Ongoing Effort to Curtail the Impact of Bacterial Infection and Biofilms at Ethanol Plants

Biofilms have gained attention recently across the ethanol industry. They really have an impact on all industries, Wayne Mattsfield, staff scientist for Phibro Ethanol Performance Group, said during the panel.

The formation of biofilm is a very simple process and can occur rather quickly. As soon as anything gets on a surface that roughs it up or creates a deposit, biofilm and bacteria has an area to attach to. Biofilm can form in just one week on a system.

It’s very easy for biofilm, even a very small amount, to create plenty of problems. The glue on scotch tape is 20 microns thick, that amount of biofilm can reduce heat transfer in your heat exchanger by more than 5 percent.