Removal of ammonia peaks from effluent wastewater using nitrifying biolm on zeolite

Elevated levels of ammonia in discharged water leads to eutrophication and potential toxicity in water bodies. To combat nitrogen pollution, strict ammonium discharge limits of 1 mgNH₄-N/L standard is set by the water framework directory. In many cases, current wastewater treatment facilities struggle to consistently meet this...

Dynamics of Water Quality and Biofilm Formation in a Pilot Drinking Water Distribution System with and without Residual Disinfectants

Drinking water safety is of great concern all around the world. Two strategies can be pursued to maintain biological stable drinking water during distribution in the network: (i) without a residual disinfectant, in which bacterial growth is controlled by very low biodegradable nutrients in the water by extensive pre-treatment and a well...

Bacterial adherence on 3-D printed plasma electrolytic oxidized titanium implants in dynamic conditions

Osteoarthritis, the degeneration of articular cartilage, which causes loss of mobility and chronic pain for patients is a common condition with high clinical demand. Care of this condition currently attributes to ±1.4% of the Dutch annual health care costs, but due to the rapidly aging Dutch population a 41% increase of cases is projected over...

Bioreceptive Urban Facades: Integration of Bryophytes Into Facades and Their Impact on Exterior Building Temperatures

Rapidly expanding urban developments are having an inverse relationship on the surrounding urban environment. Facades and the materials that they are composed of can have a large impact on the warming of urban microclimates. By reducing or cooling the external surfaces of a facade a building maybe able to offset its contribution to the urban...

The structure of biofilm grown in a drinking water distribution system with heat exchange analyzed with scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy

Due to climate change, our society must become more climate resilient, and this is also the case for drinking water distribution systems. Climate change implicates that temperatures of the atmosphere are getting higher. This may lead to that the drinking water may become warmer. One of the consequences of climate change is that alternative ways...

The influence of biofilm development on the effective gas permeability in hydraulic fractures

Shale gas is natural gas captured in low permeable shale formations, to be able to produce this gas the permeability of the reservoir needs to be enhanced. Hydraulic fracturing is used in low permeable reservoirs to increase the permeability and make gas production possible. Fracking fluid is pumped in the reservoir at high pressure to create...

Biofilm management as new oral (health) care tool

The purpose of the study was to explore the solution space of introducing a new product for oral care that can be combined with the new Philips biofilm management substance. Technical pre-conditions were gathered about the new biofilm management substance to know which requirements should be taken into account when rating concept ideas based on...

How biofilms influence morphology

Extracellular Polymeric Substance is found to be responsible for the stabilizing behaviour of biofilms on sediment, but studies disagree on how this stabilizing effect is achieved and what processes are involved in making an EPS biofilm shear off. This study answers the question how the biofilms achieve the stabilizing effect and what processes...