Publisher's Synopsis
Biofilm research now covers a wide diversity of fields within environmental, industrial and biomedical research, such that it can be difficult to grasp its entire scope. The 2004 biofilms conference was therefore structured as an opportunity not only to present recent advances, but also to summarize our knowledge of biofilm processes, define gaps in understanding, and suggest directions of future explorations. The primary focus was how biofilm structure and activity can be correlated. Much work has been done recently in quantifying relations between biofilm structure and the rates of various biofilm processes, such as microbial growth and detachment; this has developed to a major field of exploration in biofilm engineering, and it affects many other fields of biofilm research. After a full-length editorial by acknowledged experts in biofilm research that provides an informed overview of recent accomplishments and remaining challenges, 34 papers are included, selected following full peer review. They report recent work on biofilm structure, bioremediation, biofilm reactors, modelling, and biofilm ecology. These papers will prove invaluable to research scientists, environmental and sanitary engineers and together they represent a genuine state-of-the-art summary of methods and results in biofilm research and its applications in wastewater treatment and environmental engineering.
