---
title: Pool Biofilter Science | Peer-Reviewed | Origin Aqua
description: "How the Mineral+Biome® pool biofilter works, and the peer-reviewed evidence: npj Clean Water (2022) lab trials removed up to 99.9% of test bacteria in 24 hours."
---
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1. [Home](https://www.origin-aqua.com/?hsLang=en)
2. [Technology](https://www.origin-aqua.com/technology?hsLang=en)
3. The science
The science
# The science behind our pool biofilter
Mineral+Biome® grew out of more than a decade of research into how natural water cleans itself. Here is the evidence, the method and the people behind it.
[Get a free specification](https://www.origin-aqua.com/technology#enquire) [See the evidence](https://www.origin-aqua.com/technology/science#evidence)
- 200+ UK pools
- Peer-reviewed in npj Clean Water
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Biofilter research in the laboratory
[](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41545-022-00169-y)
Peer-reviewed · npj Clean Water · 12 July 2022
## The control of waterborne pathogenic bacteria in fresh water using a biologically active filter
Origin Aqua and the University of the West of England (UWE Bristol) tested a lab-scale biofilter against bacteria that matter in swimming water. The paper was published in npj Clean Water, part of the Nature Portfolio.
**99.4%***E. coli* removed in 24 h
**99.9%***E. faecalis* removed in 24 h
**92%***P. aeruginosa* removed in 24 h
Steven et al., npj Clean Water (2022). Lab-scale biofilter challenged with around 1,000 CFU/100 mL. Sterile control media showed no significant reduction, which points to the living biofilm doing the work.
[Read the full paper on nature.com](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41545-022-00169-y)
How a biofilter works
## A living filter, engineered
Biological filtration is one of the oldest ways of cleaning water. We put it inside a pressure vessel and gave it the conditions to thrive.
### Where it comes from
Streams, sediments and slow sand filters all clean water the same way: microbes colonise wet surfaces and feed on what passes. Water engineers have refined the idea for more than a century.
### A living biofilm
Inside the biological chamber, the filter media gives naturally occurring microbes a huge surface to settle on. Over a few weeks they form a thin, active biofilm.
### What the microbes do
Different microbes break down organic matter and take up nutrients. Together they remove the food that algae and unwanted bacteria need. It is an ecosystem, not a single species or an additive.
### Competition and grazing
Resident microbes outcompete incoming bacteria for space and nutrients, the media holds them back, and tiny protozoa graze on them. This is how the biofilter reduces indicator bacteria such as *E. coli*.
### Several barriers, one system
Fine filtration takes out particles first. The biofilter does the biological work, then UV, mineral dosing and phosphate control each add their own layer, all run by the controller.
### Keeping the biology healthy
Steady flow, oxygen, the right pH and low nutrients keep the biofilm thriving. The controller watches these conditions and every system is serviced twice a year.
The evidence
## Four figures from our research
From the Origin Aqua research presentation at Piscine Global Lyon, 2022, redrawn for the web.
Water-quality benchmarksHow pool water is judged
Reduction stage by stageBiofilter, absorber, UV
Why phosphate mattersStarving unwanted growth
The living biofilter42-second experiment
### Water-quality benchmarks
Microbial quality is judged by indicator bacteria, not by how clear water looks. This figure sets counts from Origin Aqua test pools against bathing-water reference levels.
Origin Aqua in-house pool testing, presented at Lyon 2022 (slide 19). Values redrawn from the original figure.
### Reduction across treatment stages
Three indicator groups followed from the incoming water through each stage. Counts fall sharply after the biofilter, fall again after the phosphate absorber and reach the lowest plotted level after UV.
Origin Aqua research, presented at Lyon 2022 (slide 21). Values redrawn from the original figure.
### Why phosphate matters
In a 48-hour test, the microbial growth signal rose steeply with the amount of phosphate available. Keep phosphate low and you take away a resource that bacteria and algae need.
Origin Aqua research, presented at Lyon 2022 (slide 24). Traces redrawn from the original figure.
### The living biofilter
A time-lapse of three laboratory set-ups challenged with *E. coli*: mature biofilm media, sterile media and no media. Watch which signal falls fastest.
Mature biofilm mediaSterile mediaNo media
The *E. coli* signal falls fastest with mature biofilm media, the same pattern the npj Clean Water paper reports.
Origin Aqua laboratory comparison. Bioluminescence measured in relative units.
Our story
## From swimming ponds to Mineral+Biome®
1. 2010
### Natural swimming ponds
Origin Aqua starts with natural swimming ponds, where gravel beds and aquatic plants clean the water without routine chlorine.
2. Research
### The microbes do the work
Microbiological research shows that the bacteria living on the gravel, not the plants alone, carry out most of the nutrient processing. The pond could be engineered.
3. 2015
### Partnerships with pool builders
Working with pool builders turns a nature-inspired idea into a practical, engineered system for conventional pools.
4. 2017–2024
### From pond to plant room
Years of development shrink pond principles into the compact Mineral+Biome® system: a standard plant room, no planted zone.
5. 12 July 2022
### Peer-reviewed research published
Research with UWE Bristol is published in npj Clean Water (Nature Portfolio), reporting the lab biofilter's 24-hour results.
*E. coli* 99.4%*E. faecalis* 99.9%*P. aeruginosa* 92%
6. Today
### 200+ UK pools and growing abroad
Mineral+Biome® runs in 200+ UK pools, with installs and partners in Switzerland, Belgium, Spain, Portugal and Kenya.
Research partners: UWE Bristol and Cranfield University. Some photographs illustrate a period rather than being taken in that year.
Publications
## Read the research
[ Research paper**Peer-reviewed research**npj Clean Water, 2022 · with UWE Bristol · 10 pages](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41545-022-00169-y)
Next
## See it in a real pool
The science lives in a filter about the size of a wardrobe. See the range, or tell us about your pool and we'll specify the right system.
Prefer to talk? Call [+44 (0)330 128 9885](tel:+443301289885)
[Filters and specificationsFour sizes, drawings and plant-room needs→](https://www.origin-aqua.com/technology/filters?hsLang=en) [ProjectsPools and plant rooms across the UK and Europe→](https://www.origin-aqua.com/technology/projects?hsLang=en) [Get a free specificationA written price before anyone visits→](https://www.origin-aqua.com/technology#enquire)
#### About Origin Aqua
Pool water kept clear by biology, not chemistry: Mineral+Biome® filtration with zero chlorine, zero salt and zero copper. Soft, mineral-rich water that's kind to skin and eyes. 200+ UK pools since 2010, backed by peer-reviewed research.
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