Common questions from operators and consulting engineers.

No. A high initial dose creates a probiotic majority. The bacteria share living space and food; consuming shared nutrients makes reproduction harder for undesirable bacteria. Under sustained nutrient scarcity they voluntarily stop their activity. The probiotics metabolise organic material and EPS as food, not other bacteria.

Quorum sensing is bacterial communication through signalling molecules. It can regulate activity depending on strain and environment. The Bactenza concept centres on a probiotic majority and competition for food and space. The actual responses of the bacteria involved are determined by group-oriented behaviour.

The strains selected for the process are not biofilm formers and therefore do not produce new EPS biofilm themselves. The existing EPS matrix is metabolised as an organic nutrient source.

The use of probiotic bacteria is entirely harmless. They are listed in the international ATCC collection (American Type Culture Collection), correspond to biosafety level 1 and have been assessed against the known hazards. They are used in clinics as well.

As long as a material is inorganic, the probiotics have no interest in it, because it is not a food source.

In normal operation you no longer need biocides. If special circumstances, such as greater heat or the entry of foreign bacterial strains, for example through dead small animals, produce an excessive count of undesirable CFU for a longer period, a short biocide dose can reduce that excess quickly. Probiotic dosing then continues.

That depends on the existing dosing equipment and the intended inoculation point. Required dosing stations, modifications and running costs are clarified during the survey.

The three to four days stated by Bactenza Biotech are the predominant lifespan of a normal bacterium. They are not a fixed period for complete breakdown of EPS biofilm.

All water additives, such as hardness stabilisers, corrosion inhibitors and pH control, can continue to be used. They must not have a biocidal, meaning disinfecting, effect. In special cases we can run laboratory samples.

Choosing a treatment method does not replace operator duties. For systems covered by 42. BImSchV, required checks, laboratory testing, records and responses to exceedances remain necessary. VDI 2047 Part 2 provides technical guidance for hygienic operation.

Because the undesirable bacteria voluntarily withdraw as a group through quorum sensing, they also do not develop resistance. This is a major effect in clinics, where multiresistant MRSA organisms in particular are not spread further.