Phototrophic Biofilms And Their Potential Applications: Towards The Development Of A Unifying Concept
Informations
- Funding country
Europe- Acronym
- PHOBIA
- URL
- -
- Start date
- 10/1/2002
- End date
- 12/31/2005
- Budget
- 1,808,270 EUR
Fundings
| Name | Role | Start | End | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FP5 - Fifth Framework Programme | Grant | 10/1/2002 | 12/31/2005 | 1,340,976 EUR |
Abstract
Phototrophic biofilms are communities, driven by photosynthesing microorganisms, and occurring on interfaces in terrestrial and aquatic environments. Such biofilms cause biofouling on e.g. submersed objects and monuments, but also have a great bioremediation potential for water and soils. PHOBIA proposes to grow air-exposed and aquatic phototrophic biofilms on soft and hard substrata in a specially designed incubator, in which microenvironment, architecture, growth, and biodiversity on the biofilm communities will be analysed, and in which their major physiological processes will be quantified. In contrast to heterotrophic biofilms, predictive models are not available for phototrophic biofilms. Our objective is to develop a unifying model of a phototrophic biofilm, and to use that for management and control of phototrophic biofilms in existing and new applications.