Attached microbial growths-I. Attachment and growth

Abstract

Water-soldi interfaces occur universally and are critically important in natural andindustrial processes. Microorganisms accumulate at these interfaces, frequently withbeneficial effects.A trickling filter can be described as a fixed bed reactor supplying a large amountof surface area used for the purification of organic waste of domestic or industrialorigin. Microorganisms attach to the packing material and form a reactive surface forthe adsorption and breakdown of the wastes. The benthos of natural streams carriesout an analogous process although this can be a significant drain on the oxygenresources of the stream.More often, however, microbial attachment is undesirable. Marine fouling isinitiated by the development of slimy films on submerged surfaces. The formation ofsuch primary films is believed to be a necessary precursor of heavy fouling (WOOD,1967) and is, at least in part, the result of microbial activity.