Date of Graduation

12-2021

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Science in Biological Engineering

Degree Level

Undergraduate

Department

Biological and Agricultural Engineering

Advisor/Mentor

Haggard, Brian E. (Brian Edward).

Committee Member/Reader

Liang, Li

Committee Member/Second Reader

Costello, Thomas A.

Abstract

Cyanobacteria are photo-autotrophic organisms with a worldwide distribution, which can result in Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) producing toxins. One of the most common strains of cyanobacteria is Microcystis, which produces the most abundant cyanotoxin, microcystin. In this study, we analyzed the effect of H2O2 on algae and microcystin using both lake and reagent grade water. The first objective was to determine the effect of H2O2 on algae and cyanobacteria in lake water that was nutrient enriched. The second objective was to detect the effect of H2O2 at oxidizing microcystin in spiked deionized water and lake waters. For the first experiment, H2O2 significantly reduced the concentrations of cyanobacteria as the doses were increased, and H2O2 was effective at low doses (e.g. 50 μL ). The addition of 100 μL H2O2 or more showed reductions in cyanobacteria that were not significantly different from each other. The second experiment on deionized water and lake water did not work, and the results did not show microcystin reduction as doses were increased. The first results suggests H2O2 as an effective treatment for cyanobacteria algal blooms. However, the second experiment should be repeated in order to prove what other studies have suggested about H2O2 reducing microcystin concentrations.

Keywords

Lakes; Hydrogen peroxide; Algae; Microcystin

Download

Share

COinS