1st Edition

Biofilms Investigative Methods and Applications

    268 Pages
    by CRC Press

    266 Pages
    by CRC Press

    Until now, techniques for studying biofilms- the cellular colonies that live in drinking water systems, wastewater operations, even ground and surface water- have been limited. Yet during the last decade, biofilms have become a critical element in water quality preservation systems, a key component of wastewater treatment biological reactions and the subject of extensive microbiological inquiry. An understanding of biofilm development, structure and dynamics is one condition for improving water supplies and for addressing technical problems such as biofouling, corrosion and bioweathering.

    Biofilms: Investigative Methods and Applications provides the first in-depth assessment of current and experimental ways to study biofilms, both in sample form and in situ. It shows how sensors, microscopy, lasers, and calorimetry, among other tools, can be used to obtain data on the morphology and metabolism of biofilms. This text is the first to organize and examine the best methods for investigating biofilms. It covers culture-based methods and emerging nondestructive techniques. It also shows how they can be used to characterize biofilms in a variety of manmade settings, such as sewers, wastewater plants, and drinking water distribution systems, as well as in karsts and groundwater sources.

    In clarifying the way biofilms are studied, the book offers new insights into these living films. It also applies inquiry techniques to the many problems confronting the environmental specialist-corrosion control, biofouling, and the improvement of fixed reactors in wastewater treatment. At the same time it explains technologies for the controlled growth of biofilms and shows how biofilms can be effectively monitored and subjected to quantitative analysis. The technical information in Biofilms: Investigative Methods and Applications is designed to be of use to engineers and researchers and to be helpful in the generation of electronic data.

    Preface. List of Contributors. Steps in Biofilm Sampling and Characterization in Biofouling Cases. Rotating Annular Reactors for Controlled Growth of Biofilms. Microcalorimetry for Evaluating Countermeasures against Biofouling in Water Circulation Systems. Extraction and Quantification of Extracellular Polymeric Substances from Wastewater. Cell Biomass Determination in Sewer Biofilms and a Monospecies Pseudomonas putida Biofilm. Simultaneous Morphological and Population Analyses of Environmental Biofilms. Development of a New Method to Determine the Metabolic Potential of Bacteria in Drinking Water Biofilms. Formation and Bacterial Composition of Young, Natural Biofilms Obtained from Public Bank-Filtered Drinking Water Systems. The Use of Immunological Techniques and Scanning Confocal Laser Microscopy for the Characterization of Agrobacterium tumefaciens and Pseudomonas fluorescens, Atrazine-Utilizing Biofilms. The in situ Detection of a Microbial Biofilm Community on Karst Rock Coupon in a Groundwater Habitat. Investigation of Spatial and Temporal Gradients in Fixed-Bed Biofilm Reactors for Wastewater Treatment. Quantitative Microscopy in Biofilm Studies. Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy of Biofilms. Microelectrodes and Tube Reactors in Biofilm Research. Index.

    Biography

    Flemming, Hans-Curt; Szewzyk, Ulrich; Griebe, Thomas