• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.938-945
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• 2005

For elucidating excessive growth of biofilm that subsequently leads to the clogging problem in a small town's sewer lines of Wisconsin, the FISH method was employed. At the beginning of the simulated experiments, ${\beta}$-subclass proteobacteria prevailed in runs fed with industrial wastewater, while ${\gamma}$-subclass proteobacteria dominated in runs with domestic wastewater. However, the bacterial community structure changed significantly over six weeks; Cytophaga-Flavobacterium (CF)­group bacteria dominated in most runs fed with the small town's wastewater regardless of their source, while CF-group decreased strongly in run fed with domestic sewage from another city (Madison). It was also microscopically confirmed that most of those clogging materials was toilet tissue, which in turn may lead to vigorous growth of cellulose-degrading CF-group bacteria. This dominant presence of CF-group bacteria in the small town's sewer indicates that the main constituent of biofilm, toilet tissue (cellulose) in sewage, might have induced the unique pattern of their microbial community structure. Therefore, it suggests that molecular technique is useful for monitoring the clogging problems in sewer lines.

• Journal of the Mineralogical Society of Korea
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.139-159
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• 2008

Geochemical analysis of the various kinds of water including observation borehole groundwater was carried out for the assessment of the hydrological safety of the underground oil storage cavern and the potentiality of mineralogical and microbiological clogging was estimated. Most of water samples belonged to $Ca-HCO_3$ and $Ca-HCO_3-SO_4$ types. There was no distinct chemical difference in the various kinds of water. All kinds of water are undersaturated with the calcite which is the major clogging mineral. Most water samples have low Fe and Mn concentrations. However, they are saturated or oversaturated with the iron-oxide/hydroxide minerals and have high dissolved oxygen contents which suggests the possibility of clogging by the iron-oxide/hydroxide minerals as a long-term aspect. Several water samples from the ground observation borehole also show the high saturation indices far the clay minerals, which can fill up the fractures, indicating the possibility of clogging by the clay minerals. Statistical analysis shows the degree of mineral precipitation or dissolution is mainly controlled by pH, Eh and DO of water samples. According to the microbial analysis, the aerobic microbes and slime forming bacteria are dominant in most water samples and anaerobic microbes including sulfate reducing bacteria are very low or not detected. Although the slime forming bacteria which are known as a main microbial cause of the clogging is lower than $10^5\;CFUs/mL$ in all water samples, because the slime forming bacteria are dominant microbe in several observation boreholes, the clogging can be caused by it as a long-term aspect. In addition, the possibility of clogging can be increased if the microbial effect is combined with the mineralogical effect such as iron oxide/hydroxide minerals for the possibility of clogging. Therefore, the systematic and long-term program for the assessment of clogging is required for the safe operation of underground oil storage cavern.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.485-496
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• 2019

Sealing of leakage in waterfront or water-retaining structures is one of the major issues in geotechnical engineering practices. With demands for biological methods as sustainable ground improvement techniques, bioclogging, defined as the reduction in hydraulic conductivity of soils caused by microbial activities, has been considered as an alternative to the chemical grout techniques for its economic advantages and eco-friendliness of microbial by-products. This study investigated the feasibility of bioaugmentation and biostimulation methods to induce fermentation-based bioclogging effect in coarse sands. In the bioaugmentation experiments, effects of various parameters and conditions, including grain size, pH, and biogenic gas generation, on hydraulic conductivity reduction were examined through a series of column experiments while Leuconostoc mesenteroides, which produce an insoluble biopolymer called dextran, was used as the model bacteria. The column test results demonstrate that the accumulation of bacterial biopolymer can readily reduce the hydraulic conductivity by three-to-four orders of magnitudes or by 99.9-99.99% in well-controlled environments. In the biostimulation experiments, two inoculums of indigenous soil bacteria sampled from waterfront embankments were prepared and their bioclogging efficiency was examined. With one inoculum containing species capable of fermentation and biopolymer production, the hydraulic conductivity reduction by two orders of magnitude was achieved, however, no clogging was found with the other inoculum. This implies that presence of indigenous species capable of biopolymer production and their population, if any, play a key role in causing bioclogging, because of competition with other indigenous bacteria. The presented results provide fundamental insights into the bacterial biopolymer formation mechanism, its effect on soil permeability, and potential of engineering bacterial clogging in subsurface.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.75-82
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• 2000

This study, which was tarried out to investigate the characteristics of permeation rates and fouling phenomena in drinking-water treating processes with MF membrane, showed that pressure drop was dependent on the length of membrane module and operating pressure; the pressure drop increased with the length of membrane module and operating pressure, operation at a relatively low pressure(0.5kg/$cm^2$) is better than that at a relatively (2.0kg/$cm^2$), since high operating pressure accelerates the clogging. In case of out-in permeation type, almost same flux was obtained after a certain operating time regardless of membrane length and operating pressure. In order to understand, the microbial fouling, chemical cleaning was carried out to the forced contaminated hollow-fiber membrane with chemicals($H_2O_2$, NaOCl, and NaOH). Chemical cleanings with $H_2O_2$and NaOCl, which are oxidizing agents, are better for sterilizing and desorbing the microbes than those with NaOH.

• Food Science and Biotechnology
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.168-172
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• 2006

Soy sauce was fermented at $20^{\circ}C$ for 100 days in onggi containers (ethnic Korean earthenware) which had been fabricated using three different glazing treatments: unglazed, glazed only on the outside, and glazed on both surfaces. The changes in microstructure and permeability characteristics of onggi containers were examined after fermentation of soy sauce. The effect of repeated use of onggi containers on the fermentation was analyzed by the contact between an aqueous model solution and the onggi containers used once for soy sauce fermentation. The levels of reducing sugar and free amino acids produced from the dissolved starch and protein, respectively, in the solution were compared between the new and reused onggi containers. The moisture permeance and gas permeabilities of the onggi jars were progressively reduced with continuing use for soy sauce fermentation, probably due to clogging of micropores by solid materials. After having been used once for fermentation, the microbial cells and/or enzymes immobilized on the surface or in the micropores of the onggi containers seemed to contribute to accelerating the hydrolytic reactions of starch and protein.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.44 no.4
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• pp.550-556
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• 2016

Groundwater heat pump (GWHP) systems must consider phenomena such as clogging to improve system efficiency and maintenance. In this study, we evaluated the prokaryotic diversity in a boring slime sample obtained at a depth of 10 m, which represented an undisturbed sample not affected by aquifer drawdown. Bacteria belonging to the phyla Proteobacteria (20.8%), Acidobacteria (18.8%), Chloroflexi (16.9%), and Firmicutes (10.2%) were found. Additionally, 144 species were identified as belonging to the genus Koribacter. Archaeal phyla were detected including Thaumarchaeota (42.8%), Crenarchaeota (36.9%), and Euryarchaeota (17.4%) and the class level comprised the miscellaneous Crenarchaeota group (MCG), Finnish forest soil type B (FFSB), and Thermoplasmata, which collectively accounted for approximately 69.4% of the detected Archaea. Operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were analyzed to reveal 3,565 bacterial and 836 archaeal OTUs, with abundances of 7.81 and 6.68, and richnesses of 5.96E-4 and 2.86E-3, respectively. The distribution of the groundwater microbial community in the study area showed a higher proportion of non-classified or unidentified groups compared to typical communities in surface water and air. In addition, 135 (approx. 1.9%) reads were assigned to a bacterial candidate associated with clogging.

• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.292-298
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• 2005

Kochujang(Korean red pepper paste) of 600 g was fermented in the different types of vessels (glass, polypropylene(PP), polyethylene terephthalate(PET), stainless steel and Korean porcelain called onggi) with 627 mL of volume during 4 months. The quality changes were monitored for physical, chemical and microbiological attributes. Onggi which had high porosity in the micro-structure provided kochujang with higher microbial counts of aerobic bacteria, lactic acid bacteria and yeasts than those of the other containers. Compared to kochujang fermented in the other containers, kochujang in Onggi showed higher protease activity, amino type nitrogen, and free amino acid content. The kochujang in Onggi also attained higher acidity, lower pH and higher reducing sugar concentration than those in the other containers. All changes were completed 2 or 3 months. Onggi showed water loss and salt increase of the kochujang comparable to those in the other vessels, which was from gradual clogging of the micropores during storage. All physical, chemical and microbiological changes made the kochujang in Onggi attain the sensory quality significantly better than those fermented in the other vessels.