MIC 303 INDUSTRIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY

1. MIC 303INDUSTRIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY CHAPTER 8-ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY

2. INTRODUCTION • Environmental microbiology applied the principles of microbiology to the solution of environmental problems. • Applications in environmental microbiology include: • Treatment of industrial and municipal wastewater. • Enhancement of the quality of drinking water. • Restoration of industrial, commercial, residential and government sites contaminated with hazardous materials. • Protection or restoration of rivers, lakes, estuaries and coastal waters from environmental contaminants. • Prevention of the spread through water or air of pathogens among humans and other species.

3. INTRODUCTION (CON’T) • Almost always are concerned with mixed cultures and open, nonsterile systems. • Success are depends on: • How individual microbes with desired characteristics can survive in competition with other organisms. • How desired functions can be maintained in complex ecosystems. • How the survival and proliferation of undesired microorganisms can be prevented.

4. WATER MICROBIOLOGY

5. Water Microbiology • Aquatic Microbiology (Freshwater): study of microscopic microorganisms living in freshwater system, river and ponds. • Marine Microbiology (Seawater): study of microscopic microorganisms living in sea/oceans.

6. AQUATIC MICROBIOLOGY

7. Aquatic Microbiota • A typical lakes or ponds serves as an example to represent the various zones and the kinds of microbiota found in the freshwater. • Have characteristics zoonitic pattern/ stratification. • Four (4) zones: • Littoral zone • Limnetic zone • Profundal zone • Benthic Zone

9. Characteristics of the Aquatic zones • Littoral zone: • Along shore line. • Large population of rooted vegetation and light can penetrate. • Zone can be determine by amount of light penetration. • Photosynthesis decreasing when increase depth of zone. • Greatest microbiology diversity, producers: Plant.

10. Characteristics of the Aquatic zones (cont) • Limnetic zone: • Surface of open water along shore, light penetrates throughout it. • Producers: Algae and cyanobacteria – because of light penetrationsupport the population of bacteria, protozoa, fish and other aquatic life.

11. Characteristics of the Aquatic zones (cont) • Profundal zone: • Middle zone, deeper water, under limnetic zone, has low oxygen concentrations and less light. • Populated by chemolitotrophy microorganisms because of availability of nutrients in this zones. • Producers: Anaerobic purple and green photosynthetic bacteria (metabolize H2S to sulphate and sulfur).

12. Characteristics of the Aquatic zones (cont) • Benthic zone: • Bottom sediment, often no light and little O2. • Composed of soft mud, mainly organic matter. • Populated by heterotrophic microorganisms, mainly anaerobic decomposer. • SRB: Desulfovibrio (reduce sulphate to H2S). • Methanogens (produce methane gas). • Clostridrium sp, particularly those causing outbreaks of botulism in waterfowl.

13. Factor affecting type and no of m/o’s in aquatic • Oxygen availability. • O2 solubility in water never exceed 0.007g/100g of fresh water. • Concentration of organic matter. • High number of organic matter content encourage bacteria decomposer, resulting in changes in liquid O2 supply in water. • Depth of sunlight penetration. • Effect type and quantity of photosynthesis. • pH of water. • Acidic pH encourage acidophilic microorganisms to grow. • Alkaline pH: alkalophilic microorganisms. • Temperature. • Water from hot spring, encourage thermophilic bacteria to grow.

14. MARINE MICROBIOLOGY

15. Marine Microbiology • Characteristics of seawater. • High no of salt concentration – salt concentration very constant, dissolve salt concentration vary from 33.37g/ kg of seawater. • Salt concentration less in shallow water compared to deeper water. • Microflora of seawater. • Halophiles – Bacteria, Algae, protozoa, Viruses. • Planktons – Zooplanktons (animal origin), Phytoplankton (plant origin)

16. Marine Microbiota

17. Marine Microbiota • Populations of different strains vary at different depths according to their adaptation to available sunlight. • Phytoplankton in top 100 m (upper of ocean): Photosynthetic cyanobacteria: • They fix carbon dioxide to form organic matter (released as dissolved organic matter) and used by ocean’s heterotrophic bacteria. • Prochlorococcus • Synechococcus • Fixes nitrogen and help replenish the nitrogen that is lost as organisms sink to oceanic depths. • Trichodesmium

18. Marine Microbiota • Waste products of photosynthetic populations will decomposed by: • Pelagibacter ubique • Archaea dominate below 100 m: • Crenarchaeota, well adapt to cool temperatures and low oxygen levels of oceanic depths. Carbon sources derived from dissolved CO2. • Bioluminescent (aka light emission) bacteria are present. • Have established symbiotic relationship with benthic-dwelling fish. • Fish use the glow of luminescence bacteria to attract and capture prey in the darkness of ocean depths.

19. Bioluminescence FMNH2 (Flavoprotein) FMN + photon of light Luciferase

20. METHODS OF WATER PURIFICATION

21. Water Treatment • Objectives: • To make it safe for drinking and all organisms activities. • Free of disease-causing microbes, not intended to produce sterile water.

22. The Treatment of Water • Water Purification is a Three-Step Process: • Sedimentation removes large objects and particles through flocculation. • Filtration removes microorganisms by passing water through a layer of: • Sand. • Gravel. • accumulated microbe biofilm. • Chlorination involves adding chlorine gas to kill remaining organisms.

23. Flocculation Process • Turbid (cloudy) water is allowed to stand in a holding reservoir to allow as much particulate suspended matter as possible to settle out. • Followed by flocculation process to remove colloidal materials (e.g clay). • A flocculant chemical {Aluminium potassium sulfate (alum)} is added to form aggregations of fine suspended particles called ‘floc’, which later slowly settle out to the bottom. • Most viruses and bacteria are removed by this way.

24. Filtration Process • Filtration prosesses - water passed through beds of 2- 4 ft of fine sand or a crushed anthracite coal. • Protozoan cysts and oocysts are removed by this method. • Water system of cities: Sand filtration were supplement with activated charcoal (carbon) to remove particulate matter and most dissolved organic chemical pollutants. • To date, Low pressure membrane filtration systems (pore openings 0.2 µm) also used to remove Giardia and Cryptosporidium.

25. Disinfection Process • Filtered water is chlorinated (organic matter neutralizes chlorine). • Another methods is ozone treatment, used as primary disinfectant treatment followed by chlorination. • Ozone is highly reactive form of oxygen that is formed by electrical spark discharges and UV light. • Ozone for water treatment is generated electrically at the site of treatment. • Adv: leaves no taste or odor, has little residual effect.

26. Municipal Water Purification Treatment