TECHNOLOGY -
The Natural Biological System (NBS)
At the core of all Ayala’s environment management solutions stands the NBS technology.
Ayala’s solutions are, as one can easily assume by the name, based on nature’s laws working together with the fundamental thermodynamic principles.
Being nature based – The NBS break’s the Nexus between water management and energy demand and marks a revolutionary cutting-edge change in the approach to the uprising global environmental issues.
The NBS purification systems are engineered with a combination of biotic and abiotic components, gravity, unique plants and substrates, microorganisms, sun energy, varying internal hydraulic layouts, and the interaction between them all; The system combines Physical chemical and biological filtration simultaneously, and the functions of settling, clarification, biological activity, contaminants inactivation, and filtration occur side by side in a hybrid flow regime with ZERO use of energy and chemical and minimal use of workforce
Life cycle components
- Gravity
- Hydrology
- Sun
- Plants
- Microorganisms
System structure and components
The NBS is an engineered ecological system where natural physical, chemical, and biological processes occur passively and simultaneously
- Chemical – aggregates with natural or engineered minerals and active surfaces
- Physical – gradient of substrate sizes, surface textures, and porosity
- Biological – Specialized plants to support microbial growth and promote phytol-drive contaminant degradation, sequestration, and volatilization; Bio additives to significantly boost activity
Physical (Abiotic Elements): different types of aggregates selected for their Physico-chemical properties, including natural stone, clay, pumice, lightweight materials, and naturally manufactured pellets of various sizes, laid out in different layers acting as an immense physical filter, providing support for plants and microorganisms.
Biological (Biotic Elements): These include plants (Macrophytes) and microorganisms. Different types and groups of plants have been selected and created over the years in our experimental farm according to their capacity for sequestering specific pollutants and the microorganism communities required for degradation.
A large and diverse microorganism community develops on the gravel and the plant roots where plant microorganisms interact. The plant ecosystem excretes enzymes and other substances that stimulate microorganism growth and are responsible for the biodegradation, extraction, and volatilization of the organic matter and pollutants in the wastewater. Natural, tailored additives are added – to stimulate biological activities in exceptional cases and some new systems.
The system uses a combination of gravitational-based hybrid Hydraulic regimens to improve performance and to achieve maximal efficiency in minimal area.
System structure and components
The NBS is an engineered ecological system where natural physical, chemical, and biological processes occur passively and simultaneously
- Chemical – aggregates with natural or engineered minerals and active surfaces
- Physical – gradient of substrate sizes, surface textures, and porosity
- Biological – Specialized plants to support microbial growth and promote phytol-drive contaminant degradation, sequestration, and volatilization; Bio additives to significantly boost activity
Physical (Abiotic Elements): different types of aggregates selected for their Physico-chemical properties, including natural stone, clay, pumice, lightweight materials, and naturally manufactured pellets of various sizes, laid out in different layers acting as an immense physical filter, providing support for plants and microorganisms.
Biological (Biotic Elements): These include plants (Macrophytes) and microorganisms. Different types and groups of plants have been selected and created over the years in our experimental farm according to their capacity for sequestering specific pollutants and the microorganism communities required for degradation.
A large and diverse microorganism community develops on the gravel and the plant roots where plant microorganisms interact. The plant ecosystem excretes enzymes and other substances that stimulate microorganism growth and are responsible for the biodegradation, extraction, and volatilization of the organic matter and pollutants in the wastewater. Natural, tailored additives are added – to stimulate biological activities in exceptional cases and some new systems.
The system uses a combination of gravitational-based hybrid Hydraulic regimens to improve performance and to achieve maximal efficiency in minimal area.
The NBS “Holistic solution” approach
The NBS is tailored per case as accepted from well balanced and sustainable eco-system; The design approach is holistic in a way that it looks at the broader context of an environmental challenge rather than at solving a specific problem with no attention to related issues and by-products consequences;
The Holistic NBS technology solution takes into account all different water and sewage sources, their qualities, quantities, and the interrelation between them, future use, stormwater management, aquifer protection, aquifers recharge demand, flood prevention, carbon footprint reduction, energy availability and cost, carbon reduction commitment, free maintenance potential, cost reduction for short and long run, air quality protection, beautification, social involvement, etc.; Doing it All simultaneously.
The outcome is proven to treat a wide range of effluents, including agricultural, industrial, and domestic sewage, while reducing carbon footprint and providing fresh air and high-quality water.
Ayala’s NBS has proven expertise in treating a broad range of sewage effluents from different industrial, agricultural and domestic sectors, as can be viewed on the projects page. As a scalable technology, it is implemented as a solution for entire cities and private houses, large industrial plants, agricultural run-off, and rivers and lakes rehabilitation.
The NBS as a 'Social' Technology
NBS is a ‘Social’ technology interwoven into the living spaces in urban, industrial, and agricultural zones, using local labor and resources and providing beautiful “Active Landscapes” for the benefit of the entire community
The system’s lifetime is much longer than the conventional alternatives, and their capabilities improve through the years.
While installation and setup costs are about 50% of conventional system installation, the running operating, and maintenance costs are a staggering 3-5% of traditional systems. This is not a typo; You save more than 95% of O&M costs over the system’s lifetime.
Stopping and reversing Climate Change affects, as we face them more frequently lately, can happen only by reducing the GHG emission, mainly carbon, and by enlarging the capacity of the natural green habitat to harvest the access carbon in the atmosphere. This is precisely what Ayala’s NBS system does; the more significant the active spaces, the faster and better.
Nice & the Plain du Var, France
The NBS technology – Advantages
O&M reduction
• Zero Fossil Energy Consumption
• Zero Chemical Use
• Negligible, simple Maintenance
• Carbon Footprint Reduction
Flexible
Withstands extreme fluctuations of influent water
Comprehensive
Treats a wide variety of contaminants
Effective
Produces immediate High-Quality Water
Cost – effective
• On-site treatment – minimal conveyance
• Low Construction costs
• Negligible maintenance costs
• Zero energy and chemical
• No sludge and by-products
• Long Lasting – Improves with time
• Valuable Carbon credits
A social solution
• Built and served by the local community
• Locally sourced materials
• Tailored to the client’s needs
Maintain biodiversity
• Prevents degradation of the aquatic environment and soil.
• supplies a habitat for diverse flora and fauna
Holistic design
Watershed management – All on-site water resources (run-off, rainfall, marginal, and waste streams) are included in the holistic design, dramatically expanding treatment and reuse options.
Creating “Active landscapes”, which function as “Green Lungs” and “Green kidneys”, effectively detoxifying the environment.
The NBS technology provides Water security, Aquifers protection, and Carbon footprint dramatic reduction simultaneously.
