Novozymes Biologicals, Inc. has been developing the technology of bioaugmentation for the degradation of
sanitary and agricultural wastes since 1969. In the 1970’s, Novozymes’ expanded their research and development
to include microorganisms designed to degrade common chemical components of industrial wastes. In the
1980’s, Novozymes developed application technology engineered for bioremediation of contaminated soils and
groundwater. Today Novozymes is the leader in the industry. With the development of new industrial processes,
new waste components are continuously identified as targets for microbial degradation. However, throughout
the evolution of this technology, one of the major waste components causing widespread waste treatment
problems continues to be grease.
A major focus of Novozymes’ R&D program has been the continuous development of technology for high rates
of grease degradation. In 1979, Novozymes patented a specific organism developed for grease, degradation and
a process using this organism in a synergistic relationship with several other strains to rapidly breakdown oil and
grease in municipal and industrial wastewater. In 1995 Novozymes again improved this technology by developing
a microbial consortia that targets the harder to degrade long chain fatly acids that accumulate in wastes.
The major area of grease accumulation, which causes waste treatment problems, is in the municipal collection
system. With population increase, popularity of fast food restaurants, and design limitations of aging systems, the
maintenance programs for the municipal collection systems become increasingly complicated and costly. Major
cities own thousands of miles of sewer lines and municipalities spend a significant percentage of their budgets on
the maintenance of these systems. Typically, municipal budgets are very limited. The established procedures for
maintenance of these systems are largely
reactive,
responding to problems as they occur. Historically, grease
build-up in collection system lines causes many emergency maintenance service calls:
1.)
Streets are flooded disrupting traffic, causing public relations problems from irate citizens and business
owners.
2.)
Homes are damaged with sewage back up leading to expensive repairs of homes. Often re-landscaping of
lawns and fencing destroyed during line repair is required.
3.)
Odor problems add to public relations problems especially as they occur in business or tourist areas.
4.)
Health hazards are associated with the spread of pathogen-laden sewage. With the advent of blood borne
pathogen regulations the public is more aware of potential health hazards and the required procedures for
handling sewage contaminated materials are considerably more rigorous and costly.
Problems must often be resolved on an emergency basis and often involve labor intensive and costly repairs.
Problem lines may be difficult to reach and can cause costly excavations. Due to design flaws or excessively heavy
loading, many lines cause repeated problems. Novozymes’ collection system treatment allows the collection
system maintenance department to become
proactive
instead of
reactive.
THEORY OF BIOAUGMENTATION IN COLLECTION SYSTEMS
“The naturally-occurring organisms present in collection systems are predominantly fecal coliforms. Because of
their low genetic diversity, these organisms contribute little to effective wastewater treatment.”
l
Organisms that
have demonstrated high rates and wide ranges of biodegradation capabilities are generally the saprophytic soil
bacteria, such as species of
Pseudomonas
and
Bacillus.
Soil organisms may enter the collection system by
infiltration or soil run-off; however, this “seeding” are a very small percentage of the organisms that are naturally
introduced into the collection system. With the technology Novozymes developed, addition of selectively adapted
saprophytic soil organisms can fortify the indigenous population to effectively remove the deposits of grease that
typically collect in sewers.
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