Phosphorus is an essential element for all life forms. Whether as part of DNA or RNA, or as a chemical energy store in the form of ATP - without phosphorus, these core components of cells would not exist and hence the cells themselves would not exist.

Therefore, it is easy to understand that phosphorus is of enormous importance for the microbiology of wastewater. This is particularly clear from the well-known C:N:P ratio, which is a fixed parameter for a well-functioning biology in wastewater treatment. However, if there is a lack of phosphorus in the wastewater composition, either due to an above-average proportion of the other two components or due to a strong overdosage of phosphate precipitant, this can have a negative effect on the metabolism or on the degradation performance and the activated sludge biocoenosis.


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