Biological Processes for Water Resource Protection and Water Recovery

Current practice in the secondary treatment of wastewater for pollution control calls for the use of biological oxidation to remove organic substances. When it comes to selecting the method of biological oxidation, a pollution control engineer has at his or her disposal a variety of treatment processes, among which activated sludge and trickling filters are the most popular. The function and limitations of the activated sludge processes are reviewed. The principles of biological oxidation and of the energy flow concept are described, and the relationship of synthesis and respiration is discussed in relation to the importance of activated sludge process control.