How Biolytix Works
A significant proportion of human waste in sewage is organic waste. Both wastewater and organic solid waste contain valuable re-usable nutrients, reclaimable water and biomass, which in nature rejoin the nutrient and water cycles.
The Biolytix filter was invented in Australia in an applied research programme that was conducted from 1990 until 1994. The result was the granting of worldwide patents protecting both the aerobic process that was discovered and the product configuration of the Biolytix filter. Spier obtained a licence to manufacture and distribute the technology in Southern Africa.
The Biolytix filtration process is a self-sustaining, aerobic treatment process where oxygen-breathing bacteria and other larger organisms (generally earth worms) decompose sewage and organic wastes.
Solids are continuously digested and re-digested by this diverse population of organisms and eroded by the action of flowing wastewater.
Unlike many conventional treatment processes, this process is odour-free, uses no chemicals and does not create any by-products such as sludge. This significant advantage means that the on-site treatment system can be located close to developments and households.
Households have two types of wastewater: grey and black. Grey water is the water that comes from showers, basins, dishwashers and washing machines. Black water is the water from the lavatory and the kitchen sink, as this water usually contains fats, greases, oil and blood.
The domestic (household) system operates in the following way: liquid waste enters the system through a normal sewage pipe. This includes grey and black water. The solids decompose on the surface of the Biolytix filter bed, while the liquid percolates through a self-maintained, porous filter, which houses the ecosystem of organisms. The filtered water collects at the bottom of the system. Once it is pumped out, it is then re-used as a source of irrigation water. All the Biolytix systems are designed to take the treated sewage and re-use it via a drip irrigation system on the surrounding gardens and grounds.
The Biolytix system can be adapted to manage different levels of consumption in new or existing housing units. With the Biolytix system, developers, builders and individual homeowners have a trouble-free waste treatment solution, which turns waste into a resource that creates significant water-saving benefits.
Biolytix is commercially available and offers an ‘off the grid’ solution for individual households and small-to-medium sized communities in the region of 25 to 2 500 houses.
Biolytix Filter System
Cross Section of a typical Biolytix® Filter System
Creatures at Work
Organic solids are continuously consumed and digested by this diverse population of organisms and eroded by the action of flowing wastewater.