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Comparison between the evaluation of bacterial regrowth capability in a turbidimeter and biodegradable dissolved organic carbon bioreactor measurements in water
Author(s) -
Kott Y.,
Ribas F.,
Frías J.,
Lucena F.
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
journal of applied microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.889
H-Index - 156
eISSN - 1365-2672
pISSN - 1364-5072
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-2672.1997.00235.x
Subject(s) - bioreactor , dissolved organic carbon , total organic carbon , carbon fibers , biodegradation , environmental chemistry , environmental science , chemistry , materials science , organic chemistry , composite number , composite material
In recent years, two different approaches to the study of biodegradable organic matter in distribution systems have been followed. The assimilable organic carbon (AOC) indicates the portion of the dissolved organic matter used by bacteria and converted to biomass, which is directly measured as total bacteria, active bacteria or colony‐forming units and indirectly as ATP or increase in turbidity. In contrast, the biodegradable dissolved organic carbon (BDOC) is the portion of the dissolved organic carbon that can be mineralized by heterotrophic micro‐organisms, and it is measured as the difference between the inflow and the outflow of a bioreactor. In this study, at different steps in a water treatment plant, the bacterial regrowth capability was determined by the AOC method that measures the maximum growth rate by using a computerized Monitek turbidimeter. The BDOC was determined using a plug flow bioreactor. Measurements of colony‐forming units and total organic carbon (TOC) evolution in a turbidimeter and of colony‐forming units at the inflow/outflow of the bioreactor were also performed, calculating at all sampling points the coefficient yield ( Y = cfu/ΔTOC) in both systems. The correlations between the results from the bioreactor and turbidimeter have been calculated ; a high correlation level was observed between BDOC values and all the other parameters, except for Y calculated from bacterial suspension measured in the turbidimeter.