chlorophyll solutions are used in herbal medicine as detoxifying remedies. they are say the chrorophyl binds with toxins built up in the digestive tract and are passed through. So I think as a priliminary filter after particulate filtration a bed of dried but preserved so to keep the chlorophyll active could have the water passed through it. There will be definite dissolving of compounds from the green mass which perhaps could be counteracted later on. Just a very cheap medium for filtering really where taste is less important than removal of particular substances
-- lostmind, Apr 18 2008

Baked... google for "water treatment methods" and add your toxin of choice. F'rinstance marshes are often used not only to filter human waste but to remove heavy metals.
-- FlyingToaster, Apr 18 2008


hmmm handy when u have a marsh. so why not a marsh in a box...culture + green mass and some reliable filters
-- lostmind, Apr 18 2008


Basically because anything you put in a box has a limited shelf life. Even if preserve the chlorophyl in your box, the act of binding to a given toxin will render it powerless against further toxins, and there is no living thing cycling it back to usefulness. Furthermore, leaves come pre-mixed with various fungi and bacteria that will likely prove harmful in and of themselves if allowed to propagate in a water-filled box.

This is a good suggestion at heart, but ideally you want to find a way to keep the plant matter live while you pump the gunk through it.
-- DrCurry, Apr 18 2008


I doubt there's anything magical about chlorophyll. Organic matter in general tends to bind a wide range of small molecules and metals; you'd probably be better off filtering through peat.
-- MaxwellBuchanan, Apr 18 2008


//use well dried leaves to filter toxins from water//
In England, we call this a nice cup of tea.
-- AbsintheWithoutLeave, Apr 18 2008


chlorophyll was just mentioned as it is has good chelation properties...

the idea would be to have a testing system in place..could prob simplify it down to a test kit not unlike many water tests..something that looks like litmus (sp?) paper. Have say 5 paper tests to do, get a camera thats calibrated to measure the results of the paper tests. A simple program could calculate where your peat can is going well, not so well etc. Then with a reference the owner can appropriately balance it with less of one waste...more of one bacteria...

Also, I think that as long as the bacteria are producing (which can be measured by the rate of heat generation) then one has a good indicator of the stage in the life cycle the peat is at.
-- lostmind, Jul 28 2008



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