Biofilm-forming bacteria with varying tolerance to peracetic acid from a paper machine

Abstract

Biofilms cause runnability problems in paper machines and are therefore controlled with biocides. Peracetic acid is usually effective in preventing bulky biofilms. This study investigated the microbiological status of a paper machine where low concentrations (≤ 15 ppm active ingredient) of peracetic acid had been used for several years. The paper machine contained a low amount of biofilms. Biofilm-forming bacteria from this environment were isolated and characterized by 16S rRNA gene sequencing, whole-cell fatty acid analysis, biochemical tests, and DNA fingerprinting. Seventy-five percent of the isolates were identified as members of the subclades Sphingomonas trueperi and S. aquatilis, and the others as species of the genera Burkholderia (B. cepacia complex), Methylobacterium, and Rhizobium. Although the isolation media were suitable for the common paper machine biofoulers Deinococcus, Meiothermus, and Pseudoxanthomonas, none of these were found, indicating that peracetic acid had prevented their growth. Spontaneous, irreversible loss of the ability to form biofilm was observed during subculturing of certain isolates of the subclade S. trueperi. The Sphingomonas isolates formed monoculture biofilms that tolerated peracetic acid at concentrations (10 ppm active ingredient) used for antifouling in paper machines. High pH and low conductivity of the process waters favored the peracetic acid tolerance of Sphingomonas sp. biofilms. This appears to be the first report on sphingomonads as biofilm formers in warm water using industries.

Chemical aspects of peracetic acid based wastewater disinfection

“…The role of PAA in wastewater disinfection has been extensively studied since the early 1980s and PAA has also been used as a disinfectant for many years in the food, beverage, and paper industries (Orth, 1998;Rasimus et al, 2011). PAA is commercially available as a stabilised equilibrium mixture containing PAA (typically 5 to 15% w/w), hydrogen peroxide, acetic acid, and water (Eq.…”

Bacterial Community Characterization in Paper Mill White Water

“…Scientific literature on the analysis of bacterial communities within the different compartments of a paper mill is nowadays scanty, especially when considering cultureindependent approaches (Tiirola et al 2009, Lahtinen et al 2006, Granhall et al 2010, Rasimus et al 2011). The majority of available studies have adopted culture-dependent techniques (Desjardins and Beaulieu 2003, Kolari 2003, Kolari et al 2003, Suihko et al 2004, Suihko and Skyttä 2009, thus underestimating the microbial diversity of the original sample.…”

“…Few papers on the characterization of bacterial communities in paper mills are available (e.g. Rasimus et al 2011;Suihko et al 2009;Maukonen et al 2006), and most of them apply only culturedependent approaches (e.g., Kashama et al 2009). …”

Microbial population in an aerated thermophilic reactor that treats recycled cardboard plant wastewater

“…These bacteria include clone 5, which is affiliated with Rhodobacteraceae [34] and has a frequency of 8% of the OTUs, and clone 10, which represents Deinococcus-Thermus (Meiothermus) (frequency of 12%) and is affiliated with aerobic bacteria found in geothermal springs and paper machine biofoulers [35]. These microbial groups were identified only in the attached biomass sample (Fig.…”