IONIC SURFACES TO BIOLOGICAL CONTROL

BACTERIA INDUCE MANY OF THE PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH PUBLIC PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH WATER BORNE PATHOGENS. IN ADDITIONTASTE, ODOR, COLOR AND TURBIDITY PROBLEMS ARE SOMETIMES CAUSED BY BACTERIAL, FOULING AND CORROSION ARE ALSO CAUSED BY BACTERIA. FOULED WATER SYSTEM COMPONENTS PROMOTE DEVELOPMENT OF PROTECTED OR SHIELDED CONSORTIA OF BACTERIA WHICH DECREASES THE EFFGECTIVENESS OF CHLORINE (OR OTHER BACTERI- CIDES), PERIODICALLY CREATE EXCESSIVE CHLORINE DEMAND (WHEN SLOUGHING OFF), DECREASE THE EFFECTIVENESS AND COST EFFICIENCY OF THE WATER SYSTEM, AND GREATLY INCREASES THE RATE OF CORROSION, MEASURES TO CONTROL OR ELIMINATE THE BUILD-UP OF BIOFILM WILL REDUCEE CHLORINE REQUIREMENTS THEREBY REDUC-ING THE INJECTION OF KNOWN CARCINOGENS TO THE DRINKING WATERBIOFILM REDUCTION OR ELIMINATION WILL ALSO ENHANCE THE EF- FECT OF OTHER MEANS OF DISINFECTION. IONIC SURFACE LAYERS INTEGRATED WITH THE SUBSTRATE OFFER THEPOSSIBILITY TO "GROW SURFACES WITH CHARACTERISTICS TAILORED TO SPECIFIC COMBINATIONS PREVIOUSLY IMPOSSIBLE. KEY STRUC- TURAL AND OPERATIONAL SURFACES IN PUMPS, WELL SCREENS, VALVES, METERS, AND OTHER PLANT COMPONENTS CAN BE FABRICATEDTO MEET STRUCTURAL AND CORROSION RESISTANCE REQIREMENTS AND TO CREATE SURFACES TO RETARD BIOFILM FORMATION. MOST OF THEPREVIOUS WORK IN THIS AREA HAS BEEN MEDICAL RESEARCH TO PRO-MOTE BIOCOMPATIBILITY (ACCEPTANCE OF ARTIFICIAL JOINTS). THETHEORY OF THIS PROJECT IS TO PROMOTE BIO-INCOMPATIBILITY, MEANING THAT THE INTERFACE BETWEEN SUBSTRATE AND BACTERIA ORFUNGI IS INCOMPATIBLE WITH ALL PERIODIC TABLE WILL BE DEPOS-ITED ON THE SURFACE OF SELECTED SUBSTRATES MATERIALS WILL BESUBJECTED TO SEVERE BIOFOULING CONDITIONS. BIOFOULING BUILDUP AND CHEMICAL MICROBIAL CORROSION WILL MEASURE BIOINCOMPATIBILITY. THE SPECIFIC ADVANTAGES OF THIS PROCESS IS TO CRE-ATE PERMANENT SURFACES INTEGRAL WITH SUBSTRATES AND DESIGNEDFOR SPECIFIC PROPERTIES TO BE UNACCEPTABLE FOR BACTERIAL GROWTH AND CORROSION.