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Updated: Mar 13, 2026

Methods for Characterizing the Co-development of Biofilm and Habitat Heterogeneity
Published on: March 11, 2015
Effect of flow rate on growth and oxygen consumption of biofilm in gravity sewer
Jingwei Xu1, Muzhi Li1, Qiang He1
1Key Laboratory of the Three Gorges Reservoir Region's Eco-Environment, Ministry of Education, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400045, People's Republic of China.
Abstract:
The function of sewer as reactors must rely on the biofilm in it. In this paper, the formation, structure, oxygen transfer, and activity of the biofilm under different hydraulic conditions were studied by the microelectrode technology, oxygen uptake rate (OUR) technology, and 454 high-throughput pyrosequencing technology. Results showed that when the wall-shear stresses were 1.12, 1.29, and 1.45 Pa, the porosity of the steady-state biofilm were 69.1, 64.4, and 55.1 %, respectively. The maximum values of OUR were 0.033, 0.027, and 0.022 mg/(L*s), respectively, and the COD removal efficiency in the sewers reached 40, 35, and 32 %, respectively. The research findings had an important significance on how to improve the treatment efficiency of the sewers. Fig. a Graphical Abstract.
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