title: Removal of cyanobacteria from synthetic and real water by dielectric barrier discharge process.
abstract: The feasibility of cyanobacteria removal from freshwater by a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) process is investigated. Seven commercial and environmental cyanobacteria strains, as well as real algae-laden water, were tested. The removal of the cyanobacteria was evaluated by analyzing the changes in chlorophyll a content, total organic carbon (TOC) concentration, and cell morphology. Nearly total removal of chlorophyll a was achieved within 20 min, while the TOC analysis exhibited an increase-decrease-increase trend in 60 min of treatment, likely due to the oxidation of intracellular and intercellular materials. Observation under light microscopy revealed the disruption of intracellular and intercellular structures within 5 min of DBD treatment and thus supported the TOC analysis. Increasing the salinity of the medium from 0 to 5 parts per thousand (ppt) improved treatment efficiency, where similar level of chlorophyll a removal (around 93%) was achieved in only half the treatment time. Application of DBD on real algae-laden water from a fish farm yielded higher treatment efficiency than in synthetic medium, indicating the promising application of DBD as a means to control cyanobacteria bloom in fresh and estuary water bodies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Fudan University, 220 Handan Road, Shanghai, 200433, People's Republic of China. zhang-yi@fudan.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Nanyang Avenue, 639798, Singapore, Singapore.
authors.forename: Stephanie Ting Yu
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Chew
authors.affiliation: Environmental Research Institute, National University of Singapore, 21 Lower Kent Ridge Road, 119077, Singapore, Singapore. eritsh@nus.edu.sg.
authors.forename: Shu Harn
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Te
authors.affiliation: School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Nanyang Avenue, 639798, Singapore, Singapore. TMLim@ntu.edu.sg.
authors.forename: Tuti Mariana
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Lim
mesh_terms: D002734:Chlorophyll / Q000031:analogs & derivatives; D000077194:Chlorophyll A; D000458:Cyanobacteria / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005618:Fresh Water; D054712:Salinity; D014867:Water; D014871:Water Microbiology; D018508:Water Purification / Q000295:instrumentation*
chemical_list: D014867:Water; D002734:Chlorophyll; C085815:chlorophyll a'; D000077194:Chlorophyll A
keywords: Advanced oxidation processes; Chlorophyll a; Cyanobacteria; Dielectric barrier discharge; TOC