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Re: bioremediation query
The University of wageningen in the Netherlands performed a number of
experiments with various mushrooms. Check literature by Jim Field and E.
de Bont.
A patent has recently been claimed by a Dutch engineering company, DHV
Environment and Infrastructure. They recently published an article with a
rather vague description of a test they did with mushroom substrate mixed
with soil. Both mineral oil content and PAH went down significantly.
Peter Oei
poei@telebyte.nl
From: bj368@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Mike E. Romano)
Subject: Greenhouse Wastewater System
Date: 23 Nov 92 04:44:22 GMT
Greenhouse Wastewater System Operating Since 1990
Creater of Garfield comic strip Jim Davis hired John Todd of
New Alchemy Institute to build this system especially for
Davis' Garfield cartoon products company plant called
Paws, located near Muncie Indiana but having no public
sewers to connect to.
The system purifies sewage water at the rate of 1,575 gallons
per day. This treated water is used to grow horticultural
plants commercially within the same greenhouse system.
A variety of fauna and flora are used to process the waste
water. The holding tanking pumping system forms a uniform
mixture of human waste, grey water, and some kitchen waste
from the dishwasher. No toxic chemicals are allowed in the
plant system.
The first stage pumps this waste water into two 700 gallon
clear fiberglass solar tanks which allow solar exposure
which in turn activate biological growth. Two types of
bacteria are introduced: a grease eating bacterium and a
nitrifying bacterium which then reproduce indefinitely.
The nitrifying bacterium converts the ammonia and algae
eat the converted nitrates, as well as the water hyacinths.
The snails eat the algae. Hyacinths need to be harvested
often and are converted to compost. The rest of the system
is self regulating.
Aeration is required at all stages and is accomplished by
pumping air through plastic irrigation pipes placed at the
bottom of the tanks. Cleaned water is transferred to the
second set of tanks where snails, algae and bluegills con-
tinue to process the waste water. After a third stage of
tanks with similar ecosystem, the waste water is pumped to
a lagoon 4 feet wide, 20 feet long, and 2.5 feet deep.
There are sodium vapor lights above the lagoon to assist
with lighting and heat.
The lagoon supports: arrowhead, duckweed, black willow tree
seedlings, water hyacinths. The lagoon is also stocked
with Japanese koi, tropical sucker fish (Placastema),
mosquito fish (Gambusia), and bluegills.
>From the lagoon the water is pumped to an artificial wet-
land marsh built up from 2.5 feet of 2 inch stones,
overlaid with 6 inches of pea gravel, with a thin layer
of water covering. This marsh area is for experimental
trials of ornamental plants to be sold commercially and
includes: elephant ear, reed canary grass, bulrushes,
papyrus, wild aster, monkey flowers, variegated orchard
grass, Japanese blood grass, wild iris, calladium, smart-
weed, and angel trumpets.
It takes 5 days for water to travel through the system
and it is released well within purity standards; no
chemicals are added to the system at any point.
--
Capt. Kirk: let's head for that planet, third from the sun, it
looks promising.... |-)
References: