Claims:1. A compacted intermeshing blocks enabled natural onsite integrated sanitation system comprising:
a toilet superstructure using compacted intermeshing blocks with intermittent vertical and horizontal reinforcement;
a primary treatment unit to enable biologically active environment for black water treatment comprising:
• compacted intermeshing blocks,
• vertical and horizontal intermittent reinforcement,
• one or plurality of substantially flat vertically inclined separation elements and a modularly reinforced load bearing unit comprising: load bearing elements that are connected with the peggable contoured pans that are contoured in convex shape, and made of material selected from the group consisting of steel mesh, bitumen, cast in-situ concrete, and a combination thereof;
a conduit network made up of a combination of pans that are contoured in convex shape;
a secondary treatment unit to enable a symbiotic reaction between microorganisms in the effluent and plants for post treatment of black water, wherein the on-site integrated sanitation system comprises compacted intermeshing blocks, vertical and horizontal intermittent reinforcement, a modularly reinforced load bearing unit comprising load bearing elements that are connected with the peggable contoured pans that are contoured in convex shape, and made of material selected from the group consisting of steel mesh, bitumen, cast in-situ concrete; and
gravels made of compacted soil with a contoured form using compaction process resembling rock gravel wherein the disposition of such tailored compacted gravels having a pre-defined contoured surface that enables effective filtration.
2. A compacted intermeshing blocks enabled natural onsite integrated sanitation system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the primary treatment unit is configured to enable biologically active environment for treatment of black water, and is made using the compacted intermeshing blocks having a combination of regular full length and regular half-length blocks provided with intermittent vertical and horizontal reinforcements;
a plurality of a set of combination of vertical inclined flow directing panels that force the waste water to flow under and over them while travelling from the inlet (20) to the outlet (21) of the primary treatment unit, wherein each set of combination of vertical inclined flow directing panels comprises of a first vertical inclined panel (22) that is attached to the top surface (23), and a second vertical inclined panel (24) that is attached to the bottom surface (25) of the primary treatment unit;
a chamber (26) used for settling of a solid matter and one or plurality of chambers defined in between the adjacent said set of combination of vertical inclined flow panels;
a gas outlet provision (28) provided on the top surface in said chamber (26);
the top surface (23) comprising a plurality of modularly reinforced load bearing unit (35) wherein each of such unit comprises two load bearing elements (350) and (351) that are connected with the peggable contoured pans (352) that are contoured in convex shape, and is made of a material selected from the group consisting of steel mesh, DPC-plastic, bitumen, cast in-situ concrete, and has a floor finish assembly (353) that is mounted / laid on said load bearing unit (35); and
perforations / openings (27) provided in said load bearing elements (350 and 351) to enable a passage for gas formed in each of said compartments / chambers due to anaerobic digestion.
3. A compacted intermeshing blocks enabled natural onsite integrated sanitation system as claimed in claims 1 or claim 2, wherein angle of said vertical panel with the horizontal is in the range of 70 to 80 degrees ;
the ratio of the length / horizontal distance of chamber (26) used for settling the solid matter to the length of the consecutive chamber (29) formed between the adjacent sets of the vertical inclined panels is in the range of 1 to 1.5;
the ratio of the distance between said vertical inclined panel (22) and (24) and the length of said chamber 26 is in the range of 0.10 to 0.20.
4. A compacted intermeshing blocks enabled natural onsite integrated sanitation system as claimed in claims 1 to 3, wherein said regular compacted intermeshing block comprises:
a top surface (54), bottom surface (55), side surfaces (52 and 53) coinciding with the width (W) of the block;
respective grooves (50, 51) at each of the surfaces (52 and 53), said grooves extends from the top surface (54)to the bottom surface(55) of the block; said grooves are substantially rectangular shape,
said top surface (54) comprises a raised substantially circular portions (56 and 57);
said raised portions are provided with a cavity (58 and 59) respectively throughout from the top surface (54) to the bottom surface (55);
a rectangular cavity (60) disposed between said two raised portions, the bottom face (55) of the block comprises substantially circular portion that has circular depression below the surface (55) towards the direction of surface (54), wherein said depression is dimensioned to removably receive the raised portions (56 and 57) of the other block thus enabling intermeshing; said cavities (58 and 59) extend through said circular depressions from said top surface 54 throughout the compacted block;
half-length regular compacted intermeshing block with length half that of the regular compacted intermeshing block;
U-shaped compacted intermeshing block with longitudinal cavity comprising:
a substantially rectangular longitudinal cavity (60) that extends along the length of the substantially flat horizontal surface (63) of said cavity (60), provided with preferably circular cavities (65 and 66) throughout, said bottom portion with depressed regions that are intermeshed with the raised portions (56 and 58) of the adjoining regular block below; and
U-shaped half-length compact intermeshing block with length half that of the U-shaped compacted intermeshing block.
5. A compacted intermeshing blocks enabled natural onsite integrated sanitation system as claimed in claims 1 to 4, wherein said structure using intermeshing compacted blocks with intermittent vertical and horizontal reinforcement comprises regular compacted intermeshing blocks (70), U shaped compacted intermeshing blocks provided with a longitudinal cavity (71), horizontal reinforcement substance (72) in the form of a preferably cylindrical rod/bar, vertical reinforcement substance (73) in the form of a preferably cylindrical rod /bar, half-length regular compacted intermeshing block (80), and half-length U shaped compacted intermeshing blocks, wherein the said structure is constructed by the following steps:
• installing vertical reinforcement bars (73) on a base / support of the foundation with a defined interval, said vertical reinforcement bars (73) is used at the end of the wall;
• laying of first layer of said regular ash based compacted intermeshing blocks wherein said vertical reinforcement bars (73) pass through said cavity (58 or 59), wherein said blocks are laid perfectly horizontal, and in a straight line, or at right angles at corners, and said cavities 58 / 59 are filled with cement grout;
• said vertical bars (73) is a single long bar extending from foundation up to the height of the wall, optionally said bar (73) is formed in pieces;
• the vertical reinforcement bar 73 is used at the corners of the walls, at the wall intersection;
• laying second level of said regular ash based compacted blocks (70) in a manner that the depressed portions at the bottom of said block is intermeshed with the raised portion (56 or 57)of the first layer of the blocks, intermeshing of the top block (74) is in a manner that each of the raised portion of the two adjacent blocks (75 and 76) from the first layer is intermeshed with corresponding depressions wherein mortar is not used between the two blocks and the blocks are self-aligned due to intermeshing; and
laying said compacted intermeshing block (71) with a longitudinal cavity over the regular block and passing through said horizontal reinforcement bar (72) wherein the use of said block type (71) with the longitudinal cavity using horizontal reinforcement and concrete mortar under and above the windows and doors eliminates the need of beams and lintels in the construction walls.
6. A compacted intermeshing blocks enabled natural onsite integrated sanitation system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said secondary treatment unit is configured to enable a symbiotic reaction between microorganisms in the effluent and plants for post treatment of waste water, wherein said secondary treatment unit resembles a lotus bud / petal;
said secondary treatment unit is a combination of a top-down flow and a sub-surface flow enabled biologically diverse and natural ecosystem unit developed for the treatment of waste water wherein said secondary treatment unit comprises :
regions (80) and (81) resembling petal of a lotus flower are the top-down flow enabled units of said secondary treatment unit configured to enable a symbiotic reaction between microorganisms in the effluent and plants for post treatment of waste water;
regions (82 and 83) that resemble core of the bud and provided with the sub-surface flow enabled units to enable a symbiotic reaction between microorganisms in the effluent and plants for post treatment of waste water;
a waste water distribution tank (85) between said regions (80) and (81) to distribute the waste water therein;
an aeration unit in the form of a fountain (84) is provided at an apex region (86) of said secondary treatment unit;
and an underground reservoir for storage of treated effluent.
7. A compacted intermeshing blocks enabled natural onsite integrated sanitation system as claimed in claim 1 to 6, wherein a combination of said top-down flow unit (90) and said sub-surface flow configuration unit (91) comprises:
the top-down flow enabled unit (90) wherein the waste water drains in the top-down direction (arrow 100) through the filter layers towards a drain conduit / passage (92) at the bottom in said sub-surface flow unit (91), waste water flows horizontally through the basin, the filter material filters out particles and microorganisms degrade the organics,
wherein walls (200) of the top-down flow unit (90) and said sub-surface flow configuration unit (91) are constructed using the combination of the said structure comprising a regular compacted intermeshing blocks (70), compacted intermeshing blocks provided with a longitudinal cavity (71), horizontal reinforcement substance (72) in the form of a preferably cylindrical rod/bar, vertical reinforcement substance (73) in the form of a preferably cylindrical rod /bar, half size compacted intermeshing block (80), and half size compacted intermeshing block with a longitudinal cavity (81);
bottom portion (92) of said top-down flow enabled unit (90) is provided said regular compacted intermeshing blocks;
bottom portion (201) for said top-down flow unit (90) and said sub-surface flow configuration unit (91) comprises a slab (34) having a plurality of modularly reinforced load bearing unit (35) wherein each of such load bearing unit (35) comprises two load bearing elements (350 and 351) preferably of rectangular cross section and made up of concrete that are connected with peggable contoured pans (352) that are contoured in convex shape, and is made of a material selected from the group consisting of steel mesh, DPC-plastic, bitumen, cast in-situ concrete, and a combination thereof, and further comprises a floor finish assembly (353) that is mounted / laid on said assembly (35); and
layers of the filter media for both the top-down flow unit (90) and said sub-surface flow configuration unit (91) comprise a layer of course sand (301), a second layer (302) of gravel about one inch diameter, and third layer (303) of gravel of the order of 2.5 inch diameter.
8. A compacted intermeshing blocks enabled natural onsite integrated sanitation system as claimed in claim 7, wherein the ratio of the bed height of said layer of course sand 301 to that of said second layer gravel bed (302) is in the range of 0.5 to 0.8; the ratio of the bed height of said second layer gravel bed (302) to that of said third layer gravel bed (303) is in the range of 0.25 to 0.55;
the depth of filter beds (substrata) is of the order of 65 cm to enable growth of the cattail roots and rhizomes which is of the order of 30-40 cm;
wherein the sand layer (301) is planted with narrow-leave cattails (Typhaaugustifolia), reeds (Phragmites), bulrushes (Scirpus), ornamental flowers, Canna and Heliconia, Canna, Papyrus.
9. A compacted intermeshing blocks enabled natural onsite integrated sanitation system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said primary treatment unit is configured to enable biologically active environment for treatment of black water made using the compacted intermeshing blocks comprising a combination of regular full length and regular half-length blocks configured with intermittent vertical and horizontal reinforcements;
a plurality of a set of combination of vertical inclined flow directing panels that force the waste water to flow under and over them while traveling from the inlet (20) to the outlet (21) such that each set comprises a first vertical inclined panel (22) that is attached to the top surface (23) and a second vertical inclined panel (24) that is attached to the bottom surface (25) of said primary treatment unit;
a chamber 26 used for settling of a solid matter and one or plurality of chambers defined in between the adjacent said set of combination of vertical inclined flow panels;
a gas outlet provision (28) provided on the top surface in said chamber (26);
the top surface (23) comprising a plurality of modularly reinforced load bearing unit (35) wherein each of the load bearing unit (35) comprises two load bearing elements (350) and (351) that are connected with the peggable contoured pans (352) that are contoured in convex shape, and are made of a material selected from the group consisting of steel mesh, DPC-plastic, bitumen, cast in-situ concrete, or a combination thereof, and a floor finish assembly (353) that is mounted / laid on said assembly (35); perforations / openings (27) provided in said load bearing elements (350 and 351) to enable a passage for gas formed in each of said chambers due to anaerobic digestion; and
gravels made of compacted soil with a contoured form using compaction process resembling rock gravel wherein the disposition of such tailored compacted gravels having a pre-defined contoured surface enables effective filtration of waste water of said natural on-site integrated sanitation system. , Description:FIELD
The present invention relates to an on-site integrated sanitation system using compacted intermeshing blocks with intermittent vertical and horizontal reinforcement. In particular the invention relates to a toilet superstructure, a primary treatment unit to enable biologically active environment for treatment of black water, and a secondary treatment unit to enable a symbiotic reaction between microorganisms in effluent and plants for post treatment of the effluent from the on-site system that uses locally available material such as soil, pozzolans based waste material such as fly-ash. The system of the present invention is also adaptable with plurality of dwelling units / building structures as well as with a standalone single / plurality of toilets. Further, the system is capable of treating grey water as required.
BACKGROUND
Environmental sanitation is a major public health issue in the developing countries. Conventional toilets in urban areas require a lot of water for disposing solid waste and do not have a means for recycling used water, resulting in wastage of water which is not desired. It is also a well establish fact that the inadequate sanitation has catastrophic effects on the health and well-being of the society, particularly in developing regions of the world which may not have scientific and robust sanitation management systems that can bring dignity, empowerment and health to community at large.
Black water is the water used to flush toilets, combined with the human waste that it flushes away. A large quantity of black water is generated daily and is required to be treated before being discharged into water bodies. Currently, the treated black water from sewage and effluent treatment plants are discharged into the water bodies such as sea or nearest river. However, such treated water is chlorinated and devoid of beneficial micro-organisms and therefore, has a detrimental effect on the aquatic life. Various alternative approaches are also known for treating black water, such as, reed absorption, use of earthworms, and the like. However, these approaches require a large space, are expensive to build, and are labor intensive.
Further, faecal sludge from septic tanks of sewage and effluent treatment plants is sometimes dumped at non-designated sites which is hazardous for health and is responsible for pollution. Faecal sludge from septic tank is also dumped at non-designated sites to avoid fee paying. Therefore, there is a need to avoid / reduce indiscriminate dumping of faecal sludge, to reducing health and pollution risks. Notably, the sanitation problems have different social, technological and behavioral dimensions that need an integrated end to end solution from technology to finance that is appropriate, adaptable to local needs and available at socially reasonable pricing.
The conventional on-site sanitation systems pose limitation due to the use of conventional fired bricks due to its transportation at the location of use , which also leads to cost enhancement, negative environmental impact and lack of ability to use local material and skills.
There is a need to provide an integrated on-site sanitation system having a toilet superstructure, a primary treatment unit to enable biologically active environment for treatment of black water and a secondary treatment unit to enable a symbiotic reaction between microorganisms in the effluent and plants for post treatment of the on-site sanitation system output using locally available material.
The conventional bricks and a structure made of the conventional bricks, typically used in the on-site conventional systems suffer from the following limitations / shortcomings:
? the conventional bricks require heating and kilns, which poses limitation on the making of the brick at site, wherein the heating requires substantial fuel, energy consumption and results in undesirable polluting emissions including emission of carbon dioxide;
? conventional brick needs specific material from riverbed and therefore lacks the flexibility of using locally available raw material;
? conventional brick cannot be manufactured at remote sites (or onsite) as it needs kiln, substantial quantity of special clay, and substantial energy that might not be available at the site;
? conventional bricks require substantial amount of money to be spent for transportation through the supply chain from manufacturer to the dealer and further to the end user, which could also lead to breakage loss during the transportation;
? construction of structures using the conventional bricks including fly ash bricks depends on the skill of the operator/ mason as the alignment of the bricks is manual, since the conventional bricks cannot self-align;
? conventional bricks including fly ash bricks require mortar joints and some degree of skill for placement when building walls, which also consumes labour's time;
? lack of flexibility of variation in sizes of the conventional bricks, which may lead to cutting the bricks for corner pieces and adjustments resulting in substantial wastage of material; surface finish of structures made of conventional bricks is rough, uneven, powdery and therefore requires additional plaster resulting in additional material and substantial increase in cost of construction;
? conventional bricks as well as fly ash bricks construction need use of mortar between two layers of bricks for stability and strength;
? conventional bricks as well as fly ash bricks does not have provision to provide insulation by itself; and
? fly ash bricks available in the market do not have intermeshing / interlocking provision with each other due to lack of profiled surfaces as well as provisions for integrating reinforcement members through brick structure.
Further, the conventional interlocking bricks suffer from the following drawbacks:
? substantially high density and dimensions of such bricks restricts its use for load bearing wall / structure purpose;
? necessity of use of cement and/ or laterite soil; thereby resulting in lack of flexibility of using locally available raw material; and
? moulded interlocking brick requires special materials including non-biodegradable material such as polyurethane foam that increases embodied energy and poses limitation on extensive use of local material.
There is no provision for horizontal reinforcement which leads to a requirement of vertical reinforcement in each of the consecutive blocks. This further necessitates significantly large dimensions of projections and corresponding grooves resulting in possibility of stress concentration and failures. Hence, there is felt a need for developing an natural on-site integrated sanitation system to enable biologically active environment for treatment of black water and a system to enable a symbiotic reaction between microorganisms in the effluent and plants for post treatment of sewage and waste water.
SUMMARY
The present disclosure envisages an on-site sanitation system comprising toilet superstructure, a primary treatment unit to enable biologically active environment for treatment of black water, a secondary treatment unit to enable a symbiotic reaction between microorganisms in the effluent and plants wherein the compacted intermeshing blocks with intermittent vertical and horizontal reinforcement, and at least two load bearing elements that are connected with the peggable contoured pans that are contoured in convex shape, are the core elements of the pre and post treatment of the on-site sanitation system.
In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the toilet superstructure is made of compacted intermeshing blocks with intermittent vertical and horizontal reinforcement.
In another embodiment of the present disclosure, the primary treatment unit is configured to enable biologically active environment for treatment of sanitation waste, wherein the primary treatment unit comprises the compacted intermeshing blocks, vertical and horizontal intermittent reinforcement, one or plurality of substantially flat vertically inclined separation panels, and a modularly reinforced load bearing unit having at least two load bearing elements preferably of rectangular cross section and made up of concrete. The modularly reinforced load bearing unit is connected with peggable contoured pans that are contoured in convex shape, and are made of a material selected from the group consisting of steel mesh, DPC-plastic, bitumen, cast in-situ concrete.
The present disclosure further envisages a conduit network to enable flow of effluent from the primary treatment unit, i.e. the pre-treatment, to the secondary treatment unit, i.e. the post treatment, which enables symbiotic reactions between microorganisms in the effluent and plants.
In an embodiment, locally available materials are used for the construction of the on-site sanitation system.
In yet another embodiment, a conduit network is provided to enable flow of effluent from the primary treatment unit to the secondary treatment unit that enables symbiotic reactions between microorganisms in the effluent and plants for post treatment of the treated black water.
In still another embodiment, the compacted intermeshing block is made by soil and cement using optimum use of raw material to enable use of the uniform size blocks for partition and load bearing structure / wall as well as providing half size blocks to overcome problems associated with breaking of block for adjusting size near corners. .
In yet another embodiment, the compacted intermeshing block can self-align when arranged with other blocks while making a masonry to obviate dependence on manual skill.
The present disclosure also envisages gravels made of compacted soil with a contoured form using compaction process that resembles rock gravel wherein the disposition of such tailored compacted gravels have a pre-defined contoured surface which enables effective filtration of waste water of the on-site system output.
Thus in accordance with the present disclosure, the natural on-site integrated sanitation system comprises:
a toilet superstructure made of intermeshing compacted blocks with intermittent vertical and horizontal reinforcement;
a primary treatment unit to enable biologically active environment for black water treatment, wherein the primary treatment unit comprises:
intermeshing compacted blocks, vertical and horizontal intermittent reinforcement, one or plurality of substantially flat vertically inclined separation panels, and a modularly reinforced load bearing unit that comprises load bearing elements that are connected with the peggable contoured pans that are contoured in convex shape and are made of a material selected from the group consisting of steel mesh, bitumen, cast in-situ concrete; or a combination thereof;
a conduit network made up of a combination of pans that are contoured in convex shape;
a secondary treatment unit to enable a symbiotic reactions between microorganisms in the effluent and plants for post treatment of the treated black water , wherein the secondary treatment unit comprises intermeshing compacted blocks, vertical and horizontal intermittent reinforcement, a modularly reinforced load bearing unit comprising load bearing elements that are connected with the peggable contoured pans that are contoured in convex shape, and are made of a material selected from the group consisting of steel mesh, bitumen, cast in-situ concrete or a combination thereof; and
gravels that are made of compacted soil with a contoured form resembling rock gravel using compaction process wherein the disposition of such tailored compacted gravels have a pre-defined contoured surface that enables effective filtration.
In another embodiment of the present disclosure, the raw material for the compacted intermeshing blocks comprises a combination of fly ash and lime; burnt clay and fly ash; fly ash, sand and lime; fly ash and cement; fly ash, cement and lime; fly ash and hydration augmenting additive; fly ash, sand, lime and hydration augmenting additive; fly ash, crushed stone and lime; fly ash, crushed stone and cement.
In another embodiment of the present disclosure, regular, half-length regular, U-shaped soil based compacted intermeshing blocks are used.
In yet another embodiment of the present disclosure regular, half-length regular, U-shaped ash based compacted intermeshing blocks are used.
In still another embodiment of the present disclosure, a combination of the soil based and the ash based compacted intermeshing blocks is used..
OBJECTS
Some of the objects of the present disclosure, which at least one embodiment herein satisfies, are as follows:
It is an object of the present disclosure to ameliorate one or more problems of the prior art or to at least provide a useful alternative.
An object of the present disclosure is to provide an integrated natural on-site integrated sanitation system for on-site sanitation purpose.
Another object of the present disclosure is to provide a natural on-site integrated sanitation system that performs in an optimal manner from time and cost perspective.
Still another object of the present disclosure is to provide a natural on-site integrated sanitation system that enables biologically active environment for treatment of black water and consumes locally available material.
Still another object of the present disclosure is to provide a natural on-site integrated sanitation system that is adaptable with plurality of dwelling units/building structure as well as standalone single/plurality of toilets.
Yet another object of the present disclosure is to provide a natural on-site integrated sanitation system that uses locally available materials for the construction of the natural on-site integrated sanitation system.
Yet another object of the present disclosure is to provide a natural on-site integrated sanitation system having compacted intermeshing block made by optimum use of raw material such as soil and cement, to enable use of the uniform size blocks for partition and load bearing units as well as providing half size blocks to overcome problems associated with breaking of blocks for adjusting size near the corners.
Yet another object of the present disclosure is to provide a natural on-site integrated sanitation system having compacted intermeshing block that is self-aligned when arranged with other blocks while making masonry to obviate dependence on manual skill.
Yet another object of the present disclosure is to provide a natural on-site integrated sanitation system that obviates use of kiln / furnace for making compacted intermeshing blocks.
Yet another object of the present disclosure is to provide a natural on-site integrated sanitation system that obviates use of heat energy and combustion of fuel for compacted intermeshing blocks making thereby obviating polluting emissions including carbon dioxide.
Yet another object of the present disclosure is to provide a natural on-site integrated sanitation system having compacted intermeshing blocks with substantially rectangular cavity (U shaped) for incorporating horizontal reinforcement to obviate use of lintels, beams and columns.
Yet another object of the present disclosure is to provide a natural on-site integrated sanitation system that obviates use of mortar between two layers of compacted intermeshing blocks.
Yet another object of the present disclosure is to provide a natural on-site integrated sanitation system, i.e., a uniquely shaped system with a combination of vertical and horizontal flow configuration to enable biologically active environment for treatment of black water.
Yet another object of the present disclosure is to provide a natural on-site integrated sanitation system that involves gravels made of compacted soil with a contoured form using compaction process resembling rock gravel, such that the disposition of such tailored compacted gravels having a pre-defined contoured surface enables effective filtration of waste water of the on-site system output.
Another object of the present disclosure is to provide a natural on-site integrated sanitation system having intermeshing blocks that use soil and stabilizing agent/s.
Yet another object of the present disclosure is to provide a natural on-site integrated sanitation system that has a simple structure and is easy to operate.
Other objects and advantages of the present disclosure will be more apparent from the following description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, which are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Features and advantages of this invention will become apparent in the following detailed description and the preferred embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings. The embodiments are illustrated by way of example and not by way of limitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings. A natural onsite integrated sanitation system of the present disclosure will now be described with the help of the non-limiting accompanying drawing, in which:
Fig. 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of a natural onsite integrated sanitation system, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;
Fig. 2a and Fig. 2b illustrate different schematic views of a primary treatment unit used in the natural onsite integrated sanitation system of Fig. 1;
Fig. 3 illustrates an exploded isometric view of a load bearing element used in the primary treatment unit of Fig. 2a;
Fig. 4a illustrates an isometric view of an intermeshing block used in the construction of the natural onsite integrated sanitation system, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;
Fig. 4b illustrates an isometric view of an intermeshing block used in the construction of the natural onsite integrated sanitation system, in accordance with another embodiment of the present disclosure;
Fig. 4c illustrates an isometric view of an intermeshing block used in the construction of the natural onsite integrated sanitation system, in accordance with another embodiment of the present disclosure;
Fig. 5 illustrates an isometric view depicting the use of the compacted intermeshing blocks in construction of masonry;
Fig. 6 illustrates an isometric view depicting the use of the compacted intermeshing blocks in construction of masonry along with the vertical and horizontal reinforcement bars;
Fig. 7 illustrates an isometric view of a secondary treatment unit used in the system of Fig. 1;
Fig. 8 illustrates a sectional view of first and second filter beds used in the secondary treatment unit of Fig. 7; and
Fig. 9 illustrates an enlarged sectional view of the first and second filter beds of Fig. 8.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
In the following description, various embodiments will be disclosed. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the embodiments may be practiced with only some or full disclosed subject matter. For purposes of explanation, specific numbers, materials, and/or configuration are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments. However, it will also be apparent to one skilled in the art that the embodiments may be practiced without one or more of the specific details, or with other approaches, materials, components etc. In other instances, well-known structures, materials, and/or operations are not shown and/or described in detail to avoid obscuring the embodiments. Accordingly, in some instances, features are omitted and/or simplified in order to not obscure the disclosed embodiments. Furthermore, it is understood that the embodiments shown in the Figures are illustrative representation and are not necessarily drawn to scale.
The present disclosure envisages a natural on-site integrated sanitation system that alleviates the drawbacks of conventional sanitation system. The natural on-site integrated sanitation system, of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to the accompanying embodiments which do not limit the scope and ambit of the disclosure. The description provided is purely by way of example and illustration. The natural on-site integrated sanitation system of the present disclosure has been described with reference to Fig.1 through Fig.9.
Fig. 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of a natural onsite integrated sanitation system 100, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. The natural on-site integrated sanitation system 100 comprises a toilet structure 1 which is either part of the building structure 2 or is a standalone toilet structure; a primary treatment unit 3 to enable biologically active environment for treatment of black water ; a secondary treatment unit 4 to enable a symbiotic reaction between microorganisms in the effluent and plants for post treatment of waste water, and a conduit network 5 for transferring effluent from the primary treatment unit 3 to the secondary treatment unit 4.
The black water that includes faecal matter, urine, flush water, tissue papers and anal washing water is transferred to the primary treatment unit 3. There could be one or plurality of such units depending on the population / number of dwelling units.
Fig. 2a and Fig. 2b illustrate different schematic views of the primary treatment unit 3 used in the natural onsite integrated sanitation system 100. Figure 2a and Figure 2b illustrate the primary treatment unit 3 to enable biologically active environment for treatment of black water made using a plurality of compacted intermeshing blocks (labelled in other figures) that comprises a combination of regular full length and regular half-length blocks configured with intermittent vertical and horizontal reinforcements. It comprises a series of a plurality of a set of combination of vertical inclined flow directing panels (not exclusively labelled in the figures) that force the waste water to flow under and over them while traveling from an inlet 20 to an outlet 21 of the primary treatment unit 3. Each set of combination of vertical inclined flow directing panels comprises a first vertical inclined panel 22 that is attached to the top surface 23, and a second vertical inclined panel 24 that is attached to the bottom surface 25 of the primary treatment unit 3. The primary treatment unit 3 further comprises a chamber 26 that is used for settling of solid matter and one or plurality of chambers may be defined in between the adjacent set of combination of vertical inclined flow panels. A gas outlet provision 28 is also provided on the top surface 23 of the chamber 26.
Fig. 3 illustrates an exploded isometric view of a load bearing element used in the primary treatment unit of Fig. 2a. The top surface 23 comprises a plurality of modularly reinforced load bearing unit 35 wherein each of such load bearing unit 35 comprises two load bearing elements 350 and 351, preferably of rectangular cross section, made up of concrete and are connected with the peggable contoured pans 352 that are contoured in convex shape, and are made of a material selected from the group consisting of at least one of steel mesh, DPC-plastic, bitumen, cast in-situ concrete or a combination thereof, and floor finish assembly 353 that is mounted / laid on the assembly of load bearing unit 35.
Perforations / openings 27 are provided in the load bearing elements 350 and 351 to enable passage for the gas formed in each of the compartments/chambers 26. In one of the embodiments the rectangular load bearing elements 350 and 351 are made from concrete, wood, alloy, steel, polymer based material, or a combination thereof. In another embodiment the cross section of the load bearing elements 350 and 351 is flat oval. In one of the embodiments, the load bearing elements are disposed longitudinally (along length of the primary treatment unit 3).
The primary treatment unit 3 is anaerobic wherein the sets of vertical inclined panels enable waste water to flow in downward and upward direction as it flows from the inlet 20 to the outlet 21. Biomass within the reactor gently rises with up-flowing waste water. There is a gas production in each compartment/chamber 26, the openings 27 provided in the load bearing elements 350 and 351 enable passage of the gas to the outlet provision 28. In one of the embodiments the angle of the vertical panel with the horizontal is in the range of 70 to 80 degrees. The ratio of the length / horizontal distance of the chamber 26 (used for settling the solid matter) to the length of the consecutive chamber 29 (formed between the adjacent sets of the vertical inclined panels) is in the range of 1 to 1.5. The ratio of the distance between the vertical inclined plane 22 and 24 and the length X of the chamber 26 is in the range of 0.10 to 0.20.
In one of the embodiments, the panels 22 and 24 are made up of the soil-cement mixture. In another embodiment, the panels are made up using the combination of fly ash and lime; burnt clay and fly ash; fly ash, sand and lime; fly ash and cement; fly ash, cement and lime; fly ash and hydration augmenting additive; fly ash, sand, lime and hydration augmenting additive; fly ash, crushed stone and lime; fly ash, crushed stone and cement.
Figure 4A illustrates a schematic view of a regular compacted intermeshing block 120 used to build the primary treatment unit to enable biologically active environment for treatment of black water. The regular compacted intermeshing block 120 comprises respective grooves 50, 51 at each of the surfaces 52 and 53 coinciding with width W of the block 120. The grooves 50, 51 extend from the top surface 54 to the bottom surface 55 of the block 120. The grooves 50, 51 are substantially rectangular in shape in one of the embodiments. The top surface 54 comprises raised substantially circular portions 56 and 57 as illustrated in the Figure 4A and 4B. The raised portions 56 and 57 are provided with a cavity 58 and 59 respectively throughout from the top surface 54 to the bottom surface 55. A preferably rectangular cavity 60 is disposed between the two raised portions 56 and 57. The bottom face 55 of the block 120 comprises substantially circular portion that has circular depression(not shown in the figures) below the bottom surface 55 towards the direction of the top surface 54 wherein the depression is dimensioned to removably receive the raised portions 56 and 57 of the other block similar to the block 120 thus enabling intermeshing. The cavities 58 and 59 extend through the circular depressions from the top surface 54 throughout the compacted block 120.
Fig. 4B illustrates an isometric view of an intermeshing block used in the construction of the natural onsite integrated sanitation system 100, in accordance with another embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 4B illustrates a half-length compacted block variant of the compacted intermeshing block 120. This block 120 comprises half portion wherein the top surface 54, the raised portion 56 and the corresponding cavity 58 is retained. The length of this type of compacted intermeshing block 120 is half that of the regular block illustrated in Figure 4A.
Fig. 4c illustrates an isometric view of an intermeshing block used in the construction of the natural onsite integrated sanitation system 100, in accordance with yet another embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 4C depicts yet another variant of the compacted intermeshing block 120 that is provided with a substantially rectangular longitudinal cavity 60 that extends along the length of the block 120 as shown in the Figure 4C. In one of the variants of this embodiment the cavity 60 is profiled at the corners. In one of the other embodiments, the cavity 60 extends to half of the height of the block 120 but not limited to it. The substantially flat horizontal surface 63 of the cavity 60 is provided with the circular or of other shape cavities 65 or 66 throughout corresponding to the cavities 58 and 59 of the regular compacted intermeshing block 120 as described in Figure 4A. The bottom portion of the block 120 comprises the depressed regions that are intermeshed with the raised portions 56 and 58 of the adjoining regular block below. In one of the embodiments of this variant of this compacted intermeshing block 120 with a longitudinal cavity 60, there is a block 120 of half of the length with a cavity 60 provided therein.
Fig. 5 illustrates an isometric view depicting the use of the compacted intermeshing blocks 120 in construction of masonry / wall structure 130. Figure 5 depicts construction configuration of the masonry 130 used to build the primary treatment unit 3 to enable biologically active environment for treatment of black water as well as the toilet structure 1. The wall structure 130 comprises a plurality of regular compacted intermeshing blocks 70, compacted intermeshing blocks 70 provided with a longitudinal cavity 71, horizontal reinforcement substance 72 in the form of a preferably cylindrical rod/bar, vertical reinforcement substance 73 in the form of a preferably cylindrical rod /bar, half size compacted intermeshing block 80, and half size compacted intermeshing block 80 with a longitudinal cavity 81. In one of the embodiments, the method of construction of the masonry 130 in the form of a wall comprises the following steps:
• installing the vertical reinforcement bars 73 on a base / support of the foundation with a defined interval;
• laying of first layer of the regular compacted intermeshing blocks 70 wherein the vertical reinforcement bars 73 pass through the cavity 58 or 59 wherein the blocks 70 are laid perfectly horizontal, and in a straight line, or at right angles at corners. In one of the embodiments the cavities 58 / 59 are filled with cement grout;
• the vertical reinforcement bars 73 is used at the end of the wall structure 130 as shown in the Figure 5; in one of the embodiments, the vertical bars 73 is a single long bar extending from foundation up to the height of the wall, in another variant of this embodiment the bar 73 are used in pieces;
• in another embodiment the vertical reinforcement bar 73 is used at the corners of the walls, at the wall intersection;
• laying second level of the regular compacted blocks 70 in a manner that the depressed portions at the bottom of the blocks 70 is intermeshed with the raised portion 56 or 57 of the first layer of the blocks 70. In an embodiment, it is noted that the intermeshing of the top block (74) is in a manner that each of the raised portion of the two adjacent blocks 75 and 76 from the first layer is intermeshed with corresponding depressions as depicted in Figure 5; such that the mortar is not required between the two blocks and the blocks are self-aligned due to intermeshing; and
• laying the compacted intermeshing block with a longitudinal cavity 71 over the regular block and passing through the horizontal reinforcement bar 72. In one of the embodiments, the block with a longitudinal cavity 71is used just few layers below window level. It is to be noted that the use of the block with the longitudinal cavity 71 using horizontal reinforcement and concrete mortar under and above the windows and doors eliminates the need of beams and lintels in the construction walls.
Fig. 6 illustrates an isometric view depicting the use of the compacted intermeshing blocks in construction of masonry 130 along with the vertical and horizontal reinforcement bars. Figure 6 depicts the cross section details of the construction masonry structure 130 of the primary treatment unit 3 to enable biologically active environment for treatment of black water 3.. The disposition of the horizontal reinforcement bar 72 and the vertical reinforcement bar 73, configured with the regular compacted blocks 70 and the compacted intermeshing blocks 70 with a longitudinal cavity 71, is illustrated in the Figure 6.
Fig. 7 illustrates an isometric view of a secondary treatment unit 4 used in the natural on-site integrated treatment system 100. Figure 7 depicts the secondary treatment unit 4 which is configured to enable a symbiotic reaction between microorganisms in the effluent and plants for post treatment of waste water. In an embodiment, the shape of the secondary treatment unit 4 resembles a lotus bud / petal as depicted in Figure 7. The secondary treatment unit 4 has a synergistic combination of a top-down flow and a sub-surface flow enabled biologically diverse and natural ecosystem developed for the treatment of waste water. The secondary treatment unit 4 is designed as a recovery based closed-loop system where waste water is collected, treated and reused if required.
As illustrated in Figure 7, the secondary treatment unit 4 has regions 80 and 81 that resembles the shape of a petal of a lotus flower, and are top-down flow enabled units of the secondary treatment unit 4 that enables a symbiotic reaction between microorganisms in the effluent and plants for post treatment of waste water. The regions 82 and 83 resembles the shape of a core of the bud and are provided with the sub-surface flow enabled units to enable a symbiotic reaction between microorganisms in the effluent and plants for post treatment of waste water. The flow direction across the regions 82 and 83 is indicated by arrows in the Figure 7. A waste water distribution tank 85 is provided between the regions 80 and 81 to distribute the waste water therein. An aeration unit in the form of a fountain 84 is provided at the apex region 86 of the secondary treatment unit 4. In one embodiment, the treated effluent is stored in an underground reservoir (not shown in the figure) for irrigation purposes.
Fig. 8 illustrates a sectional view of first and second filter beds used in the secondary treatment unit 4. Figure 8 further illustrates a combination of a top-down flow unit 90 and a sub-surface flow configuration unit 91. In the top-down flow enabled unit 90, the waste water drains in the top-down direction through the filter layers towards a drain conduit / passage 92 at the bottom as illustrated in Figure 8. In the sub-surface flow unit 91, waste water flows horizontally through the basin, the filter material filters out particles and microorganisms degrade the organics. As the waste water flows through the secondary treatment unit 4; many of the suspended solids become trapped by vegetation. Further, the pollutants are transformed to less soluble forms taken up by plants or become inactive. The appropriate conditions for microorganism growth are fostered by the wetland plants.
The walls 200 of the top down flow unit 90 and the sub-surface flow unit 91 are constructed using the combination of the wall structure having a regular compacted intermeshing blocks 70, compacted intermeshing blocks provided with a longitudinal cavity 71, horizontal reinforcement substance 72 in the form of a preferably cylindrical rod/bar, vertical reinforcement substance 73 in the form of a preferably cylindrical rod /bar, half size compacted intermeshing block 80 and half size compacted intermeshing block with a longitudinal cavity 81. The bottom portion 92 of the top down flow unit 90 is provided with the regular compacted intermeshing blocks. In one of the embodiments, hollow concrete blocks are used.
The bottom portion 201 for the top down flow unit 90 and the sub-surface flow unit 91 comprises a slab comprising plurality of modularly reinforced load bearing unit 35 wherein each of such load bearing unit 35 comprises two load bearing elements 350 and 351 preferably of rectangular cross section made up of concrete that are connected with peggable contoured pans 352 that are contoured in convex shape.
Fig. 9 illustrates an enlarged sectional view of the first and second filter beds of the top down flow unit 90 and the sub-surface flow unit 91 respectively. The layers of the filter beds for both the top down flow unit 90 and the sub-surface flow unit 91comprise a layer of course sand 301, a second layer 302 of gravel about one inch diameter, and a third layer 303 of gravel of the order of 2.5 inch diameter. In one of the embodiments, the ratio of the bed height of the course sand 301 to that of the second layer gravel bed 302 is in the range of 0.5 to 0.8. The ratio of the bed height of the second layer gravel bed 302, to that of the third layer gravel bed 303, is in the range of 0.25 to 0.55.
In one of the embodiments, the depth of the filter beds (substrata) is of the order of 65 cm to enable growth of the cattail roots and rhizomes which is of the order of 30-40 cm. In another embodiment, the sand layer 301 is planted with narrow-leave cattails (Typhaaugustifolia). In yet other embodiment, emergent Plant such as reeds (Phragmites), bulrushes (Scirpus) are used. In yet another embodiment the initial density of the cattail shoots is in the range of 6 to 10 shoots/m2. Further the density increases in the range of 40-50 shoots/m2.
In still another embodiment, ornamental flowers, Canna and Heliconia are planted in the units 90 and/ or 91. In yet another embodiment Canna, Papyrus is used. In one of the embodiments, the gravels are made of compacted soil comprising clay, preferably laterite soil composition with a contoured form resembling rock gravel using compaction process. The disposition of such compacted gravels having a pre-defined contoured surface, enables effective filtration by virtue of properties of clay to adsorb nitrogen and phosphorous. Also, the configuration of the load bearing elements 350 and 351 preferably of rectangular cross section made up of concrete that are connected with peggable contoured pans 352 is defined in such a way that it enables load bearing capacity for the primary treatment unit 3 to enable biologically active environment for treatment of black water. It further enhances the pressure bearing capacity in case of pressure built up in the anaerobic reaction.
The synergistic combination of the anaerobic digestion, sets of vertical inclined panels that enable waste water to flow in downward and upward direction as it flows from the inlet 20 to the outlet 21 of the primary treatment unit 3, the ratio of the length / horizontal distance of the chamber 26 (used for settling the solid matter) to the length of the consecutive chamber 29 (formed between the adjacent sets of the vertical inclined panels), the ratio of the distance between the vertical inclined panels 22 and 24 and the length of the chamber 26 and the surface finish of the vertical inclined panels enable augment of the hydraulic characteristics of the primary treatment unit 3 to enable biologically active environment for treatment of black water. Based on RTD curves and tracer concentration the performance was evaluated. Hydraulic efficiency (that reflects two basic features, that are: (1) the ability to distribute the inflow evenly across the primary treatment unit 3 and (2) the amount of mixing) of the present system 100 is in the range of 0.68 to 0.80.
The chamber 26 enables and maintains the SS removal efficiencies during peak flow periods. The inert solids are mostly accumulated in settling chamber and the biodegradable solids are partially degraded. The vertical inclined panels reduce the fraction of dead space in the primary treatment unit 3. Three up flow chambers maintain more resistant to hydraulic and organic shocks. In addition, sludge bed within each up flow chamber play a role in trapping and degrading the biodegradable solids also.

TECHNICAL ADVANCES AND ECONOMICAL SIGNIFICANCE
The natural on-site integrated sanitation system, in accordance with the present disclosure described herein above has several technical and/or economic advantages including but not limited to the realization of a system that:
? provides on-site sanitation;
? performs in an optimal manner from time and cost perspective;
? enables biologically active environment for treatment of black water and consumes locally available material in doing so; and
? has a simple structure and is easy to operate.
Throughout this specification the word “comprise”, or variations such as “comprises” or “comprising”, will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated element, integer or step, or group of elements, integers or steps, but not the exclusion of any other element, integer or step, or group of elements, integers or steps.
The use of the expression “at least” or “at least one” suggests the use of one or more elements or mixtures or quantities, as the use may be in the embodiment of the disclosure to achieve one or more of the desired objects or results.
Any discussion of documents, acts, materials, devices, articles or the like that has been included in this specification is solely for the purpose of providing a context for the disclosure. It is not to be taken as an admission that any or all of these matters form part of the prior art base or were common general knowledge in the field relevant to the disclosure, as it existed anywhere before the priority date of this application. The numerical value mentioned for the various physical parameters, dimensions or quantities are only approximations and it is envisaged that the values higher/lower than the numerical values assigned to the parameters, dimensions or quantities fall within the scope of the invention, unless there is a statement in the specification specific to the contrary.
While considerable emphasis has been placed herein on the specific features of the preferred embodiment, it will be appreciated that many additional features can be added and that many changes can be made in the preferred embodiment without departing from the principles of the invention. These and other changes in the preferred embodiment of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the disclosure herein, whereby it is to be distinctly understood that the foregoing descriptive matter is to be interpreted merely as illustrative of the invention and not as a limitation.