Phosphorus and Cyanobacteria Precipitation and Sediment Capping in Lake Water Using Alum and Natural Minerals
Publication: Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 146, Issue 1
Abstract
The objective of this study was to evaluate the use of natural minerals to enhance the precipitation of phosphorus and cyanobacteria during alum coagulation, and to reduce phosphate release during sediment capping in eutrophic lakes. Laboratory coagulation experiments were conducted on lake water spiked with Anabaena sp. using alum and four natural minerals (zeolite, calcite, limestone, and sand) to determine the effect of natural minerals on chlorophyll a, phosphate, and turbidity removal. Long-term column sediment-capping experiments were also conducted using different minerals after alum coagulation to evaluate their effectiveness in reducing phosphate release. The results showed that alum coagulation effectively removed phosphate and chlorophyll a from lake water samples. The added natural particles did not substantially affect coagulation performance during combined alum and particle treatment. However, natural particles increased the floc settling kinetics during coagulation. The combined treatment with alum and particles also increased the resistance of the sediment to disturbance by mixing. The long-term sediment-capping experiments showed that capping with natural minerals reduced the levels of phosphate released from the sediment.
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Data Availability Statement
All data, models, and code generated or used during the study appear in the submitted article.
Acknowledgments
This research was funded by the United States Geological Survey 104b Program through the South Dakota Water Resources Institute, the East Dakota Water Development District, the South Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station under grant No. SD00H398-11, and NASA under award No. NNX11AM03A. The authors are also grateful to Roger Foote from the Upper Big Sioux Watershed Project for the assistance in water and sediment sample collection.
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Published In
Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 146 • Issue 1 • January 2020
Copyright
©2019 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Feb 20, 2019
Accepted: May 21, 2019
Published online: Oct 24, 2019
Published in print: Jan 1, 2020
Discussion open until: Mar 24, 2020
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