The microbial content of cooling waters generally depends on the type of cooling system (open, closed, etc.), source water, and the ambient atmosphere near the tower. Most problems are derived from general aerobic and anaerobic slime forming bacteria, iron oxidizing bacteria, sulfate reducing bacteria, denitrifying bacteria and of course green and blue-green (cyanobacteria) algae. In addition to system problems, the now well known problems associated with Legionella and their amoeba host are of concern to water treatment personnel. Whether it's general monitoring for a type of microorganism or training of your staff to perform routine analyses, we can help. The image to the left and as well as the data below was generated by us for a client interested in comparing biocides against amoeba-grown legionella. We present it as an example of research conducted in the Hydreion facility.

Amoeba-grown Legionella
Legionella pneumophila serogroup 1(ATCC 33153) was repeatedly subcultured in the presence of Acanthamoeba hatchetti (ATCC 50673). Microscopic observation revealed intracellular replication of Legionella. The amoeba-Legionella cells were washed by centrifugation (PBS pH 7.8) and the amoeba lysed by gentle drawing through a 22g syringe needle. The Legionella were harvested and subjected to a standard minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) against a suite of biocides in ABCD broth. In addition to routine microbial analyses, we also have an active research program to evaluate the effect of organic dispersants on biofilm removal and on dispersant/biocide combinations. We can evaluate your treatment regime against a variety of nuisance microorganisms.