Journal Abstracts/Trade News Category

Formation of microbial biofilms and slimes is a general and serious problem in the operation of paper machines. Studies of microbial populations in paper machine-derived biofilms have been conducted using standard microbiological procedures; however, the bacterial genera present in this type of samples as well as their diversity are quite poorly known. Here, the bacterial diversity of 38 process water and 22 biofilm samples from four different Finnish paper machines were analyzed by length heterogeneity analysis of PCR-amplified 16S ribosomal DNA (LH-PCR). In addition, sequencing of the amplified 16S rRNA gene [...]

Sulfide-generating bacteria (sulfidogens) in oil reservoirs are of great economic importance in terms of corrosion, biofouling, and reservoir souring. Research attention has focused on corrosion and hydrogen sulfide production from sulfate-reducing bacteria attached to metal surfaces, with little emphasis on the reservoir environment itself: In this article we describe a new high temperature anaerobic continuous-flow apparatus to study biofilms of thermophilic sulfidogens attached to sand in a dynamic situation, parameters affecting the continuous growth and development of the biofilms may be controlled in this system, which is sampled nondestructively, offering a [...]