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Application of ESEM in the visualization of microbial community of granule sludge and suspended carrier biofilm |
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Abstract The structure of the microbial community of suspended carrier biofilms and granule sludge was visualized by ESEM, and the images were compared with SEM. The optimal condition for suspended carrier biofilms was temperature of 5℃, chamber pressure of 5.91×102 Pa, the relative humidity of 75%, accelerating voltage of 15.00kV, and that for granule sludge was temperature of 0℃, chamber pressure of 7.00×102 Pa, the relative humidity of 100%, accelerating voltage of 10.00kV. The partial coverage of the samples by free water and the potential damage to the fragile nature of the wet samples with the electronbeam and air pressure were the main technical constraints to obtain good quality images. ESEM permits the the observation of wet samples without complex sample preparation or conductive coating, which provide a novel tool for characterizing granule sludge and suspended carrier biofilm.
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Received: 08 May 2009
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