BIOAUGMENTATION vs. INDIGENOUS MICROBIAL POPULATIONS
FOR WASTE REMEDIATION PROJECTS

Bioaugmentation is defined as the addition of pre-grown microbial cultures to perform a specific remediation task in a given environment. At United-Tech, Inc. the microbes in our cultures are specially selected, usually from a similar environment, screened for the desired biological activity and hardiness, and grown in large quantities in fermentation vats. The cultures are harvested, tested for purity, and formulated into easy-to-apply products.

Application of the United-Tech, Inc. cultures to wastewater or contaminated soil provides a large population of active microbes specific for the waste that needs to be remediated. Whether it's fats and oils in a restaurant grease trap or petroleum hydrocarbons contaminating the soil, a specific, active microbial population can be added in numbers that will clean up the waste in a timely fashion.

Indigenous microbes are those that occur naturally in a given environment. They are usually present in very small numbers and may or may not be able to biodegrade a specific contaminant. The indigenous population may act but not quickly enough to prevent the spread of the contaminant. If a rapid response is important, the reliance on small numbers of the indigenous microbial population is not appropriate.

In some cases, the indigenous microbes may not have the ability to degrade a particular contaminant at all. In this instance, bioaugmentation with United-Tech, Inc. formulas would be the only way to provide sufficient numbers of the right microbes to complete the biodegradation. Just as the dairy industry now adds commercial starter cultures to ensure the right cheese and yogurt fermentation, we can add our specific bioaugmentation culture formulas to ensure a rapid clean-up of soil or water.

Over the last few years, United-Tech, Inc.'s formulas have achieved many bio-augmentation successes. Such diverse soil - and water - contaminating compounds as ammonia, Hydrogen Sulfide, insecticides, petroleum compounds, and a growing number of toxic organic chemicals have been successfully remediated using United-Tech, Inc. formulas. As our formulas become more and more commercially available, bioaugmentation will become the standard for rapid and precise cleanup of a variety of contaminated soil and waste water situations.