"Wisdom begins in wonder" – Socrates
Month: October 2026
Biological Nutrients
10/03/26
“What are biological nutrients, and why are they so important for organic life?”
Organic life is the foundation of our ecological world. Organic life requires the Biological Nutrients of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), sulfur (S), and silicon (Si) to function. Microorganisms in water/wastewater treatment systems need the incoming water/wastewater to have a certain amount of biological nutrients to grow properly.
Solids Loading
10/02/26
“How can we quantify the rate of solid material loaded onto a unit area or volume?”
Many processes involve loading solids onto a specific area or volume, such as sludge onto a clarifier. To help quantify this variable, people define the rate of mass loaded per unit area or volume as the Solids Loading. Solids loading is especially helpful in water and wastewater treatment engineering, where people use it to determine the capacity a treatment component can handle.
Federal Dam (Hudson River)
10/01/26
“What marks the end of tidal influence in the Hudson River?”
The Hudson River is a fascinating piece of geography. The upper portion runs like a normal river, while the lower portion is a tidally influenced estuary. But what marks this point? Well, over 100 years ago, the federal U.S. government built the Federal Dam to control the transition from the lower to upper portions of the Hudson River.
Image credit: https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/
