Open AccessMonitoring Microbial Attachment in Seawater
Author(s) -
Li X.,
Wang J.,
Liu X.,
Wang W.,
Yan L.
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
engineering in life sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.547
H-Index - 57
eISSN - 1618-2863
pISSN - 1618-0240
DOI - 10.1002/elsc.200420035
Subject(s) - seawater , copper , electrode , electrochemistry , metallurgy , biofilm , materials science , metal , microorganism , artificial seawater , open circuit voltage , chemical engineering , environmental chemistry , chemistry , bacteria , ecology , biology , voltage , genetics , physics , quantum mechanics , engineering
The attachment activity of microorganisms in seawater was studied by electrochemical and microscopic techniques. It was frequently observed that in natural seawater, the open circuit potential (E ocp ) of stainless steel was ennobled due to biofilm formation on the metal surface. Microscope observation revealed that the ennoblement of the E ocp value of stainless steel changed linearly with the number of bacteria attached to the metal surface. Considering the fact that E ocp of copper is almost a constant for a longer time in seawater, a compound electrode was made up of a stainless steel electrode and copper electrode for assessing the attachment of microbes in different seawater media according to the change in the potential difference between the two metals. The results demonstrated a good performance of the compound electrode for this purpose.