Essentials

F.A.Q.

• develop repeat business because they are effective
  
• are safe to blend and package
  
• are profitable
  
• may be formulated as products unique to the individual distributor
  
  

How do microbial products work?
In grease traps and other waste treatment situations, the microorganisms consume organic waste as a food source, multiplying as they do so. Microbial products also contain and produce as byproducts enzyme systems and surfactants that breakdown and mobilize waste.

Culture products aid plant production by providing hormonal stimulus and changing the microenvironment so that it favors plant root growth rather than fungal growth.

What is the difference between enzymes and bacteria?
Bacteria are living organisms that get nutrition by creating enzymes which they excrete into the environment. The enzymes break down complex compounds in the environment into simple compounds which the bacteria can then absorb and use for energy. Acorn bacteria products normally include some of the enzymes which the bacteria have produced while they were grown in the manufacturing plant. Acorn also produces the concentrated enzyme solution PALU-100 from which the bacteria cells have been removed.

How quickly do microbial products work?
The microorganisms are capable under ideal circumstances of doubling in population in as short a time as 20 minutes and continuing to increase logarithmically. The enzymes and surfactants in the products work immediately.

Why add large numbers of organisms if they start multiplying right away?
The environment to which the organisms are added is never ideal. Factors that limit growth potential include pH & temperature, oxygen & moisture content, poisons, competitor microorganisms & predator microorganisms, and depletion of the food source. The concentration of organisms in Acorn products is the ideal number to assure establishing a vigorous population of the bugs even when there is die off due to environmental conditions.

Why add microbes when other microorganisms are present naturally?
In grease traps, naturally-occuring organisms are regularly flushed out and occasionally poisoned by high concentrations of disinfectants. Added microbes help maintain adequate populations.

In sewage treatment, in addition to these problems related to the dynamics of flow, the organisms naturally present in the treatment plant produce compounds which tend to hold water next to the sludge. This water retention has two effects which greatly influence the sewage treatment process: it slows the settling of the powders and it increases the volume which they occupy. Acorn microbes split the compounds that cause water retention.

In the case of hydrocarbon contaminants, studies have shown that petroleum applied to normal soils at low levels is degraded very quickly (and with an apparent increase in soil fertility). Yet there is a problem with petroleum degradation in soil or there would not be the large amounts of petroleum-contaminated soil present in this country. Sometimes the problem is merely that of insufficient soil moisture to support growth. Sometimes, however, there are insufficient organisms present to initiate the degradation process. This occurs particularly when the soils in question are subsurface soils as those around underground storage tanks or when the soil has been killed as in production fields receiving highly saline production water for years.

In agricultural applications, loss of advantageous microflora in the root zone can lead to decreased or lost plant production following environmental disruptions such as drought, flooding, and temperature extremes.

How often do microbial products need to be applied?
In waste treatment situations where pollutants are no longer being added, a single treatment may be sufficient. Bioremediation of petroleum contaminants in a contained area is an example of this type of situation. The only requirement is that pH, temperature, and oxygen and moisture content be maintained in the appropriate range for the three-month treatment period.

In organic waste treatment systems which manage a continuous stream of incoming pollutants, daily or weekly additions of highly-efficient organisms ensure continuous pollutant and odor reduction and optimization of the handling characteristics of the waste.

When treating surfaces such as carpeting for pet stains and spoiled food odors, the culture product is applied once and the surface is kept wet for 24 hours.

Root-zone microbes often need be applied only at planting or after an environmental disruption. In situations of constant stress, such as golf-course turf, monthly applications give best results.

What about anaerobic organisms?
Many competing products are formulated with up to one-half the plate count coming from anaerobic organisms. Acorn feels that these organisms do not enhance the results obtained from the use of microbial products in real-world situations. We will, however, formulate products with anaerobic organisms for distributors who require this for marketing purposes.

Can liquid products be diluted?
Yes, but effectiveness is reduced when it takes much longer for an adequate population of microbes to become established. IF PRODUCTS ARE DILUTED THE ACORN DILUTION PROTOCOL MUST BE FOLLOWED OR THE ORGANISMS WILL DIE WITHIN 8 HOURS.