Greywater utilisation
Advantages of grey water recycling:
- Patented design guarantees safety
- Reduction of drinking water consumption by up to 70% by the combined use of rainwater and treated grey water
- Particularly efficient for premises with high water consumption and small rainwater collection area
- High operational safety and low operating costs thanks to intelligent control
- Compact design and underground installation, requiring no extra space in the house
- No noise in the building
- Suitable for remote control
- 1. Grey water tank for biological treatment (900 litres) 2. Grey water inflow 3. Grey water overflow 4. Sewage system 5. Grey water system ventilation 6. Ultrafiltration module / sterilisation 7. Fresh water inflow 8. Rainwater / fresh water tank 2400 liters 9. Ventilation unit 10. Domestic water supply 11. Submersible pump 12. Biovitor 13. Rainwater inflow 14. Drinking water feed 15. System control 16. Soak-away 17. Rainwater / fresh water overflow 18. Soak-away ventilation
- Single Indoor / Outdoor greywater system with 250 liter tank
Combined rainwater and grey water recycling at the trade show ISH Frankfurt 03/07
The combined rain water harvesting / grey water recycling system was presented for the first time on the trade fair ISH in Frankfurt Germany March 2007. The underground grey water tank (left) with the aerated ultrafiltration unit and the underground rainwater tank holding the clear water fed by rain and by the purified grey water.
- From left to right: Christian Wilhelm, Oliver Kopsch, Bärbel Formella and Friedhelm Neumann
Short description of a system for grey water recycling (OUTDOOR)
The grey water from the shower, bath tube or wash basins is collected and treated at the same time in the filter tank with the Ultrafiltration membrane. The treated grey water (process water) is stored in a clear water tank for further use.
For the different applications a number of different system sizes are available (click to download 2 page data sheet, pdf):
Daily production Production pa* Process water demand per Cost savings/Year**
x habitants/days
* at 330 days per year production; ** at ? 5,- water costs (Drinking water supply and waste water costs combined)
Larger systems for grey water recycling are available upon request. The capacity of 6m³/d of recycled grey water is the recommended maximum limit for preconfigured systems incl. all tanks ex Germany. For the export of grey water recycling systems a detailled training and installation is strongly recommended since local materials like tanks could be used.
Any systems larger then 10m³/d capacity requires a detailled planning process.
- Application chart of a grey water recycling system for 4,000 litres per day installed indoors
- Size and space requirement of a grey water recycling system for 4,000 litres per day indoor (top view)
Small system with 500 Litres/day recycling for outdoor installation
- Indoor is the control unit (remote control) and drinking water back up
Example of a "running" system in Aachen/Germany
A number of grey water recycling systems have been installed for clients worldwide. With an installation in China where valuable lessons have been learned to the recent installation for a residential house in Aachen/Germany. In this particular installation in Aachen, rainwater harvesting has been combined with grey water recycling technology.
One outdoor tank is used to collect the grey water from the house. The other tank collects the rain water along with the treated grey water/ process water which is again being reused in the house for toilet and washing machine. Through an aerated ultra filtration system grey water is being treated into high quality process water free of bacteria and other impurities.
In the basement of the house are all the necessary installations. The special feature of the electronic control unit is that on a regular basis (up to every minute) every parameter of the whole system is being monitored and transferred via modem to a central location for further analysis or active access into the running system. Not only the parameters are being check but also an automatic alarm at the central control can be generated and the system can be switched off automatically. Even some data are being monitored that could indicated a problem into the future. Preventive Servicing is the key objective.
- Left: Tanks into the earth
- Middle: Aerated ultrafiltration
- Right: Indoor control with remote sensing
- Left: Grey water
- Right: Hygienically safe process water
Ultrafiltration performance analysis for rainwater, grey water/sewage treatment
- * The oxidation has to be controlled in respect to the materials of the pipes. In the practical use of rainwater, so far no corrosion could be observed. ** CFU = colony forming units; *** when filling bottles, **** n.m. = not measurable
- Key component is the submerged ultrafiltration module directly into the raw water producing germ free and clear water
- Ultrafiltration Membrane with pore size of 50nm
