Biological wastewater treatment plants are a mini-ecosystem with multiple interactions between billions of bacteria, protozoa, metazoa and potentially other microbial forms. At any time, the populations shift and adjust to new influents, temperatures, pH, oxygen availability, macronutrients, sunlight and really anything that enters or influences the biomass. Instead of just calling it - the bugs as if it were one single item, consider the ecological chaos of a natural environment. We just have to control the environment to get the treatment results we need. Here are some basic considerations when evaluating a biomass:
While my above list is short, it makes for a very complex puzzle when you consider how each organisms responds to the above inputs.
- Nutritional requirments of the microbes (Heterotrophs, Chemotrophs, Autotrophs)
- Environmental factors that impact growth (temp, pH, alkalinity, D.O.)
- Metabolism and byproducts/intermediates of metabolism
- Relationship between growth (new cells) and substrate utilization
While my above list is short, it makes for a very complex puzzle when you consider how each organisms responds to the above inputs.
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