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Microbial Products
Overview
Practical Applications and Technical Information
How do
microbial products work?
In
grease traps and other waste treatment situations, the
microorganisms consume organic waste as a food source, multiplying
as they do so. Microbial products also contain and produce as
byproducts enzyme systems and surfactants that break down and
mobilize waste. Culture products aid plant production by providing
hormonal stimulus and changing the microenvironment so that it
favors plant root growth rather than fungal growth.
How quickly do
microbial products work?
The microorganisms are capable under ideal circumstances of doubling
in population in as short a time as 20- minutes and continuing to
increase logarithmically. The enzymes and surfactants in the
products work immediately. The action of microbial byproducts in
odor control can be presented in a 60-second sales demonstration.
Why add large numbers of
organisms if they start multiplying right away?
The
environment to which the organisms are added is never ideal. Factors
that limit growth potential include pH and temperature, oxygen and
moisture content, poisons, competitor microorganisms and predator
microorganisms, and depletion of the food source. The concentration
of organisms in our products is the idea number to assure
establishing a vigorous population of the bugs even when there is
die off due to environmental conditions.
Why add
microbes when other microorganisms are present naturally?
In grease traps, naturally-occurring organisms are regularly flushed
out and occasionally poisoned by high concentrations of
disinfectants. Added microbes help maintain adequate populations.
In sewage treatment, in addition to the problems related to the
dynamics of flow, the organisms naturally present in the treatment
plant produce compounds which tend to hold water next to the solids.
This water retention has two effects which greatly influence the
sewage treatment process: it slows the settling of the solids and it
increases the volume which they occupy. Our microbes slit the
compounds that cause water retention.
In the case of hydrocarbon contaminates, studies have shown that
petroleum applied to normal soils at low levels is degraded very
quickly (and with an apparent increase in soil fertility). Yet there
is a problem with petroleum degradation in soil or there would not
be the large amounts of petroleum-contaminated soil present in this
country. Sometimes the problem is merely that of adding insufficient
soil moisture to support growth. Sometimes, however, there are
insufficient organisms present to initiate the degradation process.
This occurs particularly when the soils in question are subsurface
soils as those around underground storage tans or when the soil has
been killed as in production fields receiving highly saline
production water for years.S
In agricultural applications, it is the loss of advantageous
microflora in the root zone that can lead to decreased or lost plant
production following environment disruptions such as drought,
flooding, and temperature extremes.
How often do
microbial products need to be applied?
In waste treatment situations where pollutants are no longer being
added, a single treatment may be sufficient. Bioremediation of
petroleum contaminates in a contained area is an example of this
type of situation. The only requirement is that pH, temperature and
oxygen and moisture content be maintained in the appropriate range
for the three-month treatment period.
In organic waste treatment systems which manage a continuos stream
of incoming pollutants, daily or weekly additions of
highly-efficient organisms ensure continuous pollutant and odor
reduction and optimization of the handling characteristics of the
waste.
When treating surfaces such as carpeting for pet stains and spoiled
food odors, the culture products is applied once and the surface is
kept wet for 24 hours.
Root-zone microbes often need be applied only at planting or after
an environmental disruption. In situations of constant stress, such
as golf-course turf, monthly applications give best results.
When is a liquid
product the right choice?
The advantages of liquids are:
-
Price - liquid products are a least half the price of competitor's
for the products of equivalent concentration.
-
Usability - A liquid product can be set up with a pump to be
applied automatically rather than manually. This means the product
gets used regularly.
When is
powdered product the right choice?
The advantages of powders are:
-
Solubility - Unlike most other powdered product on the market, our
crystals are water soluble. This means that powdered product can
be applied automatically into manholes and grease traps because it
will not plug orifices.
-
Purity - Where regulatory agencies and consumers demand pure
products, our powders are the cultures of choice.
What
about anaerobic organisms?
Many competing products are formulated with up to one-half the plate
count coming from anaerobic organisms. We feel that these organisms
do not enhance the results obtained from the use of microbial
products in the real world. We will, however, formulate products
with anaerobic organisms for distributors who require this for
marketing purposes. The price for liquids is about 15% higher; for
powdered products the price is the same.
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