Malcolm van Bergen, the head of the sustainability portfolio at St Andrew’s, and Grade 10 pupils Ayomideji Israel-Akinbo and Ishan Panchal will be working closely with operations manager Jabulani Maswanganyi in overseeing the project, after receiving training from the Practical Water Solutions team.
The Biopipe system arrived at St Andrew’s on Monday.
Three water tanks have been installed next to the system, where the grey and black water will be stored.
A submersible pump has been set up to transfer the wastewater from the storage tank into the Biopipe.
The wastewater will then circulate through the Biopipe, where bacteria engage with pollutants and eliminate contaminants from the wastewater.
Air is automatically vacuumed in by the pressure difference to create an ideal ambient condition for rapid growth of the bacteria and to accelerate the aerobic digestion.
The treated water then passes through a disc filter and an in-line chlorinator to complete the treatment.
The treated water will then be stored in a clean water tank, to be used to irrigate various sports fields on the St Andrew’s campus.
DispatchLIVE
St Andrew’s water recycling system a first in Africa
Image: SUPPLIED
St Andrew’s College in Makhanda this week took possession of the first Biopipe Africa biological water recycling system to be installed on the African continent.
Biopipe was founded by a group of entrepreneurs whose mission is to develop the world’s first biological wastewater treatment that does not produce sludge.
Biopipe is the world’s first biological wastewater treatment system in which the process takes place entirely within a series of pipes.
The system produces no sludge, odour, sound or waste and is fully automated and self-contained.
St Andrew’s College’s sustainability goal is to be off the grid by 2030.
Image: SUPPLIED
“The installation of the Biopipe plant is the first tangible step in reaching the school’s sustainability goals, and allows wastewater to be recycled and reused on campus, thereby alleviating some of the pressure on scarce local water resources,” said school spokesperson Stephen Penney.
“Future stages of the strategy will include the incremental installation of solar power solutions and other green technologies.”
This project was conceived early in 2019 through a collaboration between Practical Water Solutions and the school’s environmental club.
The pilot project takes 30kl/day of wastewater (grey and black water) from various boarding houses, the school’s dining hall and staff housing and recovers it on site to irrigation standard.
It was approved by the Makana municipality in 2019.
Call to dissolve Makana council countered with 'most municipalities in SA are failing'
Malcolm van Bergen, the head of the sustainability portfolio at St Andrew’s, and Grade 10 pupils Ayomideji Israel-Akinbo and Ishan Panchal will be working closely with operations manager Jabulani Maswanganyi in overseeing the project, after receiving training from the Practical Water Solutions team.
The Biopipe system arrived at St Andrew’s on Monday.
Three water tanks have been installed next to the system, where the grey and black water will be stored.
A submersible pump has been set up to transfer the wastewater from the storage tank into the Biopipe.
The wastewater will then circulate through the Biopipe, where bacteria engage with pollutants and eliminate contaminants from the wastewater.
Air is automatically vacuumed in by the pressure difference to create an ideal ambient condition for rapid growth of the bacteria and to accelerate the aerobic digestion.
The treated water then passes through a disc filter and an in-line chlorinator to complete the treatment.
The treated water will then be stored in a clean water tank, to be used to irrigate various sports fields on the St Andrew’s campus.
DispatchLIVE
Joza residents turn to high court as stinking waste piles up
Would you like to comment on this article?
Register (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Trending Now
Latest Videos