BioFiltro: How Worm Power Could Save Water, Reduce Emissions, and Restore Soil Health
BioFiltro is an innovative climate tech company providing wastewater treatment solutions. BioFiltro sees the earthworm as the answer to several of the most pressing environmental challenges in sanitation, agriculture and food production, from water pollution and scarcity, to soil health and climate change.
At the heart of BioFiltro’s technology is the BIDA System, a patented vermifiltration system which harnesses the natural abilities of earthworms and microbes to clean organic liquid waste.
This ingenious approach features a biological reactor with a filter medium—usually wood chips—providing a home for earthworms and microorganisms that have numerous beneficial outcomes. Wastewater is intermittently sprayed onto the biomass, where it undergoes a remarkably efficient, low-energy purification process through natural filtration.
BioFiltro claims the BIDA System could eliminate 70% to 99% of total nitrogen, phosphorus, ammonia, and volatile solids, the organic matter found in wastewater, in just four hours. Its eco-friendly approach involves no chemical input.
The treated water can also be upcycled for agricultural reuse, including irrigation in certain applications. This is a crucial solution to global water scarcity and the increasing pressure on water resources due to climate change.
Vermifiltration dramatically cuts greenhouse gas emissions by over 90% compared to traditional wastewater management, according to BioFiltro. Strategically installed upstream, the BIDA System removes volatile solids and diverts methane production from anaerobic lagoons before it can be created.
For livestock farms, this innovative system could also reduce their greenhouse gas footprint by as much as a third. With vermifiltration, less land is needed for manure management, reliance on synthetic fertilizers is reduced, and soil health, water quality, and crop yields are increased.
The capacity to create new revenue streams from the work of the humble worm could be life-changing for the poorest farming communities; worm castings are a valuable coproduct as a soil amendment which can be sold or used to improve crop yields. BIDA’s ability to generate high-quality verified carbon credits also provides an additional income source.
According to BioFiltro, the controlled environment of the BIDA System guarantees consistent performance regardless of external weather conditions in tropical, temperate, and cold weather regions. As a result, its innovations already span the globe, boasting over 200 installations in nine different countries, tackling environments as varied as the icy expanse of Antarctica and the arid Atacama Desert in Chile.
Read more about BioFiltro.
Written by Gilly Smith
Photos provided by the initiative
