Microbiology

Human activities generate a tremendous volume of sewage and wastewater that require treatment before discharge into waterways. Often this wastewater contains excessive amounts of nitrogen, phosphorus, and metal compounds, as well as organic pollutants that would overwhelm waterways with an unreasonable burden. Wastewater also contains chemical wastes that are not biodegradable, as well as pathogenic microorganisms that can cause infectious disease.

The chemical and biological waste in sewage and water must be broken down before it is deposited to the soil and environment. This breakdown can effectively be controlled by managing the microbial population in waters and encouraging microorganisms to digest the organic matter. The water must then be purified before it is considered fit to drink. Water taken from ground sources must also be treated before consumption.

Water purification. To purify water for drinking, a number of processes are conducted to reduce the microbial population and maintain that population at a safe level. First, the solid matter is allowed to settle out in a sedimentation tank. Flocculating materials such as alum are used to drag microorganisms to the bottom of the tank.

Then the filtration process is begun. Water is filtered through either a slow sand filter or a rapid sand filter. These processes remove 99 percent of the microorganisms. The slow sand filter is composed of finer grains of sand, and the filtration process takes longer than in the rapid sand filter, where larger grains are used.

Many communities then purify the water by chlorination. When added to water, chlorine maintains the low microbial count and ensures that the water remains safe for drinking purposes. Chlorine gas or hypochlorite (NaOCl) is used for chlorination purposes. The water is chlorinated until a slight residue of chlorine remains.

Sewage treatment. Sewage treatment involves a more complex set of procedures than are needed for water purification because the volume of organic matter and the variety of microorganisms are much greater.

The first treatment, or primary treatment, of sewage and wastewater involves the removal in settling tanks of particulate matter such as plant waste. The solids that sediment are strained off, and the sludge is collected to be burned or buried in landfills. Alternatively, it can be treated in an anaerobic sludge‐digesting tank, as follows.

During the secondary treatment of wastewater and sewage, the microbial population of liquid and sludge waste is reduced. In the anaerobic sludge digester, microorganisms break down the organic matter of proteins, lipids, and cellulose into smaller substances for metabolism by other organisms. Results of these breakdowns include organic acids, alcohols, and simple compounds. Methane gas is produced in the sludge tank, and it can be burned as a fuel to operate the waste treatment facility. The remaining sludge is incinerated or buried in a landfill, and its fluid is recycled and purified (Figure ).

In aerobic secondary sewage treatment, the fluid waste is aerated and then passed through a trickling filter. In this process, the liquid waste is sprayed over a bed of crushed rocks, tree bark, or other filtering material. Colonies of bacteria, fungi, and protozoa grow in the bed and act as secondary filters to remove organic materials. The microorganisms metabolize organic compounds and convert them to carbon dioxide, sulfate, phosphates, nitrates, and other ions. The material that comes through the filter has been 99 percent cleansed of microorganisms.

Liquid waste can also be treated in an activated digester after it has been vigorously aerated. Slime‐forming bacteria form masses that trap other microorganisms to remove them from the water. Treatment for several hours reduces the microbial population significantly, and the clear fluid is removed for purification. The sludge is placed in a landfill or at sea.

In the tertiary treatment of sewage, the fluid from the secondary treatment process is cleansed of phosphate and nitrate ions that might cause pollution. The ions are precipitated as solids, often by combining them with calcium or iron, and the ammonia is released by oxidizing it to nitrate in the nitrification process. Adsorption to activated charcoal removes many organic compounds such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), a chemical pollutant.

The home septic system is a waste treatment facility on a small scale. In a septic tank, household sewage is digested by anaerobic bacteria, and solids settle to the bottom of the tank. Solid waste is carried out of the outflow apparatus into the septic field beneath the ground. The water seeps out through holes in tiles and enters the soil, where bacteria complete the breakdown processes. A similar process occurs in cesspools, except that sludge enters the ground at the bottom of the pool and liquids flow out through the sides of the pool.

A view of the methods used in sewage treatment in a large municipality. Primary treatment is represented by the steps preceding secondary treatment, and tertiary treatment is performed in the chlorination tank at the conclusion of the process.

The standard plate count procedure. A 1‐mL water sample is diluted in buffer solution, and various amounts are placed with nutrient medium into Petri dishes to encourage bacterial colonies to form. The colony count is multiplied by the dilution factor to yield the total plate count.