The Efficiency of Microstrainers Filtration in the Process of Removing Phytoplankton with Special Consideration of Cyanobacteria

Abstract

The research presented in this manuscript concerns the evaluation of the effectiveness of microstrainers, which are designed to reduce the amount of plankton in treated surface water. The efficiency of microstrainer filtration analysis is very important for the proper course of the water-treatment process not only in the Water-Treatment Plant (WTP) in Zielona Góra (central western Poland) but also in other WTPs around the world. The qualitative and quantitative monitoring of the abundance of plankton including cyanobacteria during the particle-filtration process allows not only for the assessment of the potential cyanotoxic risk in surface water providing a source of drinking water, but also allows the evaluation of the action and the prevention of adverse impacts of microstrainers. Over four years of research, it was observed that the largest amount of cyanobacteria before microstrainer filtration took place in May. The dominant species was Limnothrix redeckei. The microstrainer removal of plankton and cyanobacteria was statistically significant. The quantity of removed plankton increased with its increasing content in raw water. The particle-filtration process, by reducing the amount of cyanobacteria, contributes to a decrease in intracellular microcystins.

The Occurrence of Potential Harmful Cyanobacteria and Cyanotoxins in the Obrzyca River (Poland), a Source of Drinking Water

“…At the same time, they create problems not only during water treatment by clogging filters, disinfection by-products, taste, odor, etc. [29], but toxic cyanobacterial blooms also have a negative impact on human health. Therefore, monitoring cyanobacterial biomass in surface waters and especially drinking water sources is crucial in quality control systems [9].…”

Elimination of the biogenic pollution effects on aquatic environments

“…If difficulties in achieving the required quality of wastewater arise, it is necessary to timely eliminate the consequences of biogenic pollution in order to prevent critical conditions in the ecological balance of water bodies. The development of eutrophication can be overcome by a fairly reliable and effective way of dealing with excess phytoplankton, based on the hydromechanical principle of filtering water resources [10,11]. The devices of simple construction used in this case provide a directed effect on the epicenter of cyanobacterial reproduction, which helps to localize areas of increased biogenic pollution, preventing them from spreading.…”

Feasibility of dissolved air flotation for drinking water treatment for Harare

“…Globally, the pollution of water resources has led to a decrease in water quality and rapid algae growth, which is associated with numerous health problems in humans (Czyzėwska & Piontek 2019). As such, algae must be removed during the water treatment process.…”

“…As such, algae must be removed during the water treatment process. Algae can be removed by microstraining (physical), algaecides (chemical), and the application of coagulation, flocculation, sedimentation, filtration, and disinfection (conventional) respectively (Czyzėwska & Piontek 2019;Shen et al 2019). Although conventional methods are the most widely used techniques in algae removal in developing countries, they are now failing to deal with high levels of algae pollution (Hoko et al 2021b).…”