Sulphate-Reducing Bacteria in Biological Treatment Wastewaters

Human activity is strictly linked with the production of waste, i.e., materials and substances that are undesired and cannot be used further. On the one hand these substances are natural to the environment, eliminated from further technological process by their uselessness (e.g. mining waste), or represent new products such as anthropogenic waste, being the by-product of industrial and agricultural activities. A separate group comprises municipal waste that is not linked with production but results from human dwelling. Utilisation actions aiming at neutralising and/or removal of waste are focused on substances that due to their existing or potential chemical activity may negatively influence the biosphere. Non-active substances represent alien elements in the natural environment, but due to their passive character, their utilisation is concentrated on non-conflicting storage. Active pollutants influencing the natural environment penetrate it as gaseous emanations, fluids (sewage and effluents) and solids. This book addresses this very important issue and covers the topic of restriction of emission and removal of hazardous gaseous emanations that should be conducted in places where they are formed. Imperfection of the applied technology or its lack results in atmospheric pollution. This problem can be of local (around industrial plants, e.g. chemical works, food processing plants, around farmsteads and stock farms), country or global range (emission of CO2, nitrogen compounds, gases hazardous to the ozone layer).