Igloo-shaped Poo-Gloos eat sewage, clean water

were affected only slightly by changing water temperatures and aeration levels:

• Biological oxygen demand — a measure of organic waste in water – was reduced consistently by 85 percent using Poo-Gloos, and by as much as 92 percent.
• Total suspended solids fell consistently by 85 percent, and by as much as 95 percent.
• Ammonia levels dropped more than 98 percent with Poo-Gloo treatment in warmer water and, more important, by as much as 93 percent when temperatures dropped below 50 degrees Fahrenheit – conditions that normally slow bacterial breakdown of sewage.
• Total nitrogen levels fell 68 percent in warmer water and 55 percent in cooler water.

“The removal rates we saw during the pilot test are comparable to removal rates from a rotating biological contactor, which is a commonly used device in mechanical treatment facilities,” Johnson says. “We couldn’t be happier with the performance of the Poo-Gloos.”

Johnson conducted the study with Hua Xu, a postdoctoral fellow in civil and environmental engineering at the University of Utah, and Youngik Choi, a professor of environmental engineering at Dong-A University in South Korea.

There may be uses for the Poo-Gloos beyond municipal wastewater treatment.

“The bugs will adapt to consume whatever is available,” says Johnson, “In addition to the pollutants discussed in our paper, we’ve also seen great results in the consumption of other significant pollutants that I can’t discuss now because we’re in the process of filing patents. Poo-Gloos – or Bio-Domes as we call them – have a lot of potential, and we’ve only just scratched the surface.”

Johnson and his team originally nicknamed the devices Poo-Gloos because they are shaped like igloos. As possible uses began to expand to industries beyond municipal sewage treatment, however, Wastewater Compliance Systems decided to sell them as Bio-Domes.

From Nevada to Alabama and Wisconsin, Poo-Gloos to the Rescue

“Every day I speak with community officials who need to upgrade their treatment facilities,” says Taylor Reynolds, director of sales for Wastewater Compliance Systems. “They come to us because they receive an engineering report recommending a $4 million to $10 million mechanical plant project that is impossible for them to pay for with their existing tax base. Not only can our Poo-Gloos or Bio-Domes help communities comply with pollution limits, but most of the projects I quote cost between $150,000 and $500,000, and the operating expenses are a fraction those at a mechanical plant.”

Each Poo-Gloo requires little maintenance and the same amount of electricity as a 75-watt bulb, putting operating costs for Poo-Gloo systems at hundreds of dollars per month rather than thousands, which is typical of mechanical treatment plants. And some communities may operate Poo-Gloos “off-the-grid” by powering them with solar or wind energy systems.

The results of the new study prompted a number of communities to abandon more expensive alternatives in favor of installing Poo-Gloos. These early adopters can be found in the Nevada town of Jackpot in Elko County, Glacier National Park in Montana, and Plain City and Wellsville in Utah.

WastewaterCompliance Systems also has deployed mobile pilot Poo-Gloos in Louisiana, Alabama, and Wisconsin so potential customers, engineering firms and regulators can see first-hand how well they work before they commit tax dollars to the new technology.

“We know that small communities have limited budgets,” Reynolds says. “That’s why we developed our mobile pilot units. Even when our technology has the potential to save hundreds of thousands of dollars on an upgrade project, we like to provide our customers with peace of mind in knowing that our products will solve their problems for years to come.”