Effects of exogenous acylated homoserine lactones on biofilms in biofilters for gaseous toluene treatment

作     者：Zhuqiu Sun Bairen Yang Marvin Yeung Jinying Xi Zhuqiu Sun;Bairen Yang;Marvin Yeung;Jinying Xi

作者机构：Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control State Key Joint LaboratorySchool of EnvironmentTsinghua UniversityBeijing 100084China School of Environmental Science and EngineeringYancheng Institute of TechnologyYancheng 224051China 

出 版 物：《Frontiers of Environmental Science & Engineering》 (环境科学与工程前沿（英文）)

年 卷 期：2023年第17卷第2期

页      面：29-38页

核心收录：

学科分类：083002[工学-环境工程] 0830[工学-环境科学与工程（可授工学、理学、农学学位）] 07[理学] 08[工学] 09[农学] 0903[农学-农业资源与环境] 0713[理学-生态学] 

基　　金：supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.52070113) the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province(No.BK20191480) the Open Fund of Key Laboratory for Advanced Technology in Environmental Protection of Jiangsu Province(No.JBGS005) 

主　　题：Quorum sensing AHLs Biofilter Biofilm formation 

摘      要：Biofilters are typical biofilm reactors, and they usually have poor biofilm formation resulting in limited reactor performance. Exogenous acylated homoserine lactones (AHLs) can enhance biofilm formation in many bioreactors based on quorum sensing regulation. However, their effect on biofilm in biofilters utilized for volatile organic compound (VOC) removal is unknown and needs to be investigated. In this study, the effects of the exogenous AHLs on biofilters for gaseous toluene removal were investigated. Analysis of biofilms in biofilters showed that the addition of exogenous AHLs considerably enhanced biofilm growth;the average biofilm concentration increased by 18%. Furthermore, the average biofilm coverage proportions in biofilters with and without exogenous AHLs were 17 % and 13 %, respectively, demonstrating the positive effect of exogenous AHLs on biofilm coverage. In particular, exogenous AHLs promoted the production of extracellular polymeric substances and the microbial adhesive strength of the biofilm. In addition, the exogenous AHLs showed no significant effect on the gaseous toluene removal efficiency of the biofilter. These results show that exogenous AHLs can enhance biofilm formation and can guide the application of exogenous AHLs in VOC biofilters.