Overview
AZOW-Domus is the residential-scale configuration of the AZOW (Arbok Zero-Organic-Waste) vacuum phase separation platform, designed to replace connection of multi-apartment buildings to centralized municipal sewer networks. The system performs on-site treatment of all household wastewater within the building footprint, returning approximately 99% of the input flow as biologically sterile technical water suitable for in-building reuse (toilet flushing, showers, laundry, cleaning), and producing a dry organic residue (DOS) that becomes a commercial fertilizer for urban green services or agricultural use. The closed-loop architecture eliminates the need for a sewer collector, reduces municipal infrastructure load, removes building-scale methane emissions, unlocks low-carbon-water certification and significantly accelerates new-build commissioning time.
Applications
Primary use cases:
• Multi-apartment residential buildings (typical reference: 5-storey 4-entrance, ~80 apartments, ~200 residents)
• Mixed-use buildings (residential + ground-floor retail/office)
• New residential developments where municipal sewage connection is expensive, time-consuming or capacity-constrained
• Refit of existing residential buildings with overloaded local sewer connections
• Buildings in water-stressed regions seeking low-carbon-water certification
Typical scenarios:
• Greenfield residential construction outside dense urban cores where city sewer extension is uneconomic
• Renovation projects where the city refuses additional sewer capacity
• Premium real-estate developments pursuing ESG / zero-discharge certification
• Buildings in regions with seasonal sewer overflow problems (combined sewer overflows)
Industries and users:
• Real estate developers
• Municipal utilities and water companies
• Housing cooperatives and homeowner associations
• Public-housing operators
• Urban infrastructure investment funds
• Smart-city programs
Scale:
• Single building module: 25–35 m³/day per AZOW-Domus unit (sized to 200-resident reference)
• District deployment: 20–100 buildings under a single service contract
• City-scale rollout: thousands of buildings in coordinated municipal program
Operating Principle
The system operates by deep-vacuum evaporation at ambient temperature inside a sealed vertical 4-metre chamber. Under reduced pressure, water transitions to vapor phase at room temperature without external heating. The biological load of incoming sewage — bacteria, viruses, protozoa, microplastics — is destroyed physically through vacuum collapse and ruptured by the phase-transition mechanics. Ammonia and dissolved oxygen are removed in the process; the residual water contains nothing on which pathogens can survive.
Process steps:
- Sewage intake from building drain (continuous flow or buffered)
- Vacuum chamber phase separation (water vapor + solid concentrate)
- Vapor condensation into a sealed condenser loop
- Conducting condensate to the technical-water plumbing loop of the building
- Solid residue (DOS) accumulation in sealed container
- Weekly DOS collection for off-site use
Limitations:
• Periodic technical service required (quarterly maintenance recommended)
• Backup connection to municipal sewer recommended for emergencies (optional)
• Drinking-water consumption point remains supplied by municipal mains (by design, not by limitation)
Key Parameters
Reference configuration (200-resident building, 4-entrance 5-storey):
|Parameter|Centralized sewer model|AZOW-Domus|
|—|—|—|
|Wastewater connection|Municipal sewer required|None|
|Water recovery|0% (all discharged)|99%+ (recirculated as technical water)|
|Energy per ton processed|50+ kWh/t (centralized treatment)|1 kWh/t|
|Carbon intensity of water output|>10 kg CO₂/m³ (RO equivalent)|~0.034 kg CO₂/m³|
|Methane emission from collectors|~80 t CO₂-eq/year per building|~0|
|Time to operational status|6–18 months (city connection)|4–6 weeks|
|Indoor pipe scaling/corrosion|Standard|Effectively eliminated (sterile, mineral-free water)|
Typical values:
Throughput: 25–35 m³/day per module (sized to building load)
Chamber: vertical, ~4 m height
Footprint: 1× 20-foot container, basement room or yard pavilion
Energy: 1 kWh/t (~9 500 kWh/year per reference building)
Water quality output: COD <5 mg/L, BOD₅ <2 mg/L, NH₄⁺ 0 mg/L, Total bacterial load <4 CFU/mL (vs EU drinking norm <100 CFU/mL), zero E. coli, Coliforms, Enterococci, Pseudomonas, Staphylococcus
DOS output: ~9 t/year per 200-resident building, moisture <15%, odorless, biologically sterile
DOS market value: ~150 USD/t (agricultural / municipal green services), up to 220 USD/t if pelletized to ENplus A1
Service life: 20 years
Architecture and Components
Core components:
• Sealed vertical vacuum chamber (~4 m height)
• Liquid-ring vacuum pump (inside acoustic-foamed container)
• Vapor condenser
• Condensate distribution to technical-water loop
• DOS accumulation vessel (sealed)
• Mini pellet press (~€1 000 capex, optional, weekly batch operation)
• Sensors (pressure, temperature, flow, water quality)
• PLC / SCADA control with remote monitoring
Auxiliary systems:
• Two-loop building plumbing — technical-water loop (recirculated AZOW output) + drinking-water loop (municipal supply, 10–15% of consumption: kitchen, drinking taps)
• Pipe colour-coding per DIN 1989 / EN 16941 (violet for non-potable)
• Air-gap or certified backflow preventer between loops
• Sampling points for periodic compliance testing
• Emergency municipal sewer connection (optional, for redundancy)
The architecture is modular and replicable. Each building receives a single AZOW-Domus unit sized to its resident load. District-level deployments may share a centralized service crew but require no central processing facility.
Advantages
Technical:
• Complete phase separation, no filtration limits
• Stable output water with biological sterility verified by ISO methods
• No membranes, no chemicals, no biological activation, no consumables (except minor acid in Ammonia Trap variant)
• Pipe scaling and corrosion eliminated — indoor plumbing lifetime extended several-fold
• Operates at ambient temperature in any climate
Economic:
• Eliminates municipal connection capex (€400 k – 2.8 M per new building)
• Reduces commissioning time from 6–18 months to 4–6 weeks
• Generates revenue from DOS, technical water and carbon credits — converts cost line to revenue line
• 7–10 year payback; produces operating profit thereafter for 10+ years over 20-year service life
• Standard utility tariffs maintained for residents (no rate increase needed)
Environmental:
• Zero liquid discharge from the building
• Methane emission elimination (~80 t CO₂-eq/year per reference building)
• Carbon intensity of water output ~10× below EU Low-Carbon Water Directive threshold (0.5 kg CO₂/m³)
• Eliminates building's contribution to combined sewer overflows
• Returns nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and carbon to the soil cycle via DOS
Strategic:
• Building-level autonomy from municipal water-sewer infrastructure
• Resilience during city water outages or sewer failures
• Real-estate premium of 10–20% above market for certified zero-discharge buildings (active in Scandinavia, Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland)
• Aligns with EU Water Framework Directive, Low-Carbon Water Directive, RED III, EU Methane Regulation 2024
Integrations
Compatible with:
• New residential building construction (standard architectural integration)
• Existing residential building retrofit (basement / yard pavilion placement)
• Municipal water utility billing infrastructure
• District-scale DOS collection logistics (one truck route serves 20–30 buildings)
• Optional centralized Arbok-PAT pelletization facility for district-scale ENplus A1 production
• Renewable-energy supply systems (solar PV roof, geothermal heat pumps)
Regulatory integration:
• DIN 1989 / DIN EN 16941 (Germany)
• SIA 385 (Switzerland)
• BS 8595 / BS EN 16941 (UK)
• Arrêté 21/08/2008 (France)
• NSF/ANSI 350 (US states)
• EU Water Framework Directive
• EU Low-Carbon Water Directive
• CORSIA waste-classification for derived products
Digital integration:
• SCADA / PLC remote monitoring
• Sensor telemetry to municipal utility
• Carbon credit reporting under ETS
Deployment & Operation
Implementation steps:
- Site assessment (resident load, water consumption pattern, basement / yard space)
- Unit sizing (25–35 m³/day per building)
- Installation of AZOW chamber, acoustic-foamed container, two-loop plumbing
- Connection to building water-supply and sewage points
- Commissioning, calibration, regulator approval
- Operational handover to BOOM partner / municipal utility
Operating conditions:
• Indoor or sheltered installation (basement or pavilion)
• Standard industrial electrical supply
• Climate-tolerant (no cold-weather restrictions at ambient temperature operation)
• Minimal noise — acoustic foam inside container suppresses pump noise below DIN 4109 nighttime limit (30 dB at apartment wall)
Operation:
• Fully automated, remote-monitored
• Quarterly maintenance visit
• Weekly DOS collection (1 truck serves 20–30 buildings)
Installation timeline:
• 4–6 weeks per building from delivery to operational state
Personnel:
• No on-site operator required at building level
• Centralized service crew (1 engineer per 30–50 buildings in district)
• Weekly DOS collection visit (~2 hours per building)
TRL
TRL 9 (confirmed by Michael). Core AZOW process industrially validated on biogas plants in Greece and Cyprus; residential AZOW-Domus configuration engineered and deployment-ready.
Evidence:
• Continuous 24/7 operation on industrial biogas digestate (Greece, Cyprus)
• ISO-certified microbiological quality verification (Pankemi Lab)
• Validated water quality (COD <5, BOD <2, zero pathogens)
• Carbon intensity verified <0.5 kg CO₂/m³ across all EU energy mixes
Remaining steps:
• First commercial reference installation in residential building (Germany recommended)
• 12–18 months of continuous residential operation for full TRL 9
• DVGW-equivalent local certification of the BOOM operator
Market Potential
Target market:
• EU residential new construction: ~2 million new apartments per year
• EU residential existing stock: ~220 million apartments potentially upgradable
• Global mid-density residential housing: tens of millions of buildings worldwide
Addressable share (initial):
• New-construction premium and mid-market segments in Germany, Scandinavia, Benelux, Switzerland, UK
• Real-estate developers seeking ESG / zero-discharge certification
• Municipalities under combined sewer overflow regulatory pressure
• Water-stressed urban regions (Mediterranean, North Africa, Middle East, parts of Asia)
Global market size:
• Decentralized wastewater treatment segment estimated at $30–50 billion/year by 2030
• Greywater / closed-loop building water systems: parallel $15–25 billion/year segment
Strategic positioning:
AZOW-Domus controls the technical platform for true building-scale closed-loop water — neither greywater systems (partial reuse) nor centralized treatment can match its combination of full sewage reuse, biological sterility and zero municipal connection requirement.
Typical Project Economics
Reference building (200 residents, 80 apartments):
Throughput: 26 m³/day (9 500 m³/year)
Equipment service life: 20 years
Payback: 7–12 years depending on commercial model
Commercial models:
• BOOM (Build-Own-Operate-Maintain): partner or municipal utility owns and operates, customer pays service tariff. Reference tariff: €5.50–6.50/m³.
• BOT (Build-Operate-Transfer): partner operates 10–15 years, then transfers ownership to municipality.
• Buy/Sell: direct purchase by developer or building owner. Payback 0–2 years against avoided municipal connection capex (€400 k – 2.8 M per new building).
Operator revenue streams (per building per year):
• Service tariff (BOOM): €50–60 k
• DOS sale (~9 t/year × $150/t): ~$1 350
• Methane-avoidance ETS credits (~80 t CO₂-eq × €80/t): ~€6 400
• Pipe maintenance savings to building owner: indirect but significant
• Real-estate premium uplift to developer: 10–20% on market price (one-time)
Avoided costs (per building):
• Municipal sewer connection capex: €400 k – 2.8 M (one-time)
• Sewer service fees over 20 years: €500 k – 1 M
• Pipe corrosion / replacement: €100–200 k
• Methane regulatory penalty exposure: variable
Post-payback (years 8–20): operating profit accumulates as infrastructure rent.
Risk Factors
• Adoption pace in residential real-estate sector (conservative by tradition)
• Regulatory certification timeline in each new jurisdiction
• Public perception of "wastewater-derived technical water" (mitigated by clear technical/drinking-loop separation and ISO microbiological certification)
• Coordination with municipal billing and utility infrastructure
• Operator training and BOOM partner network development
• Capital cycle alignment with new-construction project timelines
Related Technologies
ARBOK-PAT · Ammonia Trap · ARBOK MedZWD · ARBOK PURI
Concept article: *Канализация без коллектора: концепция замкнутого водного баланса жилого дома* (Russian & English LinkedIn versions, May 2026)