declining quality of water b
ody.
Differences between greywater and blackwater:
What is gray water: they are wastewater have been used for cleaning (tanks, sink
s, showers). What is black water: wastewater are that were used in toilets and c
ontains fecal coliforms.
Why should we treat the wastewater:
â ¢
â ¢
We are increasingly consuming large amounts of water for our daily needs and we
are starting from polluting our sources of our dumps with the sewage of that use
. Preventing and reducing the spread of diseases caused by pathogenic microorgan
isms. pathogens found in sewage: / hepatitis virus, polio, typhoid, cholera,€am
ebic dysentery, ascariasis, schistosomiasis, leptospirosis and bacillary dysente
ry.
â ¢
Preserve the aquatic fauna and flora.
How can we recycle wastewater: The recycling process is in some ways very simple
, we have to create an alternating environments with oxygen and without oxygen.
Build filters with porous materials that will clean water from waste solids, the
se porous materials can be different sizes to hold all types of suspended solids
. The size of the filter is related to the demand of wastewater. Intercropped wi
th aquatic plants that will help in filtering and cleaning water.
How the process works: The primary responsibility for the decomposition of organ
ic matter is the bacteria, these single-celled organisms that can reproduce very
rapidly, from the available organic matter. The ability to survive within a var
iety of environmental conditions is a characteristic of bacteria. A group of the
m, called Aerobic only
live and reproduce in a medium containing free molecular oxygen (atmospheric or
dissolved in water). Another group, the Anaerobic, need not turn to free oxygen
and die when they are in an environment with oxygen. Bacteria break down complex
organic substances from sewage (carbohydrates, proteins and fats) in soluble ma
terials. Under anaerobic conditions, the following process occurs: the settleabl
e organic matter accumulates in the bottom of the pond, forming a sludge layer,
which undergoes a process of anaerobic digestion, bacteria produce soluble subst
ances, used as food in the ecosystem that may be converted into gases such as ca
rbon dioxide, methane, hydrogen sulfide and ammonia. The atmosphere filters (gra
vel, sand, gravel and earth) is responsible for removing much of the organic mat
ter such as grease and soap. The greater the number of aerobic and anaerobic env
ironments, the greater the efficiency of the treatment system.
RECYCLING SYSTEM FOR JOINT COMPOUND FILTER AND AQUATIC PLANTS
As seen above we have to create aerobic and anaerobic environments associated wi
th filter materials and plants. A system designed for the recycling of gray wate
r and black consist thus:
1. anaerobic septic tank (a tank with water where
the waste will suffer the action of anaerobic bacteria and also separated the fa
t). This filter is already used in several Brazilian cities, such as the norther
n coast of São Paulo. 2. Mixed aerobic-tank filter tank gravel and earth, with
water plants or rice. Function has to capture organic solid thick, plants help f
ilter water and clean the gravel, the earth will retain the soap. 3. anaerobic t
ank with plants (tank with water and aquatic plants), put this tank in the backg
round,
re-gravel and surface water plants (water hyacinth)
4. tank mixed aerobic filter (filter mixed with sand,
earth, crushed stone and gravel and aquatic plants) 5. Water recycled anaerobic
tank (tank where the water will be reused)
A reservoir containing soil, sand, pebbles and gravel, is an excellent filter fo
r recycling gray water and black. We put these materials in layers of 10cm each,
on top we can plant rice, lilies and rushes. The more layers the better the fil
ter efficiency, filter can separate the layers with layers of rice husk.
The filter size depends on the volume of wastewater to be released.
The filter mixed with time may become saturated, we have two options for cleanin
g: a Retro-washing, inserting water pressure at the outlet of Filter 2-Terms of
booking a filter, if we fail to use the filter it self cleaned, this dashing pro
cess because the organic matter will die and dry up through lack of water, with
a retro wash before use, we can make a clean and efficient. Closed Loop System c
onsists of the capture wastewater ash shower and sinks and go through gravel fil
ters and settling ponds, alternating environments with oxygen and without oxygen
, as described above, the water returns to be reused at home as water for cleani
ng ( tanks, sink, toilet and shower) The system to be used as drinking water and
needed to act evaporation process as a means of purifying the water, we can hav
e an oven which makes water evaporar.Usamos the sun as heat source
to evaporate the water.
Experimental system in Botucatu-SP Deployed at the Experimental Farm Lageado (FC
A / UNESP), located in Botucatu, coordinates 22 º 55'S and 48 º 55'W, was resp
onsible for collecting and treating sewage from a colony of employees, comprisin
g 12 houses and a population of about 53 people.€All wastewater generated by th
is colony is collected via a hydraulic network of PVC pipe 4 ", approximately 15
0 m long and driven to the station.
Structure of the treatment system
Thus, all domestic wastewater was conducted primarily captured for three cement
boxes interconnected with a capacity of 1000 liters each, and whose purpose was
to retain or promote the settling of the material coarser existing pollutant in
sewage. The residence time of effluent that structures was estimated at 6 hours,
depending on the discharge of sewage. After passing through a screen, located o
n the last box of sedimentation, the sewage was released into a flow splitter wh
ich was responsible for distributing the water uniformly to the boxes containing
crushed stone No 1 (figure) and then to the filter beds that they made the othe
r phases of treatment. As the experiment involved four different treatments were
implanted 4 boxes of 1000 L each, having in its lower part consists of a small
layer of pebbles 10 cm, complete with stone in the first, forming a layer about
50 cm. These boxes had the function of performing a pre-filtering of the effluen
t, with significant removal of part of the solid material not retained by sieves
placed inside the boxes and settling out of them.
The residence time in each of these structures was estimated to be 10 hours, cal
culated according to the discharge of sewage. As part of the structures describe
d, the domestic effluent after passing through the compartments with stone, was
conducted to further filter bed with four boxes, whose capacity was 1,000 liters
each and residence time estimated at more than 10 hours conducting the experime
nt. During the experiment the coast cross was replaced naturally by barnyardgras
s (Echinocloa Pavones Cross), whose replacement was more efficient in maintainin
g the value of saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ks), at desired levels. Another
factor that contributes to the proper functioning of the system is the quality
of water discharged. Waters polluted with chemicals can affect the filters.
How to make a filter at home.
As described above, we can build a filter in various ways to recycle our gray wa
ter, a simple model can be done by ourselves. First step we must take is to sepa
rate greywater from blackwater. This done, we can begin to build our system for
recycling gray water. We have three tanks (you can use drums of 200 liters purch
ased scrap). At first we make an entry for water in the top edge of the reservoi
r to the exit, we have to create a siphon system, which captures the water some
60 cm below the water level of entry. This is our septic box that will separate
the bulk of fat. Because fat floats, the capture of our water will be submerged
60 cm below the level of input and output pipes of water. In the second tank, pu
t gravel, sand and earth in layers of 10 cm. We have to leave a large space (40
cm) from top edge to the surface of our filter bed (gravel, sand and earth) to t
he accumulation of water that can occur when water demand is greater than the fi
ltering time. The output d water and made the bottom of the tank. We can grow ri
ce and aquatic plants such as reeds and lily to aid in filtering. In the third r
eservoir, we can create a small ornamental lake to the garden. We have to dig a
small hole of 1.5-2m in diameter and about 50 cm deep, covering the surface of t
his hole with plastic. Before however, we must rid the surface of roots or sharp
stones that might puncture the plastic. Put a little sand can help in this oper
ation. Then put a bit of gravel in the bottom of the lake being careful not to
pierce the plastic canvas. In these gravel put aquatic plants of various species
type: the marsh lilies and reeds and water hyacinth. And important to water lil
ies, they are very efficient as natural filters. Edges we can put some earth and
stones, and planted flowers and plants. If you also can put some fish in this l
ake, fish eat the organic matter suspended in water. At one end of the lake can
create a beach made of sand and gravel, put a muzzle on this beach (water thief)
and connect with the third reservoir to be recycled water for use. The first co
ntainer is placed in a ventilated place and capped, the anaerobic process produc
es gas odor. The water lilies reproduce quickly, from time to time, we must remo
ve the excess. Pronto! Our system of gray water is created, this water can alrea
dy be used in cleaning,€discharge of bathroom and garden irrigation.
Circulo de Carouge.
The banana plants like moist soil well and rich in organic materia, we can use a
banana as our natural filter. The system is very simple and consists dump waste
water into the toilet on a septic tank, and then throws it into a hole with grav
el and dirt on top, surrounded by banana trees and plants that like moist soil,
(Lily is also a excellent filter), they will take water and nutrients from our b
athroom, this system can be used for irrigation of garden plants and trees.
Bathroom Comprising:
Almost the same system as described above, plus this bathroom is fixed, is equal
to a conventional bathroom, down the toilet has a hole, a box of about 50cm to
70cm deep, sloping outwards, 60cm wide, a duct gas that comes out on top of the
roof, an external port for removing the material, which can be used in compostin
g. The only strong smell that we feel is the urine, we can ease playing some her
bs into the hole or to prevent others from urinating in the bathroom.