Environment

Algae-purified wastewater used to raise fish

Algae-purified wastewater used to raise fish
Algae breaks down and consumes pollutants such as heavy metals, while also outcompeting harmful bacteria for nutrients and sunlight
Algae breaks down and consumes pollutants such as heavy metals, while also outcompeting harmful bacteria for nutrients and sunlight
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Algae breaks down and consumes pollutants such as heavy metals, while also outcompeting harmful bacteria for nutrients and sunlight
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Algae breaks down and consumes pollutants such as heavy metals, while also outcompeting harmful bacteria for nutrients and sunlight

Presently, in order to purify wastewater, antibacterial chemicals and ultraviolet light are among the measures commonly used. According to a new international study, however, the utilization of algae may be a more eco-friendly and energy-efficient alternative, resulting in water that's clean enough for use in aquaculture.

It was already known that algae breaks down and feeds upon waterborne compounds such as phosphorous, nitrogen, carbon and heavy metals. Additionally, as algae absorbs nutrients and blocks sunlight in the water, it outcompetes microorganisms such as harmful bacteria, causing them to starve.

With these factors in mind, scientists from India's Shoolini University collected Pseudochlorella pringsheimii algae from a natural pond, then cultivated it in tanks of raw urban wastewater that contained heavy metal pollutants and antibiotic-resistant bacteria. After 14 days, it was found that the heavy metal levels had dropped drastically, and the bacteria were almost completely eliminated.

Once centrifugal force had been utilized to remove the algae, both treated and untreated wastewater was used to raise separate batches of sucker fish. Although no fish survived in the untreated water, 84 percent of them survived in the treated water – what's more, their body weight increased by 47 percent over a 10-day period.

And as a side benefit, it was determined that lipids produced by the harvested algae could be processed into biofuel.

A paper on the research – which was led by Dr. Pankaj Kumar Chauhan – has been published in the journal Science of the Total Environment. Scientists at Texas-based Rice University and the Desert Research Institute in Las Vegas have also used algae to remove pollutants from wastewater.

Source: Shoolini University

3 comments
3 comments
JACKofALLTRADES47
CLASSIC EXAMPLE OF PEOPLE THINKING 🧐 💭 🤔 OUT SIDE OF THE BOX 📦 ALL OF THE NAYSAYERS WHO LIKE TO POST NEGATIVE COMMENTS
NEED TO EXCEPT THE FACT THAT WE ARE LIVING IN A NEW Paradigm science and technology are moving in leaps and bounds and scientists are building on each others research and findings
IS YOUR GLASS
1/2 EMPTY or 1/2 FULL
Expanded Viewpoint
Whenever I see the much over used term "heavy metals", it makes me cringe! Which ones are truly heavy, and which ones are considered to be light? What is the purpose of calling them heavy or light anyway? Are "heavy metals" more toxic than the others? Lithium would have to be considered to be a "light" metal, but it's a highly reactive and deadly one! My friend's son is now on dialysis and will be for the rest of his life, because taking Lithium for his mental condition has destroyed his kidneys! A Lithium battery fire is something you want to see only from a great distance away!
Did those dangerous metals disappear out of the brackish water tank completely, or were they just captured by the algae?
ljaques
Be sure to eject that tainted algae after collecting the trash, guys. So this is another link in how wetlands clean the water? Cool.
Yet another reason to avoid farmed fish. (Other than the bland/mushy meat and the downstream Purina Fish Chow flavor.)
And, Jack, your glass is sized wrongly for you. ACcept that fact. ;)