Today we will look at the main issues regarding the selection of such installations.
- What are the advantages and disadvantages of aeration plants?
- Is it worth separating “black” and “gray” wastewater?
The operation of these stations is based on the aerobic process biological treatment Wastewater. In other words, organic substances are decomposed by microorganisms that use air oxygen for their vital functions, with which the wastewater is saturated using a compressor or drainage pump.
What are the advantages of aeration units?
- High degree of wastewater treatment, reaching 95-98%. In this connection, manufacturers of VOCs allow the possibility of discharging purified process water from their structures onto the terrain - into a village drainage ditch, ditch, nearby forest, reservoir, etc. This is a significant advantage of VOCs over septic tanks that require additional treatment of wastewater in soil filtration structures (about septic tanks from , and for them we described in detail in our articles).
- Aeration units – best option For autonomous sewerage when on site clay soils– with poor filtering ability. That is, when it is very difficult to arrange filter structures. Or when there is simply no room for them on the site. This means that the option of a septic tank is eliminated.
- Aeration units are suitable for areas with heaving soils and with high level groundwater(UGV). Such installations are made of plastic - most often polypropylene or fiberglass - in a factory. Therefore, they have a durable and sealed body, equipped with stiffening ribs and protruding elements. This allows the VOC to avoid deformation and extrusion onto the surface.
- Compared to septic tanks, aeration systems less often have to be cleaned of excess sludge. But you still need to pump it out.
What are the disadvantages of aeration plants?
- Enough high price, especially quality products.
- Relative complexity of the design: there are moving elements.
- Energy dependence. Although the energy consumption for VOC operation is relatively small, when the power is turned off, the installation quickly ceases to function normally.
- Unstable work under the condition of non-permanent residence in the house, which means uneven flow of wastewater.
- The need to preserve the installation for the winter if you do not intend to live in the house at this time of year.
- VOCs require regular service(often 3-4 times a year), which can be a hassle for homeowners.
- Compared to septic tanks, aeration systems are not as “omnivorous”: there are serious restrictions on what can be discharged into the sewer. Most often, it is impossible to dispose of leftover vegetables and fruits, spoiled products, construction garbage, filter cleaning, a large number of wastewater with chlorine-containing preparations, etc. But you can dump it there toilet paper, kitchen drains and dishwasher or washing machine drains.
Sergey Shemaev CEO of Septico company
When preserving an aeration plant for the winter, it is strictly forbidden to pump water out of it, otherwise the station may be deformed or squeezed out onto the surface of the earth. To avoid this, be sure to leave the unit filled with clean water.
How do installations from different manufacturers differ?
There are two main types of VOCs depending on whether aeration is carried out using a compressor or a sump pump. There are significantly more stations of the first type on the market. This is due to the time-tested efficiency of fine bubble aeration that the compressor provides.
Installations of this type are presented trademarks“Tver”, “Topas”, “Astra”, “Eurolos” (PRO series), “Eco-Grand”, BioDeka, etc. general outline the principle of their operation is similar. The wastewater passes sequentially through several chambers.
First, they settle in the receiving chamber, then enter the aeration tank - a chamber where they are saturated with oxygen from the air. Air is supplied through a fine-bubble aerator connected by a tube to a compressor. Thanks to oxygen, intensive reproduction of microorganisms already contained in wastewater occurs. Some VOC models are supplemented with bioreactors (loads) that promote the proliferation of these microorganisms. As a result, activated sludge is formed, which destroys organic compounds, available in wastewater.
Next, the clarified water with sludge particles is sent to another settling tank, where the sludge settles and again enters the aeration tank. And the purified water enters the next chamber, from where it is discharged outside the station - by gravity or forcibly, using a pump. Depending on the installation model, liquid movement occurs either by airlifts (jet pumps), or in combination - by gravity and airlifts. Some VOC models provide additional settling chambers, as well as a bioreactor (loading) in a non-aerated chamber. A biofilm of anaerobic microorganisms forms on the bioreactor. All this is designed to improve the quality of cleaning.
In most stations of this type, the compressor and control unit are located inside the installation itself. This point draws criticism from opponents of compressor stations. They remind that the possibility of VOC flooding cannot be ruled out. For example, when there is a power outage and the pump that forcibly pumps water out of the installation stops working. Flooding will lead to damage to the compressor and control unit, the replacement of which will be expensive.
However, in some VOCs this problem is solved by placing the compressor indoors. However, you need to be prepared for the fact that a constantly running compressor will make noise, although not very loud. A compromise option is to place the compressor and control unit in an electrical box mounted on a stand located next to the station.
Pyotr Kuhanovich Head of Sales Department at TD "Engineering Equipment"
Placing the compressor of an aeration unit in a dry heated room has whole line pros. Firstly, the compressor is not affected by moisture. Secondly, it is not affected by toxic gases generated in the treatment plant and which can cause corrosion of copper parts of the compressor. All this ensures its long service life. Thirdly, the compressor located in the heated room guarantees high-quality wastewater treatment in winter.The fact is that the biological processes necessary for purification occur at a water temperature of at least +8°C. If the compressor is located outside, it will supply cold air to the unit in winter. And therefore, there is a possibility of a decrease in the temperature of the water in it and, as a result, a deterioration in the quality of cleaning. If the compressor is located in the house, then it will only supply warm air, and such a problem is excluded. Moreover, when the compressor is located outside, and in winter there are traffic in the house and the drains flow unevenly, there is a risk of water freezing in the installation when severe frosts. When the compressor is placed in a heated room, this will not happen.
Aeration units of the second type are presented on the market under the trademarks Kolo Vesi, Eurolos (BIO series), etc. In such stations, also multi-chamber, wastewater first they are clarified and then saturated with oxygen. Saturation occurs due to the fact that the wastewater is sprayed onto a sprayer by a submersible recirculation drainage pump, after which it flows through a biofilter with loading. The biofilter is located in the neck of the unit. He has large area surface thanks to the volumetric loading elements made of synthetic material. Essentially, the biofilter functions as a mechanical wastewater aerator. Passing through the biofilter, the wastewater is purified by microorganisms in the form of activated sludge and biofilm on the load. Then the wastewater is further settled and discharged outside the station. All overflows between the station's chambers are gravity-fed. The control unit is located outside the LOS.
Among the advantages of such installations are a simpler design compared to the VOC of the first type, reliability due to the absence of a compressor, the ability to operate in septic tank mode during a power outage due to the gravity movement of wastewater between chambers (although in this case the wastewater is treated much worse). Critics of such stations argue that the efficiency of aeration due to a pump is lower than that due to a compressor, which is why the quality of cleaning in “pump” installations is worse. Manufacturers deny this. At the same time, it can be noted that the market is looking for solutions aimed at improving the aeration of the liquid being purified in installations of this type. Thus, stations have recently appeared where additional aeration is provided due to the ejector.
Konstantin FeldmanHead of the wholesale department of the Eurolos company
New technical solution is that the clarified wastewater supplied by the recirculation pump is divided into two streams: the first is sent to the biofilter sprinkler, and the second to the ejector provided in one of the settling chambers. Thanks to the ejector, the amount of oxygen saturating the water increases. The use of an ejector made it possible to achieve a more stable cleaning quality, as well as speed up the process of the station reaching operating mode upon startup.
Let us add that some manufacturers of “pump” aeration units recommend during initial startup or after long downtime station to add bioactivators to the water to accelerate the release of VOCs to the declared operating mode.
How to determine the required volume of an aeration unit?
To determine the required volume of VOCs, the following points must be considered:
- Installation capacity (l/day). It is always indicated in technical specifications VOC.
- The number of people permanently living in the house. The daily water consumption rate is approximately 200 liters per person (according to SP 30.13330.2012 “Internal water supply and sewerage of buildings”). Knowing how many people are in the family, you can calculate the daily volume of wastewater that will need to be discharged into the sewer system. Thus, for a family of five permanently living in a house, the optimal installation would be a capacity of about 1000 l/day. As a rule, manufacturers allow short-term excesses of wastewater volume by 20-30% per day, for example, when guests come to visit you for the weekend. But a long-term increase or decrease in the volume of wastewater will lead to a deterioration in the quality of treatment.
- Many installations are critical to the volley discharge of water. Therefore, their characteristics often indicate the maximum permissible volume of one-time drainage from various plumbing fixtures.
Often, homeowners want to direct “black” wastewater from the toilet to an aeration unit, and dispose of “grey” wastewater from the bathroom and kitchen in some other way, for example, by pouring it directly into a filter well. In this case, the savings lie in purchasing a smaller volume aeration unit. We do not recommend doing this, since “grey” wastewater is also dirty, and dumping it into the ground without cleaning it means causing harm environment. And the filter well will quickly become clogged. In addition, when separating wastewater, the aeration unit will not receive the nutrient medium it needs in the required volume, sludge will not form normally, which means it will not be able to clean the wastewater efficiently.
In this article we will tell you how to correctly locate the aeration unit on the site and how to install it correctly. We'll also touch on hot topic– Is it possible to drain water from the aeration unit onto the terrain?
Individual type treatment facility
The problem of centralized drainage of sewage in dacha settlements has never been solved by anyone. It has always been believed that this is a problem of the summer residents themselves, and this opinion still exists. Therefore, the owner of even a small structure is forced to solve such a problem on his own. People came up with everything they could to somehow make their stay outside the city more comfortable. The simplest and most traditional option is cesspool. But, unfortunately, this design does not meet many standards and requirements. comfortable stay. Therefore, more and more often, country developers began to use wastewater treatment plants for the dacha. This is a unique opportunity not only to collect sewage, but also to completely recycle it.
What are on-site wastewater treatment plants, or “LOS”? This is a complex that is responsible for processing wastewater and waste coming from country house. Basically, household waste and feces, that is, organic matter, are collected here. Manufacturers similar equipment offer quite a wide the lineup, where you can find both expensive and cheap analogues. That is, there is always a choice.
But the main division is made according to the power of the complex and its energy dependence. There are both volatile and non-volatile models on the market. For the former, electricity is required. Indeed, this unit contains monitoring and control units as a component. And also a compressor that supplies work area air. Under its influence, a tamponing process occurs, where bacteria decompose the organic components of sewage into carbon dioxide and water.
Such structures consume little electricity, so there is no point in talking about their cost. But here another question arises. Is there any point in purchasing a similar version of the device if the supply is periodically turned off in the village? electric current? Will this unit work as efficiently? The manufacturers took care of everything. If the power goes out for a few hours, the VOC will still work just as efficiently. So in this regard there are no problems.
The only thing that can scare off consumers is the fairly high price. Unfortunately, for many summer residents this option is not yet available. Although we must pay tribute to the quality of processing, which was noted high degree purification reaching up to 100%. After it, the clarified water can be used to water the garden. And they won’t prohibit you from lowering it into open waters. And the precipitated activated sludge can be used as fertilizer. So, in many respects, this is an excellent option for creating a modern sewer network in a country house.
As for energy-independent local treatment facilities, a conventional septic tank can be mentioned as an option for small sewage systems. And although manufacturers have long been offering ready-made analogues, many summer residents prefer to build them with their own hands from traditional building materials. For example, from iron concrete rings.
For this purpose, several pits are erected, the first of which is a sealed structure and plays the role of a collection tank. The second pit or well is a clarified water outlet. That is, heavy particles settle in the first well, and then somewhat purified wastewater enters the second well. Here, small and light particles are processed by bacteria, and water enters the soil through the bottom of the well. There may be several wells of the second type. And the more of them there are cleaner water at the exit.
Septic tanks
Biological wastewater treatment autonomous system sewer
However, the time for self-constructed septic tanks has already passed. Nobody wants to deal with complex installation and construction processes because it requires a lot of time and money. Therefore, manufacturers sewerage equipment began to offer unique, but at the same time simple designs, which are affordable for the majority of summer residents. Plastic septic tank very relevant today. Moreover, on the market you can always find an option that is exactly suitable for your dacha in terms of volume, power and degree of purification.
Modern septic tanks are a reservoir divided inside into several compartments. In fact, they are very similar to reinforced concrete wells. The wastewater, getting inside the septic tank, alternately fills the compartments one after another, overflowing through the partitions. In each of them, a settling process occurs, where heavy particles sink to the bottom of the container and are processed there by living bacteria. Having passed through all the compartments in this way in a few days, the water at the outlet is quite clean. Manufacturers guarantee a 95% degree of purification.
Unfortunately, such water cannot be used. And you shouldn’t pour it into water bodies either. Therefore, as a complement to septic tanks, filtration fields are constructed, which ensure 100% purification and penetration of liquid into the groundwater layer. As you can see, energy-independent treatment facilities cope well with their responsibilities.
All of the listed local treatment facilities operate on the principle of bioremediation. Their work is based on a method of processing organic sewage with the help of living bacteria. Experts say that bacteria can process organic matter in three days, of course, with a certain amount of sewage. That is why it is so important that this volume does not exceed the permissible limit. Yes and efficient reproduction bacteria in this case will play an important role. This means that for this you will have to create optimal conditions, where the exact volume of the structure and normal temperature conditions inside it will be the main ones.
Plastic septic tank
In nature, there are two types of bacteria - some live and reproduce only in the presence of oxygen, while others do not need it. Hence the modifications of treatment facilities, which are divided according to the principle of processing sewage and wastewater - aerobic (the presence of oxygen is mandatory) and anaerobic (without oxygen). It is impossible to say that one option is better and another is not. Just set your priorities correctly when choosing. How?
- An aerobic processing system requires air to be present within the structure or septic tank. Air can be pumped in by a compressor, which means the system will be energy-dependent. You can serve it naturally by making an access hole. But this may be accompanied by the appearance of an unpleasant odor.
- The anaerobic system is completely sealed and air cannot be allowed to enter. Therefore, such septic tanks belong to the category of “non-energy independent”. Yes, and problems with unpleasant odors are completely absent here.
And there is also a division modern septic tanks to the northern and southern treatment plants. In the northern regions, the construction of local sewer networks is a big problem. The soil freezes deeply, so manufacturers began to offer insulated septic tanks in which water does not freeze at any temperature. This is a real breakthrough and a solution to a big problem.
Conclusion on the topic
Thanks to modern approach to problem solving country sewerage Small treatment plants began to appear on the market. This is a real victory for the summer residents, who have always been in the position of renegades. Much is changing in modern life, so holiday villages have begun to transform. Not only are beautiful and comfortable houses appearing here, but also water supply and sewerage are being installed, and the villages are being supplied with gas. That is, the fruits of civilization outside the city are becoming the norm.
Clean air, distance from city problems and bustle are characteristic of a country house. The opportunity to come into contact with nature and enjoy its gifts charges you with positive energy and positivity. However, the lack of the usual set of communications can upset owners and create problems. To ensure that your country sewer system functions well and allows you to lead your usual lifestyle, buy septic tanks for cottages. The tasks they perform can be divided into:
- Cleaning of drains.
- Disposal of sewage waste.
Septic tanks for cottages are absolutely environmentally friendly, therefore they eliminate harmful effects on the environment during use. What tasks does a septic device perform? Firstly, it cleans large mechanical waste: paper, pieces of food, etc. Next comes the processing of organic substances, thanks to special bacteria in the purification system. At this stage, organic impurities settle to the bottom. And finally, there is a small mechanical treatment of wastewater and further disposal, for example, disposal into the soil.
Normal operation depends on the quality of the septic tank for cottages and the competence of the installation process. Installation must be carried out by specialists (and not with your own hands), taking into account many standards and features. However, further operation will no longer cause any problems, due to its versatility, septic tanks are used in many country houses.
Treatment facilities for summer cottages
- Groundwater level.
- Method of disposal of purified liquid: through the ground or into water bodies.
- Intensity of use of the structure (seasonal or permanent residence).
- Free space on the site.
We do not recommend doing the installation yourself, as it is difficult for a non-professional to take into account all the factors influencing the success of the installation. But in any case, you will have to pay attention to the distance from the building, planting depth, and the layout of pipes on the site.
To control installation work, read the list of actions that must be performed. First, you need to prepare a list of necessary materials (crushed stone, sand, slate, brick, cement, pipes, reinforcing mesh and others). Secondly, approve the scheme and project of land works. Thirdly, prepare a hole and trench, strengthen the soil. Fourthly, lay the pipes according to the design documentation, observing slopes and other features, install and concrete the structure, preventing the concrete from drying out. The final stage is work on insulation and commissioning.
The list of advantages results in positive consumer reviews. Treatment facilities for dachas provide high-quality elimination of unpleasant odors, no need to call a sewage disposal truck to pump out sewerage, and reduce the level of soil contamination with human waste products.
