• Biological treatment is the use of bacteria and other

microorganisms to remove contaminants by assimilating

them has long been a mainstay of wastewater treatment in
the chemical process industries (CPI).
• There are many bio logical-treatment options are available
today because of they are effective and widely used.
• When considering biological waste water treatment for a
particular application, it is important to understand the
sources of the wastewater generated, typical wastewater
composition, discharge requirements, events and practices
within a facility that can affect the quantity and quality of
the wastewater, and pretreatment ramifications.
Consideration of these factors will allow you to maximize
the benefits your plant gains from effective biological
treatment.
 The steps involved in completing this process include
◦ Pre-treatment- maintaining a balanced flow of wastewaters
throughout an area to prevent blockages. This step also works to
precondition the waters so that contaminants are equally
distributed throughout.
◦ primary treatment- Primary treatment occurs at the water plant,
where solid materials are separated and removed before
wastewaters undergo biological treatment.
◦ Secondary- happens when wastewaters are sent into biological
reactor channels where microorganisms work to break down
organic materials. Sludge, or floc, is a by-product of this step, and
must be separated and removed in settling tanks.
◦ tertiary treatments-treatment removes any remaining materials
that are left over from the secondary treatment.
 There are three basic categories of biological
treatment:
◦ aerobic
◦ anaerobic
◦ anoxic

Aerobic biological treatment which may follow some form of

pretreatment such as oil removal, involves contacting
wastewater with microbes and oxygen in a reactor to optimize
the growth and efficiency of the biomass. Anaerobic (without
oxygen) and anoxic (oxygen deficient) treatments are similar
to aerobic treatment, but use microorganisms that do not
require the addition of oxygen. 
• With mechanical means:
– Activated sludge
– Trickling filter
– Biological contactor

• Without mechanical means:

– The wastewater is made to flow by gravity through a specially
constructed wetland.
– The organic material in the wastewater is used as nutrient by
the plants.
– Since water flow is slow in such system, to give ample time for
the biological activity to take place, there is almost no
turbulence in the water and reaeration is weak.
 operation takes place at ambient temperature
 No need to heat or cool the water, which saves on

energy consumption.
 Wastewater treatment operations take much

space, they are located outdoor, and this implies

that the system must be able to operate at
seasonally varying temperatures.
 Since the incoming effluent is introduced at one
end of the tank, the BOD value will be higher at
this end than the other.
 The microorganism at this end will be

physiologically more active than those at the

other end. These defects are rectified in the
complete mixing activated sludge process.
 Biocides used in the manufacturing environment

greatly inhibit biological reactions.

Biological water treatment is used to clean
wastewater containing organic material. In the
decaying process of nature, bacteria and other
microorganisms eat the organic materials as food.
The biological water treatment plant speeds up
the decaying process using microorganisms.