Seasonal variations in bacterial colonisation of stainless steel,aluminium and polycarbonate surfaces in a sea water flow system

Before the construction of an Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) power plant, an experimental station was built near the entrance of the Bay of Brest (France) in order to perform preliminary studies. Bacterial colonisation of three substrata (stainless steel UB6, aluminium AG4 and polycarbonate filters) was observed in a continuous flow seawater system. The study was performed between May 1983 and May 1984 and included seven experiments of 15 days each.

The early events in bacterial colonisation of these materials may be affected by both water quality and type of substratum. If these two parameters influence the adsorption step of the biological process (0 to 1 h), seasonal variation in water quality seems to be more important during the accumulation step (1 h to 6 days), because of its effect on bacterial metabolism.