| There is no airstone in this pipe but just air. An airstone produces more tiny bubbles which give a more bubble-saturated column of water, thus a more steady flow and yes in the event of using raw organic materials it might clog. I had not thought of that but was wanting more of the "gurgling" effect produced by not using an airstone...thinking it will aerate better? Maybe. The works are very simple. You can do some easy experiments just by inserting a piece of tubing from a small aquarium air pump into the bottom of a piece of pvc pipe and stick it into a bucket of water and note the results from where the air is being fed at what level of pipe and water depth. Airlifts are commonly used to pump water out of very deep mine shafts, dredging for treasure on the ocean bottom and used in places where there are a lot of solids to deal with since they need no filtering to work and are more efficient than pumping and aerating with two separate pieces of equipment. Air mixed with water in the column simply causes the surrounding water in the reservoir to rush into the bottom of the pipe to fill the space as if there were no water in the pipe and forces the air/water mixture out the top. It also causes a pretty powerful suction on the bottom as the water is filling the space. We would commonly use a 2" airlift to suck grit, rocks and sand from the old sewer plant 1st stage aeration from a depth of 20 feet. We also find coins, rings, loose stones from rings and various other things people lose down their sinks and toilets, lol! Yes the stuff is always disinfected prior to handling... Anyway, thinking about local nutrients, yes it would be very cool if we could come up with a standard method of sorts people could easily and cheaply duplicate from handy sources. But like our resident chemical engineer noted, there will be sediment problems if raw materials are used in the working and there is a timeline to consider in which the beneficial bacteria will be alive and present to enable the necessary actions for plant nutrient uptake from the materials. In a wastewater environment the bacteria are constantly being fed a steady new supply of "food" to eat as it circulates through the system. Lots of air and stirring are necessary to ensure the bacteria survive. In due time though, they die and become what's known as "waste sludge" that is dumped on sand pits to drain and dry. Once out of the aerated liquid environment, this stuff turns septic very quickly (anaerobic) and can contain all sorts of nasty bacteria as the good ones are unable to reproduce. Honestly I don't know just how long the same container of organic materials churning in aeration will remain viable for plant growth. It would seem that as long as there is adequate stirring, aeration and addition of fresh food for the bacteria, the mixture would stay "sweet". We'll just have to see. Any foul odors coming from the container will mean something is wrong and could even make you sick or even kill you if you get some bad e-coli or something. | 
