UFZ EnergyDays 2017 - Session C1

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The beauty and exploitation
of surface associated microbes

Session coordinators:

Katja Bühler, Dept. Solar Materials
Falk Harnisch, Dept. of Environmental Microbiology

Abstract:

This session is devoted to the characterization, modelling and application potential of surface associated microbes. It will span from the role of these microbial aggregates and biofilms in natural systems to biotechnological applications allowing the development of continuous processes for material and energy production.

Although widely accepted as a potent alternative to planktonically growing cell cultures in biotechnology, there are still a number of challenges to be addressed before biofilm-process really break through. These comprise fundamental questions of, e.g. mass transfer, metabolic and other kinds of interactions in biofilms. For elucidating these processes as well as structure-function-relationships in biofilms composed of different microbial species a plethora of tools and approaches exists. These range from ecological measures up to engineering performance indicators.

From the engineers perspective biofilms represent a microbial catalyst format which in principle exhibits an infinite turn-over number (TN) due to the fact that they are constituted of naturally immobilized cells continuously regenerating themselves. Their natural, intrinsic ability of tolerating different kind of stresses, natural (desiccation, starvation, predators) or process related (toxic compounds, pH shifts, high salt) make biofilms an ideal system for continuous bioprocess development. Developing novel reactor concepts, technical solutions for mass transfer limitations, highly diluted bleed streams and low specific activities are as important as designing novel biofilm catalysts and understanding biofilm regulation and development.

Also new developments as multispecies biofilms, multistep catalysis and activities in the field of electrobiotechnology are highly exciting and open up new areas in biofilm research.

Starting from natural systems and highlighting different approaches and tools of research and development, this session will discuss various aspects in biofilm research, resources include sugars and plant oils (first generation), cellulose and lignin (second generation), as well as carbon dioxide and waste products in the sense of a circular economy as it is aimed at in future bioeconomy concepts. Biological and technical challenges and approaches based on hetero- as well as autotrophic organisms will be discussed.