Microbial treatment of wastewater is done to reduce the amount of organic material in sewage. Microorganisms are necessary to decompose the matter. There are many of these microorganisms found naturally in water bodies and flowing together with the waste but it is still necessary to add artificially prepared organisms to complement the preexisting ones. Preparation involves culturing the desired species in special media so as to yield a colony that is later released into the water.
All bacteria fall in one of three major categories depending on their oxygen requirements. These categories are the aerobic, anaerobic and facultative groups of organisms. Aerobic bacteria are those that only survive in presence of oxygen. Anaerobic organisms do not need oxygen and may even be affected negatively in its presence. Facultative bacteria may survive both oxygen and carbon dioxide. Aerobes are required to carry out decomposition and oxygen is usually added to keep the numbers of these bacteria high.
There are four main stages of sewage treatment. They are the primary, secondary, the tertiary and the disinfection stages. The first stage (primary) is the point at which the very large solids are removed. These solids are trapped as the sewage passes through a system of grates, filtration points and settling tanks. Sewage exiting this stage contains small suspended and dissolved solids that proceed to the next stage.
The second stage (secondary) involves addition of cultured microorganisms into the flowing water. Only a small amount is added and the organisms then grow into a large number than can take care of all the material carried in the water. The organisms initiate the process of decomposition at this point. In the tertiary stage, excess nutrients carried from agricultural lands are removed so as to limit further growth of the organic material. The last stage, disinfection, is simply the addition of chlorine to kill any bacteria present.
When the amount of organic matter is excessively high, there is need to add more organisms at the tertiary stage. If most of the organisms are removed before the secondary stage, the whole process will be more efficient. The amount of organisms added should not be too much as their concentration may be just too much for the disinfection mechanism downstream.
The process of breaking down organic material using bacteria brings with it a number of other benefits. One of the most significant is the fact that the concentration of oxygen remains high and this is beneficial to aquatic life in the water bodies. If the organic matter is left to accumulate, it will use up most of the gas.
If well organized, the process is an option that is efficient, effective and affordable. Since it is entirely natural, there is no environmental pollution. The odor associated with sewage is reduced by treatment of sludge. Odor is caused by the decomposing action of anaerobic bacteria that produce unpleasant gases such as hydrogen sulphide. The treatment also helps reduce the volume of the waste.
Before the adoption of microbial treatment of wastewater, there were attempts to treat the water using enzyme-based methods. This did not go on for long due to the numerous challenges associated with this method. A major challenge was the difficulty in choosing an effective enzyme to breakdown the different types of organic matter in the sludge. The process was also very expensive to carry out. The bacteria are the better option as they can produce any of the required enzymes.
All bacteria fall in one of three major categories depending on their oxygen requirements. These categories are the aerobic, anaerobic and facultative groups of organisms. Aerobic bacteria are those that only survive in presence of oxygen. Anaerobic organisms do not need oxygen and may even be affected negatively in its presence. Facultative bacteria may survive both oxygen and carbon dioxide. Aerobes are required to carry out decomposition and oxygen is usually added to keep the numbers of these bacteria high.
There are four main stages of sewage treatment. They are the primary, secondary, the tertiary and the disinfection stages. The first stage (primary) is the point at which the very large solids are removed. These solids are trapped as the sewage passes through a system of grates, filtration points and settling tanks. Sewage exiting this stage contains small suspended and dissolved solids that proceed to the next stage.
The second stage (secondary) involves addition of cultured microorganisms into the flowing water. Only a small amount is added and the organisms then grow into a large number than can take care of all the material carried in the water. The organisms initiate the process of decomposition at this point. In the tertiary stage, excess nutrients carried from agricultural lands are removed so as to limit further growth of the organic material. The last stage, disinfection, is simply the addition of chlorine to kill any bacteria present.
When the amount of organic matter is excessively high, there is need to add more organisms at the tertiary stage. If most of the organisms are removed before the secondary stage, the whole process will be more efficient. The amount of organisms added should not be too much as their concentration may be just too much for the disinfection mechanism downstream.
The process of breaking down organic material using bacteria brings with it a number of other benefits. One of the most significant is the fact that the concentration of oxygen remains high and this is beneficial to aquatic life in the water bodies. If the organic matter is left to accumulate, it will use up most of the gas.
If well organized, the process is an option that is efficient, effective and affordable. Since it is entirely natural, there is no environmental pollution. The odor associated with sewage is reduced by treatment of sludge. Odor is caused by the decomposing action of anaerobic bacteria that produce unpleasant gases such as hydrogen sulphide. The treatment also helps reduce the volume of the waste.
Before the adoption of microbial treatment of wastewater, there were attempts to treat the water using enzyme-based methods. This did not go on for long due to the numerous challenges associated with this method. A major challenge was the difficulty in choosing an effective enzyme to breakdown the different types of organic matter in the sludge. The process was also very expensive to carry out. The bacteria are the better option as they can produce any of the required enzymes.
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