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Biofilm Usefulness

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Formation and Control of Biofilm in Various Environments

Abstract

This chapter describes the usefulness of biofilms. It starts by discussing the importance of biofilms for producing electricity and the process which is known as microbial fuel cell (MFC) technology. The next topic presents beneficial applications of biofilms to the environment. It includes bioremediation, nitrogen-fixing bacteria that make atmospheric nitrogen available to plants, and biofilm/bacteria use for recycling elements vital to life. Biofilms are also used to immobilize harmful materials, as biological pesticides, and for bioleaching to extract metals from their ores. The final section provides a description of how biofilms contribute to water treatment applications for pollutants such as plastics in our oceans, heavy metals, industrial wastes, oil spills, and sewage.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National Institute of Technology (KOSEN), Shiroko-cho, Suzuka, Mie, Japan

    Hideyuki Kanematsu

  2. Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Clarkson University, Potsdam, NY, USA

    Dana M. Barry

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  1. Hideyuki Kanematsu
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  2. Dana M. Barry
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Correspondence to Dana M. Barry .

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Kanematsu, H., Barry, D.M. (2020). Biofilm Usefulness. In: Formation and Control of Biofilm in Various Environments. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-2240-6_9

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