SAFE AND SUSTAINABLE HAB AND MICROPOLLUTANT CONTROL BY ULTRADILUTE TAML/PEROXIDE

TAML catalysts are bioinspired, miniaturized replicas of peroxidase enzymes where a latest generation composition, NT7^® (1.4–16.8 ppb) with hydrogen peroxide (1–10.2 ppm), has achieved transformative technical performances in removing micropollutants (MPs) from multiple waters: lab, river, and lake waters and urban wastewater. Harmful algal blooms (HABs) pose a significant threat to contemporary ecosystems and water security, necessitating the development of efficient, low-cost, easy-to-deploy, safe and sustainable control technologies. Thus, we have studied if the striking NT7^®/peroxide effectiveness against MPs is transferable to HABs. Here, we introduce results signaling a potentially practical solution for control of Karenia brevis blooms (red tides). The effective removal of K. brevis and brevetoxins in seawater has been achieved in NT7^®/peroxide test experiments in the early stages of a HAB-CTI supported project. Specifically, K. brevis (1 million cells/L) could be completely killed by NT7^® (560 ppb) with H₂O₂ (1.7 ppm) within 4 hours, while the concentration of detected brevetoxins released by K. brevis (BTX-1, BTX-2, BTX-3, and BTX-B5) were decreased cumulatively by about 75% in 72 hours. In contrast, H₂O₂ (1.7 ppm) alone exhibited no impact on K. brevis or its associated brevetoxins. Concentration optimization, mesocosm and ecotoxicology studies are components of the evolving project. In earlier scoping studies in the cHAB area, NT7^® (56 ppb) with H₂O₂ (340 ppm) removed to non-detectable from lab water within 3 min the cyanobacterial toxin and micropollutant, microcystin-LR (12 ppm).

Primary Presenter: Terrence Collins, Carnegie Mellon University (tc1u@andrew.cmu.edu)

Authors:

Xiaowei Ma, Institute for Green Science, Carnegei Mellon Uinversity  (xiaoweim@andrew.cmu.edu)

Jennifer Toyoda, Ecotoxicology Program Mote Marine Laboratory  (jtoyoda@mote.org)

Richard Pierce, Directorate of Environmental Health & Ocean Technology, Mote Marine Laboratory  (rich@mote.org)

Terrence Collins, Institute for Green Science, Carnegie Mellon University  (tc1u@andrew.cmu.edu)