Post by jeff on Jan 15, 2016 23:15:49 GMT
For practical purposes, most sites quote 30-70 sq ft of hydroponics, or aquaponics to produce the vegetables for one person, year-round.
1 - IBC tank, converted to fish tank, will easily grow enough fish for 1 person, at a stock level of 1 mature fish per 5 gallons, along with poultry and rabbits, for variety, it can feed several. The water can be cleaned and recycled by using hydroponic grow beds, to raise vegetables. typically a single tank is used to water/fertilize up to 64 sq ft of grow bed. Typically, a 2-tank system is used, with a CHOPS/PIST type configuration (Constant Height in fish tank One Pump System/Pump In Sump Tank). Additionally, replacements can be raised in a nursery space, in either the sump tank, or at the top of the main tank. Such a system might be 2 IBC tanks, side-by-side, with a pair of 4 ft by 8 ft grow beds above, and accessible by laddre, to minimize floor/deck space requirements to a 4 ft by 8 ft area. Fish poo/waste solids can be serparated and fed to a digester, or composted.
In front of that (sunward), a dual-chamber tank, at about 2 ft tall, 4 ft by 8 ft tank can be used to grow duckweed, with the effluent of a biogas digester, in order to feed fish and micro-livestock, such as rabbits and poultry. Solids will settle in one half, so that clarified effluent comes out the other side, which can then be diluted and used in additional hydroponics type grow-beds, as well as to water containerized plants, and, a grass-bed, for micro-livestock, such as poultry and rabbits, for a wider variety of food. Solids can be removed, composted and used as soil ammendments, for containerized plants, such as dwarf fruit trees, that can have their yields maximized by having multiple varieties, with a range of fruit harvesting times.
Micro-livestock sewage can be ground up and sent to an anaerobic digester, as well as human and pet sewage, food waste and some processing waste from butchering micro-livestock and cleaning fish (internal organs).
In general, the things NOT to put into an anaerobic digester are Fats, Oils, Grease, Soaps (FOGS), hair, feathers, beaks, scales, fins, shells, carapaces, bones and teeth... Basically, things that are hard to digest. These CAN be composted, especially if ground up. Plastics, metals, sand and such should also be prevented from entering the digester.
Anaerobic digersters are artificial stomachs. Anything going in should be ground up to a relatively fine consistancy. A kitchen-sink-disposal, will do this quite well, as will an RV sewage macerator pump, to handle sewage. Generally, a thermophyllic digester (warm/mammalian body-temp) will treat things faster, more efficiently, and more thoroughly, than a mesophyllic ('cold'/unheated) digester. Consequently, a thermophyllic digest can have hydraulic retention times at roughly half of those for mesophyllic digesters. hydraulic retention time refers to the theoretical time that something goes in, and then comes out the other side. A Mesophyllic digester usually has a HRT of 30 days. A thermophyllic digester could be half the size, for the same volume of through-put.
It would be beneficial to separate sewage at the toilet, into urine and poo. Urine can be used, as-is, to pretreat woody fibers, such as shredded paper (TP, too), and shredded, browned plant leaves, to help maintain a Carbon/Nitrogen ballance, for a healthier digester. Separating toilets and urinals can be bought, or made, with near side-by-side streams, or treated by other methods, to create a more benficial source of Nitrogenous fertilizer.
Shower/bath water should be screened (gravel filter, typically) and treated separately, to prevent excessive water from entering the digester flow. A small aerobic treatment tank, followed by chlorination should be sufficient for safe discharge, though that may be subject to testing and regulations I am unaware of.
In all, the system is semi-closed, recycling nutrients from the food stream, back to the food stream, utilizing only enough water to keep the systems flowing, once filled. Other than plumbing emergencies, there should be no manual handling of untreated human excrement, and there is a multiple-process disconnect between the toilet and food production, eliminating the contamination of food products.
1 - IBC tank, converted to fish tank, will easily grow enough fish for 1 person, at a stock level of 1 mature fish per 5 gallons, along with poultry and rabbits, for variety, it can feed several. The water can be cleaned and recycled by using hydroponic grow beds, to raise vegetables. typically a single tank is used to water/fertilize up to 64 sq ft of grow bed. Typically, a 2-tank system is used, with a CHOPS/PIST type configuration (Constant Height in fish tank One Pump System/Pump In Sump Tank). Additionally, replacements can be raised in a nursery space, in either the sump tank, or at the top of the main tank. Such a system might be 2 IBC tanks, side-by-side, with a pair of 4 ft by 8 ft grow beds above, and accessible by laddre, to minimize floor/deck space requirements to a 4 ft by 8 ft area. Fish poo/waste solids can be serparated and fed to a digester, or composted.
In front of that (sunward), a dual-chamber tank, at about 2 ft tall, 4 ft by 8 ft tank can be used to grow duckweed, with the effluent of a biogas digester, in order to feed fish and micro-livestock, such as rabbits and poultry. Solids will settle in one half, so that clarified effluent comes out the other side, which can then be diluted and used in additional hydroponics type grow-beds, as well as to water containerized plants, and, a grass-bed, for micro-livestock, such as poultry and rabbits, for a wider variety of food. Solids can be removed, composted and used as soil ammendments, for containerized plants, such as dwarf fruit trees, that can have their yields maximized by having multiple varieties, with a range of fruit harvesting times.
Micro-livestock sewage can be ground up and sent to an anaerobic digester, as well as human and pet sewage, food waste and some processing waste from butchering micro-livestock and cleaning fish (internal organs).
In general, the things NOT to put into an anaerobic digester are Fats, Oils, Grease, Soaps (FOGS), hair, feathers, beaks, scales, fins, shells, carapaces, bones and teeth... Basically, things that are hard to digest. These CAN be composted, especially if ground up. Plastics, metals, sand and such should also be prevented from entering the digester.
Anaerobic digersters are artificial stomachs. Anything going in should be ground up to a relatively fine consistancy. A kitchen-sink-disposal, will do this quite well, as will an RV sewage macerator pump, to handle sewage. Generally, a thermophyllic digester (warm/mammalian body-temp) will treat things faster, more efficiently, and more thoroughly, than a mesophyllic ('cold'/unheated) digester. Consequently, a thermophyllic digest can have hydraulic retention times at roughly half of those for mesophyllic digesters. hydraulic retention time refers to the theoretical time that something goes in, and then comes out the other side. A Mesophyllic digester usually has a HRT of 30 days. A thermophyllic digester could be half the size, for the same volume of through-put.
It would be beneficial to separate sewage at the toilet, into urine and poo. Urine can be used, as-is, to pretreat woody fibers, such as shredded paper (TP, too), and shredded, browned plant leaves, to help maintain a Carbon/Nitrogen ballance, for a healthier digester. Separating toilets and urinals can be bought, or made, with near side-by-side streams, or treated by other methods, to create a more benficial source of Nitrogenous fertilizer.
Shower/bath water should be screened (gravel filter, typically) and treated separately, to prevent excessive water from entering the digester flow. A small aerobic treatment tank, followed by chlorination should be sufficient for safe discharge, though that may be subject to testing and regulations I am unaware of.
In all, the system is semi-closed, recycling nutrients from the food stream, back to the food stream, utilizing only enough water to keep the systems flowing, once filled. Other than plumbing emergencies, there should be no manual handling of untreated human excrement, and there is a multiple-process disconnect between the toilet and food production, eliminating the contamination of food products.