The BioKube system is certified and type tested to European Standard EN 12566

"Small wastewater treatment systems for up to 50 PE"

Over the past 8 or 9 years the European Union has been developing a new standard.  We have tried here to give a general overview of this new European Standard and how it is used to certify the BioKube system.  If more information is required then reference must be made to the original documentation.

EN 12566 currently consists of 7 parts. Some parts are still in preparation whilst others are now considered as finished and published for adoption as National Standards.  Thus Part 3 below is now a British Standard and designated as BS EN 12566-3:2005.

The list of EN 12566 parts are:

Part 1: Pre-fabricated septic tanks;

Part 2: Soil infiltration systems;

Part 3: Packaged and/or site assembled domestic wastewater treatment plants;

Part 4: Septic tanks assembled in situ from prefabricated kits. (in preparation);

Part 5: Pre-treated effluent filtration systems;

Part 6: Prefabricated treatment unit used for septic tank effluent (in preparation);

Part 7: Prefabricated tertiary treatment unit (in preparation);

Part 2 and Part 5 are to be considered as Codes of Practice and do not specify treatment requirements.  Those parts in preparation are pre-fixed by "pr". i.e part 6 is currently referred to as prEN 12566-6.  The date that it is published in the European Journal is indicated by the date at the end.  Thus Part 3 is now referred to as BS EN 12566-3:2005 The announcement was made in EU Directive 89/106/EEC for construction products. It comes into full effect across Europe in July 2008 when it will replace all national standards with a single harmonised standard. (This has now been delayed until July 2009 as the French have objected to original date.)

The parts that cover a BioKube system are Part 1, 3 and 6.

Part 1 specifies the requirements for the Settlement Tank in the BioKube System.  Part 3 contains the type testing and effluent treatment requirements that are needed to certify the BioKube AWTS tank within the BioKube system and part 6 ties together the previous parts when the two tanks are used together as in a BioKube system.

Initial type testing, (mechanical testing, water tightness, load bearing capacity etc.) requires that the largest size of tank in a series be tested.  Thus if a manufacturer produces a range of tanks from say 5 PE up to 50 PE then the 50 PE tank will be type tested, as this will be the likely tank that is going to fail due to its size. 

Effluent quality testing will be carried out on the smallest tank in a range.  Again, it is considered that the smallest tank in a series will be most likely to fail the treatment efficiency tests due to the wide variation of flow rates and types of domestic sewage that are found.  Larger tanks perform better where efficiency is concerned.

The tests have to be carried out by an approved test laboratory.   Effluent testing efficiency is measured over a period of 38 weeks after the system has been fully commissioned by the manufacturer and has been allowed to develop full efficiency.  Once this has occurred there is series of tests that stress the unit over time.  Under loading, overloading, loss of power and regular usage are all applied to the units.  Effluent samples are taken regularly during the testing to determine compliance with the stated standard.  (This can vary from one country to another and has to be stated in the documentation when the tank is finally certified.)

Once a tank has passed the testing sequence it can be CE Marked by the manufacturer and then sold across Europe in all EU countries so long as it was tested to the countries effluent standard or better.

The BioKube system has an effluent standard that is twice as efficient as the current UK standard of 20:30:20 and can treat Phosphorous as well if required.

A copy of the test certificate for the BioKube system can be downloaded here.