Why are bacteria used in sewage treatment?

We all know that treating wastewater or raw sewage is imperative for the safety of our environment. If left to its own devices, wastewater can be seriously detrimental to the environment. To minimise the impacts of sewage and wastewater, different types of bacteria are utilised as a form of treatment. You may be unfamiliar with wastewater treatment and wonder ‘why are bacteria used in sewage treatment?’. Read on to find out why bacteria are used in sewage treatment and why they’re so important.

If left untreated sewage and wastewater can be incredibly toxic, especially if it gets into the environment. Sewage and wastewater do not naturally break down or decompose on their own. Instead, it causes pollution in our streams and oceans and can even destroy the surrounding ecosystem in serious cases. Treatment is essential to ensure that this doesn’t happen.

Bacteria are an important component of the sewage treatment process. They are responsible for a whole host of different processes that help to break down and treat the wastewater to help make it safe for the environment and minimise the impact on people and animals nearby.

Which bacteria is utilised?

It is common that several different types of bacteria are used in the sewage treatment process. These include-

Anaerobic bacteria- Anaerobic bacteria are the most common type of bacteria used. This type of bacteria helps to drastically reduce the amount of sludge that is created while also assisting in the production of methane gas from the sludge. When this methane gas is cleaned and handled properly it can and is commonly used as an alternative form of energy.

Aerobic bacteria- Aerobic bacteria work by using the oxygen that is in the water to break down the pollutants as a food source. They grow and thrive off these food sources which makes them incredibly efficient.

Facultative microorganisms- Facultative microorganisms are special bacteria that can change between aerobic or anaerobic forms depending on what the environment needs and the conditions they are living in. While they prefer aerobic environments, they help to speed up the process of treating sewage and wastewater.

Together these different types of bacteria and microorganisms speed up the biological decomposition of sewage and wastewater. This, combined with several other sewage treatment processes results in the safe disposal of human, animal and industrial effluents. Once successfully treated with the bacteria, the water is safe enough that it can be returned to the water cycle with minimal impact on the environment.

Get in touch with our team today

If you have any further questions about the importance of bacteria in sewage treatment, contact us today. By Jas specialises in sewage and wastewater treatment. Visit us at Byjas or call us on (03) 5979 1096. We have been in the industry for 35 years and are family owned and operated. We service many areas across Australia, including regional town centres, remote regional areas, and main capital cities.

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How do Wastewater Aerators Work?

If you’re wondering how wastewater aerators work, you’re not alone. Many people don’t know much about aerators or the role they play in sewage treatment. This blog post will discuss how aerators work, and why they are such a vital part of the sewage treatment process.

What are aerators?

Aerators are devices that introduce air into wastewater, so wastewater aeration is a process of using aerators to mix air and water. This process provides dissolved oxygen to the water, helping to remove odours from the water, and to break down organic matter. This process is vital because it helps to remove harmful bacteria and other contaminants. Aerators come in many shapes and sizes, but all operate with the same aim.

Why do we need aerators?

Since nutrient-rich wastewater significantly impacts the relationship between living things and their surroundings, governments enforce regulations to control the number of contaminants in wastewater discharge. These rules stipulate that all liquid waste producers, whether residential, agricultural, commercial or industrial, must treat wastewater.

Types of aerators

There are two types of aerators: surface aerators and submerged aerators. Surface aerators float on the water’s surface and use paddles or propellers to create turbulence and mixing. Submerged aerators are placed below the water’s surface and use diffusers, impellers, or propellers to create bubbles that rise through the water and help aerate it.

Surface aerators have, over time, been the subject of intensive development, with their primary application being in the treatment of wastewater through activated sludge. The primary factor in the design of these devices is naturally their ability to transfer oxygen to water efficiently. A surface aerator creates a large surface area between air and liquid to facilitate oxygen diffusion.

Types of surface aerators

There are two main types of surface aerators: diffused aeration and mechanical aeration. Diffused aeration works by bubbling air through a diffuser, breaking the bubbles into tiny droplets. This process adds a lot of oxygen to the water and is very efficient. On the other hand, mechanical aeration uses paddles or impellers to mix the air and water. This type of aeration is less efficient than diffused aeration, but it is still an important part of the sewage treatment process.

When implementing diffused aeration, more oxygen is added to the water, which helps break down the organic matter present in it. This process can also eliminate harmful bacteria and other contaminants from the water, making it safe for human use. Wastewater aerators are a vital part of the sewage treatment process.

Trust the experts

By Jas specialises in sewage and wastewater treatment. Visit us at www.byjas.com.or call us on (03) 5979 1096. We have been in the industry for 35 years and are family-owned.

We service across Australia, regional town centres, remote regional areas, and main capital cities. If you want to learn more about aerators or surface aeration, please contact us and we’ll be happy to answer any questions you may have.

What you can read next

Waste water treatment for Wineries
Specialising in the Winery Industry
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Wednesday 21 September

We’ve got great news from our Incident Management Team – the Shepparton Wastewater Management Facility has returned to normal winter operating levels, and odour is no longer being released from the aerated lagoons.

With that, its been recommended to close out the IMT this week and we’ll be working on some wider communications materials to inform the community about our progress and success in returning the plant to normal.

We’re seeing a continuing downward trend in the levels of organic load leaving the High Rate Anerobic Lagoon, which is the primary treatment lagoon at the facility. It’s returning to levels we normally see in winter, close to 100mg/L, which we’re really happy with, and shows the lagoon’s treatment performance has stabilised and is working well. We’re also seeing temperatures begin to increase in the lagoon, and continuing warmer weather will create more optimal treatment conditions.

You can see the trends in the 14-day average graph below. Under optimal treatment processes, the gap between the orange and blue lines should be as large as possible.

We’ve also seen more key areas in our key performance indicators turn green over the past two weeks. There are still a few yellow ones, but we’re confident they’re very close to turning green in the near future as well.

These indicators show key data we’re looking at during wastewater sampling in the main treatment lagoons, including pH levels, alkalinity levels, VFAs (volatile fatty acids), the VFA to alkalinity ratio, as well as dissolved oxygen and organic loading – all are important in ensuring the wastewater treatment process works as best it can.