Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 17, 2026

Author Spotlight: Developing Synthetic Microbial Communities for Generating Second-Generation Biofertilizers
Published on: May 24, 2024
Biological support media influence the bacterial biofouling community in reverse osmosis water reclamation
Isabel Ferrera1, Jordi Mas, Elisenda Taberna
1a Departament de Biologia Marina i Oceanografia , Institut de Ciències del Mar, ICM-CSIC , Barcelona , Spain.
Abstract:
The diversity of the bacterial community developed in different stages of two reverse osmosis (RO) water reclamation demonstration plants designed in a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) in Tarragona (Spain) was characterized by applying 454-pyrosequencing of the 16S rRNA gene. The plants were fed by secondary treated effluent to a conventional pretreatment train prior to the two-pass RO system. Plants differed in the material used in the filtration process, which was sand in one demonstration plant and Scandinavian schists in the second plant. The results showed the presence of a highly diverse and complex community in the biofilms, mainly composed of members of the Betaproteobacteria and Bacteroidetes in all stages, with the presence of some typical wastewater bacteria, suggesting a feed water origin. Community similarities analyses revealed that samples clustered according to filter type, highlighting the critical influence of the biological supporting medium in biofilm community structure.
More Related Videos
11:47Evaluation of the Efficacy of Organic Peroxyacids for Eradicating Dairy Biofilms Using an Approach Combining Static and Dynamic Methods
Published on: December 9, 2022
07:09Use of a High-throughput In Vitro Microfluidic System to Develop Oral Multi-species Biofilms
Published on: December 1, 2014
Related Concept Videos
Biofilms
Bioremediation
Designing Growth Media for Bioreactors
Bioreactor Controls-II