Applied Water Science (2020) 10:143

https://doi.org/10.1007/s13201-020-01226-y

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Efficiency of pozzolan and sawdust as biofilter in the treatment

of wastewater
B. Ouadi1 · A. Bendraoua3 · N. Boualla1 · M. Adjdir2

Received: 7 August 2019 / Accepted: 6 May 2020 / Published online: 20 May 2020
© The Author(s) 2020

Abstract
Wastewater can offer a favorable solution for wastewater treatment. This work reviews series of filters with different particle
sizes, namely pozzolan and sawdust, as an alternative for wastewater treatment. A permeability coefficient was determined
for each filter. The biofilm was prepared by passing a stream of wastewater containing bacteria through different filters
separately. The purification of wastewater was performed on the biofilm with different particles sizes. The results show an
inverse relationship between the permeability coefficient and the contact time that affects the efficiency of the filtration.
Filtration efficiency yield is around 85–94% for chemical oxygen demand (COD) and around 92–97% for biological oxygen
demand (BOD). High efficiency in removing some minerals is also observed by bacteria. The biofilm prepared from waste-
water seems to be an efficient agent to filter wastewaters in particular rural areas. The formation of biofilms has significantly
reduced bacterial activity and heavy metal content.

Keywords Pozzolan · Sawdust · Biofilm · BOD · COD · Wastewater · Heavy metals · Physicochemical parameters ·
Bacterial deposition

Introduction lead, mercury and chromium), chemicals used in agriculture,

human and animal pharmaceutical derivatives and endo-
The world has become threatened with war, especially in the crine disrupters has exacerbated the problem (Sheikh et al.
Middle East, due to the scarcity of clean water resources and 2019). Estrogens are one of the micro-pollutants in waste-
the increasing demands for it. Requirements for clean water water which are excreted by all humans and animals. These
have increased with population growth, rapid urbanization, estrogen hormones have detrimental effects on water living
misuse of water resources and climate disruption creating organisms (Roudbari and Rezakazemi 2018). The treatment
a global issue of great concern. Of the seven billion people of wastewater is considered as a major priority due to the
globally, over 15% do not have access to adequate freshwater lack of natural sources of water. Organic wastes are serious
for a healthy life. Increasing water contamination from the problem of wastewater; different techniques and methods
discharge of water-borne pathogens, inorganic pollutants, are used to purify the wastewater from organic and inorganic
such as arsenic, selenium and heavy metals (e.g., cadmium, pollutants. These pollutants are produced from distillery,
paper, textile and tannery effluents…etc. Biofilm is one of
the most important biological processes of waste organic
* B. Ouadi treatment (Omri et al. 2013). Successful applications of this
brahimusto@gmail.com; brahim.ouadi@univ‑usto.dz technology have been reported in wastewater treatment,
1
Laboratory Materials, Soil and Thermal, Department petrochemical, textile and tobacco industries (Leiknes and
of Civil Engineering, University of Science and Technology, Degaard 2001; Cogan and Keener 2004). There are several
USTO-MB, 31000 Oran, Algeria benefits of using biofilm in wastewater treatment system in
2
Department of Engineering Process, Faculty of Technology, comparison with suspended growth systems, such as flexible
University of Saida, Saida, Algeria procedures, smaller space demand, lower hydraulic retention
3
Laboratory Organic Synthesis, Physical‑Chemical time, increased resiliency, higher biomass retaining period,
and Environment, Department Chemistry, University increased active biomass clusters, improved recalcitrant sub-
of Science and Technology – Mohamed BOUDIAF-, stance degradation as well as decreased rate in microbial
USTO-MB, 31000 Oran, Algeria

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143 Page 2 of 9 Applied Water Science (2020) 10:143

proliferation (Shahot et al. 2014). Apart from that, the appli- out at the level of the laboratory of Water and Sanitation
cation of biofilm systems also increases the ability to control Society of Oran (SEOR), Laboratory Organic Synthesis,
the frequency of reaction and population mechanism (Borkar Physical–Chemical and Environment (Univ. USTO-MB)
et al. 2013). The Biofilm is formed and grown through a and Laboratory Materials, Soil and Thermal (Univ. USTO-
five-stage process (Cogan and Keener 2004). The applica- MB) (Tables 1, 2).
tion of fixed and moving bed processes is distinguished by
the quality of the support components on which biofilm is Pozzolan
configured on static platforms such as rocks, plastic profiles,
sponges, granular carriers or membranes. Membrane biore- Pozzolan was obtained from natural deposits in northwest of
actor (MBR) for wastewater treatment is an effective process Algeria (Bouhamidi Source situated at about 100 km from
which can be used for municipal and industrial wastewaters Oran). Different chemical composition and characteristic
(Rezakazemi et al. 2018a). Also, large quantities of indus- properties of pozzolan are presented in Tables 3, 4 and 5.
trial wastewater are produced annually in the world and there
are many methods of treatment including ultrasound, the Wood sawdust
most important of which is biological treatment through the
biological membrane (Rezakazemi et al. 2018b). This pro- Wood sawdust is a solid residue, which is generated in the
ject can be embodied in the field especially in small com- timber industry (Couto et al. 2012).The result of general
munities such as villages, rural areas and even small cities. analysis for broken wood from different trees under normal
The main subject of this attempt is a comparison study of conditions shows the following composition: 40% of water,
the efficiency between two natural materials as biofilm filter 1% of organic solids or ash and 59% of the elements capable
of bacterial and heavy metals. of inflammation or oxidization. These elements are in dis-
similar kinds of wood as: 29.5% carbon, 3.5% hydrogen,
26% oxygen and nitrogen (Meniai 2012).
Materials and methods Soils nature has a big effect on the ash’s chemical compo-
sition that forms it, because nature and minerals quantity that
Study materials form the ash differ from a place to another (in trees’ different
parts) with different parts in trees. These are also variation
Wastewater depending on seasons.

Wastewater samples were collected after physical treat- Preparation of materials

ment from the Karma wastewater treatment plant (Oran—
Algeria).The different experimental work was based on • Grinding and sifting pozzolan to obtain diameters rang-
the physicochemical and bacteriological analyses carried ing between 5–8 mm and 8–12.5 mm.

Table 1  Analytical methods and apparatus used

Parameter Method and apparatus

Physicochemical
pH Analyzer multiparameter portable Mark Electrical Hanna instrument model HI 9811
Conductivity Analyzer multiparameter portable Mark Electrical Hanna instrument model HI 9811
T Thermometers din 12775
K Permeability meter
COD Thermoreactor SR3000/photoLab-S6
BOD Manometric BOD Measuring Instrument-IS 602
Suspended solids Ramp by filtration (oven at 105 °C)
Heavy metals Atomic absorption spectrometer/Automated ­novAA® 400 P from Analytik Jena. HI 83200 Multiparameter
Bench Photometer Hanna instrument
Bacteriological
Coliformes. T Membrane filtration method. SEOR Laboratory
E. coli Membrane filtration method. SEOR Laboratory
Enterococcus Membrane filtration method. SEOR Laboratory
Clostridium Membrane filtration method. SEOR Laboratory

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Table 2  Physicochemical and bacteriological parameter of wastewater (samples after physical treatment only)
Parameter Error P1 (09/07/2018) P2 (19/07/2018) S1 (03/09/2018) S2 (13/09/2018)

Physicochemical
pH ± 0.02 7.16 7.57 7.55 7.48
T (°C) ± 0.02 27 23 28 26.2
Conductivity (μS/cm) ± 0.02 2550 2750 2680 2570
Suspended solids (mg/l) ± 0.15 20 48 59 31
NO2− (mg/l) ± 0.04 30 12 7.25 6.7
PO−3
4 (mg/l) ± 0.01 16.7 5.2 2.5 3.5
Cu+2 (mg/l) ± 0.02 2.903 1.421 3.441 1.300
SO−2
4 (mg/l) ± 0.05 > 100 > 100 > 100 > 100
Fe (mg/l) ± 0.04 2.11 1.76 1.8 0
Cr+3 (mg/l) ± 0.005 0.396 0.467 0.412 0.385
Zn+2 (mg/l) ± 0.03 0.451 0.645 0.535 0.440
Pb+2 (mg/l) ± 0.005 0 0.1 0.43 2.04
Cd+2 (mg/l) ± 0.005 0.11 0.07 0 0.12
Ni+2 (mg/l) ± 0.01 2.4 2.1 2.201 2.315
Bacteriological
Coliformes. T (CFU/ml) ± 0.42 98 73 9900 9000
E. coli (CFU/ml) ± 0.40 98 73 9900 9000
Enterococcus (CFU/ml) ± 0.43 38 70 48 40
Clostridium (CFU/ml) ± 0.23 8 4 10 8

P1: wastewater sample after physical treatment of the biofilm industry on Pozzolan
P2: a sample of wastewater after physical treatment to pass it into a filter made from Pozzolan
S1: wastewater sample after physical treatment of the biofilm industry on sawdust
S2: a sample of wastewater after physical treatment to pass it into a filter made from sawdust

Table 3  Chemical oxide Composition SiO2 CaO Fe2O3 MgO Al2O3 SO3 Cl Loss on ignition
composition of pozzolan
Percentages (%) 45.21 9.99 9.84 4.38 17.85 n.d n.d 3.91

n.d not defined

Table 4  Different characteristic Table 5  Mineral composition of pozzolan expressed on weight %

properties of pozzolan Porosity (%) 60–70
pH 5.6–7 Counts Percent-
Density 0.13–0.8 age (%)
Proportion of water 19–20 Wollastonite.1\ITA\RG 30
retention (%)
Augite, aluminian 29
Blanks coefficient 9.1–23
Silicon oxide 14
Chemical reaction 0
Magnesium aluminum silicon oxide 10
Pyrope, ferroan 7
• Sifting the sawdust to obtain the diameters between Pigeonite 6
Silicon oxide 4
5–8 mm and 8–12.5 mm.
• The above materials are washed with deionized water
and dried to avoid any blockages caused by very small
granules. The equipment used for this experiment is given as
• The permeability coefficients (k) are calculated (fixed follows:
charge of free surface) for pozzolan and sawdust for dif-
ferent diameters (5–8 and 8–12.5) mm, and the results • Wastewater basin.
are shown in Table 6. • A small water pump.

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Table 6  Different experimental parameters results

Solids Diameter (mm) Permeability Before treatment After treatment Treatment Temperature of
(K) (cm/s) yield (%) experimental
± 0.35 environment ± 0.5
BOD ± 0.5 COD ± 0.13 BOD ± 0.5 COD ± 0.13 BOD COD

Pozzolan 5–8 8.12 210 612 6 36 97 94 25

8–12.5 9.88 350 670 24.5 80 93 88 24
Sawdust 5–8 9.70 380 718 15 64 96 91 26
8–12.5 13.04 320 690 25.5 103 92 85 23.5
Pozzolan + Saw- 5–8/8–12.5 9.80 320 702 16 77 95 89 26
dust

• Connecting pipes diameter of 5 mm.

• Water sprinkler that allows the water to be sprayed evenly
on the surface of the material.

The biofilter model has the following dimensions:

• Cylinder height of 45.5 cm; inside diameter of

11.5 cm; outer diameter of 12.5 cm; and surface area of
103.81 cm2. The bottom of the cylinder is a perforated
aluminum that allows the passage of water and air. The
height of the material inside is 30 cm.
• Flow meter is fixed to a rate of 1.4 cm3/s.

Phase I Biomembrane culture

The wastewater used in this study is brought from the

Fig. 1  Biofilm culture: 1. wastewater basin, 2. pump, 3. tubes, 4. air,
municipal wastewater treatment plant, and it has beforehand
5. sprinkler. 6. The material cylinder allows water to pass from the
undergone a physical treatment (P1 and S1). The air bub- below: 7. Fauce
bles are removed from the tank that contains the wastewater
to prevent any oxidation or other interactions. The biofilms
are prepared by passing the wastewater through different Phase III Measuring the concentration of metal removal
materials (pozzolan and sawdust) under different diameters
of 5–8 mm and 8–12.5 mm separately. The wastewater is We took diameters of 5-8 for both sawdust and pozzolan
mixed with a solution of glucose (1 g/l) to feed and increase each separately as they produced the best yield of BOD and
the bacteria population. The mixture was passed into a glass COD. As shown in Table 6, we measured physicochemical
cylinder with a different material height of 30 cm separately properties as well as heavy metal concentrations in addition
under a flow rate of 1.4 cm3/s. The whole system is left in to bacterial activity before and after the wastewater treat-
rotation in a closed circle for 8 h/day to provide oxygen to ment in the model (Table 7; Fig. 2).
bacteria. After that, the whole system is brought to the tem-
perature of 37 °C in an oven for the remaining hours. The
operation is repeated daily until 10 days (Fig. 1). Results and discussions

The speed is determined between 0.8 and 1.6 m/h that is

Phase II Measuring treatment yield equal to 0.22–0.44 cm/s. After doing all the tests, we came
up with the following results.
Raw wastewater (P2 and S2) is passed into the biofilm As results, it is noticed that the effect of particle size in
prepared with different diameters under the flow rate of the same material plays an important role in the yield of
1.4 cm3/s and speed of 0.22–0.44 cm/s. The BOD and COD BOD and COD after treatment. The particle size ranging
of wastewater are measured before and after the treatment between 5 and 8 mm gives a yield greater than that given
(Table 6). by 8 and 12.5 mm. These results are in agreement with the

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Table 7  Physicochemical and Parameter Error P2 P3 S2 S3

bacteriological parameters of
wastewater (before and after the Physicochemical
treatment)
pH ± 0.02 7.57 7.76 7.48 7.88
T (°C) ± 0.02 23 24.5 26.2 25.3
conductivity (μS/cm) ± 0.02 2750 2680 2570 2413
Suspended solids (mg/l) ± 0.15 48 69 31 53
NO2− (mg/l) ± 0.04 12 6 6.7 0.8
PO−3
4 (mg/l) ± 0.01 5.2 2.11 3.5 1.3
Cu+2 (mg/l) ± 0.02 1.421 0.230 1.300 0.576
SO−2
4 (mg/l) ± 0.05 > 100 > 100 > 100 > 100
Fe+3 (mg/l) ± 0.04 1.76 1.38 0 0
Cr+3 (mg/l) ± 0.005 0.467 0.203 0.385 0.219
Zn+2 (mg/l) ± 0.03 0.645 0.360 0.440 0.221
Pb+2 (mg/l) ± 0.005 0.1 0.8 2.04 0.59
Cd+2 (mg/l) ± 0.005 0.07 0.05 0.12 0.03
Ni+2 (mg/l) ± 0.01 2.1 1.02 2.315 1.178
Bacteriological
Coliformes. T (UCF/100 ml) ± 0.42 73 8 9000 7600
E. coli (UCF/100 ml) ± 0.40 73 8 9000 7600
Enterococcus (UCF/100 ml) ± 0.43 70 52 40 23
Clostridium (UCF/100 ml) ± 0.23 4 0 8 5

P2: sample of wastewater after physical treatment and being passed through a filter made of pozzolan
S2: sample of wastewater after physical treatment and being passed through a filter made of sawdust
P3: sample of wastewater after being passed through the filter made of pozzolan
S3: sample of wastewater after being passed through the filter made of sawdust

Fig. 2  Wastewater treatment by designed model (pozzolan, saw-

dust): 1. wastewater basin, 2. pump, 3. tubes, 4. air, 5. sprinkler. 6. Fig. 3  Evolution of chemical oxygen demand (COD) depending on
The material cylinder allows water to pass from the below: 7. fauce, the particle size of the material. Standard COD value = 120mg/l
8. treated water-receiving basin

weeks for the diameters ranging between 5 and 8 mm, it is

permeability coefficient; the larger the particle size, the less noticed that the thickness of filter particles increases due to
friction and contact time between bacteria and water. This the significant breeding of bacteria and therefore the amount
leads to a higher BOD and COD after treatment (Figs. 3, of oxygen entering the natural filter will be reduced, thus
4). In the case of the continued treatment during days or reducing the yield (Stoodley et al. 1998; Heydorn et al.

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Figure 5 monitors the influence of particle size of differ-

ent biofilters depending the contact time. It is noticed that
when the particle size increases, the contact time of waste-
water and the biofilter decreases. This can be explained by
the relationship between permeability coefficient and parti-
cle size; when the particle size increases, the permeability
coefficient increases. De Beer et al. (1994) demonstrated that
the channels surrounding the cell clusters could increase the
supply of oxygen (and other nutrients) to bacteria within the
biofilm, thus relating structure to function. But the contact
time decreases and thus the treatment yield decreases.
Figure 6 displays the results of treatment yield versus
the particle sizes. As results, both BOD and COD yields
decrease with the increase in particle size. These results
can be explained by the statement found by De Beer et al.
Fig. 4  Evolution of biological oxygen demand (BOD) depending on
(1994).
the particle size of the material. Standard BOD value=35mg/l

2000); as confirmed by microscopically measured physical

dimensions and visual comparison, the biofilms can take
over 10 days to complete the biofilm structure. In our case,
this duration was reduced by adding a solution of glucose
(1 g/l) and the whole system is brought to the temperature
of 37 °C in an oven for the remaining hours to accelerate
the bacteria growth. In the case of particle size distribution
ranging between 8 and 12.5 mm, the duration of occlusion
is longer than that when the particle size is ranging between
5 and 8 mm, which leads to the enhancement in cycle life
of the filter. On the bases of the treatment yield by using
the same diameters for these three materials, the obtained
results present a high order of magnitude around 90%. The
slight difference can be attributed to the experimental error
and the elemental composition of the filter. It is found that
the permeability coefficient in the sawdust gives a signifi-
cant increase when the particle size increase compared with Fig. 5  Contact times depending on particle sizes
the pozzolan. In the case when pozzolan and sawdust are
mixed in the same proportion and with different diameters
8–12.5 mm and 5–8 mm, respectively, the treatment yield
of BOD and COD is still in the same order of magnitude
around 90%. It is concluded that the nature of the natural
filter plays no role in improving the yield of BOD and COD.
In contrast, the particle sizes give significant difference in
the treatment efficiency of BOD and COD in favor of the
small particle size. Within the framework of environmental
conservation policy and the decrease in treatment process
cost, it is preferable to use industrial waste such as sawdust
as filter.
The COD and BOD yields obtained after treatment by
using different filters with different particle sizes (Figs. 3, 4)
give values under the standard values equal to 120 mg/l for
COD and 35 mg/l for BOD, respectively, according to the
Ministry of Water Resources of Algeria (Algerian Official
Gazette No. 26, issued on April 23, 2006). Fig. 6  Treatment yield versus the particle sizes

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The main goal of this study was to produce an effluent but with minimal concentrations, such as iron, cobalt, lead
of better quality than that required by treatment standards. and copper.
The concentration of different parameters was periodi- In particular, copper plays a very necessary role for the
cally determined in the inlet and outlet of the biofilm bed, growth of bacteria, helps in the synthesis of metallic pro-
and then removal efficiency was calculated (Zhao and Wu teins, enters into the synthesis of certain enzymes and helps
2018). Analysis of the removal results (Phase III) is shown in the transfer of electrons to oxidation and reduction pro-
in Table 7. cesses. However, there is a section of heavy metals that has
Results show that concentration of different element no biological effect, but it is toxic and deadly to bacteria,
analyses decreased between inlet and outlet, following the even if in small concentrations such as mercury, cadmium,
biofilm treatment. It can be seen that the filters effectively silver and lead. It affects microbial clusters by acting on
reduced the different bacteriological and heavy metal ele- growth, shape and biochemical reactions, which inevitably
ments and provided desired treatment. leads to a decrease in biomass and thus negatively affects
Compared to the normative values (> 6.5 and < 8.5), the purification and disinfection processes. The practice of bio-
urban rejection of Oran (Algeria) differs between 7.16 and logical treatment is feverous to suspended solids growth
8.03. The waters have a slightly basic to basic character. (Table 7). The deletion of phosphate values is based on the
It indicates absence of strongly acidic or alkaline spillages succession of anaerobic and aerobic phases during biologi-
(Boualla 2014). cal treatment (Rejsek 2002).
Temperatures between 22.5 and 28 °C (after or before Bacteria play a key role in the biogeochemical cycle in
treatment) never exceeded the recommended limit value the environment and are used for the bioremediation of As-
(30 °C—Algerian Official Journal, 2006). The hottest waters contaminated groundwater. However, it is not yet known
are those of the Oran (Algeria) urban discharge: 28 °C (S1). about how biofilm formations affect bacterial activities. The
The value of suspended solids measured after treatment number of aerobic bacteria decreased with developed anaer-
exceed the national standard (Executive Decree 06-141 of obic conditions. Bacteria levels are decreased and scavenged
April 19, 2006/Algerian Official Journal/23-04-2006) as the by naturally occurring soil microorganisms in the pozzolan
limit value for SS in liquid effluents (household, industrial biofilm. It was associated with soils having the clay content
and agricultural) a concentration of 35 mg/l (with values and elevated pH values (Yaman 2003). The removal rates
between 41 and 75 mg/l) (Table 7). For the Oran (Alge- of bacteria were higher in the media with the finest grain
ria) urban effluent before treatment, only the P1 and S2 dis- sizes (pozzolan) as compared to the coarsest media under the
charges comply with the standard (20–31 mg/l). same conditions (sawdust) (Ausland et al. 2002). Within the
The comparison of our results with those of other stud- porous medium, there are areas where water can be trapped
ies carried out previously on the Oran littoral (Houma et al. and immobile and therefore where water flows are zero. It is
2004) shows a considerable decrease in the concentrations of in these areas that bacteria can then diffuse and get trapped
the MES. In fact, in June 1998, the measured values reached in addition to constriction areas where pores are too small
1885 mg/l at the level of the discharge and 1650 mg/l at 5 m to allow passage of cells (Truesdail et al. 1998, Jacobs 2007;
toward the open sea. The evolution observed is the conse- Johnson et al. 2007).
quence of the recent efforts made by the public authorities
in the treatment of wastewater (Remili and Kerfouf 2013). The mechanism of absorbing the minerals
In regard to the content of heavy metals, no value sub-
stantially exceeds the normative limit. Except in phase (a) The exclusion of the toxic metal by a permeability
III, there was one outlier within: - Pb (pozzolan biofilm: barrier:
P3-0.8 mg/l; S2-2.04 mg/l). This is due to the substantia- These are nonspecific systems that prevent the entry of
tion of the phosphate contents. As mentioned by Ruby et al. metal into the cell, either by alteration of membrane trans-
(1994) and Shi and Erickson (2000), the use of phosphates port systems or by fixing the metal to the cell surface by
is considered an inexpensive and highly effective method components of the outer membrane of the wall or exopoly-
for the treatment of lead-contaminated soils. Also, on these saccharides (Bruins et al. 2000).
same samples, the nickel concentrations also fluctuate a lot, (b) Intracellular or extracellular sequestration by cellular
from 2.1 to 2.4 mg/l before treatment and between 0.982 and components which bind metals:
1.523 mg/l after treatment. But the highest values remain Outside a microorganism, metals can also be immobilized
well above the normative limit (0.5–0.75 mg/l). Removal by complexation or precipitation. By-products of microbial
appears to be dependent and a function of the filter physical metabolism such as H2S produced by sulfate-reducing bac-
and chemical characteristics. Heavy metals are useful and teria or phosphate produced by Citrobacter lead to the pre-
necessary for metabolic reactions and growth of bacteria, cipitation of metals (Bruins et al. 2000).
(c) The enzymatic transformation of a metal:

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143 Page 8 of 9 Applied Water Science (2020) 10:143

The mercury resistance conferred by the sea operon is the passes through biofilm filter systems, which further treat
best known example. This operon present on transposants or toxic chemicals including organics and heavy metals.
plasmids exists in several bacterial species. The expression The proposed process can be considered as low-cost
of the mer operon is regulated by MerR, a protein which process to treat different organic effluents released from
binds to the operator/promoter of the operon and thus pre- industry.
vents its transcription. In the presence of mercury, MerR This project can be embodied in the field, especially in
activates the expression of the detoxification system (Sum- small communities such as villages, rural areas and even
mers 1992). small cities, in order to preserve the environment.
(d) Active transport by expulsion systems:
It is the majority system involved in the resistance of
microorganisms to heavy metals. It involves very specific Funding No funding.
membrane proteins that export toxic metals from the cyto-
plasm to the outside of the cell. In bacteria, two main active Compliance with ethical standards
transport systems can be distinguished according to the
Conflict of interest The authors declare that they have no conflict of
energy source: the chemiosmotic transporters and the P-type interest.
ATPases.
Chemiosmotic transporters use a membrane potential as Ethical approval This article does not contain any studies with human
an energy source to activate the expulsion of toxic metals or animal subjects.
(Silver and Walderhaug 1992). Informed consent Informed consent was obtained from all individual
Type P ATPases represent an important class of mem- participants included in the study.
brane proteins which serve to maintain suitable ionic con-
ditions by active translocation of cations across biological Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attri-
membranes (Lutsenko and Kaplan 1995). bution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adapta-
tion, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long
as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source,
provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes
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included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated
In this study, the determination of the permeability coef- otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in
ficient and the treatment yield of natural materials with dif- the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not
permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will
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material increases, the density and concentration of the bio-
logical bacterial membrane increase and thus the effective-
ness and the quality of treatment increase.
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