Biomass properties estimation

Components of the products of biomass and fossil fuel burning responsible for radiation scattering (along with water-soluble organic and inorganic components emitted to the atmosphere as part of smoke and soot compounds) can also function as CCN. This means that emissions of BC and OM participate in the formation of indirect RF due to the impact of CCN on the formation of clouds and their properties. It follows from available estimates that such a contribution can exceed 80% with respect to total indirect RF. The BC impact can also manifest itself by local warming of the atmosphere and a decrease in cloud amount and their water content, which leads to an albedo decrease. 

This laboratory long ago devised [120] the use of radio-frequency dielectric spectroscopy [121, 122] for the on-line and real-time estimation of microbial and other cellular biomass during laboratory and industrial fermentations. The principle of operation is that only intact cells (see [123] for what is meant in this context by the word viable ), and nothing else likely to be in a fermentor, have intact plasma membranes and that the measurement of the electrical properties of these membranes allows the direct estimation of cellular biomass (Fig. 4). 

Dielectric spectroscopy or culture capacitance measurement is used as an on-line, non-invasive method for biomass estimation (see the chapter by Sonnleitner in this issue - the section on electrical properties) and responds mainly to living cells [43,44]. Observed difficulties in using the signal as a pure biomass concentration sensor, i.e. deviations from the simple correlation with cell density, were attributed to dependencies on the physiological state [43], and could be used to discriminate different populations in yeast cultures [45]. Connections with morphological features could be found for budding yeast... 

The next difficulty in using the energy balance is that thermodynamic property data, such as the heat of combustion, may not be known for some identified molecular species compounds, and is not likely to been measured for incompletely defined species such as the average biomass CHi.sOo.sNo.t- To estimate the properties in these cases, we will use the generalized degree of reduction, - c. defined as follows ... 

Measurements Biochemical oxygen demand, substrate depletion, carbon dioxide generation, biomass estimate, properties of the polymer. 

One new approach to estimating biocide efficiency is to combine qualitative evaluation with the use of kinetic parameters chosen to characterize the properties of microorganisms and materials. A quantitative estimate of effectiveness is based on studies of biomass growth deceleration, with the help of rate constants for biomass growth. 

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