Resumo (PT):
Abstract (EN):
The development of biofilms in drinking water distribution systems (DWDS) can cause pipe
degradation, changes in the water organoleptic properties but the main problem is related
to the public health. Biofilms are the main responsible for the microbial presence in
drinking water (DW) and can be reservoirs for pathogens. Therefore, the understanding of
the mechanisms underlying biofilm formation and behavior is of utmost importance in
order to create effective control strategies. As the study of biofilms in real DWDS is difficult,
several devices have been developed. These devices allow biofilm formation under
controlled conditions of physical (flow velocity, shear stress, temperature, type of pipe
material, etc), chemical (type and amount of nutrients, type of disinfectant and residuals,
organic and inorganic particles, ions, etc) and biological (composition of microbial community e type of microorganism and characteristics) parameters, ensuring that the
operational conditions are similar as possible to the DWDS conditions in order to achieve
results that can be applied to the real scenarios. The devices used in DW biofilm studies can
be divided essentially in two groups, those usually applied in situ and the bench top laboratorial reactors. The selection of a device should be obviously in accordance with the aim
of the study and its advantages and limitations should be evaluated to obtain reproducible
results that can be transposed into the reality of the DWDS. The aim of this review is to
provide an overview on the main reactors used in DW biofilm studies, describing their
characteristics and applications, taking into account their main advantages and
limitations.
Idioma:
Inglês
Tipo (Avaliação Docente):
Científica
Nº de páginas:
25