Life of Bacteria     Common Waste Problems     Sanitary Guidelines

     Bacteria are living microorganisms which produce the specific enzymes needed to breakdown compounds so the bacteria can digest them.  Specialized bacteria are scientifically adapted to digest specific compounds such as detergents, papers, oils, greases, hydrocarbons and phenols.  The specialized bacteria will secrete the proper enzyme for the environment and will then digest the compound.  Specialized bacteria greatly improve the digestion process.  During the digestion process odors such as hydrogen sulfide, ammonia and the obnoxious odor from grease are controlled.  By controlling odors at a molecular level the need for masking agents like perfume is eliminated.

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CONDITIONS FOR GROWTH OF BENEFICIAL BACTERIA

     When environmental conditions are favorable, bacteria enter a period of rapid growth and reproduction.

Temperature:  Conditions best for growth of most types of bacteria will range from 40 to 120 °F.

Moisture:  Bacteria need water for two reasons.  Bacteria are made up of almost 90% water themselves and need some moisture to function.  They also need water as a transportation system that allows them to move around the waste.

Food Source:  With specialized bacteria, it is necessary to utilize the proper bacteria to the proper waste, otherwise the bacteria has to mutate to the food source and this takes time and the resulting bacteria are not nearly as strong as the original generation of bacteria.  For instance, there may be a culture produced to digest animal fats, but if it is used to digest paper or proteins it will take that culture much longer to do the job and it will not be as efficient because the bacteria has to assimilate themselves to the particular food available.

  THE LIFE OF A BACTERIA

     Bacteria are either aerobic or anaerobic, meaning that they either use atmospheric oxygen in respiration or they metabolize by using carbohydrates or amino acids and accumulate a variety of partially oxidized intermediates such as glycerol and lactic acid.  There are bacteria that can metabolize well in the presence or absence of oxygen, and they are called facultative anaerobes.

     All organic compounds are a potential food source to bacteria.  The different strains of bacteria will produce the right kind of enzymes to help breakdown the waste for the bacteria.  The bacteria will utilize that "food" in its work.  The resulting compounds from this digestion are carbon dioxide (C02) and water.  Without bacteria (and fungi) all the carbon and nitrogen atoms would eventually be tied up in the dead bodies of plants and animals, and life would cease to exist, because of the lack of raw material's need for the synthesis of new cellular components.

     Specialized bacteria can reproduce at a rate of once every 20 minutes.  This will give rise to a high population in a very short period of time, but the later generations will not be as strong and will be somewhat mutated from the original generations.

BACTERIA, ENZYMES AND CHEMICALS

     Enzymes are biochemical catalysts that affect the rate at which specific chemical reactions occur.  Each enzyme usually catalyzes one particular kind of reaction.  In other words, a bacteria culture that has been scientifically adapted to digest animal fats will send out an enzyme very specific to that food source.  The enzyme breaks down the waste so the bacteria can utilize the food source.  The bacteria then digests the waste producing CO2 and H2O.  Enzymes are not living reproducing organisms!  Enzymes are produced by living reproducing organisms ...bacteria.

                         A good example of what enzymes can and cannot do is the following:

     Enzymes that are manufactured to digest grease will only liquefy the grease, putting it in a soluble state, carry it through the system only to have the grease congeal further down the line (often times a leach field or waste treatment plant) and cause problems there.  The liquefied grease still needs to be digested, but because there are little or no bacteria in the system capable of doing the job, the grease goes back to its original state of sticky clumps.

     Chemical odor controllers are designed to kill bacteria and use a strong fragrance to mask any odors.  When using this type of odor control you will kill not only the odor causing bacteria but the beneficial bacteria as well.  This renders the system biologically inactive, resulting in a build up of solids that will require frequent pumping.

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BIOAUGMENTATION

     Bioaugmentation is the technique of increasing the biological efficiency of waste treatment systems through the programmed addition of specific bacterial formulations.  Again, using selectively adapted bacteria to cope with difficult compounds and chemicals present in waste systems.  Before the advent of strong chemicals to clean restrooms, most septic tanks and waste treatment plants would work quite well using the bacteria available in the organics.  Since the 1950s or so we have been using harsh cleaning chemicals and they have done a good job of killing the naturally occurring bacteria in these systems.

The following are the most common problems facing systems maintenance personnel:

Type System               Problem                                  Cause
Septic Tank                       Hard mat buildup                              High use and low biological activity
                                          Pumping tank more                          Leach field is clogged
                                          than once per year

                                          Water rises to surface                       Hard mat buildup in leach field
                                          in leach field

Lift Station                        Hydrogen sulfide odor                      Grease and waste accumulating
                                                                                                   on the side walls of the tank 

Sludge                              Shock Loading                                  Influx of Chemicals
Activated   
Plant                                 FM ratio is off                                    Too much sewage, not
                                                                                                   enough biologics
                                                                
                                         High MG/L                                         Not enough equalization time
                                         settleable solids

                                        Slow bio-activity                                 Bad aeration

Lagoons                           Odor                                                   pH level is off

                                        Algae bloom                                       High organics 

                                        Settled sludge                                    Too many solids in lagoon

     Bioaugmentation of any of the above systems can reduce or eliminate the causes thus eliminating the problems.

SANITARY CONDITIONS

     Chemical products vary in their composition.  The pH level of the product is the most important thing to watch for.  This includes the pH level in the cleaning products used for restroom maintenance.  Many cleaners contain phosphoric acid, phenol germicides and dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride compounds which are designed to kill bacteria.  The problem is that these cleaning agents cannot tell the difference between beneficial and pathogenic bacteria.  When these products are not used properly and some of the product gets into a tank, vault, sewer treatment plant, etc, there will be a "chemical kill" of much of the bacteria, and this will cause problems almost immediately.  Most sewer treatment plants, all vault toilets and all septic tanks need bacteria to breakdown the organics in them so these biological compounds are returned to nature as quickly as possible.

     Many companies manufacture cleaning products that have a high dilution ratio like 30:1, 40:1 or 60:1. Whatever the dilution ratio, it is important to follow it exactly.  Diluting some products at a lower ratio will not necessarily make the cleaning solution work better or faster.  This is especially true of the more caustic cleaners.  If they are not mixed per directions, the maintenance workers could become ill or sustain a chemical burn.  Many manufacturers also request that their product be put into a spray bottle, sprayed onto the surface needing the cleaning and wiped off.  This is one of the best ways to insure that excessive amounts of cleaning solution are not getting into a system that has live bacteria in it.  We recommend this application strongly.

     We strongly advocate following the manufacturer's directions when using cleaners!

     Putting our environment back into balance is at best, a difficult task and one of the first steps is to limit or eliminate chemical use before the chemicals find their way into our groundwater.  One of the first steps is to use organic, biodegradable, non-formaldehyde products.

     PLEASE FOLLOW THESE GUIDELINES:

       *** Dilute cleaning products to the manufacturer's directions.

       *** Use a spray bottle to apply for cleaning and disinfecting.

       *** Wipe down surface before rinsing.

       *** Do not add any cleaning or disinfecting agent directly in the tank or pour down the drain.

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