SUBJECT
Title
Environmental microbiology practicals
Type of instruction
laboratory
Level
master
Faculty
Part of degree program
Credits
3
Recommended in
Semester 2
Typically offered in
Spring semester
Course description
- Monitoring of pollution indicating microbe communities in case of hydrocarbon-polluted soil/groundwater systems. Interpretation of germ count/activity results.
- Analysis of community metabolism of pollutants. Substrate induced respiration. Analysis of enzyme activities.
- Application of respirometric methods to assess the speed of degradation processes. Comparison of BOD and methane production techniques.
- Assembly of a sewage treatment model system, characterization of its properties. Visit to a Budapest sewage treatment plant.
- Assembly of a composting model system, analysis of basic thermal etc. properties.
- Set-up of microcosm experiments modelling a remediation. Monitoring the microbiota. Visit at a composting plant and remediation site.
The goal of the practical is to get acquainted with the microbiological laboratory techniques of environmental analysis, moreover the environmental biotechnologies. Our vital aim is to compare the function the laboratory model systems with the actual working plant technologies helped also by visiting of plants and sites.
Readings
- Tóth, E., Márialigeti, K. (2013): Practical microbiology. Eötvös University, pp. 223.
- Pepper, I.L., Gerba, C.P. 2004. Environmental Microbiology. A Laboratory Manual. Elsevier, 99. 209.
- Pepper, I.L., Gerba, C.P., Gentry, T.J. 2015. Environmental Microbiology. Academic, pp. 705.