title: Biofilm growth in response to various concentrations of biodegradable material in drinking water.
abstract: Biological stability is one of the most important aspects of safe drinking water. It depends crucially on the availability of biodegradable organic carbon (BDOC). Measurement of BDOC is time-consuming and only performed if an increase is suspected. In this study, a fibre optical sensor (FOS) was used to detect changes in BDOC, detected as an increase in biofilm growth. The FOS consists of a sending and a receiving optical fibre, the latter connected to a detector. When material is deposited at the tip of the fibre, an increase of backscattered light is detected. In a system fed with drinking water, the signal was correlated to biofilm growth which was confirmed by independent surface colonisation determination. When 1 and 3mgL(-1) of BDOC respectively was added, the increment of the FOS signal over a period of 1 week could be distinguished. Interference by planktonic components and humic substances could be excluded. The biofilm on the FOS could be used as a means to detect changes in BDOC in drinking water and the signal has an early warning capacity.
authors.affiliation: IWW Centre for Water, Moritzstr. 26, D-45476 Mülheim, Germany. g.schaule@iww-online.de
authors.forename: Gabriela
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Schaule
authors.forename: Dania
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Moschnitschka
authors.forename: Simone
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Schulte
authors.forename: Adriana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tamachkiarow
authors.forename: Hans-Curt
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Flemming
mesh_terms: D001673:Biodegradation, Environmental; D018441:Biofilms / Q000254:growth & development*; D019149:Bioreactors / Q000382:microbiology*; D002244:Carbon / Q000032:analysis; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D005336:Fiber Optic Technology; D009862:Online Systems; D014873:Water Pollutants / Q000032:analysis; D014881:Water Supply / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D014873:Water Pollutants; D002244:Carbon