Thu, 21 Aug 2008 01:07:05 BST CiteULike: matthewhflamm's library [62 articles] http://www.citeulike.org/user/matthewhflamm/article/2599410 CiteULike.org en-gb Copyright © 2004-2008 citeulike.org http://www.citeulike.org/user/matthewhflamm/article/2599410 <i>Biotechnology & Bioengineering, Vol. 72, No. 2. (2001), pp. 205-218.</i><br /><br />A two-dimensional model for biofilm growth and detachment was used to evaluate the effect of detachment on biofilm structures. The detachment process is considered to be due to internal stress created by moving liquid past the biofilm. This model generated a variety of realistic biofilm-formation patterns. It was possible to model in a unified way two different biofilm detachment processes, erosion (small-particle loss), and sloughing (large-biomass-particle removal). The distribution of the fraction from total biomass detached as a function of detached particle mass, gives indications about which of the two mechanisms is dominant. Model simulations indicate that erosion makes the biofilm surface smoother. Sloughing, in contrast, leads to an increased biofilm-surface roughness. Faster growing biofilms have a faster detachment rate than slow-growing biofilms, under similar hydrodynamic conditions and biofilm strength. This is in perfect accordance with the experimental evidence showing that detachment is dependent on both shear- and microbial-growth rates. High growth rates trigger instability in biofilm accumulation and abrupt biomass loss (sloughing). Massive sloughing can be avoided by high liquid shear, combined with low biomass growth rates. As the modeling results show, the causes for sloughing must be sought not only in the biofilm strength, but also in its shape. Several Two-dimensional model of biofilm detachment caused by internal stress from liquid flow Cristian Picioreanu Mark van Loosdrecht Joseph Heijnen doi:10.1002/1097-0290(20000120)72:2<205::AID-BIT9>3.0.CO;2-L Biotechnology & Bioengineering, Vol. 72, No. 2. (2001), pp. 205-218. 2008-03-26T18:13:08-00:00 2001 Biotechnology & Bioengineering 72 2 205 218 biofilm detachment flow lb