How can microrganisms be made useful during water treatment?
Microrganisms can be used to decompose contaminants in wastewater. This kind of water treatment is called biological water treatment. During biological water treatment microrganisms break down organic matter, nitrates and phosphates. This is a brief explanation of how these biological water treatment processes work. Removal of organic matter Biological water purification is performed to lower the organic load of dissolved organic compounds. Microrganisms, mainly bacteria, do the decomposition of these compounds. There are two main categories of biological treatment: aerobic treatment and anaerobic treatment. Aerobic water treatment means decomposition of organic matter by bacteria that need oxygen during the decomposition process. Anaerobic water treatment means decomposition of organic matter by microrganisms that do not use oxygen. In aerobic systems the water is aerated with compressed air (in some cases merely oxygen), whereas anaerobic systems run under oxygen free conditions. Rem
