Water Resources Research Act Program

Details for Project ID 2014ND287B

Biopolymers for Phosphate Removal from Eutrophic Lakes

Institute: North Dakota
Year Established: 2014 Start Date: 2014-03-01 End Date: 2015-02-28
Total Federal Funds: $9,149 Total Non-Federal Funds: $18,300

Principal Investigators: Achintya Bezbaruah

Project Summary: Eutrophication of lakes is a major problem in North Dakota.According to a North Dakota Health Department report, of the 95.5% of the lakes and reservoirs assessed, 56% are considered threatened. A threatened assessment means that the continuation of current water quality and/or watershed trends would make it unlikely that these water bodies will continue to support aquatic life and human consumption. Therefore,the amount of P compounds in waters should be curtailed to prevent eutrophication in lakes and other surface waters. It is imperative to devise effective methods to remove excessive phosphate from water and wastewater. There is a significant gap in technology to remove low concentrations P from waters, specifically from eutrophic lakes. The objective of this research work is to determine if FCA beads can be used to remove aqueous phosphate and then use as a slow-release fertilizer. A series of batch experiments will be conducted with the FCA beads to investigate the mechanisms of phosphate sorption onto FCA beads. Desorption characteristics and the bioavailability will also be looked into for the possible reuse in agriculture.