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r <br /> A bacteria i5 a Single cell life form — each individual cell is a Separate, unique <br /> organism, Bacteria Often grow into colonies that appear as felly-like masses, but each <br /> cell remains an independent, individual life. Bacteria reproduce by a process called <br /> Cell division. A mature bacteria reproduces by dividing into two "daughter cells", <br /> each identical to each other and the parent bacteria, Under ideal conditions, bacteria <br /> can reproduce very rapidly, producing a new generation every 20 to 30 minutes. <br /> Following the reproduction process, we see that the number of individual bacteria <br /> doubles with each generation. The population explodes as the number of organisms <br /> increase$ logarithmically. <br /> Obviously, this population Cannot increase forever. At some point, the food <br /> source will be depleted, or some other change in the environment will cause the <br /> population to level off or decrease, These changes could be pH, temperature, or ox* <br /> ygen content of the environment. The mtroducnon of poisons to the environment <br /> may have negative effects on the poouiatiory, as well as competition from other <br /> types of bacteria. <br /> For waste digestion, we car, identi4ti sever& oenefic�ai charateristics that we want <br /> our chosen bacteria to nave, They <br /> 1. Consume (digest) organic waste, <br /> 2. Digest waste quickly and cc^-pietely, without causing odors or <br /> noxious gas, <br /> 3. NOT cause disease in man or animais (non-pathogenic). <br /> 4, Grow and reproduce readily in the environmental condaions of <br /> organic waste. <br /> These bacteria can be further separated into aerobic tyoes, which require oxygen <br /> to live, and anaerobic, which Can live without Oxygen. Facultative types can thrive <br /> under either aerobic and anerobic Conditions. <br /> Certain bacteria belonging to the Bacillus species have these desirable <br /> characteristics, They consume organic waste thousands of times faster than the <br /> types of bacteria that are naturally present in the waste. They grow and reproduce <br /> easily, are non-pathogenic, and do not produce foul odors or gas. <br /> These "good" bacteria are grown (cultured) on a liquid or dry (nutrient medium) <br /> food. These cultured bacteria are then freeze dried to put them in a state. of suspen• <br /> Sion, They remain alive, ready to swim, eat, and reproduce as Soon as they are reac• <br /> nvated (rehydrated) and put into the proper environment, <br /> i <br />