Application of Biofilm in Wastewater Treatment
Introduction to Wastewater Treatment
Biological wastewater treatment systems play an important role in improving water quality and human health. One of the best examples of the successful, beneficial application of biofilms to solve a huge problem is wastewater treatment. Microorganisms are a major contributor to the decay of dead plants and animals. When microbes feed on the tissues of dead organisms, decay can (partially) occur. Since this is true, perhaps a system could be designed to treat wastewater and sewage using appropriate microorganisms (in the form of biofilms): if contaminated water passes through such a biofilm, perhaps the microorganisms in the biofilm will eat (and thus remove) the harmful organic material from the water. Even before biofilms were recognized and became the subject of intensive research, engineers were developing water cleaning systems using natural biofilm environmental activities (without understanding biofilms). Biofilms have been successfully used in water and wastewater treatment for over a century.
Application of Biofilm in Wastewater Treatment
Biofilm systems are a well-established technology in which a solid medium is added to a suspended growth reactor to provide an attachment surface for the biofilm, thereby increasing the concentration of microorganisms and the rate at which pollutants degrade the biofilm, thereby utilizing multiple removal mechanisms including biodegradation, bioaccumulation, biosorption, and biomineralization. Microbial communities in biofilms break down different nutrients such as phosphorus- and nitrogen-containing compounds, carbonaceous materials, and pathogens captured in the wastewater.
Advantages of Biofilm in Wastewater
- Operational flexibility
- Low space requirements
- Shorter hydraulic retention time
- High adaptability to environmental changes
- Increased biomass residence time
- High concentration of active biomass
- Increased ability to degrade recalcitrant compounds
- Slower growth rate of microorganisms
Biofilm Community Characterization Methods
- Determination of Biofilm Weight (Wet and Dry Weight)
Biofilm weight can be determined from dry weight and wet weight by using a digital weighing balance.
- Determination of Biofilm Optical Density (OD)
Biofilms are also measured by the OD method. The filter media supporting the biofilm is first rinsed with sterile water to ensure that any material on its surface is removed. The biofilm was then removed from the filter media by sonication in 0.9% saline for 15 minutes. Finally, the spectrophotometric absorbance of the dissolved biofilm was recorded at 550 nm wavelength (OD 550) using saline as a blank.
- Determination of Heterotrophic Plate Count (HPC)
The HPC concentration (HPC/mL) of biofilms on filter media was determined by the conventional serial dilution method.
- Microscopic Analysis of Biofilms
Non-invasive microscopy provides a more accurate method of visualizing biofilms without disturbing their structure.
- Determination of Biofilm Activity
The metabolic activity of the microorganisms constituting the biofilm can be estimated by considering the conversion rate of specific substrates after inoculation with biomass seeds.
Our Related Services
- Quantitative Characterization of Biofilms
- Qualitative Characterization of Biofilms
- Biofilm Total Protein Determination
- Quantitative Analysis of Bacteria in Biofilms
- Biofilm Genomics and Metagenomics Services
- Biofilm Transcriptomics Services
- Biofilm Proteomics Services
- Biofilm Metabolomics Services
- Biofilm TOC Analysis Services
- Interaction Analysis of Biofilm Community
- Biofilm Interface Analysis
Why Choose Us?
CD BioSciences has a professional biofilm platform. We have a variety of methods to provide you with biofilm service. You can choose the appropriate method according to your scientific research needs. Our experienced scientists have created a comprehensive platform to measure the size distribution of different biological particles and analyze their morphology at the same time. Please feel free to contact us for more detailed information, our scientists will tailor the most reasonable plan for your project.
For research use only, not intended for any clinical use.
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