Biological Cleaning

Biological cleaning, as you may realize by reading the section below, has nothing to do with cleaning of mattresses, living rooms, carpets, car interiors, etc., that lot of people falsely advertise.

DEFINITION OF BIOLOGICAL CLEANING

Biological cleaning is a process of wastewater treatment, a procedure that separates contaminating substances from water of the wastes with the intention of redirecting that water in the environment without making it a dependency and thus limiting water wasting. Transfer of water of the wastes to the facilities of biological treatment is mostly being done through the sewer systems and in some occasions with tank trucks.

STAGES OF BIOLOGICAL CLEANING PROCESS

Stage one: Removal of floating (organic and inorganic) materials.
Initially, in this stage comes the removal of materials like fat, dust, etc., with mechanical procedures. Later on, large wooden, metal or other objects are removed to avoid damaging the facilities and mechanical equipment during the next stage of processing. This is being done using racks that withhold solid materials. After that comes the sedimentation that allows heavy wastes to come to the surface (mud, excreta) which allows the removal of them.

Stage two: Removal of pathogenic substances using oxygenation (biological cleaning)
In this stage biological wastes are being removed, like human wastes, cleaners, etc. This is usually being done by an aerobic degradability. The efficiency of this method usually depends on the degraders- organisms like bacteria and protozoa that perform the degradation process- which need oxygen and a substrate to keep them alive. This method could be applied in many different ways. In any case though, the degraders need to consume materials like sugar.

Stage three: Removal of pathogen substances through chemical processes
In this stage, pathogenic substances are being removed, like ammonia (nitrogen) which is toxic to fish and salts (phosphates) and cause eutrophication in lakes or seas. Due to high costs, this procedure is applied to wastewaters with large concentration of industrial wastes intending to use the wastewaters again (e.g. in industries, irrigation, recreational areas, etc.).