When organic waste breaks down, it can generate ammonia, which is a toxic substance that produces a foul, sharp odor. In the Industrial and Institutional (I&I) market, your customers walk past ammonia-causing matter daily, such as food, animal and human waste. These same wastes contain materials that are rich in nitrogen. As the waste decomposes, the nitrogen is converted to ammonia, causing an unpleasant odor.
But, without nitrogen, there’s no ammonia… and that’s where Bacillus come into play.
All living organisms need a source of nitrogen to support life, including Bacillus. Bacillus strains can utilize the nitrogen in ammonia for bacterial growth. In order to get the nitrogen, Bacillus digest the available ammonia, removing it from the environment and preventing odor.
In the case of our SporActiv™ products, we specifically selected strains of Bacillus that have high ammonia utilizing capabilities. The more ammonia that is utilized by the Bacillus means less complaints and foul smells. At MDG, a study was conducted to measure the growth of SporActiv™ Foundation in the presence of ammonia. When ammonia was present, there was more bacterial growth, indicating the Bacillus were able to utilize the ammonia nitrogen to support growth (Figure 1).
When choosing a Bacillus product, you should also keep in mind that not all Bacillus are able to utilize ammonia at the same rate. Take a look at the results of SporActiv™ strains vs. a competitor product. Growth of SporActiv™ Bacillus increased by over 30% when ammonia was added to media while growth of a competitor product only increased by 10% (Figure 2).
Interested in testing your product vs. our SporActiv™ strains? SporActiv™ products come with technical support offerings to ensure you have the data necessary to make informed decisions. If you have any questions regarding ammonia or MDG’s SporActiv™ Product Line, please CONTACT MDG.