Measurement of bacterial collision efficiencies in porous media

• Published in: Water research (Oxford) Vol. 29; no. 4; pp. 1151 - 1158
• Main Authors: Gross, Mark J., Albinger, Otto, Jewett, David G., Logan, Bruce E., Bales, Roger C., Arnold, Robert G.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Elsevier Ltd 1995; Elsevier Science
• Subjects: bacteria; Bacteriological methods and techniques used in bacteriology; Bacteriology; biocolloid; Biological and medical sciences; collision efficiency; filtration; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Microbiology; porous media; Pseudomonas fluorescens; radiolabel; transport; filtration; bacteria; radiolabel; collision efficiency; transport; porous media; biocolloid; Pseudomonadales; Filtration; Collision; Porous medium; Analytical method; Bacteria; Pseudomonadaceae; Pseudomonas fluorescens; Radioactive tracers; Retention
• ISSN: 0043-1354; 1879-2448
• DOI: 10.1016/0043-1354(94)00235-Y

A new method, utilizing radiolabeled ( 3H-leucine) cells and 1-cm columns packed with 40-μm borosilicate glass beads was used to estimate bacterial collision efficiency by directly measuring the retention of cells in porous media. At a fractional retention of 0.051 ( n = 3), the coefficient of variation was 0.037, permitting meaningful estimation of collision efficiencies as low as 3 × 10 −5. Collision efficiency was a function of the ionic strength and pecies identity; α increased from 1.6 × 10 −3 to 1.4 × 10 −2 for A. paradoxus in 10 −5 and 10 −3 M NaCl solutions, respectively, and from 8.9 × 10 −3 to 6.2 × 10 −2 for P. fluorescens in the same solutions. Results were not sensitive to test parameters such as velocity, volume filtered and rinse volume. The new procedure provides a convenient, reliable, accurate method for estimating low-end biocolloid collision efficiencies in porous media. In the range α < 0.01, the method is economical, significantly faster, and much more reliable than other published procedures. Its application may accelerate efforts to establish functional relationships between biocolloid collision efficiency and governing physical-chemical variables.