Used Beer Department
June 25th, 2011
Used Beer now recycled without the Use of Flushing Water
Fascinated by the new fixture in the “Men’s” room at the Pub? It’s a waterless urinal. After doing a little reading into the science behind the products, the Pub removed its 20 year old conventional urinal and replaced it this week with a new Kohler waterless one.
Waterless urinals all use basically the same science. Urine flows down the bowl of the urinal past a debris-catching strainer. The urine then passes through a sealing liquid, usually a specially designed oil based fluid or simply vegetable oil, and collects in the waste pipe below. The different densities of urine and oil (urine is denser than oil – oil floats!) mean that the urine sinks through the sealing liquid and the oil floats on top of the layer of urine below. Any air bubbles rise to the top and escape leaving the urine in a relatively low oxygen environment. Odor is therefore trapped below the oil layer and cannot find the nose of bathroom occupants.
It is important that the urine is slowed sufficiently before it hits the oil so that laminar flow displacement doesn’t move the oil to the bottom of the waste pipe. If the urine is slowed sufficiently this is not a problem. After the urine is in the waste pipe it is a simple matter of displacement that sends the urine into the regular plumbing system.
Waterless urinals were introduced to the world by the Waterless Company in 1992. The first urinal used what was called an EcoTrap cartridge. Others manufacturers which started producing them almost a decade later include: Falcon Waterfree Technologies, Sloan Valve Company, Duravit, Kohler and many others.
Waterless urinals are also becoming increasingly popular as the green building movement takes hold with certification programs such as LEED. Two major barriers that once stood as impediments to the adoption of waterless urinals, regulatory and facility managers, are being gradually eroded through education on the benefits, safety and easy maintenance of the urinals.
Written with help from Ziger Snead Architects http://www.zigersnead.com/
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