回顾了历史上用于从地下水中去除铁和锰的物理化学过程，并讨论了通常遇到的问题。还描述了最常用的处理方法（曝气加过滤）是如何导致生物现象的发现，从而大大改善了处理，并随后产生了新一代生物处理厂。讨论了这类工艺的原理、优点及其局限性。包括57个参考文献、表格、图表。

The physical-chemical processes historically used to remove iron and manganese from groundwater are reviewed and the problems typically encountered are discussed. Also described is how the most commonly used treatment (aeration plus filtration) led to the discovery of the biological phenomena that substantially improve treatment and subsequently to a new generation of biological treatment plants. The principles and the advantages of such processes as well as their limitations are discussed. Includes 57 references, tables, figures.