Blackwater (waste)

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Blackwater (waste)

Blackwater is a relatively recent term used to describe water containing fecal matter

Feces

Feces, faeces, or f?ces is a waste product from an animal's gastrointestinal tract expelled through the anus during defecation....
and urine

Urine

Urine is a liquid waste product of the body secreted by the kidneys by a process of filtration from blood called urination and excreted through the urethra....
. It is also known as brown water, foul water, or sewage. It is distinct from greywater

Greywater

Greywater, also known as sullage, is non-industrial wastewater generated from domestic processes such as dish washing, laundry and bathing....
or sullage, the residues of washing processes.

r coming from domestic equipment other than toilets (e.g.

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Encyclopedia

Blackwater is a relatively recent term used to describe water containing fecal matter

Feces

Feces, faeces, or f?ces is a waste product from an animal's gastrointestinal tract expelled through the anus during defecation....
and urine

Urine

Greywater

Greywater, also known as sullage, is non-industrial wastewater generated from domestic processes such as dish washing, laundry and bathing....
or sullage, the residues of washing processes.

In practice

Water coming from domestic equipment other than toilets (e.g. bath, shower, sinks, washing machines) is called greywater

Greywater

Greywater, also known as sullage, is non-industrial wastewater generated from domestic processes such as dish washing, laundry and bathing....
and is usually kept separate from blackwater (which comes from toilets) to reduce the amount of water that gets heavily polluted.

Separation of blackwater and greywater nowadays happens with all ecological buildings. Especially in autonomous building

Autonomous building

An autonomous building is a building designed to be operated independently from infrastructure support services such as the electric power grid, municipal water systems, sewage treatment systems, storm drains, communication services, and in some cases, public roads....
s, the separation is always present. It is also commonly used on recreational vehicle

Recreational vehicle

In North American English the term recreational vehicle, and its acronym RV, are generally used to refer to an enclosed piece of equipment dually used as both a vehicle and a temporary travel home....
s where separate tanks collect blackwater and graywater wastes.

Processing

Blackwater contains pathogens which need to decompose before they can be released safely into the environment. It is difficult to process blackwater if it contains a large quantity of excess water, or if it must be processed quickly, because of the high concentrations of organic material. However, if blackwater does not contain excess water, then it is easily processed through compost

Compost

Compost , sometimes known as brown manure, is the end result of controlled aerobic decomposition of organic matter known as composting. It is used in landscaping, horticulture and agriculture as a soil conditioner and fertilizer to add vital humus or humic acids....
ing. The heat produced by naturally occurring thermophilic microorganisms, will heat the compost to over 60 degrees C, and destroy all harmful pathogens. The compost is eventually reduced to safe fertilizer after about 1 year.

Elimination

Blackwater can be avoided by making use of composting toilet

Composting toilet

A composting toilet is a closed unit, not connected to a sewage system or septic tank, used to receive, contain, and Composting human waste via aerobic biodegradation....
s and vermicomposting toilets. In certain autonomous buildings, such as earthship

Earthship

An Earthship is a utopian type of passive solar home made of natural and recycled materials. Designed and marketed by Earthship Biotecture of Taos, NM, the homes are primarily constructed to work Autonomous building and are generally made of earth-filled tires, utilising thermal mass construction to naturally regulate indoor temperature....
s, this is almost always present and allows the water requirements of the building (which, with earthships, are self-generated) to be heavily reduced. Besides saving water, composting toilets allow the user to reuse the nutrients found herein (eg for growing crops/trees).

Blackwater (waste)

In practice

Processing

Elimination

See also