The design of living technologies for waste treatment

This article elucidates the emerging principles required for the design of task-oriented mesocosms. Twelve key factors are discussed including mineral diversity, nutrient reservoirs, steep gradients, high exchange rates, periodic and random pulses, cellular design and mesocosm structure, subecosystems, microbial communities, photosynthetic bases, animal diversity, biological exchanges beyond the mesocosm, and mesocosm/macrocosm relationships. The fields of ecological design and engineering are developing efficient living technologies for environmental repair, waste treatment, food production and infra-structure integration. A living machine for the treatment of sewage and the production of fish and horticultural products, operational since 1989, produces high quality water irrespective of season or input variation. BOD5, COD, TSS, nitrification, phosphorus uptake, metals sequestering and coliform reduction data depict a robust, self-organizing technology capable of handling the mixed waste stream of a New England industrial city.