Date of Graduation
5-2019
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Science in Biological Engineering
Degree Level
Undergraduate
Department
Biological and Agricultural Engineering
Advisor/Mentor
Zhang, Wen
Committee Member/Reader
Haggard, Brian
Committee Member/Second Reader
Osborn, Scott
Committee Member/Third Reader
Zhang, Wen
Abstract
Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) are a growing issue worldwide, posing harm to both aquatic ecosystems and drinking water quality. This issue could be potentially mitigated using nanoparticle (NP) treatment, simultaneously removing cyanobacteria and associated cyanotoxins in HABs. This research seeks to discern the effectiveness of using titanium dioxide and iron (III) oxide NP treatment at removing cyanobacteria via flocculation and sedimentation. Each NP at 25 mg/L and 50 mg/L were used to treat suspended culture of Microcystis aeruginosa, the representative cyanobacteria, up to 72 hours. Cell concentration and morphology in the supernatant were measured via a Coulter counter and light microscopy. The decreasing cell concentration in the supernatant showed that both NP can flocculate M. aeruginosa and allow subsequent sedimentation. High concentration NP treatments were more effective than low concentration NP treatments, removing a higher percentage of cells in the same amount of time.
Keywords
M. aeruginosa, Harmful Algal Blooms, Water Quality, Nanoparticle Treatment
Citation
Von Tress, N. (2019). Effectiveness of Titanium and Iron Nanoparticles in Treating M. aeruginosa for Harmful Algal Bloom Remediation. Biological and Agricultural Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses Retrieved from https://scholarworks.uark.edu/baeguht/65