quick guide on bioaugmentation & bioremediation

KEY DIFFERENCE

Bioaugmentation is the act of adding natural or engineered microbes to clear up the waste problem. Bioremediation is what the organisms do for us.

WHAT ARE MICROBES?

Microorganisms have been used successfully in industrial processes for many centuries. The key to using them successfully is applying them correctly. Whether you are processing food products or operating a biological wastewater treatment plant, you need to meet certain handling and use criteria for implementing a successful bioaugmentation program. Microbes have affinities for specific temperature, pH, and dissolved oxygen levels. If your process operates outside of the ideal range for a particular microbe, its effectiveness will be reduced. There are efficiency-enhancing actions that the operator can take. Bringing the food source into contact with the microbes, for example, is extremely important; therefore, mixing is paramount

BIOAUGMENTATION- WHAT IT IS AND ISN'T

Wastewater treatment aims to reduce pollutants in wastewater. Biological wastewater treatment plants provide an ideal environment for microorganisms by using dedicated tanks where all of the factors needed for successful growth can be optimized. Biological wastewater treatment can easily remove 90% of the pollutants in most wastewater. However, the construction, on-going operation, and maintenance costs of this approach can be very high. Bioaugmentation is a low cost alternative. It is the injection of microorganisms into pre-existing conditions. Bioaugmentation cannot usually provide the ideal environment found in a Wastewater Treatment Plant. What bioaugmentation can do is reduce a PERCENTAGE of the pollutants. The percentage reduction of pollutant depends on the suitability of the pre-existing conditions for microbial growth. An on-site application and test will best determine how well bioaugmentation can work in a particular facility. If it is possible to improve on the site conditions, the effectiveness of bioaugmentation will also be improved.

THE BENEFITS OF BIOAUGMENTATION

Bioaugmentation can offer exceptional return on investment. Pollutant levels can be significantly reduced when the environment for the bacteria is favorable. Bioaugmentation requires a negligible capital investment. The cost of ongoing operation and maintenance is normally one-tenth or less than the treatment cost per kilogram of BOD/COD reduction from a wastewater treatment plant. With these potentially high returns for minimal cost, it is more than worthwhile for a client to optimize the conditions for bioaugmentation. Pollution prevention (P2) is gaining popularity in addressing the waste handling costs at industrial facilities. Whether a facility is operating a treatment plant or discharging to a city sewer, pursuing P2 is a wise course of action.

HOW DOES POLLUTION PREVENTION P2 WORK?

P2 identifies the major sources of pollution from the manufacturing process and reduces the pollution through a combination of practical measures. Accurately predicting the level of pollution reduction at each site is often impossible. Reduction depends heavily on the level of management commitment, equipment limitations, and finances. Each industrial site must be assessed separately with the pollution sources ranked according to the cost each generates and the cost of preventing that pollution. Armed with this information, management can decide what resources they wish to commit to the project.

CAPITAL COST REDUCTION

In the traditional approach to waste disposal, a treatment system is designed and built to meet the current and predicted waste load. The engineers who design these treatment systems often disregard the simplicity and cost-effectiveness of P2. In many cases, P2 is quite simply not considered a step in the “design-build” sequence of events. Engineers often increase the size and or capacity of the facility to provide a safety factor and/or overload capacity. This means higher costs. If the waste reduction capabilities of P2 and bioaugmentation programs are considered during the "design-build" sequence, these costs can be significantly reduced. Applying P2 and bioaugmentation programs to an existing treatment process reduces the load on the system and the operational costs associated with it.

PRODUCT WASTE REDUCTION

The guiding purpose of P2 is to reduce the amount of product (and pollution) going down the drain. This reduction benefits the facility in two ways: The product that was wasted before can now be recovered and sold. Pollution that would have been created from the lost product no longer requires treatment and disposal. These two factors increase the profit of the facility by creating more product to sell and reducing waste disposal costs.

CONSULTING SERVICES

The implementation of a successful bioaugmentation and pollution prevention program requires experience and knowledge. Consulting services available from Bana Cleaning Solutions fulfill this need, providing customers with the expertise to deal with waste and waste treatment. With our international partner, Environmental Biotech and its numerous offices internationally, we are privy to a tremendous amount of valuable information and experience that enables us to better serve our customers.
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