ALGAE IN WATER SUPPLY CLASSIFICATION OF ALGAE ALGAE COUNT

EMAN ESKANDER Manager of biological laboratory Central lab Beheira water and drainage co.

ALGAE
(Phytoplankton is also described as algae or plantlike plankton)

Algae are common and normal inhabitant of surface water and are encountered in every water supply that is exposed to sunlight. Whil a few of the algae are found in soil and on surface exposed to air. The great the majority of them are truly aquatic and grow in the water of ponds lake , reservoirs , streams , and oceans .

Chemical effect of algae

operator of water treatment plants are aware of the ability of algae to produce odors and tastes and to clog sand filters . In addition algae are recognized as important in water supply in many other ways, including Their capacity for modifying the PH, alkalinity, color, turbidity, and relation to the radioactivity of the water. Algae differ from the other groups of small or microscopic organisms in possessing an internal green pigment called chlorophyll, sometime hidden or partially masked by other pigments, which enable them in the presence of sunlight to combine water and carbon dioxide to form starch or related substances , and to release oxygen into the water .this process, known as photosynthesis, photosynthesis is normally faster than that of respiration. So oxygen release by algae and oxygen uptake by reaeration are the two primary sources for renewal of oxygen in flowing streams

and turbulent water. More than three-quarter of oxygen in the earths atmosphere produced by algae . Another important chemical effect of algae is the continuous removal of carbon dioxide from the water during the daylight hours as a result of photosynthesis. This process bring about an alteration in the relative amount of soluble ( unbound ) carbonic acid, intermediately soluble (half bound ) bicarbonates, and the nearly insoluble ( bound ) monocarbonates, often causing some of the latter to precipitate . All of this produces a change in the total hardness of the water.(vigorous growths of algae reduce the water hardness ) these tend to change the PH of the water (PH rises as the algae increase their photosynthetic activity during daylight hours and decreases at night ) . Corrosive activity of the water increase as a result of algal growth. Algae represent an essential and basic part of the cycle of living organisms. Some algae produce toxic organic substances causing the death of many kinds of wild and domestic animals. There are records of algae that are toxic to humans, and sometimes cause of certain outbreaks of gastro intestinal disorder among persons using a common water supply.

Environmental factors influencing algal growth

Size of streams Current rate Water level Light Depth Turbidity Temperature

The Chemical constituents of water affect algal growth

PH most species were found at PH levels range of 6.8 -8.8 for while some species were found at PH 4 (Ulothrix , Mougeotia ) And PH 1.8 ( Chlamydomonas , Navicula & Euglena )

Oxygen and carbon dioxide Salinity Phosphorus Nitrogen Silica

THE PHYLA OF ALGAE

1CHLOROPHYTA (GREEN ALGAE )

Unicellular, colonial, or filamentous floating, swimming or attached and stationary; cells containing plastids (chloroplasts) in which chlorophyll (grass-green )in predominant, and in which there is usually a shiny, starch-storing body, the pyrenoid;pigment are chlorophylls (-a & b ) carotenes , xanthophylls , and with red carotenoids, (haematochrome ) sometimes present ; nucleus definite ; cell wall (rarely lacking ) composed of cellulose and pectose;swimming cell or motile reproductive element furnished with 2 (usually ),4,or (rarely)as many as 8 flagella of equal length and attached in the anterior end ; sexual reproduction

2- Cyanophyta (blue-green algae)

Unicellular, colonial, or simple or branched filamentous ; chloroplasts lacking the pigments seeming distributed throughout the entire protoplast ,pigment are chlorophylls -a , carotenes , xanthophylls , phycocyanin ; cell wall thin, a membrane which usually has a gelatinous outer sheath; contents often with pseudo vacuoles which refract light and obscure the true color of the cells which may be green , blue-green, gray green, violet, tan , brown or purple ; definite nucleus lacking ; motile cells ; reproduction by cell division or by spores

3-Chrysophyta algae)

(Motile

golden

brown

Unicellular, colonial, rarely filamentous ; pigments contained in chloroplasts in which yellow, brown or golden-brown, pigments are : chlorophylls , carotenes ,; wall relatively thick, pectin, often silicified, or with siliceous scales; ; motile cells

4-Bacillariophycae (Diatoms ) SUB-PHYLUM Unicellular, colonial, filamentous ; pigments contained in chloroplasts, pigments are : chlorophylls , carotenes , xanthophylls ; wall or shell of the diatom (siliceous shells )is called a frustule composed of two sections ,

one slightly larger and overlapping the smaller much as a box lid .

5-Euglenophyta (Euglenoids ) Cells solitary, swimming by1 or 2 (rarely) 3 flagella; red eye-spot present in many members; chloroplasts few to many,(number of genera colorless ); pigments are : chlorophylls a, -b, carotenes , xanthophylls, and often red carotenoid ; cell membrane in form of a pellicle, rigid or plastic; reproduction by longitudinal cell division.

6-Cryptophyta (Cryptomonads) Cells solitary (rarely colonial ) mostly swimming , protozoanlike organisms with 2 unequal flagella ; chloroplasts few and large, brown, blue or red ; pigments are : chlorophylls, carotenes , phycocyanin, xanthophylls, and phycoerythein ; cell membrane in a firm periplast; reproduction by longitudinal cell division. 7- Dinophyta ( Pyrrhophyta ) Cells solitary (rarely filamentous ) mostly swimming with 2 approximalty equal flagella ;

pigments in chloroplasts include: chlorophyll-a, carotenes , xanthophylls, and phycopyrrin (often giving the cell a reddish color) cell wall firm and simple, or formed of regularly arranged, polygonal plates; reproduction by longitudinal cell division.

ALGAE AS INDICATORS OF WATER QUALITY

In the past chemical, physical and bacteriological criteria were considered to be easier to evaluate and apply than biological indices, chemical and physical measurements tend to measure only change in water quality, while biological tests deal primarily with effects of the change. Simple, rapid, and reliable methods for assessing the degree of purity or contamination of water

Nitzschia, Melosira, Synedra , and Euglena are indicators of high organic pollution
-

- Diatom indicators of presence of certain industrial wastes and of sewage . - Navicula indicators of sewage pollution . - Peridinium indicators of high contamination Oscillatoria develops suddenly in large numbers ,discolors the water and considered as the first acute indication that a water supply is undergoing a distinctly unfavorable development.
-

INDICATOR OF WATER QUALITY

CLEAN WATER Surirella Pinnularia Ulothrix Navicula cladophora POLLUTED WATER Chlorella Spirogyra Anabaena Oscillatoria Chlamydomonas Nitzschia Euglena TAST& ODOR Peridinium Ceratium Anacystis Volvox tabellaria

ALGAL GENUS POLLUTION INDEX

GENUS Anacystis Ankistoderm us Chlamydomo nas Chlorella Clostium Cyclotella Euglena Gomghonem a Lepocinclis Melosira INDEX 1 2 4 3 1 1 5 1 1 1 GENUS Micractinium Navicula Nitzschia Oscillatoria Pandorina Phacus phormidium Scenedesmu s Stigeocloniu m Syndra INDX 1 3 3 5 1 2 1 4 2 2

CHARACTERISTICS DETERMINING WATER QUALITY

Character istic Water Condition

Heavily pollute d
Brown, Possibly with scum and froth

Moderat ely polluted

Brownish, Possibly with scum and froth Amoeba, Parameciu m, Euglena

Slightly Clean pollute water d

May be nearly clear or slightly muddied Fairly clear

Protozoan

Euglena, Amoeba

Few Stentor, Euglen Parameciu a m, But Euglena many ciliates OedogPandorina Onium & Navicul a 2-5 4-10

Algae & Bluegreen Diversity index

Oscillatori Oscillatoria a & & possibly Spirogyra Melosira 0-2 1-3

TASTE AND ODOR ALGAE

Algal genus Anabaena Anacystis Asterionella Ceratium Chlamydomo nas Chlorella Closterium Cosmarium Cryptomonas Cyclotella Euglena Fragilaria Gomphospha eria Melosira Nostoc oscillatoria Pediastrum Peridinium Scenedesmus Spirogyra Staurastrum Synedra Tabellaria Tribonema Volvox

Algal group Blue green Blue green Diatom Flagellat e Flagellat e Green Green Green Flagellat e Diatom Flagellat e Diatom Blue green Diatom Blue green Blue green Green Flagellat e Green Green Green Diatom Diatom Green Flagellat e

Odor when algae are moderate abunda nt Grassy,mu septic sty Grassy fishy spicy fishy Grassy,mu sty fishy septic Fishy , septic musty Grassy Grassy violet fishy fishy geranium Grassy geranium musty Grassy cucumber musty Grassy musty septic Musty Grassy fishy Grassy Grassy Grassy Musty

taste

sweet bitter sweet

violet

sweet

Grassy geranium fishy

fishy fishy fishy

Cyanobacteria

( blue green algae )

Algae can be considered to be blooming at concentrations of hundreds to thousands cells /ml , depending on the causative species. Algal bloom concentrations may reach millions cell/ml .color observed are green, yellowishbrown , or red. Bright green may occur . At the high cell concentration some species of algae produce cyanotoxin

Factors affecting bloom formation

1 - Light intensity The cyanobacteria can maintain a relatively higher growth rate than other phytoplankton organisms when light intensities are low. 2 - Gas vesicles Many planktonic cyanobacteria contain gas vacuoles . These structures are aggregates of gas-filled vesicles, which are hollow chambers with a hydrophilic outer surface and a hydrophobic inner surfac. A gas vesicle has a density of about one tenth that of water and thus gas vesicles can give cyanobacterial cells a lower density than water. 3 - Growth rate The growth rate of cyanobacteria is usually much lower than that of many algal species . At 20 C and light saturation, most common planktonic cyanobacteria achieve growth rates of 0.3-1.4 doublings per day, while diatoms reach 0.8-1.9 doublings per day

and growth rates of up to 1.3-2.3 doublings per day have been observed for single-celled green algae . Slow growth rates require long water retention times to enable a bloom of cyanobacteria to form. Therefore cyanobacteria do not bloom in water with short retention times. 4 - Phosphorus and nitrogen A low ratio between nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations may favour the development of cyanobacterial blooms. A comparison between the optimum N:P ratios for eukaryotic algae (16-23 molecules N:1 molecule of P) with the optimum rates for bloom-forming cyanobacteria (10-16 molecules N: 1 molecule P), shows that the ratio is lower for cyanobacteria . 5 -Temperature Maximum growth rates are attained by most cyanobacteria at temperatures above 25 C These optimum temperatures are higher than for green algae and diatoms

CYANOBACTERIAL TOXINS
Classification -Hepatotoxic cyclic peptides microcystins and nodularin
1

Globally the most frequently found cyanobacterial toxins in blooms from fresh and brackish waters are the cyclic peptide toxins of the microcystin and nodularin family.They pose a major challenge for the production of safe drinking water from surface waters containing cyanobacteria with these toxins. In mouse bioassays, which traditionally have been used to screen toxicity of field and laboratory samples, cyanobacterial hepatotoxins (liver toxins) cause death by liver haemorrhage within a few hours of the acute doses. Microcystins have been characterised from planktonic Anabaena, Microcystis, Oscillatoria (Planktothrix), Nostoc, and Anabaenopsis species, and from terrestrial Hapalosiphon genera. Nodularin has been characterized only from Nodularia spumigena. The cyclic peptides are comparatively large natural products, molecular weight (MW) 8001,100, although small compared with many other cell oligopeptides and polypeptides (proteins) (MW > 10,000). They contain either five (nodularins) or seven (microcystins) amino acids, with the two terminal amino acids of the linear peptide being condensed (joined) to form a cyclic compound. They are water soluble and, except perhaps for a few somewhat more hydrophobic microcystins, are unable to penetrate directly

the lipid membranes of animal, plant and bacterial cells. Therefore, to elicit their toxic effect, uptake into cells occurs through membrane transporters which otherwise carry essential biochemicals or nutrients. the target organ range in mammals largely to the liver. In aquatic environments, these toxins usually remain contained within the cyanobacterial cells and are only released in substantial amounts on cell lysis. Along with their high chemical stability and their water solubility, this containment has important implications for their environmental persistence and exposure to humans in surface water bodies 2 - Neurotoxic alkaloids - anatoxins and saxitoxins Anatoxin-a has been found in Anabaena, Oscillatoria and Aphanizomenon, homoanatoxin-a from Oscillatoria, anatoxin-a(S) from Anabaena, and saxitoxins from Aphanizomenon, Anabaena, Lyngbya and Cylindrospermopsis. atoxin-a and homoanatoxin-a, which mimic the effect of acetyl choline, anatoxin-a(S), which is an anticholinesterase, and saxitoxins, also known as paralytic shellfish poisons (PSPs) in the marine literature,which block nerve cell sodium channels. 3 Cytotoxic alkaloids cylindrospermopsin with a completely different mechanism of toxicity has caused health problems in drinking water supplies. It is a cyclic guanidine alkaloid with a molecular weight of 415. It is produced by Cylindrospermopsis and Aphanizomenon ovalisporum. In pure form, cylindrospermopsin mainly affects the liver,

although crude extracts of C. raciborskii injected or given orally to mice also induce pathological symptoms in the kidneys, spleen, thymus and heart

4 Dermatotoxic alkaloids - aplysiatoxins and lyngbyatoxin Benthic marine cyanobacteria such as Lyngbya, Oscillatoria and Schizothrix may produce toxins causing severe dermatitis among swimmers in contact with the filaments. The inflammatory activity of Lyngbya is caused by aplysiatoxins and debromoaplysiatoxin which are potent tumour promoters and protein kinase C activators. Another strain of Lyngbya majuscula has caused dermatitis and severe oral and gastrointestinal inflammation. It was found to contain lyngbyatoxina. Debromoaplysiatoxin along with other toxic compounds has also been isolated from other Oscillatoriaceae, such as Schizothrix calcicola and Oscillatoria nigroviridis. 5 Irritant toxins - lipopolysaccharides Weise et al. (1970) were the first to isolate LPS from the cyanobacterium Anacystis nidulans and numerous reports of endotoxins in cyanobacteria have followed. Lipopolysaccarides are generally found in the outer membrane of the cell wall of Gram negative

bacteria, including cyanobacteria, where they form complexes with proteins and phospholipids. They are pyrogenic and toxic Lipopolysaccarides, as the name implies, are condensed products of a sugar, usually a hexose, and a lipid, normally a hydroxy C14-C18 fatty acid. The many structural variants of LPS are generally phylogenetically conserved, i.e. particular orders, genera and occasionally species, have identical or similar fatty acid and sugar components contained in their cell wall LPS. It is generally the fatty acid component of the LPS molecule that elicits an irritant of allergenic response in humans and mammals. Lipopolysaccharides are an integral component of the cell wall of all Gram negative bacteria, including cyanobacteria, and can elicit irritant and allergenic responses in human and animal tissues that come in contact with the compounds. There is considerable diversity of LPS composition among the cyanobacteria, but differences are largely related to phylogeny. Thus, different genera typically have distinct LPS compositions that are largely conserved within that genus. 6 Other bioactive compounds Cyanobacteria are known to produce several other bioactive compounds, some of which are of medical interest, as well as compounds toxic to other cyanobacteria, bacteria, algae and zooplankton. Severe intoxication of fish embryos by crude extracts of Planktothrix agardhii has been reported by Oberemm et al. (1997). Skulberg et al. (1994) reported the presence of an unidentified "protracted toxic effect" in

cyanobacterial samples that caused death within 424 hours in mice. Whether this effect was due to a specific cyanotoxin is unclear. Cyanobacteria have been found to be a rich source of biomedically interesting compounds and therefore screening programmes for new bioactivities are underway. Cyanobacteria are known to produce antitumour, antiviral, antibiotic and antifungal compounds. Of the cyanobacterial extracts screened by a Hawaiian research group, 0.8 per cent showed solid tumour selective cytotoxicity. Depsipeptides (peptides with an ester linkage) called cryptophycins isolated from a cyanobacterium, Nostoc sp. strain GSV 224, are promising candidates for an anticancer drug . Recently, several new cyclic or linear peptides and depsipeptides from cyanobacteria have been characterised.

General features of the cyanotoxins

Toxin group1 Primary target organ in mammals Cyanobacterial genera

Cyclic peptides

Microcystins Liver

Microcystis, Anabaena, Planktothrix (Oscillatoria), Nostoc, Hapalosiphon, Anabaenopsis

Nodularin

Liver

Nodularia

Alkaloids Anatoxin-a Anatoxin-a(S) Aplysiatoxins

Nerve synapse Nerve synapse Skin

Anabaena, Planktothrix (Oscillatoria), Aphanizomenon Anabaena Lyngbya, Schizothrix, Planktothrix (Oscillatoria Cylindrospermopsis, Aphanizomenon, Umezakia Lyngbya Anabaena, Aphanizomenon, Lyngbya, Cylindrospermopsis All

Cylindrospermo psins Lyngbyatoxin-a Saxitoxins

Liver Skin, gastrointestinal tractal Nerve axons

Lipopolysacchari Potential irritant; des affects (LPS) any exposed tissue

Algal response categories

Alert level Cell concentration 1g /l chlorophyll a or 500-2000 CELLS/M Response action

Alert level 1

Identify the algal type* Establish early* bloom condition initial low level* monitoring

Alert level 2

2000-15000 CELLS/M

Into potentially * progression of hazardous category Comprehensive * monitoring media releases* .Public notices Storage operation * .alteration Bloom established* .as toxic Frequent toxicity * .testing water supply * alternatives may be required * higher level of public awareness Bloom established* as non-toxic operation aimed at * minimizing taste and odor problems continued medium * level monitoring

Alert level 3 (toxic )

15000 < CELLS/ML

Alert level 3 (non-toxic)

15000 < CELLS/ML

Efficiency of drinking water treatment in cyanotoxin removal

1- Screening and prefiltration
Water treatment facilities usually employ coarse screens to remove debris from the water intake. These screens have no effect on the removal of either cyanobacterial cells or soluble toxins. However, microstrainers or fine screens may be used to remove larger algae, cyanobacterial cells and aggregated cells.

removal rates of 40-70 per cent for two cyanobacterial species but pointed out that smaller species (e.g. single cells and small colonies of Microcystis) are poorly retained (to sometimes less than 10 per cent). Concerns regarding possible cell rupture, lysis and toxin release resulting from pressure on the filter screen have not been sufficiently addressed.

2- Aeration and air stripping

There are a number of methods for contacting air with water in drinking water treatment that may be required for various purposes, such as to oxidise iron and manganese from soluble to insoluble forms, to prevent reducing conditions which may yield odorous compounds, and to remove dissolved gases such as carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulphide, other reduced sulphur compounds and other volatile organic compounds Neither aeration nor air stripping will be effective for removing soluble toxins becausethey are non-volatile compounds. Nor would they be effective for removal of cyanobacterial cells (for aeration techniques applied in reservoirs to reduce growth of cyanobacteria

3- Coagulation and clarification

Coagulation promotes the aggregation of small, dispersed particles into larger particles which can be separated by sedimentation, filtration or flotation. Coagulation differs from precipitation because the latter involves converting soluble substances into insoluble particles, whereas coagulation deals with pre-existing dispersed particles such as mineral turbidity (clay, silt), larger molecular weight natural organic matter, micro-organisms including cyanobacteria, and oxidised, insoluble forms of iron and manganese. Common chemicals used for drinking water coagulation include various aluminium and ferric iron salts. More recently synthetic organic polymers have gained some acceptance.Coagulation with multivalent metal salts can also be aided by adding various organic polymers to promote floe growth.

4- Direct rapid filtration

Filtration is a process for the removal of suspended particulate matter, typically including clay, silt, natural

organic matter, coagulated floes, lime softening precipitates, iron and manganese precipitates, and microorganisms. Filters most commonly use granular media such as coarse sand, crushed anthracite coal, garnet and granular activated carbon (GAC). Direct filtration is applied for low turbidity waters by filtering directly after coagulation/destabilisation without an intervening clarification stage to remove the bulk of the floe. Conventional water treatment uses rapid filtration rates hich require regular backwashing to maintain performance.

5- Slow sand filtration

In contrast to rapid filtration, slow sand filters operate at lower rates and develop a surface filter cake which performs most of the filtration together with (often high) biological treatment activity. These biofilms establish after some time of operation and contribute significantly to degradation of dissolved substances. reported a likely removal of 99 per cent of algal cells by slow sand filtration. Operation of these filters in the dark can prevent intensive algal growth on the filter. However, overloading of filters with algae or cyanobacteria from the raw water may lead to rapid blocking, requiring removal of the bioactive surface layer, thus temporarily reducing the efficiency for retention of dissolved substances. For removal of toxic cyanobacteria, this constitutes a dilemma because bloomcontaining waters are likely to lead to rapid blocking and thus undermine the practicability of slow sand filtration. However, experiments have shown that before blocking, slow sand filters may be quite effective in the removal of toxic cyanobacteria and dissolved toxins.

6- Activated carbon adsorption

The use of activated carbon adsorption has expanded greatly in Europe and North America during the past two to three decades because most other water treatment processes are ineffective in removing soluble organic matter. This approach uses either powdered activated carbon (PAC) which can be added intermittently whenever the need arises or GAC adsorbers which are used continuously. Accordingly, GAC may be more expensive than PAC when used only intermittently, but it is also generally more effective and more reliable for consistent removal of soluble organic compounds .

7- 7- Chemical oxidation and disinfection

Drinking water is treated with chemical oxidants to fulfil a wide variety of objectives including: control of biofilm growth, colour removal, odour control, enhancement of coagulation and flocculation, and iron or manganese oxidation. The most critical application of chemical oxidants is for disinfection. The chemicals used most commonly in municipal water treatment are chlorine, chloramines, ozone, chlorine dioxide and potassium permanganate.
Chlorine

Early work reported that substantial doses (5 mg l-1) of chlorine were ineffective in destroying toxicity from algal extracts, as measured in mouse bioassays . Likewise, combined treatment processes which included chlorination at 0.5 mg l-1 were also found ineffective, suggesting little contribution from the chlorination stage (Keijola et al., 1988; Himberg et al., 1989). Similarly, Lambert et al. (1996) found that chlorination achieved negligible reduction in microcystin levels of 0.3-0.5 g l-1 in treated water. In these studies, chlorine may have been consumed rapidly by the high concentrations of organic matter reported to be present, leaving insufficient available for removal of microcystins. However, Nicholson et al. (1994) showed that chlorination could be very effective at destroying microcystin-LR and nodularin under the correct treatment conditions, i.e. free chlorine residual of 0.5 mg l-1 after 30 minutes contact time with pH <

8. In contrast, they found that chloramination was completely ineffective at destroying microcystin-LR and nodularin, and this creates a problem for treating natural waters with any substantial nitrogenous chlorine demand.

ALGAE COUNT
Apparatus and accessories 1- Microscope
2-

Ocular micrometer

3- Objective micrometer
4-

Sedgwick-rafter slide (SR- slide )

5- Centrifuge - The calibration of ocular- micrometer The calibration has to be done for each objective separately. Also when a ocularmicrometer is used on different microscopes, the ocular- micrometer has to calibrated for each microscope for every objective 1- Place the ocular- micrometer in the ocular Check if there is a focused image of the scale parts
2-

3- If the image is not focused, adjust the image with the eye-correctional on the ocular Place the object- micrometer on the cross table of the microscope , the top of object4-

micrometer should be facing the objective. with the inverted microscope the objectmicrometer should be upside down. Turn the ocular until the two scales are parallel
5-

Count the amount of scale parts of the ocular- micrometer which coincide with the amount of scale parts of the objectivemicrometer.(the more scale parts you count, the more accurate the calibration )
6-

7- Calculate the length of one scale part of ocular- micrometer

Apparatus

1-sampling aTap point samples

- Remove all dirt from tap - Measure the temperature of the running tap water, if temperature is constant for 30 seconds, the sample can be taken. - Do not change the flow of the tap water just before or during sample.

Do not fill the sample brown bottle completely.

B- River samples Fasten the sample bottle to the sampling stick and fill the brown bottle 500 ml under the surface
-

3- Transportation
-The samples are being cooled (2-5 C ) in darkness and within 4 hours transported to the laboratory - Conservation (Lugol ) of the samples must be within 24 hours

4- Concentration
by Sedimentation ( the Sedimentation speed is approximately 1 cm par 5 hours with Lugal and 10 hours without Logal ) so if the water column is about 10 cm high, we can count after 50 hours
a-

b-

by centrifugation

1000 r/ min for 20 min. After concentration we siphon the supernatant carefully

Take 1 ml from the concentrate and put it in the counting slide Sedgwick-rafter slide ( S R slide )

5- Counting and Calculation

For ex. We can count 36 algae in 20 fields There are 1000 fields, so in 1 ml there was 36 x 50 = 1800 They come from 10 ml Total count = 1800 x 1000 / 10 = 180000 algae/ liter

Control in treatment plants

Control of algae in the water treatment plant involves primarily the processes of coagulation, sedimentation, and filtration. Well regulated coagulation with sedimentation will often remove up to 90%of algae, and in some cases 95%-96% removal has been reported.
-

A similar percentage of removal may occur in a rapid sand filter that is run efficiently - So in the plant we must take samples from raw water, after sedimentation, after filtration and from treated water and calculate the sedimentation efficiency and filtration efficiency - A process known as micro-straining is being used in some water treatment plants. this involves the passing of the through a finely woven fabric . the size of the opening of

the mesh determines the size of the plankton organisms removed from the water. - the use of absorbents such as activated charcoal may be required to remove tastes odor or other algal products from water in the treatment plant

Reagent Lugol
1- Sodium acetate solution, 10 m/ v % Weigh 35 g Sodium acetate and dissolve in 350 ml d.w. 2- Weigh 70 g potassium iodide and dissolve in 140 ml d.w. Then add 35 g iodine and fill up with 350 ml NaAc-solution

The solution is usable for 5 years at room temperature

Sodium thiosulphate
Add some sodium thiosulphate to a stirring solution with lugol . when the color is disappear , the lugol is neutralized and can be throw away though the sink.