How Microbes Improve Aerobic Wastewater Treatment Efficiency

Wastewater from municipal and industrial sources needs proper treatment before being released into the environment.

The untreated wastewater is a threat to the environment and human health because it contains volatile organic compounds, toxic substances, and poisonous chemicals.

Wastewater is thus treated in plants where physical, biological, and chemical treatment takes place.

Biological treatment of wastewater is of special significance as most of the solid organic waste is treated, and water is purified to the maximum in this stage.

The two biological processes involved are aerobic treatment and anaerobic treatment.

Microorganisms In Aerobic Wastewater Treatment

In aerobic wastewater treatment, microorganisms, including bacteria, fungi, protozoa, and other microbes, break down organic compounds —high-energy forms of carbon —with the help of oxygen dissolved in the wastewater.

It is then converted into the substrate, which is consumed by microbes as energy and used for metabolism.

This results in a reduction of Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD), a measure of the organic pollutants present in wastewater.

There are two types of microorganisms: heterotrophic and autotrophic.

Heterotrophs utilize the fermentation process to break down complex organic compounds into simpler forms.

They form biomass using organic carbon and use it for energy and cellular synthesis.

On the other hand, autotrophs break down simpler forms, such as carbon dioxide, to obtain cellular material.

It removes nitrogen from the wastewater.

In this way, microorganisms play a significant role in treating wastewater and reducing its harmful effects before release into the environment.

Challenges

Many biological and environmental factors affect the function of microbes in aerobic wastewater treatment.

These include temperature, pH, oxygen, nutrients, types of toxic substances, and much more.

A proper environment is a must for microbes to thrive and work at their best, and also for a high biochemical oxidation rate.

Bioreactors of different types are designed to achieve this goal.

Some of the common challenges in aerobic wastewater treatment include:

• The systems are designed with a specific measurement that can manage BOD levels up to a limit. Once this limit is exceeded, it can lead to overflow, toxic odor, and a dangerous atmosphere for humans.
• The growth rate of microbes is dependent on the temperature. Due to poor conditions and a lack of maintenance of the treatment system, the temperature can drop. This decreases biological reactions. Thus, resulting in poor BOD degradation.
• Variation in hydraulic loads and significant diurnal variations lead to poor biomass or loss of it. Sudden variations can cause shock loads and toxicity.

Moreover, the excessive amount of wastewater generated due to the increasing urban population and industrialization in recent times has overloaded aerobic wastewater treatment systems with a dangerous amount of toxic substances.

The natural microorganisms are unable to effectively treat the wastewater and reduce it to the levels required by the standards.

This has resulted in the malfunction and failure of the system, as well as high levels of toxicity in the released effluent.

There is an urgent need for innovative biological solutions to enhance the productivity of aerobic wastewater treatment processes and improve the system’s functionality.

Organica Biotech offers one of the most effective microbial solutions for aerobic wastewater treatment with its product, Cleanmaxx Aero.

The advanced concentrated consortium of uniquely functioning bacteria has the following features:

• Helps in rapid biomass generation
• Withstand fluctuations in wastewater quality
• Accelerates COD/BOD reduction by degrading organic load
• Works in Activated Sludge Process (ASP), Sequence Bed Reactor (SBR), Lagoon process, Moving Bed Bioreactor (MBBR), Membrane Bioreactor (MBR), Rotating Biological Contactor (RBC), and Fluidised Air Bed Reactor.
• It can be used in a wide range of industries to tackle the issues commonly found in aerobic wastewater treatment.
• It is used to commission all types of aerobic wastewater treatment systems.

Use Cleanmaxx microbial solution for effective and efficient aerobic wastewater treatment.