A New Approach to Water Technology

Leading the way in environmental technology

Inside an Organica waste water treatment plant

Philosophy

The Organica solution (FBAS) embodies a completely new and highly progressive technological and social philosophy by integrating waste water treatment into the urban fabric while creating striking, natural spaces. This development represents the first systematic application of reactor-based complex adaptive ecosystems in the waste water treatment field, combining the latest developments in ecological and waste water engineering. There have been more than two dozen plants built to date, proving the technical and economical viability of the concept. This is achieved by being able to maintain a dense and diverse bio-film that grows on fixed media that provides habitat to this plethora of micro organisms. In simple terms, this is exponentially enhancing the depth of the common term ‘Activated Sludge’ that is used in the wastewater industry. Hence, Organica’s technology is also commonly referred to as Fixed-Bed Biofilm Activated Sludge (FBAS).

Water Technology Overview

Organica treatment plants enhance the forces nature uses to purify water by harnessing the metabolic processes of living organisms that digest organic pollutants. In addition to the bacteria found in traditional activated sludge systems, Organica treatment plants are populated by thousands of species of plants, animals, and microbes.

The ability of all these micro organisms to self-organize results in a very stable and resilient system which maximizes biological degradation of contaminants. These diverse ecologies respond exceptionally well to fluctuations in waste load and influent contaminants.

These treatment plants are typically enclosed in a greenhouse to ensure the ambient temperature necessary for the plants and other organisms to remain active throughout the year. Different reactor designs are employed depending on the type of waste water and the capacity of the plant. These range from traditional continuous-flow designs to proprietary reactor configurations, depending on the nature of the waste water to be treated.