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GLOSSARY
Algae - photosynthetic
organisms which may be unicellular or multicellular and grow in strands
or colonies.
Ammonia (NH3)
- a highly reductive compound found in alll domestic and some industrial
wastewater.
Apatite - a calcium
phosphate mineral, Ca5(PO4)3(F,Cl,OH).
Biological Oxygen Demand
(B.O.D) - a measure of oxygen required by water micro-organisms to
oxidise organic substances.
Biomass - the weight
of all the organisms within a given population.
Chemical Oxygen Demand
(C.O.D.) - a measure of the chemical oxidation potential of organic
and inorganic matter in water.
Compact Powders -
detergent powder reformulated to equivalent or improved cleaning efficiency
with reduced ingredient loading.
Daphnia - a species
of zooplankton, also known as "water fleas".
Ecosystem - a collection
of plants and animals integrated by the passage of energy and nutrients
through them.
Ecotoxic - causing
damage to living organisms within the ecosystem.
Effluent - the wastewater
output from a treatment process.
Eutrophication - the
enrichment of marine and freshwater bodies with nutrients, especially of
nitrogen and phosphorus.
Food Chain - different
living levels in the ecosystem, grazing by predators.
Inorganic - a compound
of non organic origin.
Metabolic - the chemical
process within an organism which breaks down compounds with the release
of energy and the generation of other organic compounds.
Non-conventional detergents
- detergents formulated without STPP as a builder.
NTA - nitrilotriacetic
acid.
Nutrients - elements
which are essential for the growth of living organisms.
OCP - octacalcium
phosphate.
Organic - a compound
based on covalent bonded carbon atoms.
Phosphate - a compound
containing the element phosphorus (P).
Photosynthesis - synthesis
of organic compounds by plants from water and carbon dioxide using energy
from sunlight absorbed by chlorophyll.
Phytoplankton - micro
algae which feed off the available nutrients.
Piscivorous fish -
larger fish which feed off the planktivorous fish.
Planktivorous fish
- small fish which feed off the zooplankton (eg. water fleas).
Predators - organisms
that feed off other living organisms.
Sewage Sludge - separated
solids recovered from the wastewater treatment process.
Struvite - a hydrous
phosphate of ammonium and magnesium, NH4MgPO4.6H2O.
STTP - sodium tripolyphosphate.
Sustainable Development
- development that meets the needs of the present without compromising
the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
TCP - tetracalcium
phosphate.
Toxic Anorexia - inefficient
grazing by daphnids.
Zeolites - natural
or synthetic crystalline hydrated aluminosilicates.
Zooplankton - very
small invertebrates which feed off the phytoplankton.
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