How Dead Bacteria Aid Flocculation and Overall Treatment

Because bacteria are responsible for the vast majority of treatment, the general success or failure of systems depends on maintaining adequate populations of viable bacteria to treat incoming wastewater as well as sufficient time (hydraulic retention time and sludge retention time) for the microbes to carry out their various functions. While living bacteria are directly responsible for general treatment, there are several crucial ways in which dead bacteria also aid in flocculation and overall treatment. Dead bacteria may act as bridging agents between live bacteria and other suspended particles, with the sticky surface of dead bacteria helping to form biological flocs.