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. 2008 Jan;70(3):480-8.
doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2007.06.050. Epub 2007 Aug 2.

The monitoring of biofilm formation in a mulch biowall barrier and its effect on performance

Youngwoo Seo  1 , Paul L Bishop
Affiliations

The monitoring of biofilm formation in a mulch biowall barrier and its effect on performance

Youngwoo Seo et al. Chemosphere. 2008 Jan.

Abstract

Lab scale mulch biofilm biowall barriers were constructed and tested to monitor the effect of biofilm formation on the performance of the biobarrier. Naphthalene, a two-ring polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH), was used as the model compound. With column reactors, the amounts of viable naphthalene degraders and biofilm formation were monitored, as was the performance of the biobarrier. The sorption capacity of the mulch, the increase in biomass and the extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) content of the biofilm created a strong affinity for naphthalene and induced an increase in the number of slowly growing hydrocarbon degraders, resulting in a higher degradation rate and more stable PAH removal. Concentration profiles of pore water naphthalene and electron acceptors indicated that dissolved oxygen (DO) was preferentially used as the electron acceptor, and the greatest removal occurred at the inlet to the column reactor where DO was highest. However, when using nitrate as an alternative electron acceptor, both biofilm formation and continual degradation of naphthalene also occurred. Microprofiles of DO in the biofilm revealed that oxygen transport in the biofilm was limited, and there might be sequential utilization of nitrate for naphthalene removal in the anoxic zones of the biofilm. These results provide insight into the distribution of viable biomass and biofilm EPS production in engineered permeable reactive mulch biobarriers.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Performance of the mulch biofilm barrier for 210 days: Influent naphthalene concentration (●), Effluent concentration of biotic column (○), Effluent concentration of abiotic column (▼), Model simulation result (solid line). The insert shows model simulation results for days 1 to 10.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Lipid concentration changes in mulch biofilm barrier: (a) Biotic, (b) Abiotic condition.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Protein concentration changes in mulch biofilm barrier: (a) Biotic, (b) Abiotic condition.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Concentration profiles of naphthalene in pore water and electron acceptors in column. : Effluent concentration of naphthalene in biotic column (●), in abiotic column (○), Oxygen (▲), Nitrate (■), Sulfate(▼).
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Microprofiles of dissolved oxygen in biofilm.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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