Study of biofilms associated with reverse osmosis membranes used in wastewater treatment in oil refineries

• Grant number: 11/19067-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: April 01, 2012
• End date: March 31, 2014
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Microbiology - Applied Microbiology
• Principal Investigator: Valeria Maia Merzel
• Grantee: Virginia Medeiros de Siqueira
• Host Institution: Centro Pluridisciplinar de Pesquisas Químicas, Biológicas e Agrícolas (CPQBA). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Paulínia , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The technology of membrane systems has been used by oil refining companies to decrease water consumption and promote the reuse of the wastewater originated from oil refining processes. Membrane systems are prone to microbial biofilm development and biofouling, i.e. the degradation of materials resulting from biofilm activity. Biofouling represents one of the most important problems associated with low performance of membrane systems and consequent economic losses. Many studies have been carried out based on the application of cultivation-based methods which allows only the isolation of those microorganisms capable to grow under specific conditions. In this sense, the use of in situ techniques with specific fluorescent dyes may overcome this problem and also provide information about microbial community composition and diversity of biofilms. The aim of this project is to study microbial biofilms in membrane systems used in the treatment of effluents originated from oil refineries. For this, epifluorescence microscopy, specific fluorescent dyes and the technique Fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) will be applied. Thus, this work intends to characterize the kinetics of biofilm formation, microbial diversity, and structural and functional interactions between the components of the biofilms. Once established these parameters, the results will be used to design biofilm control strategies and further reduction of maintenance costs.

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

BELGINI, DAIANE R. B.; SIQUEIRA, VIRGINIA M.; OLIVEIRA, DOUGLAS M.; FONSECA, SAMANTHA G.; PICCIN-SANTOS, VIVIANE; DIAS, ROBERTO S.; QUARTAROLI, LARISSA; SOUZA, RODRIGO S.; TORRES, ANA PAULA R.; SOUSA, MAIRA P.; et al. Integrated diversity analysis of the microbial community in a reverse osmosis system from a Brazilian oil refinery. Systematic and Applied Microbiology, v. 41, n. 5, p. 473-486, SEP 2018. (11/19067-2)