AEROBIC SEPTIC SYSTEM

Aerobic Septic Trash Tank:

Waste from the house is fed into a "trash tank" (similar to a septic tank); septic solid waste and scum are retained in the trash tank and as with a conventional septic tank, must be periodically removed by a septic pumping company. (aerobic septic systems require more frequent septic tank pumping than a conventional septic system.)

The aerobic septic tank works like a septic tank but can be smaller because the system does not depend on a long settlement time to remove solids and grease as occurs in a conventional septic tank.


Aerobic Septic System Aeration Chamber & Aeration Pump:

An aerator or air pump, normally installed in a chamber atop or close to the septic tank, pumps air into the septic tank's aeration compartment using any of several methods to aerate the wastewater.

A mixing device or rotor may be used to further agitate the wastewater in the aerobic treatment tank to increase the oxygen level in the effluent and to support treatment by aerobic bacteria in the tank. Speaking slightly more technically, the aerobic process in the treatment tank provides for biochemical oxidation of the soluble organic compounds found in domestic wastewater.

Aerobic Septic Aeration Chamber:

Septic effluent moves out of the trash tank to a separate aeration chamber. In the aeration chamber air (oxygen) is pumped through the system to provide oxidation and waste treatment using a variety of designs. The added level of oxygen permits a variety of microbial life forms (bacteria, fungi, protozoa, and others) to oxidize or otherwise process pathogens and nitrogen compounds in the discharged septic effluent. The aerated, or oxygenated wastewater is called the "mixed liquor".

Aerobic Septic System Clarification Chamber:

After having been aerated and mixed in the aeration chamber, the effluent flows to a clarification chamber. Solids settle out of the effluent and flow back to the areation chamber. In some designs the sludge is recycled to the aeration chamber.

The settled sludge and solids support the formation of additional microbial growth which in turn is used to process pathogens as we just described. The aerobic system may, depending on its design, also remove nutrients, solids which were not retained in the trash tank, and pathogens.