Nualgi in Lagoon STPs and dams in Queensland, Australia

http://nualgienviro.com.au/an-overview-of-trials-using-nualgi-in-lagoon-stps-and-dams-in-queensland-australia/

An Overview of Trials Using Nualgi in Lagoon STPs and dams in Queensland, Australia

This entry was posted in CyanobacteriaDiatomsHarmful AlgaeNutrient managementSewage TreatmentToxic AlgaeWastewater Treatment on September 21, 2015 by simonadmint

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This blog post is somewhat more technical than some of the other posts I have done to date. The reason for this is that I am presenting actual data! Yes! The numbers are in and I have graphs, relationships and hypotheses to offer. So if you are interested in the more analytical side of things then I hope you enjoy this post. As we are moving towards summer here in Australia things are warming up so the cyanobacteria are getting more active and the use of Nualgi in these tests is going to get properly tested to see how good it is. I hope you enjoy the report and as always, feel free to contact me if you want to know more.

Nualgi is a nano-silica nutrient mixture that has all the micronutrients required for growth of diatom microalgae adsorbed into the amorphous nano-silica structure. As only diatoms have a requirement to take up silica, they are the only algae that benefit from the micro-nutrient boost. This means that the diatoms successfully out-compete the other algae for nutrients, and reduce blue-green algae growth in a natural way. The process is non-toxic and offers an added benefit in that bacterial activity is enhanced due to the increased dissolved oxygen content from the diatom bloom. This increase in dissolved oxygen and bacterial activity will assist in bringing down the biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) in the wastewater. 

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Summary

The three trials presented here are each slightly different in regard to the conditions of the STP or the water being treated.  Trials 1 and 2 have both shown a strong change in the percentage of the BGA that make up the Total Cell count.  A similar pattern may slowly be emerging in Trial 3 which has a lower N concentration.

The Total Cell Counts in all trials have been seen to reduce markedly from the starting values.  Trial 2 has shown some recovery of non BGA algae, although this stage may be transitory as the lagoon continues to settle toward having a higher DO and lower BGA population.

Because of the increased activity of diatoms, especially benthic diatoms, induced by the addition of Nualgi there have been several positive changes to the water quality.  In Trial 3, a reduction in the pH and a qualitative assessment that the invertebrate populations in the water have increased suggest that the water is progressively returning to a more stable environment in which algae other than BGAs may proliferate and the nutrients will shift from being retained in algal cycles and may now move up the food chain through the invertebrates and into higher animals such as fish, eels and birds.

Longer trials are needed to assess the long term use of Nualgi in managing nutrients and controlling Blue Green Algae growth, but these three trials are strongly indicative that the use of Nualgi is a simple and effective pathway to achieve this outcome.

Canada's sickest Lake - Winnipeg

Algal Blooms

http://www2.macleans.ca/2009/08/20/canada’s-sickest-lake/

Globally, toxic algal blooms—in both lakes and coastal systems—have been increasing in number, frequency and size. A toxic bloom in the Yellow Sea at Qingdao nearly halted the sailing events at last summer’s Beijing Olympics. A year earlier, a rank toxic bloom choked legendary Lake Tai, China’s third-largest freshwater lake, leaving more than two million people without drinking water and killing fish. Meanwhile, a 7,770-sq.-km oxygen-starved “dead zone” has spread in the Gulf of Mexico where the Mississippi—chock full of fertilizers after draining the U.S. Midwest—spills into the ocean, causing an explosion of toxic algae and bacteria, killing fish and threatening the Gulf’s $2.8-billion fishery. Scientists say such zones are spreading, and could one day make up one-fifth of the world’s oceans.

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Nualgi can stop harmful algal blooms.

http://www.dep.state.fl.us/water/bgalgae/

Florida Department of Environmental Protection

Blue-green Algae

Blue-green algae, or cyanobacteria, occur naturally as part of the food chain and are found all over the world. They are structurally similar to bacteria but, like plants, use sunlight to grow. They are everywhere in Florida’s freshwater and brackish habitats, such as lakes, rivers, and estuaries. Blue-green algae are also common in Georgia, Texas and Alabama. Some – not all – blue-green algae can produce toxins that can contribute to environmental problems and affect public health. You can find more information on health aspects of blue-green algae from the Florida Department of Health. Scientists know little about what causes the algae to turn toxic and even those blue-green algae that are known to produce toxins do not always do so.


There are no short-term solutions to correcting the situation; this is a naturally occurring phenomenon that has occurred throughout history. However, Florida monitors blue-green algae closely because nutrient (nitrogen and phosphorus) pollution appears to intensify blue-green algae outbreaks. The state is taking measures that in the long term will reduce nutrient loading and improve water quality.

Algal blooms were documented in Florida’s coastal waters as early as the 19th Century. In 1998, recognizing the need to assess the status of toxic microalgae in Florida, the state legislature approved funding for the Florida Harmful Algal Bloom Task Force. The Task Force was created to address potential concerns regarding microalgae, including blue-green algae, through monitoring and investigation. Information on blue-green algae and other harmful algal bloom events is available from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's Fish and Wildlife Research Institute and from the Florida Department of Health Aquatic Toxins Program.

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Rather unfortunate that people are fatalistic about blue green algae blooms and are not willing to look for logical solutions to the problem.

China launches vast water clean-up

http://us.oneworld.net/article/361235-china-launches-vast-water-clean-up

China launches vast water clean-up
From: SciDev.Net
Weixiao Chen and Yidong Gong
17 March 2009
[BEIJING] A project to improve water quality in China has been launched by the government, which says it is the largest expenditure on environmental protection since the founding of the People's Republic in 1949.

Water pollution is a grave problem in China
Flickr/A-Wix

The project, which has an estimated budget of more than 30 billion Chinese yuan (around 4.4 billion US dollars) over 12 years, aims to counter the deteriorating water quality affecting millions of Chinese people and their livelihoods.

The Water Pollution Control and Management Project - known as 'Water Special Project' - will focus on the treatment of whole river basins instead of the conventional approach of end-pipe treatment, according to Meng Wei, chief engineer of the project and director of the Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences.

By taking this approach the treatment of the highly polluted Lake Tai, for example, the third largest freshwater lake in China, will benefit not just Shanghai but also the eastern provinces of Jiangsu and Zhejiang.

Coordinated by the Ministry of Environmental Protection and the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, the aim of the project is to guarantee safe drinking water and improve the overall water environment, Meng said.

The safety of drinking water has become a great concern in China. Some 64 per cent of the water reaching urban areas is categorised as suitable only for industrial or agricultural purposes and half of cities have suffered groundwater pollution to some degree, according to Liu Yanhua, vice minister of science and technology, at the launch of the project last month (19 February).

In the summer of 2007 an outbreak of algae around Taihu Lake left more than one million people in the city of Wuxi - in the economically-advanced Jiangsu Province - without access to drinking water for two days.

And when a drought reached its peak in early February it was affecting 10.7 million hectares of farmland in at least 12 provinces in northern China. (See China's water deficit 'will create food shortage')

A number of demonstration projects will be carried out at major rivers across China, such as Haihe, Huaihe, Liaohe and Songhuajiang, as well as Lake Tai and the Three Gorges.

But Qin Boqiang, a researcher at the Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, said the government should focus on controlling the sources of pollution instead of treating it after it happens.

"We cannot develop economy at the expense of the environment," he told SciDev.Net

The water programme is one of the 16 key projects listed in the National Mid-Term and Long-Term Science and Technology Development Plan (2006-2020) issued by the State Council in 2006, which provides guidelines for China's science and technology development for the next 15 years.

N, P and Si in Oceans - non-siliceous phytoplankton vs siliceous phytoplankton

http://www.nies.go.jp/gaiyo/bunya/aquaterra-e.html

Effects of Changes in Nutrient Ratios of River Water on Marine Ecosystems

As human activities increase, the inflowing of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) into oceans is also augmented. On the other hand, the amount of silicon (Si) that flows into oceans tends to decrease since silicon settles and gets trapped in still bodies of water such as dam reservoirs. It is therefore likely that, in these conditions, non-siliceous phytoplankton (including the harmful red tide algae) can thrive better than siliceous phytoplankton, which are mostly harmless. Our research aims to clarify these ecological changes through ocean observation by ferry and ecosystem modeling.

http://db.cger.nies.go.jp/gem/sea/SE_Pacific/me.html

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This study and approach confirms our views that Diatoms (siliceous phytoplankton) are good and Green, Blue Green Algae and Red Tides (non-siliceous phytoplankton)are not useful or are even harmful.

Lake Tai / Taihu - China - Algae eating fish.

Interesting news about use of Fish to consume Blue Green Algae in Lake Tai / Taihu near Shanghai in China.


http://www.fastcompany.com/blog/ariel-schwartz/sustainability/algae-munching-fish-clean-chinese-lake



Algae-Munching Fish Clean Up Chinese Lake
BY Ariel SchwartzFri Feb 20, 2009 at 4:03 PM

Algae is often hailed as the next great biofuel resource, but the pond scum can multiply enough to threaten water supplies when left to its own devices.

China's 900-square-mile Taihu Lake, in the east near Shanghai, is covered in polluting blue-green algae blooms, which are mainly caused by untreated sewage (which contains high concentrations of nitrogen). Combined with industrial waste, the blooms post a major threat to Taihu's status as a water source for the nearby city of Wuxi (population: 2.3 million). And despite a multi-million dollar investment in sewage pipes, Taihu's water remains a problem.

The solution? 10 million algae-eating fish. Chinese officials plan on releasing green and silver carp into the Taihu as part of a massive clean-up effort. Even though the 10 million fish will only clean up one-tenth of Taihu's massive area, it's a huge step for one of China's most scenic lakes.

The country has used algae-eating fish to clean Taihu and other lakes before. The fish, which include Black Molly, Plecos, and Siamese Algae Eaters, are also often used by fish enthusiasts to clean freshwater aquariums.

Via PhysOrg

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nualgi can do the job better with Diatoms and any species of fish.

Algae to treat sewage

The concept of using Spirulina (Blue Green Algae) to treat sewage has been around for quite sometime.
Diatom Algae would be a better solution, since they are easier to dispose off.

http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3825422640071574794

Algae alleviates
Date: 14/03/1996
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Source: Down to Earth
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TagsBiotechnology, Blue-Green Algae, Environmental Science, South Africa, Urban Sanitation
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HOUSING lower- and middle-class blacks, certain South African townships are seriously threatened by contamination caused by human wastes. With no sewage disposal system, the residents of these poor localities use buckets to excrete and once these are full to the brim, the waste is either dumped into streams or on the outskirts of the townships (ScientificAmericah, Vol 273, No'5).

The dumping of these wastes is proving to be a major threat to the environment, as not only are the streams affected by it but even groundwater sources lying just four metres below the surface are.being polluted. But help is on the way. Peter D Rose of the Rhodes, University in SouthAfrica is using an algae-based system to solve the crisis. A pilot plant constructed nearby will receive the waste emitted by 500-1,000 people, through a 1,00,000 ha area of ponds and channels filled with spirulina. The single-celled plant thriving on salty, nutrient-rich sewage offers solace to millions of helpless South. Ilicans. When exposed to sunlight, these plants seek higher dissolved oxygen levels and ingest most of the waste, and the remaining heavy metals and inorganic detritus settle at the bottom of the waterbodies.

Sewage processing by algae, an age-old method, is now being made more effective by advanced technologies. In the past 10 years researchers have concentrated on cultivating algal species which can do even bitter than the activated-sludge process practised by industrialised nations. The algal ponds do not require the equipment and power needed to run the conventional activated-sludge ponds. This reduces the building and operation costs by about a half. These plants do not consume much water, which is an important innovation for and South Africa. The resultant sludge produced is also lesser in quantity, making it easier to truck it down to landfill sites. Not only that, but most of the sludge is usually tonnes of dead algae, which once dried, makes good fertiliser and,fish-food additive. Another *advantage of algal ponds is that they do not stink, as the algae only produce a lot of oxygen and not other rotten smelling gases.

For Rose, the technology serves a dual purpose. It holds the potential for improving community sanitation and at a low cost, making it attractive to the needs of developing countries., "One of the future benefits of the process is that once you have this algal biomass, you might be able to engineer it to produce by-products that are more valuable than animal feeds," he says. His team recently studied another algae, Dunaliella salina, which when exposed to excessive salt or heat, produces large amounts of beta-carotene (a nutrient used by the body to make vitamin A).

Rose has also demonstrated the usefulness of the system in treating industrial waste, from tanneries. Tannery waste includes effluents like sulphides, ammonia and heavy metals, which not only give off bad odour but are also among the most dangerous pollutants to be emitted by any industry. Rose tried out the spirulina treatment on this waste, when he noticed that the plant flourished in a tannery's evaporation pond. The treatment systems tried out in Transvaal, Namibia and Cape Town tanneries show promise, as they have been successful in squelching odour and reclaiming water lost through evaporation. With the expected expansion in the tanning industry in South Africa, the algal-pond system is expected to be a major boon to the country.

Says Rose, "Rapid industrialisation in the Third World often happens at the expense of the environment, because the costs of First World technologies to remedy the situation cannot be borne simultaneously. To come up with a low- cost solution that results in something not just safe but useful - well, that is the first prize in biotechnology."