Removal of Microcystis aeruginosa through the Combined Effect of Plasma Discharge and Hydrodynamic Cavitation

Cyanobacterial water blooms represent toxicological, ecological and technological problems around the globe. When present in raw water used for drinking water production, one of the best strategies is to remove the cyanobacterial biomass gently before treatment, avoiding cell destruction and cyanoto...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Water (Basel) 2020-01, Vol.12 (1), p.8
Main Authors: Maršálek, Blahoslav, Maršálková, Eliška, Odehnalová, Klára, Pochylý, František, Rudolf, Pavel, Stahel, Pavel, Rahel, Jozef, Čech, Jan, Fialová, Simona, Zezulka, Štěpán
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Algicides
Biomass
Cavitation
Cold plasmas
Cyanobacteria
Drinking water
Electrodes
Herbicides
Hydrogen peroxide
Methods
Microcystis
Microorganisms
Nutrient enrichment
Photosynthesis
Plasma
Plasma jets
Raw water
Surface water
Water treatment
Water treatment plants
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Summary:Cyanobacterial water blooms represent toxicological, ecological and technological problems around the globe. When present in raw water used for drinking water production, one of the best strategies is to remove the cyanobacterial biomass gently before treatment, avoiding cell destruction and cyanotoxins release. This paper presents a new method for the removal of cyanobacterial biomass during drinking water pre-treatment that combines hydrodynamic cavitation with cold plasma discharge. Cavitation produces press stress that causes Microcystis gas vesicles to collapse. The cyanobacteria then sink, allowing for removal by sedimentation. The cyanobacteria showed no signs of revitalisation, even after seven days under optimal conditions with nutrient enrichment, as photosynthetic activity is negatively affected by hydrogen peroxide produced by plasma burnt in the cavitation cloud. Using this method, cyanobacteria can be removed in a single treatment, with no increase in microcystin concentration. This novel technology appears to be highly promising for continual treatment of raw water inflow in drinking water treatment plants and will also be of interest to those wishing to treat surface waters without the use of algaecides.
ISSN:2073-4441
2073-4441
DOI:10.3390/w12010008