biolysis
(baɪˈɒlɪsɪs)
[f. bio- + Gr. λύσις dissolution.]
Chemical decomposition of organic matter brought about by bacteria, etc.
| 1897 Scott-Moncrieff in Prof. Papers Corps R. Engineers XXIII. 213 (heading) Purification of Sewage by Biolysis. 1922 H. E. Babbitt Sewerage & S. Treatment xii. 366 The biolysis of sewage is the term applied to the changes through which its organic constituents pass due to the metabolism of bacterial life. Ibid. 367 In the biolysis of sewage there is no destruction of matter. |