Aster Bio

06/22/2026

Maintaining stable AOB and NOB populations is impossible without understanding the quiet forces that shape their survival: free ammonia (FA) and free nitrous acid (FNA). These two nitrogen forms act like gatekeepers for nitrification performance. Operators who monitor FA and FNA don’t just “watch numbers”; they actively protect the backbone of biological nitrogen removal.
https://asterbio.com/the-critical-role-of-free-ammonia-and-free-nitrous-acid-in-maintaining-aob-and-nob-populations/

06/15/2026

Long‑chain fatty acids may look simple, but in wastewater they’re anything but. These hydrophobic molecules coat biomass, block oxygen transfer, and slow down treatment performance. With the right biological treatment strategies—specialized microbes, optimized environments, and enhanced degradation pathways—plants can break LCFAs down efficiently and restore healthy system kinetics. A small shift in biology can make a big operational difference.

06/07/2026

Summer heat doesn’t just warm lagoons — it changes how they function. As temperatures rise, oxygen drops, sludge turns anaerobic, and the result is often ammonia spikes, algae blooms, and odor complaints. Learn what’s happening biologically and what operators can do to stay ahead of summer instability.



https://asterbio.com/when-lagoons-heat-up-why-summer-brings-ammonia-spikes-algae-blooms-and-odors/

06/04/2026

Fast “BOD removal” isn’t metabolism—it’s adsorption. The next step is absorption, which is the actual metabolism of organics. If operators don’t distinguish the two, it’s easy to misread plant performance, mis tune aeration, or miss early signs of EPS and filament issues.

In activated sludge systems, organics don’t all behave the same way—and neither does the biomass. When operators talk about “BOD removal,” they’re often lumping two very different...

05/26/2026

Modern wastewater challenges demand a microbiome that can adapt, recover, and perform. Microbial diversity matters — and how tools like Microbial Community Analysis (MCA) and Shannon Index help operators track biological stability and anticipate upsets before they happen.

High microbial diversity helps biological treatment stay stable, resilient, and effective under real plant conditions. When operators understand why diversity matters—and what low diversity can signal—they can make more informed process decisions to improve treatment performance. Why Microbial D...

05/21/2026

Understanding which NOB dominates—and why—can make or break nitrification stability. Nitrospira and Nitrobacter respond very differently to load swings, oxygen shifts, and chemical stress, and those patterns show up fast in plant performance. Here’s a breakdown every operator should have in their troubleshooting toolkit.

Nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB) are essential to stable nitrification in wastewater treatment. They convert nitrite (NO₂⁻) to nitrate (NO₃⁻), helping maintain reliable nitrogen removal. In...

05/19/2026

Filamentous bulking doesn’t start with a single test — it starts with seeing the biology clearly. A strong microscopic ID tells you what’s growing, and MCA (molecular) data confirms why it’s happening inside the biomass. When you combine both, you move from guessing at control strategies to making confident, system‑wide decisions that actually prevent bulking.

Filamentous bulking is one of those problems every wastewater operator encounters eventually. You spot the tell‑tale signs—poor settling, rising sludge blankets, cloudy effluent—and the microscope confirms it: a filament is driving the issue. But identifying the organism is only step one. The ...

05/15/2026

Most MLSS samples arrive at the lab in ways that damage the biology before we ever see it. The simplest fix? A disposable transfer pipette. This tiny tool keeps floc structure intact, holds oxygen, and ships cleanly for accurate microscopic evaluation.

Small disposable transfer pipettes are preferred for MLSS samples because they make collection simple, clean, and consistent. They allow users to pull a small representative volume with minimal handling, reduce the risk of cross-contamination, and can be sealed easily for safe transport. Their low c...

05/14/2026

Chlorinated and fluorinated hydrocarbons are built to resist nature—but biology still has a few clever moves left. In this post, I break down why these compounds persist in the environment and how cometabolism opens new doors for bioremediation.

05/06/2026

Process shocks can turn a stable wastewater plant into a compliance risk fast—often with little warning. The 4 most common shock types (hydraulic overloads, pH swings, toxic/quasi‑toxic chemical hits, and mechanical DO collapse), what they do to the biology, and the operator “clues” that help diagnose the root cause early so you can recover faster.

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Even well‑run wastewater treatment systems face sudden, destabilizing events known as process shocks. These shocks disrupt biological activity, upset clarifiers, and threaten permit compliance — often with little warning. While every plant is unique, most upsets fall into four major categories: ...