by Erik Rumbaugh | Apr 16, 2026 | Wastewater Troubleshooting
We know the story: the diffuser grid was rated well in clean-water testing, but real basins rarely perform the same. This post explains why real-world oxygen transfer efficiency (OTE) commonly lands 40–70% below clean-water standard oxygen transfer efficiency (SOTE),...
by Erik Rumbaugh | Apr 10, 2026 | Uncategorized
In wastewater treatment, the biological conversion of ammonia to nitrate (nitrification) is a two-step process performed by Ammonia-Oxidizing Bacteria (AOB) and Nitrite-Oxidizing Bacteria (NOB). Because these organisms are chemolithoautotrophic and have slow growth...
by Erik Rumbaugh | Mar 30, 2026 | Uncategorized
A clear difference between MBBR (attached‑growth) and suspended‑growth activated sludge is how much living biomass each system can maintain—and how that living fraction behaves under real operating conditions. The contrast shapes treatment capacity, stability, and...
by Erik Rumbaugh | Mar 23, 2026 | Uncategorized
If you’ve ever wondered why Nitrite spikes show up during startup—or why hot summers can throw your system off—you’re really asking about one thing: replication rates. Nitrosomonas (AOB) and Nitrospira (NOB) are the most common wastewater chemolithoautotrophic...
by Erik Rumbaugh | Mar 17, 2026 | Uncategorized
When you look at activated sludge under the microscope, you usually focused on the big players— metazoa, protozoa, floc size/density, and the filamentous organisms that can make or break settling performance. But sometimes the most important clues come from the small...
