Treatment plants use a combination of tools to keep toxins and contaminants out of drinking water.
Researchers with the University of Cincinnati examined the benefit of two such tools in addressing a toxin produced by harmful algae blooms, which are becoming increasingly common in waters around the world.
Blue green algae can reproduce en masse in waters laden with nitrogen, phosphorus or other excess nutrients. These algae “blooms” also can form when water levels drop during droughts or when bottom sediments heavy with nutrients get churned up in a storm, said Minghao Kong, a doctoral graduate of UC’s College of Engineering and Applied Science.
Minghao Kong, now at Emory University, works in a chemical engineering lab at the University of Cincinnati. (Photo Credit: Andrew Higley)
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