Microbial activity test

If the pH level of drilling fluid drops and the hydrogen sulfide test result is negative, there is a good possibility that carbon dioxide will be present. Positive results of microbial activity tests (described later) also indicate the possibility of carbon dioxide presence. Carbon dioxide meters are also available commercially and can be used. 

As mentioned earlier, microorganisms can attack drilling fluid additives and introduce corrosive agents to the system. Therefore, it is very important to monitor their activity and detect any source of problem as early as possible. API RP 38 is probably the most widely used testing procedure in the industry [201]. The methods that can be used to monitor the microbial activity can include the following [201,208] ... 

Soil resistivity The role of soil in the electrical circuitry of corrosion is now apparent. Thus the conductivity of the soil represents an important parameter. Soil resistivity has probably been more widely used than any other test procedure. Opinions of experts vary somewhat as to the actual values in terms of ohm centimetres which relate to metal-loss rates. The extended study of the US Bureau of Standards presents a mass of data with soil-resistivity values given. A weakness of the resistivity procedure is that it neither indicates variations in aeration and pH of the soil, nor microbial activity in terms of coating deterioration or corrosion under anaerobic conditions. Furthermore, as shown by Costanzo rainfall fluctuations markedly affect readings. Despite its short comings, however, this procedure represents a valuable survey method. Scott points out the value of multiple data and the statistical nature of the resistivity readings as related to corrosion rates (see also Chapter 10). 

With the extraction procedure we employed (22), ferulic acid was isolated as the most inhibitory component in wheat straw. There could also be other unknown compounds in the straw which would not be evident with this procedure. In addition, we ignored the possible influence of toxin-producing microorganisms. Microorganisms may have influenced the phytotoxicity exhibited by the aqueous wheat extract in Table IX. Although the present study was not concerned with the phytotoxic effects of microbially decomposed wheat straw, an influence of microbial activity on ferulic acid phytotoxicity was observed. From the results shown in Table XI, it appears that the presence of the prickly sida seed carpel enhanced the inhibitory effects of ferulic acid. In addition to ferulic acid in test solutions containing prickly sida seeds with carpels, a second compound, 4-hydroxy-3-methoxy styrene, was also found to be present. This compound is formed by the decarboxylation of ferulic acid and was produced by a bacterium present on the carpel of prickly sida seed. The decarboxylation of ferulic acid was detected in aqueous solutions of ferulic acid inoculated with the bacterium isolated from the carpels of prickly sida seed. No conversion occurred when the bacterium was not present. 

Various aspects of in vitro gas production test have been reviewed by Getachew et al. [33], and these authors reported that gas measurement were centered on investigations of rumen microbial activities using manometric measurements and concluded that these methods do not have wide acceptability in routine feed evaluation since there was no provision for the mechanical stirring of the sample during incubation. Another in vitro automated pressure transducer method for gas production measurement was developed by Wilkins [34], and the method was validated by Blummel and Orskov [35] and Makkar et al. [36]. There are several other gas-measuring techniques such as (i) Flohenheim gas method or Menke s method [37] (ii) liquid displacement system [38] (iii) manometric method [39] (iv) pressure transducer systems manual [40], computerized [41], and combination of pressure transducer and gas release system [42]. 

While the above discussion describes testing of aerobic microbial activity, the same scenario is applicable for anaerobic bioreactions. The primary difference is the analytical parameter. The uptake of carbon dioxide, nitrate degradation, sulfate reduction, or iron reduction may be monitored instead of oxygen utilization. 

Stability. Producers must state the length of the reference material s useable life, since they can be sensitive to light, humidity, microbial activity, temperature, time, etc. Long-term testing is required to validate the stability of a material under a variety of storage and transport conditions. 

The inclusion of the a routine microbial limit test in a marketed product stability protocol depends on the pharmaceutical dosage form. Typically, the test would be used only for nonsterile products, especially oral liquids, nasal sprays, and topical liquids, lotions, and creams that have sufficient water activity to support the growth of microorganisms. In contrast, tablets, powder- and liquid-filled capsules, topical ointments, vaginal and rectal suppositories, nonaqueous liquids and inhalation aerosols with a water activity too low to allow for the product to support the growth of microorganisms would not be routinely tested. 

Sometimes the risk of waste is estimated on the basis of nutrient cycling tests. As a rule such investigation is carried out for surface waste disposal or its land application. The carbon cycle is very sensitive to harmful compounds. Soil respiration is considered a useful indicator of the contaminants effects on soil microbial activity [56-59]. The production of carbon dioxide can be followed as short-term and long-term respiration tests. 

Dutton, R.J. Bitton, G. Koopman, B. Enzyme biosynthesis versus enzyme activity as a basis for microbial toxicity testing. Toxic. Assess. 1988, 3, 245 -253. 

For all these reasons, a microbial BOD-sensor needs to be calibrated before it can be used as a biochemical activity test. Only after a foregoing calibration procedure does a BOD-sensor finally reveal results which are both reliable and comparable to the conventional BOD5 method. Some consideration concerning the calibration of biosensors are given in Sect. 3.2.1.6. 

The tests were conducted in an open, mixed and aerated reactor to maintain constant values of pH, DO, and temperature. Thus the difference in COD drop may not be related to pH, temperature. Aeration and mixing maintained DO around saturation in all tests, thus the effect of oxygen production at the anode is minimized. The only other process (other than microbial activity) that may relate to COD drop is abiotic transformation by electrolysis reactions at the electrodes. If abiotic redox of the organic content occurs in this study, then increasing the current density should increase the... 

COD drop. The results do not show this pattern, but show a peak followed by a decrease in COD drop with increasing current density (Figure 4). Accordingly, microbial activity may be the major factor in the difference in COD drop obtained in tests with different current densities. 

Active hits were found for every type of substrate screened, including those for which other known microbial epoxide hydrolases were ineffective. For example, hydrolysis of m-stilbenc oxide was not successful with several microbial EHs tested previously.4243 By contrast, several of our new enzymes actively hydrolyzed this substrate and exhibited excellent enantioselectivities (>99% ee). It is important to note that these enzymes were found to be capable of selectively hydrolyzing a wide range of mc.vo-cpoxidcs, including cyclic and acyclic alkyl- and aryl-substituted substrates. 

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