MIT Project - Biofilm monitoring in drinking water distribution systems
Published on by Giovanni Pavanello, Director at ALVIM Biofilm Monitoring Technologies
"Water distribution systems (WDS) are an essential urban infrastructure that must be adequately monitored and managed in order to provide safe and high-quality drinking water to consumers. Many problems in WDS are primarily caused by biofilms in the water pipes (e.g., residual disinfectant decay, proliferation of pathogens, nitrification, and microbiologically influenced corrosion). Monitoring of biofilm development in WDS is essential to develop strategies for management of these problems. Currently we are investigating biofilm communities, activity, and growth rate within water distribution pipes using two different approaches: (1) offline analysis of bulk water and biofilm samples in the laboratory; and (2) online monitoring of biofilm growth rate using an in-pipe biofilm sensor." (Prof. Andrew J. Whittle Research Team)
More info at:
http://censam.mit.edu/research/Pages/Biofilm%20Monitoring%20in%20Drinking%20Water%20Distribution%20Systems.aspx
1 Comment
-
This is an area of great interest to our sister company SpiroFlo. We have a device which reduces and in many cases eliminates the incidence of biofilm in water pipes. We understand that WDS's will use chemicals - but biofilm grow in the boundary layer of the pipe - and most chemicals have minimal effect. Our device disrupts the attached biofilm enabling other treatments (chemicals, UV etc.) to be effective in treating free-flowing biofilm. This low-cost solution is market ready for deployment. For more information contact me at amiller@spiroflo.com