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Microbial Growth Measurement: Indirect Methods01:27

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Estimating microbial growth is essential for understanding population dynamics and environmental adaptations. Indirect methods provide valuable insights by measuring parameters such as turbidity, metabolic activity, and biomass, enabling efficient and reproducible assessments.During exponential growth, microbial cells scatter light proportionally to their biomass, a principle used in turbidity measurements. About one million cells per milliliter produce detectable scattering, which a...
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Nirajan Dhakal1,2,3, Sergio G Salinas-Rodriguez1, Joshua Ampah1

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Area of Science:

  • Environmental Science
  • Microbiology
  • Water Treatment Engineering

Background:

  • Bacterial growth potential (BGP) in seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) feed water is a critical factor influencing biofouling.
  • Conventional bioassays for BGP are time-consuming, limiting their practical application in real-time monitoring.
  • Assessing and mitigating biofouling is essential for efficient and cost-effective SWRO operations.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To develop and validate a rapid flow-cytometry (FCM)-based bacterial growth potential (BGP) method for SWRO feed water.
  • To evaluate the biofouling potential of SWRO feed water using the developed FCM-BGP method.
  • To compare the effectiveness of different pre-treatment strategies in reducing biofouling potential.

Main Methods:

  • Development of a flow-cytometry (FCM)-based bacterial growth potential (BGP) assay using natural microbial consortia.
  • Optimization of nutrient addition during FCM-BGP measurement to achieve minimal measurable values.
  • Application of the FCM-BGP method to assess pre-treated SWRO feed water from two full-scale plants with different pre-treatment systems (DAF-UF and DMF-CF).

Main Results:

  • The FCM-BGP method provides results in 2-3 days, significantly faster than conventional methods.
  • Dissolved air flotation and ultra-filtration (DAF-UF) pre-treatment reduced BGP by 54%, while dual-media filtration and cartridge filter (DMF-CF) reduced BGP by 40%.
  • SWRO feed water after DAF-UF supported 1.5 x 10^6 cells/mL, which is 1.25 times higher than after DMF-CF, correlating with higher cleaning-in-place frequency.

Conclusions:

  • The flow-cytometry based bacterial growth potential (FCM-BGP) method is a rapid and effective tool for assessing biofouling potential in SWRO systems.
  • Pre-treatment strategies significantly impact the bacterial growth potential of SWRO feed water, with DAF-UF showing greater reduction than DMF-CF.
  • The FCM-BGP method offers added value for monitoring biofouling potential and optimizing pre-treatment processes in SWRO plants.