The Cafe Bio-filter uses material including woodchips to filter and break down fats, oils and organic waste.
The Bio-filter is the first stage in cleaning the wastewater from our cafe before it passes to the reed bed.
Above: How waste water is treated and reused to water the CERES Village Green.
Kitchen wastewater is loaded with organic matter (food scraps) and fats and oils. This waste commonly clogs up treatment processes, causing systems to fail. Traditionally a grease trap is uses to separate this waste out. Grease traps have to be cleaned regularly, and the solid waste disposed of. Our Bio-filter replaces the need for a grease trap.
Cafe Bio-filter
Our system is called an Aerobic Bio-filter because it provides an aerated (oxygen rich) environment that is ideal for biological processes to filter and break down organic waste.
It is important to remove organic matter, as lots of organic matter in water can cause anaerobic (oxygen starved) conditions, resulting in smells and deletion of aquatic life. Water from the cafe passes through our filter from top to bottom through a series of trays.
Clever Water Use
Wastewater from our sinks, showers and dishwashers (Greywater) is traditionally processed with sewage (Blackwater) from our toilets in large treatment plants. These plants require up to 1000 litres of clean water to process 1 litre of wastewater.
Often greywater can be safely treated or re-used where it is produced to water our gardens or to flush our toilets. The average house could reduce its water consumption by 30% if it recycled its grey water.
The Bio-filter has been designed and developed by the CERES Green Technology Workshop. We are experimenting with different types of filter material and 'EM' (a bacterial additive) to improve the system.
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