Respirometry is the science that enables us to probe within microbial communities and monitor their microbial metabolic activity. RespirTek employs respirometry to determine the rates of degradation of any organic or biological material that releases or utilizes quantifiable gases.

At RespirTek, we think of the microbiological environment as a measurable, living organism. Through advanced respirometric technology, we are able to probe microbial communities in real time to ascertain important information regarding its ability to metabolize the contaminants or substrates of interest.

Respirometry propelled our understanding of the impact of contamination, wastewater, or consumer products within their native and/or disposal environments. The advent of automatic respirometers offer significantly higher resolution in answering questions regarding how a bioenvironmental system will respond to the introduction of new compounds or wastes.

Biological Applications

Groundwater Remediation, Wastewater Treatment, and Consumer Product Biodegradation Studies

The systems primarily under investigation at RespirTek include a range of bioenvironmental microorganisms found in soils, groundwater aquifers, composting systems, anaerobic digesters, and/or wastewater treatment systems. Respirometry enables us to monitor microbes in all types of environments, and we have experience fabricating specialty bioreactors for your special requirements. In many cases, respirometry is used in conjunction with chemical analyses so that correlations can be observed that relate microbial respiration with changes in contaminant or substrate concentrations in quantitative fashion.

In aerobic testing, groundwater testing, and wastewater treatability studies, with most respirometers, the measurement is actually a detection and quantification of the off gasses, demand gases or respiration byproducts. In some respirometers it is the change in pressure caused by the consumption of oxygen. Most are equipped with data collection and processing by computer. Most also share a common gaseous scrubbing system to remove CO2 from the reaction chamber, as that would over time poison the microbes. Respirometers are also used for anaerobic testing. RespirTek™ is fully equipped to perform both aerobic and anaerobic work projects.