Microbiological Control

In many industrial processes microbial activity is desirable. Microbes are making the fermentations and are treating the wastes.

In industrial cooling water systems, as mentioned earlier, microbial activities are highly undesirable. Even preferable, we would like to have our systems absolutely free from any kind of microorganisms.

But this is impossible. Microorganisms find the way to enter the industrial system, mainly through two sources. They may be present in the makeup water supply itself or as a contamination, from the process side or in the air contacting the system (p.e. passing through the cooling tower).

Being impossible to keep our systems completely sterilized, we are not talking about “disinfection” or “sterilization” but about “microbiological control”.

That has the meaning that we decided to live together with microorganisms, and our effort is to keep its population within limits, permitting us to operate under minor problems.

Planktonic bacteria and biofilms require different actions as to keep our systems operational.

For planktonic bacteria our aim is to use the resources competition and mutualisms actions between the species, leaving them to fight each-other.

From our side, using microbiocides and biodispersants we are controlling its growth and relative populations, and are not permitting to any kind to overpopulate and to create advantage over the others.

We have to have always in mind that the worst enemies of microorganisms are not toxicants, but other microorganisms.

Different approach has to be applied to bacteria organized to biofilms. The slime mass and the biofilm society is deactivating almost toxicants. Also, the existing persister cells are rebuilding the population very fast, after decrease of the toxicant concentration.