Water Resources Research Act Program

Details for Project ID AR_2023_Wickramasinghe

Investigating electrocoagulation as a Pretreatment for the Nanofiltration of Cyanotoxin-Contaminated Water Resources

Institute: Arkansas
Year Established: 2023 Start Date: 2023-09-01 End Date: 2024-08-31
Total Federal Funds: $10,000 Total Non-Federal Funds: $10,000

Principal Investigators: Ranil Wickramasinghe

Project Summary: Harmful algal blooms contain microtoxins that are naturally produced by the algae cells that make up the bloom. The algae cells and toxins are taken out of natural waterways using harmful chemicals. The goal of this project is to replace the harmful chemicals by combining filtration and electrical methods. Filtration uses a filter with holes small enough to block the toxin and allow the water to pass through. Since these holes are very small they can clog when the filtration runs too long. Electric charge can capture the larger matter that clogs the filter. This can extend the time before the holes clog during filtration. Waterways around Northwest Arkansas contaminated by harmful algal blooms will be tested.