In a biological wastewater treatment process, yield refers to what?

In a biological wastewater treatment process, yield refers to what?

• A. the rate at which substrate is consumed
• B. the amount of biomass produced per unit of food consumed
• C. the energy content of the biomass produced
• D. the rate of oxygen consumption by the biomass

Answer: (B)

In this concept, yield describes the amount of biomass produced per unit of substrate consumed. It’s a stoichiometric measure of how efficiently the organic food matter is converted into new microbial cells during wastewater treatment. The higher the yield, the more biomass (sludge) is generated for each amount of substrate removed. This differs from a rate (how fast substrate is used), an energy content (calorific value of the biomass), or an oxygen-use rate (respiration), which describe other aspects of the process rather than the efficiency of growth.

In this concept, yield describes the amount of biomass produced per unit of substrate consumed. It’s a stoichiometric measure of how efficiently the organic food matter is converted into new microbial cells during wastewater treatment. The higher the yield, the more biomass (sludge) is generated for each amount of substrate removed. This differs from a rate (how fast substrate is used), an energy content (calorific value of the biomass), or an oxygen-use rate (respiration), which describe other aspects of the process rather than the efficiency of growth.