An ultrastructural approach has been attempted to study the surface features of 29 packing media reported in literature and a few more potential candidates for immobilizing micro-organisms. The electron micrographs reveal important features like degree of smoothness/roughness, microcrystals and fibres, ridges, macro and micro pores <196> their dimensions, depth and distribution and thereby the biomass accumulation capacity of the media. Based on microscopic observations the packing media have been classified as (i) smooth - polypropylene bead, glass bead, peristaltic tube, porcelain, powdered activated carbon, perspex, polyvinyl chloride and glass (ii) uneven - straw, paddy stem, nylon, sand, gravel and stone (iii) porous - jute, gravel, soil, granulated clay, limestone, ceramic, shell, refractory brick, diatomaceous earth, casuarina seed, granular activated carbon thermocol, sponge, pumice stone and polyurethane foam. The results clearly show that ultrastructural examination and image analysis can be a quick, effective and direct visual technique for selecting support media for bioreactors. An example of application of quantitative image analysis for providing quantitative geometric description of surface features is also presented.
Skip Nav Destination
Article navigation
Research Article|
April 01 1996
Immobilization in fixed film reactors: an ultrastructural approach
C. S. Harendranath;
C. S. Harendranath
*Regional Sophisticated Instrumentation Centre, Indian Institute of Technology, Powai, Bombay 400076, India
Search for other works by this author on:
K. Anuja;
K. Anuja
**Bombay Zonal Laboratory, NEERI, Worli, Bombay 400018, India
Search for other works by this author on:
Anju Singh;
Anju Singh
**Bombay Zonal Laboratory, NEERI, Worli, Bombay 400018, India
Search for other works by this author on:
A. Gunaseelan;
A. Gunaseelan
**Bombay Zonal Laboratory, NEERI, Worli, Bombay 400018, India
Search for other works by this author on:
K. Satish;
K. Satish
**Bombay Zonal Laboratory, NEERI, Worli, Bombay 400018, India
Search for other works by this author on:
Krishna Lala
Krishna Lala
**Bombay Zonal Laboratory, NEERI, Worli, Bombay 400018, India
Search for other works by this author on:
Water Sci Technol (1996) 33 (8): 7–15.
Citation
C. S. Harendranath, K. Anuja, Anju Singh, A. Gunaseelan, K. Satish, Krishna Lala; Immobilization in fixed film reactors: an ultrastructural approach. Water Sci Technol 1 April 1996; 33 (8): 7–15. doi: https://doi.org/10.2166/wst.1996.0146
Download citation file:
Sign in
Don't already have an account? Register
Client Account
You could not be signed in. Please check your email address / username and password and try again.
Impact Factor 2.430
CiteScore 3.4 • Q2
13 days submission to first
decision
1,439,880 downloads in 2021
23
Views
10
Citations