A b s t r a c tThe influence of the shear stress (rw) under which biofilms were formed was assessed on their susceptibility to removal when exposed to chemical and mechanical stresses. A rotating cylinder reactor was used to form biofilms, allowing the simulation of rw conditions similar to those found in industrial settings, particularly in areas with low rw like elbows, corners, valves and dead zones. Bacillus cereus was used as a model bacterium for biofilm formation.Biofilms were formed on AISI316 stainless steel cylinders under different rw (estimated at 0.02, 0.12 and 0.17 Pa) for 7 days. Some phenotypic characteristics, including thickness, biomass production, cellular density and extracellular proteins and polysaccharides content were assessed. Biofilm density was found to increase significantly with rw while the thickness decreased. Also, biofilms formed at 0.02 Pa had lowest biomass content, cell density and extracellular polysaccharide content. Those characteristics were not statistically different for the biofilms formed under 0.12 and 0.17 Pa.Ex situ tests were performed by treating the biofilms with the biocide benzyldimethyldodecyl ammonium chloride (BDMDAC), followed by exposure to increasing rw conditions, up to 1.84 Pa (whereas the maximum rw used during growth was 0.17 Pa). The biofilms formed under low rw were more resistant to removal caused by the BDMDAC action alone. Those formed under higher rw were more resistant to the mechanical and the combined chemical and mechanical treatments. The amount of biofilm remaining on the cylinders, after both treatments was statistically similar for biofilms formed under 0.12 and 0.17Pa. The resistance of biofilms to removal by mechanical treatment (alone and combined with BDMDAC) was related to the amount of matrix polysaccharides.However, none of the methods investigated were able to remove all the biofilm from the cylinders.
IntroductionThere is a lack of efficient strategies to clean stagnant zones in industrial plants (Brooks and Flint, 2008). Crevices, corners, dead zones, valves or areas where the mixing rate is low are almost inevitable. Stagnation promotes bacterial accumulation, ultimately leading to biofouling (Manuel et al., 2010). Biofouling is a damaging problem, affecting the energetic efficiency of industrial processes, causing corrosion of the surfaces, decreasing product quality and eventually promoting the spread of pathogens and resistant infectious diseases (Costerton et al., 1999;Ludensky, 2003;Srey et al., 2013). In industrial settings, surface disinfection is usually focused on the use of biocides, aiming to inactivate the microorganisms (Cloete et al., 1998;Faille et al., 2013). Since biofilms are complex biological structures adhered to a sur-face, these strategies often fail, as the removal of biomass is neglected. Hence, cleaning the biomass from the surfaces is fundamental for controlling biofilm development (Flemming, 2011).In the biofilm formation process, the hydrodynamic conditions define the transport of the cells, oxyg...