Flow cytometric assessment of microbial abundance in the near-field area of seawater reverse osmosis concentrate discharge

Merwe, Riaan Van Der; Hammes, Frederik; Lattemann, Sabine; Amy, Gary L.

doi:10.1016/j.desal.2014.01.017

Cited by 28 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…A BD FACSVerse flow cytometer was used to analyze the algae cells, while an Accuri flow cytometer was used for bacterial counts. Light scattering properties and/or fluorescent intensity was determined by the flow cytometer to distinguish between the different organism classifications (Van der Merwe et al ). Lasers were used to excite both unstained autofluorescent organisms (algae) and stained bacterial cells.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Aquifer Treatment of Sea Water to Remove Natural Organic Matter Before Desalination

Dehwah

Al-Mashharawi

et al. 2016

Groundwater

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An investigation of a sea water reverse osmosis desalination facility located in western Saudi Arabia has shown that aquifer treatment of the raw sea water provides a high degree of removal of natural organic matter (NOM) that causes membrane biofouling. The aquifer is a carbonate system that has a good hydraulic connection to the sea and 14 wells are used to induce sea water movement 400 to 450 m from the sea to the wells. During aquifer transport virtually all of the algae, over 90% of the bacteria, over 90% of the biopolymer fraction of NOM, and high percentages of the humic substance, building blocks, and some of the low molecular weight fractions of NOM are removed. Between 44 and over 90% of the transparent exopolymer particles (TEP) are removed with a corresponding significant reduction in concentration of the colloidal fraction of TEP. The removal rate for TEP appears to be greater in carbonate aquifers compared to siliciclastic systems. Although the production wells range in age from 4 months to 14 years, no significant difference in the degree of water treatment provided by the aquifer was found.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Aquifer Treatment of Sea Water to Remove Natural Organic Matter Before Desalination

Dehwah

Al-Mashharawi

et al. 2016

Groundwater

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“…Despite myriad studies discussing the potential for adverse environmental impacts of desalination plant effluents, laboratory studies or field measurements assessing these impacts are scarce (Roberts et al ., ; Elimelech and Phillip, ; Liu et al ., ). Moreover, scant information has been published showing the impacts of desalination discharge on the autotrophic and heterotrophic coastal communities (Drami et al ., ; van der Merwe et al ., ). Yet, salinity is considered the most important driver of global distribution patterns of bacteria as well as other microorganisms (Lozupone and Knight, ) and can regulate functional performance, growth rates and shifts in bacterial community composition (Bouvier and del Giorgio, ; Langenheder et al ., ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Enhanced salinities, as a proxy of seawater desalination discharges, impact coastal microbial communities of the eastern Mediterranean Sea

Belkin

Rahav

Elifantz

et al. 2015

Environmental Microbiology

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Seawater desalination plants increase local coastal salinities by discharging concentrated brine back to the sea with ∼ 50% higher than ambient salinities. The impacts of high salinities on microbial coastal populations of the eastern Mediterranean Sea (EMS) were examined in two mesocosm experiments; first, during the mixed-spring and second, during the stratified-summer periods with average salinity of ∼ 39. Ambient salinities were increased by 5% and 15%. Higher salinity (15%) mesocosms induced rapid (within 2 h) declines in both primary productivity (PP) and algal biomass parallel to an increase in bacterial productivity. Subsequently, for the duration of the experiments (11-12 days), both Chlorophyll a and PP rates increased (2 to 5 and 1.5 to 2.5-fold, respectively) relative to unamended controls. The initial assemblages of the ambient microbial populations and intensity of salinity enrichments influenced the community responses. During the mixed-spring experiment, the composition of prokaryotic and eukaryotic populations shifted only slightly, suggesting high functional plasticity of the initial populations. While during the stratified-summer experiment, high salinity changed the composition and reduced the biodiversity of the microbial communities. In an ultra-oligotrophic environment such as the EMS, salinity induced declines in microbial diversity may provide a tipping point destabilizing the local aquatic food web.

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“…Yet, the elevated salinity of the brine at discharge locations may impact marine life and water quality (Belkin et al, 2015;Frank et al, 2017), and lead to alterations in biodiversity and succession, as well as impact food web and ecosystem functioning and structure (Zingone and Oksfeldt Enevoldsen, 2000). Limited information has been published to date, either locally or globally, on the impact of desalination discharge on coastal microbial communities, phyto-and bacterioplankton, comprising the foundation of the aquatic food webs (Drami et al, 2011;Van der Merwe et al, 2014;Belkin et al, 2015Belkin et al, , 2017Frank et al, 2017). Studies on brine impact were performed on benthos (Sánchez-Lizaso et al, 2008;Riera et al, 2012;Begher Nabavi et al, 2013), as well as fish (Iso et al, 1994).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using Stable Carbon and Nitrogen Isotopes to Investigate the Impact of Desalination Brine Discharge on Marine Food Webs

Grossowicz

Sisma-Ventura

2019

Front. Mar. Sci.

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Stable isotope ratios were used to trace the impact of anthropogenically derived brine from desalination plants on organisms at different trophic levels (primary producers and consumers) along the highly urbanized ultra-oligotrophic Israeli coast (southeast Mediterranean). Primary producer and consumer organisms were collected from two sampling stations at two desalination plants sites: an "Impacted station," near the brine discharge outlets, and a "Control station" situated further offshore to the impacted zone. δ 13 C and δ 15 N values of both producers and consumers displayed minor variations between the impacted and control stations, indicating little effect of brine discharge on the coastal trophic structure. The coastal δ 15 N values were generally higher than those of similar pelagic communities of the southeastern Mediterranean. These were particularly high in benthic invertebrates and benthic carnivores (fish) from the southern site, where high anthropogenically N loads from ground water amelioration are discarded alongside the brine. The observed differences in the δ 15 N of the benthic components between the two study sites suggest that brine derived density plumes from desalination plants are a possible vector of nutrients to benthic communities. The results indicate that the benthic components were the most sensitive group to anthropogenic derived N pollution, and provide insight into site-specific processes.

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Flow cytometric assessment of microbial abundance in the near-field area of seawater reverse osmosis concentrate discharge

Cited by 28 publications

References 14 publications

Aquifer Treatment of Sea Water to Remove Natural Organic Matter Before Desalination

Aquifer Treatment of Sea Water to Remove Natural Organic Matter Before Desalination

Enhanced salinities, as a proxy of seawater desalination discharges, impact coastal microbial communities of the eastern Mediterranean Sea

Using Stable Carbon and Nitrogen Isotopes to Investigate the Impact of Desalination Brine Discharge on Marine Food Webs

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