Related Experiment Videos
Microbial characterization of organic carrier colonization during a model biofiltration experiment
1Department of Biotechnology and Bioengineering CINVESTAV-IPN, Avenida Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Col. San Pedro Zacatenco, México.
Aims:
Dynamic microbial characterization of the colonization of organic carrier during a model biofiltration experiment using methanol as air pollutant.
Methods And Results:
A model biofilter was used in order to characterize the micro-organisms involved in the colonization of a model organic carrier. The model system consisted of closed vial as biofilter, peanut shells as lignocellulosic carrier and methanol as air pollutant. The micro-organisms involved in biofiltration were identified and characterized for their lignocellulolytic and methylotrophic activities. Fungi presented a higher lignocellulolytic activity than bacteria. A steady-state was reached after 15 to 20 days.
Conclusions:
The consortium naturally associated to peanut shells is limited to few aerobic bacteria and lignocellulolytic fungi. This consortium was able to degrade methanol without external nutrient supply.
Significance And Impact Of The Study:
To our knowledge, this is the first paper that focuses on carrier degradation processes and the micro-organisms involved during the start-up period of a biofiltration process.