The Living Machine

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The Living Machine
http//www.aiatopten.org/hpb/overview.cfm?ProjectI
D18

• Nita Ganguly and James Littrell

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http//www.toddecological.com/wastewatertreatment.
html
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Step 1

• Sewage flows into a solar greenhouse
• Outdoor site that filled with rows of large open
  tanks
• tanks are populated by a complex series of
  organisms
• first tank holds aquatic plants (ex water
  hyacinths, cattails, and bulrushes)
• These organisms take up the nutrients produced
  when algae microorganisms decompose organic
  wastes.

After the water flows through a number of these
natural purification tanks
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http//www.enviroeducation.com/interviews/john-tod
d/
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Step 2

• It passes through an artificial marsh of sand,
  gravel, and bulrush plants which
• filters out the algae and any remaining organic
  waste.
• absorbs toxic metals (ex lead, mercury)
• secretes natural antibiotic compounds that kill
  pathogens.

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Step the 3rd

• H2O flows into engineered ecosystems in aquarium
  tanks
• Snails zooplankton consume microorganisms in
  water
• and in turn are eaten by crayfish, tilapia
  variety of fish that can be eaten or used as bait

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Finally!

• After 10 days H2O is clear
• Flows through 2nd artificial marsh for final
  filtering cleansing.
• H2O made drinkable by passing through
• ultraviolet light
• ozone generator
• Usually hidden out of sight in attractive pond or
  wetland habitat.

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General Info.

• Invented by John Todd
• Company called Living Technologies
• 16 have been installed in U.S. 8 other
  countries
• Treat
• Municipal waste
• Industrial waste

http//www.enviroeducation.com/interviews/john-tod
d/
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Success!

• Largest system built for plant in Australia
• Handles 100,000 gallons of waste per day

• Vermont Muncipal Sewage Treatment Plant a
  greenhouse where sewage from 1,600 residences is
  treated to a level of cleanliness surpassing
  federal EPA requirements.

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Main Goal

• Use a Natural Systems approach to treat
  wastewater to advanced treatment standards

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Comparison To Conventional

• Sludge Production
• Environmentally Harmful Chemicals
• Colloidal materials and fine suspended solids
• Capital and Energy Intensive

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Advantages and Disadvantages

• Chemical-, odor-, and
• noise-free
• Small ecological
• footprint
• Aesthetically pleasing
• Relatively low costs
• Little maintenance
• Micro-finance options for developing communties

• Can attract
• insects/rodents
• Need to tailor to site
• location

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Obstacles

• Places for sunlight
• Area for facility
• Skilled Biologists

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Negative Environmental Impacts

• There really are no negative environmental impact
• Natural Balance
• Biomass Waste

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Overall Potential

• The Overall Scale
• Economic Comparisons

VS
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Bibliography

• Miller, G. Tyler. Living in the Environment. 13.
  Canada Thomson Brooks/Cole, 2004.
• http//www.time.com/time/reports/environment/heroe
  s/heroesgallery/0,2967,todd,00.html
• http//www.enviroeducation.com/interviews/john-tod
  d/
• http//www.context.org/ICLIB/IC35/Guterson.htm
• http//www.aiatopten.org/hpb/overview.cfm?ProjectI
  D18
• http//www.livingdesignsgroup.com/systems/