BOD Addition

Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) supplementation can support and promote microbial growth until stable biomass is achieved.

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Effective biological treatment requires a healthy population of specialized microbes and biomass essential for metabolizing potentially harmful wastewater organics. Occasionally, an additional “food source” such as MicroC® needs to be added to treatment systems to promote essential bacterial growth and reproduction. This biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) supplementation process is distinct from adding an external carbon source to facilitate removal of specific contaminants.

However, activated sludge (AS) wastewater treatment systems can lose as much as 10-15 percent of their essential biomass daily due to endogenous decay — the metabolism of the biomass itself to sustain life. If the BOD of the wastewater is too low to support enough microbial growth to overcome that endogenous decay, the system will start experiencing operational problems and/or be unable to achieve treatment goals. BOD supplementation can be an effective way to avoid and address these operational problems.

How EOSi Can Help

Occasionally, a biological treatment system will require establishing a new microbial population, either because the system is new or because it has experienced a process upset that harmed the biomass, and biochemical oxygen demand supplementation can support and promote microbial growth until a stable biomass is achieved. Industrial facilities also shut down for annual or periodic turnaround maintenance, and their biological wastewater treatment systems need BOD supplementation to keep their microbial populations alive during these temporary shutdowns.

EOSi’s technical team works with treatment plant operators to conduct respirometry and other tests to evaluate how the biomass will acclimate to MicroC® 2000 products, as they provide a consistent BOD source with well-defined kinetic and yield characteristics. The EOSi team also helps calculate proper MicroC® 2000 feed rates, recommends operational adjustments, and provides guidance on process monitoring to ensure a viable biomass is established. When time is critical — especially with process upsets — EOSi’s robust supply chain helps operators to quickly mobilize and provide the BOD source needed to get their treatment system functioning again.

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