WELL targets outdoor users and delivers personalised services: environmental advice, building advice, water purification, rainwater usage, and industrial support.
WATER PURIFICATION SYSTEMS
Biofilter
Wastewater from families or businesses can be purified perfectly well with a biofilter. The wastewater is distributed over an underground or aboveground basin filled with porous lava stones. The water filters through the lava stones and is collected underneath in the filter. A biofilter is suitable for various quantities of wastewater.
Lava Filter
As a support material for the purifying microorganisms a naturally porous lava stone is used.
Lava filters can be built to between 10 and 12 i.u. completely underground. Bigger lava filters are planted.
They are guaranteed to work without odour or noise.
A measuring campaign for practical installations gives an average effluent quality of:
- BOD: 14 mg O2/l
- Suspended matter: 10 mg/l
Lava filters have a wide range of uses: milk processing, dairy farm, creamery, household wastewater, washing water for leeks and other vegetables, …
Bio Roll
The support material consists of a rolled-up plastic mat in a PE casing and stands aboveground. There is a pump well underground.
This installation is chiefly used for lightly contaminated wastewater, e.g. in the horticulture industry (washing water for leeks, salad, carrots, celery, and other vegetables), but also for household wastewater, wastewater from milk parlours, etc.
The installations are very light and compact and can be placed inside or in the garden, covered by undergrowth or finished with garden wood.
Aerated Fixed Bed
An aerated fixed bed is an improved version of the classic active slurry systems. A basin with a mixture of wastewater and effluent is aerated by means of a compressor.
In the water there is a synthetic support on which the purifying microorganisms live.
The system consists of 3 volumes in 1 concrete well:
- a buffer volume,
- the biological medium and
- a secondary settling tank.
In order to ensure a slow and continuous inflow of wastewater to the biological medium, the wastewater is collected in a buffer volume and regularly pumped to the biological medium via a so-called ``airlift``. These systems are placed entirely underground.
The most important characteristics: completely underground, compact.
Fytobac
Well has developed a water purification system for the purification of water contaminated with spray residue from agricultural activities or maintenance works. The water is purified in a simple and reliable way into a reusable percolate. This system is ideal for salaried sprayers, councils, land managers, arable farmers, …
Plant Systems
Plant systems are the most natural means of purifying wastewater. The wastewater is purified by microorganisms that grow on plant stalks, plant roots and soil, lava or gravel in which the plants grow.
Percolation Systems
A percolation reed bed consists of an excavated basin with a special film and a layer of sand. The distribution system lies between the sand and a layer of clay.
The wastewater is pumped from a buffer well via the distribution system over the sand and trickles vertically between the grains of sand and reed roots to a drainage system. The purified wastewater is drained away from underneath the reed bed. Percolation reed beds require 2 to 3 m2 per i.u.
Root Zone Beds
The wastewater is directed horizontally between the plant roots. Lava or crushed rock is used as a support, depending on the application.
The root zone bed is often split up into a small shallow root zone bed, with reed for filtering out the suspended matter, and a somewhat deeper root zone bed with a large selection of marsh plants (no reeds) as the main purifier.
Root zone beds are mainly used for household wastewater, as after-purification following on from a compact system, and for lightly contaminated wastewaters (car park run-off, horticulture, weekend homes,...). They require 5 to 7 m2 per i.u.
Flow Reed Beds
In flow bed the wastewater is directed between the reed stalks. It is purified by microorganisms that live on the reed stalks and the support.
They are less efficient than the other plant systems, especially in winter.
Flow beds are often used as buffer basins or as disaster basins and for lightly contaminated wastewater (run-off,…).
RAIN WATER MANAGEMENT
Storage
A suitable storage place for rainwater is important for maintaining the good quality of collected rainwater.
Depending on the necessary capacity and the logistical circumstances, there are a number of different ways to store rainwater:
- prefab concrete wells (up to 20 m3),
- concrete cast in situ,
- (membrane) ponds,
- steel storage tanks with synthetic inner casing
Prefilters
The quality of the stored rainwater depends to a large extent on the quantity of organic contamination that does or does not enter the storage tank. Therefore, a good prefilter that keeps twigs, leaves, moss and other (organic) impurities out of the water storage is essential. A good prefilter must be sufficiently fine, accessible and readily maintained. We can work with various prefilters, such as self-cleaning stainless steel filters for a roof surface of 200 m2 to 40,000 m2. Some types have only a very small drop between the inlet and outlet (in-line filters).
If more room is available for the filter and if it can be integrated into the planting, then a (planted) soil filter can also be used. This gives the best water quality, the least rainwater loss and has a buffer capacity. In the case of bigger roof surfaces in particular, (planted) soil filters can be a good alternative to prefab filters.
Decontamination
If the rainwater is to be used as drinking water for cattle or as a feeding solution for sensitive horticultural crops, the water has to be decontaminated before use.
There are several techniques for doing this. The most common techniques are UV filters and slow soil filtration. These techniques are also used for the recirculation of feeding solutions in horticultural crops on hydroculture or container crops.
In cattle farming they are useful for the decontamination of poor quality well water (too high germ count and/or too much iron).
UV Filtration
Here the water is sent through a narrow pipe alongside a UV lamp. This UV lamp shines a UV light that is deadly to microorganisms and viruses. UV filters are very compact and can cope with very high outputs.
The water has to be perfectly clear and free of suspended particles. These particles can, after all, partially resist the UV light so that not all potential pathogenic organisms are sufficiently exposed to the UV light. A good dirt filter in front of the UV lamp is therefore important. They are mainly used for the decontamination of rainwater for cattle or in horticulture.
