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A few words about environmental microbiology. What is BOD?. Biochemical oxygen demand; “The amount of O 2 required for microbial decomposition of organic matter in a given sample” Standard measurement process (may require serial dilution!) The higher the BOD, the more contaminated
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What is BOD? • Biochemical oxygen demand; “The amount of O2 required for microbial decomposition of organic matter in a given sample” • Standard measurement process (may require serial dilution!) • The higher the BOD, the more contaminated • Consequences?
Municipal (large-scale) water treatment • Primary treatment • Secondary treatment • sludge • Trickling filters • Lagoons • Artificial wetlands • Advanced treatment (reuse as well as clean) • Chemical disinfection • Anaerobic digestion • Remove pollutants as well as BOD
Septic systems • Requires: • Adequate aeration • Proper soil type • Adequate drainage capacity • Viable microbes
Water testing • Indicator organisms (coliforms) • Chemical reactions (ONPG/MUG) • Biological • Presence/absence • MPN • Membrane filtration
Solid waste disposal • Large scale (landfills) • Problems associated with landfills! • Small scale (composting) • Which brings us to: BIOREMEDIATION persistence in the environment biological magnification
Means of bioremediation • Biostimulation- boost growth of indigenous microbes with desired metabolic properties • Bioaugmentation- “introduced” microbes with desirable properties (i.e., metal metabolism or chemical degradation) • Tweaking the growth environment