Can Bioaugmentation be a new design parameter for Wastewater treatment plants?

Hello dear water and wastewater fellows!

Bioaugmentation is a technique that increases the treatmentcapability of biological wastewater treatment plantsthrough the addition of exogenous microorganisms in the system. This is currently used technique to give new life to old systems or to recover systems from eventual shocks (very high organic matter loads in a short period of time), for example.

So, recently some new idea has shown up: Is it possible to design systems considering the application of those microorganisms?

A common parameter used in the (activated sludge) WW systems design is the F/M relation and a common number used is 0,15.

In this case, if we establish the desirable amount of solids in the tank ("M") and the concentration of intake BOD ("F"), it's possible to determine the aeration basin volume, ok? (yes!).

Using bioaugmentation techniques, is possible to change radically this "balance", because is possible to increase the total amount of microorganisms in the sludge, seeing that the system will be capable to degrades more organic matter than only the original 0,15 F/M relation established.

This "new" design parameter is not 0,15 F/M anymore. this number will increases as much as microorganisms are loaded in the system in its operation. But this new "reason" between this microorganism's amount and the intake organic matter will depend on the product (biological blend) manufacturer data (among other parameters).

So, this is my question: In this scenario, what is your opinion about use bioaugmentation techniques as a parameter to increase the biodegradation capability in new systems design?In other words, can we design "smaller" systems, considering the use (or even the "dependence") of exogenous microorganisms in the system operation?

Regards!