Bicarbonate Alkalinity the key metabolite for bio-culture health, growth and performance capacity.

Описание: The alkalinity of water is measured by determining the quantity of acid neutralising equivalents that are present in the water. P H, is a measure of the quantity of H plus ions in the water, and alkalinity is the measure of the quantity of negative ions than can react with the H plus, to neutralise the acidity. In natural water, the pH of the water will be maintained at around 7 to 7.5, as shown on the graphic. In water with concentrated bio-culture, like in wastewater treatment, the water receives a substantial amount of carbon dioxide, and nitrate from catabolic breakdown of nutrients. This may cause the water pH to decrease below seven, if the alkalinity of the water is not sufficient.

For natural water, the ionic salts that provide the p H buffering, come mostly from calcium carbonate and magnesium carbonate. Other negative ions, and the hydroxyl ion can also neutralise protons in the water, but are not as effective as calcium carbonate alkalinity. The hydroxyl ions have to form bicarbonate ions by reacting with dissolved carbon dioxide and carbonic acid in the water, to form bicarbonate. Alkalinity is measured with the equivalent mass of calcium carbonate, that is, the water has the acid neutralising buffer capacity that an equivalent of calcium carbonate would give it. The key ionic species for alkalinity is bicarbonate ions, which are at a maximum concentration at a p H of around 7.5.

Before we look more closely at the importance of bicarbonate ions in wastewater treatment processes, let’s look at the chemistry of their formation. Carbon dioxide, emanating from catabolic metabolism of reduced carbon nutrients, are released in the water where they react with water, to form carbonic acid. At a neutral p H, the protons from carbonic acids are neutralised by forming water and bicarbonate ions, these in turn are stabilised by calcium ions, or any other positive ions in the water. At un-naturally high p H, the bicarbonate ions change species to carbonate ions, which at very high concentration may precipitate from the water as calcium or magnesium carbonate.

Alkalinity therefore forms the supply chain of bicarbonate ions to the water, forming these directly from dissociated calcium carbonate, or from hydroxyle ion stabilisation of carbonic acid, to form water. Calcium bicarbonate is the most important ionic species in wastewater treatment, as the bicarbonate ion is required as an inorganic carbon metabolite for metabolic activity of organisms in the bio-culture. Calcium serves as a crucial shuttle for delivering the bicarbonate to the membrane surface, where it can attach to the membrane or with active sites for bicarbonate transport through the membrane.

Gram negative bacteria, form the bulk of bacterial species in the bio-culture of wastewater systems, estimated to be more than 90 percent in total. With a strong negative charge on the outer surface of the membrane, caused by negatively charged phosphates, carboxyl groups and lipopolysaccharides that are integral to the membrane structure. Calcium with its double positive charge is vital to attract the negative charge of bi-carbonate, anchoring it to the cell membrane, to be ready for transport into the interior of the bacterial cell via the transmembrane transport organelle.

Gram negative bacteria, form the bulk of bacterial species in the bio-culture of wastewater systems, estimated to be more than 90 percent in total. With a strong negative charge on the outer surface of the membrane, caused by negatively charged phosphaites, carboxyle groups and lypo-polysaccharides that are integral to the membrane structure. Calcium with its double positive charge, is vital to attract the negative charge of bi-carbonate, anchoring it to the negative charge of the cell membrane, to be ready for transport into the interior of the bacterial cell, via the trans-membrane transporter.

Bicarbonate is a highly reactive inorganic carbon molecule, and a important metabolic intermediate that can be incorporated into the organic molecules, as an addition of an extra organic carbon during protein, carbohydrate or structural molecule assembly. In addition to this, bicarbonate alkalinity is vital for the maintenance of the proton gradient across cell membranes, the mechanism through which the organism generates energy from the electron transport chain during respiration.
To guarantee bicarbonate supply and the pH control, the transport of bicarbonate to the cytoplasm of the cell, specialised mechanisms of control and transport evolved in procaryotes. Bicarbonate can be formed from carbon-dioxide by the carbonic anhydrase enzyme, delivering the bicarbonate to the bicarbonate transporter complex binding site on the extracellular side of the membrane. Bicarbonate is delivered to the cytoplasmic side of the membrane where the reaction can be reversed by the C A enzymes to deliver the bicarbonate in the cytoplasm.