You will always achieve an excellent treatment result with the Bioreactor

The Bioreactor has been independently tested for six years. The Bioreactor meets the strictest requirement level of the wastewater legislation 19/2017 in all conditions. You will always achieve an excellent treatment result with the Bioreactor despite the equipment level of your property, temporary use and relevant season – the environment will thank you.

The Bioreactor is also suitable as a wastewater treatment solution at sites with the strictest level of requirements and it is approved in all Finnish municipalities.

The Bioreactor has been studied in various locations (detached house and summer cottage use), in various conditions (summer, winter and temporary use), at various loads (75 l/day, 220 l/day, 300 l/day, 450 l/day and 750l/day) during the years 2011-2017.

All the tests have been completed impartially (KVVY or SYKE) and in each test the treatment results of the Bioreactor comprehensively meet the strictest level of requirements of the Government Decree concerning wastewater from dispersed settlement areas (157/2017): BOD7 < 45 mg/l (at least 90 %), phosphorus < 3 mg/l (at least 85 %) and nitrogen < 76 mg/l (at least 40 %). Temporary use does not affect the efficiency of the Bioreactor. The treatment results of the Bioreactor always exceed the strictest requirements in all conditions.

The results have been summarised below, the complete study results can be found on the Designers page.

 

Study 1: Mäntyharju, 2011, duration of the test period 1 month (winter)

Systems: Bioreactor for greywater and sealed tank for toilet water.

Summary: The water consumption of the year-round cottage consisted of greywater (dishwasher, washing machine, shower and kitchen water) as well as separate toilet wastewater. The estimated water consumption was 220 l/day. Usage during the study varied. No changes took place in the treatment level of the system despite irregular use.

Mäntyharju, 2011, duration of the test period 1 month (winter) – KVVY
TREATMENT PERFORMANCE BHK7 PHOSPHORUS NITROGEN
Bioreactor 99 % 97 % 99 %
REQUIREMENT LEVEL BHK7 PHOSPHORUS NITROGEN
Standard level treatment requirement 80 % 70 % 30 %
Stricter treatment requirement 90 % 85 % 40 %

 

Study 2: Hämeenkyrö, 2013, duration of the test period 1 month (summer)

Systems: Bioreactor for greywater and sealed tank for toilet water.

Summary: The water consumption of the year-round cottage consisted of greywater (dishwasher, washing machine, shower and kitchen water) as well as separate toilet wastewater. The estimated water consumption was 75 l/day. Usage during the study varied. No changes took place in the treatment level of the system despite irregular use.

Hämeenkyrö, 2013, duration of the test period 1 month (summer) – KVVY
TREATMENT PERFORMANCE BHK7 PHOSPHORUS NITROGEN
Bioreactor 99 % 97 % 97 %
REQUIREMENT LEVEL BHK7 PHOSPHORUS NITROGEN
Standard level treatment requirement 80 % 70 % 30 %
Stricter treatment requirement 90 % 85 % 40 %

 

Study 3: Kangasala, 2015, duration of the test period 5 months (summer)

Systems: Bioreactor for greywater and a dry toilet equipped with a high-volume tank (filtered liquids drained in to the greywater).

Summary: The water consumption of the detached house consisted of greywater (dishwasher, washing machine, shower and kitchen water) as well as any filtered liquids from the dry toilet that is equipped with a large tank. The estimated water consumption was 300 l/day. During the study, usage corresponded to the use of a regular detached house. During the period of observation, the operation of the system was at an excellent level.

Kangasala, 2015, duration of the test period 5 months (summer) – KVVY 
TREATMENT PERFORMANCE BHK7 PHOSPHORUS NITROGEN
Bioreactor 99 % 89 % 97 %
REQUIREMENT LEVEL BHK7 PHOSPHORUS NITROGEN
Standard level treatment requirement 80 % 70 % 30 %
Stricter treatment requirement 90 % 85 % 40 %

 

Study 4: Espoo – Finnish Environment Institute, Suomenoja Research Station, 2017, duration of the test period 6 months

Systems: Bioreactor for greywater.

Summary: The efficiency of the Bioreactor was tested for a total of six months. Water consumption varied between 750 l/day and 450 l/day during different test periods of the study. The testing was divided in to test periods as indicated in Table 1:

Wastewater is pumped to the Suomenoja Research Station from the nearby settlement area, which consists of approximately 40 residential buildings. This wastewater contains all the wastewater that has formed in the residential area, and no industrial wastewater or equivalent reaches the line. Occasional meltwater is possible.

For the purpose of testing, this wastewater was treated in such a way that it corresponded as closely as possible to greywater. The incoming wastewater was pumped to a storage tank (15 m3) equipped with a mixer, from where the water used for testing was partially clarified.

The incoming wastewater was diluted with clean mains water (ratio 30% / 70%). To increase the BOD7 value, methanol was added to the water. The addition was 15 – 50 ml/100 l of input water during both test periods.

Methanol was pre-mixed in a smaller amount of water, and then to the diluted input water with the help of a propeller mixer and water jet. In order for the water quality to remain as constant as possible, and to avoid accumulation in the input tank, only a daily dose was prepared at a time, which was fed in during the same day. A three-day dose (1900 / 1350 l) was prepared for weekends, which was fed in full during the weekend (Fri-Mon).

The water was fed in to the treatment plant’s system with a submersible pump driven by a division timer. The water inputs took place at the following times 3:00 am, 4:00 am, 6:00 am, 8:00 am, 2:00 pm, 2.30 pm, 4:00 pm, 4.30 pm, 6:00 pm and 8:00 pm. The flow rate was adjusted with a control valve on the pump’s pressurised side. The amount per input was either 75 l during a period of 4 minutes or 45 l during a period of 2 minutes, depending on the relevant daily flow. In connection with preparing each water batch, the pipe line was aerated by completely opening the control valve for a moment.

The study carried out at the research station only dealt with greywater, and so the toilet wastewater that normally resulted at the property were not considered as part of the study.

The treatment efficiency levels required by the Government Decree concerning wastewater from dispersed settlement areas (157/2017) for treatment plants that only treat greywater were the following, with the assumption that the toilet wastewater resulting at the property do not contaminate the environment (sealed tank or dry toilet):

– Standard level treatment requirement; BOD7 67 %, total nitrogen 0 % and total phosphorus 0 %

– Guideline treatment level for areas susceptible to contamination (i.e. stricter requirement level); BOD7 83 %, total nitrogen 0 % and total phosphorus 18 %

Study 4: Espoo – Finnish Environment Institute, Suomenoja Research Station, 2017, duration of the test period 6 months – SYKE
TREATMENT LEVEL (only greywater) BHK7 PHOSPHORUS NITROGEN
Bioreactor 88 % 35 % 47 %
REQUIREMENT LEVEL (only greywater considered) BHK7 PHOSPHORUS NITROGEN
Standard level treatment requirement 67 % 0 % 0 %
Stricter treatment requirement 83 % 18 % 0 %

 

The Bioreactor meets the strictest treatment levels required for a wastewater treatment system in all conditions in accordance with the Government Decree concerning wastewater from dispersed settlement areas (157/2017).

Download the study results’ summary page here as an annex for plans. (Fi)