A method of exposing microorganisms to a condition wherein the condition facilitates or inhibits growth of a specific species of microorganisms or a specific consortium of microorganisms. The condition may also stimulate microorganisms to uptake a pollutant from a fluid and/or release the pollutant. Furthermore, the microorganisms may also be harvested and used as a foodstuff for human and animal consumption.

Provided is a method for treating wastewater, the method being capable, even during low water temperature periods, of efficiently purifying organic wastewater that experiences large temperature differences in a year. A method for treating organic wastewater uses a device including a predetermined reaction tank containing activated sludge and a culture tank and includes the steps of: culturing, in the culture tank, a microorganism contained in the activated sludge, while maintaining a temperature of a content of the culture tank at a temperature that is at least 5? C. lower than a water temperature of the organic wastewater at a start of culturing of the microorganism and not lower than ?1? C. and not higher than 10? C.; and then introducing the microorganism into the reaction tank.

The present invention relates to a process and device for selectively removal of deflocculated sludge below a pre-selected size from a sludge mixed liquor. The invention resides in the concept of removing from the sludge mixed liquor deflocculated sludge. The removal is preferably carried out by a two-step separation providing a fraction comprising sludge flocs, substantially freed from deflocculated sludge, and a fraction containing mostly deflocculated sludge. The fraction comprising sludge flocs is returned into the sludge mixed liquor, while the fraction containing mostly deflocculated sludge is removed from the system.

A granule-forming method using a semi-batch reaction tank, wherein: operation cycles of a first operation cycle for performing a biological treatment step at a first sludge load and after the first operation cycle, a second operation cycle for performing the biological treatment step at a second sludge load are performed repeatedly; the first sludge load is set so that the soluble BOD concentration in the semi-batch reaction tank at the time of completion of the biological treatment step of the first operation cycle does not decrease to a threshold value or less; and the second sludge load is set so that the soluble BOD concentration in the semi-batch reaction tank at the time of completion of the biological treatment step of the second operation cycle is at or below the threshold value.

A process in which a waste stream containing microbes and organic constituents is passed through a process environment comprising a solid media, microbes, and higher animals, such that some of the microbes and/or organic constituents within the waste stream are removed from the waste stream and some of the removed microbes are destroyed or consumed by the higher animals. The process environment may include an irrigated environment, a submerged environment, or a combined environment.

Methods of removing dioxane and optionally one or more CAHs such as 1,1-DCE, cis-1,2-DCE, trans-1,2-DCE, 1,2-DCA, 1,1-DCA, VC, and TCE from a liquid medium contaminated therewith include applying a feedstream of propane to the liquid medium in the presence of at least one propanotrophic bacteria strain selected from Azoarcus sp. DD4 (DD4) and Mycobacterium sp. DT1 (DT1). Propane, 1-propanol and/or 1-butanol may be employed as substrates in the bioaugmentation of the propanotrophic bacteria strain.

A water filtering system includes providing light deep into a liquid used in applications such as the cultivation of both attached and suspended photosynthetic organisms. The system is configured to inject a stream of bubbles into the liquid and a light source is configured to shines light through the bubbles. The bubbles allow some light to travel deep into the liquid along the length of the bubble stream and scatter/deflect some light out of the bubble stream and into the surrounding liquid including screens for growing algae.

A reactor based on a generation of aerobic granules in a continuous flow configuration, for biological treatment of biomass including urban or industrial wastewater, the reactor including, in succession, from upstream to downstream: an inlet for wastewater; a first head tank operated in feast mode and under anaerobic conditions; a second tank for performing a function of a biological selector for microorganisms which are favorable to formation of dense structures, operated in feast mode, and subdivided into two compartments, a first compartment being operated successively and alternately under aerobic and anaerobic conditions and vice versa, so that the biomass is exposed in a dynamic way to alternating oxidizing and reducing conditions respectively, and so as to prolong or extend anaerobiosis of the first head tank into the first compartment of the second tank.

A treatment process for municipal, commercial, industrial, and institutional fluids containing one or more substances at a first concentration includes a contactor, an aerator, and a separator. The fluid is mixed with a powdered natural lignocellulosic material (PNLM), a microbial growth inoculum, and at least a portion of the fluid in the contactor to provide a mixture that includes an established, acclimated microbial growth in the fluid. The mixture is introduced to an aerator where physical binding and chemical bonding of at least some of the one or more substances to the PNLM additionally physiological uptake by microbial growth in a biosludge reduces the concentration of at least some of the one or more substances in the fluid discharged from the aerator to a second concentration. The biosludge is separated to recover at least a portion of the PNLM that is recycled to the contactor.

The present invention relates to a new and novel process that combines several water treatment processes to biologically treat wastewater. The first treatment process is bioaugmentation using a select mixture of microorganisms grown from wastes collected from a Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP) to treat wastewater as it flows through its conveyance system. The second treatment process is employment of a flow control device that increases the holding capacity of the conveyance system to increase time for biological treatment and allow the contained water to be discharged at a controlled reduced and leveled rate. The third treatment process is a high-rate clarification system preferably using flocculating polymers to remove fine suspended solids from the wastewater that can be further treated in a series of containment structures positioned in a stream or riverbed to increase the treatment residence time.