Water Resources Research Act Program

Details for Project ID AR_2025_Foley

Magnetic particle-based phosphorus and nitrogen adsorbents to mitigate harmful algal blooms

Institute: Arkansas
Year Established: 2025 Start Date: 2026-01-01 End Date: 2026-12-31
Total Federal Funds: $25,000 Total Non-Federal Funds: $10,000

Principal Investigators: Kayla Foley

Project Summary: When there are too many nutrients in lakes and rivers, like phosphorus and nitrogen, it helps algae grow?a lot. Extra algae leads to the growth of harmful bacteria, damaging the environment and making people sick. To protect our water, we need eco-friendly ways to remove excess nutrients. We are working on a new method using plant-based plastics with magnetic particles to remove phosphorus and nitrogen from water, as well as reusing these materials so they last longer. One goal is to create a larger version of this system that can clean water in lakes and streams under real-life conditions, and we are using computer models to test how well these materials work with Arkansas's water. Clean water is very important, so we need new, low-cost, and energy-efficient ways to treat it. These eco-friendly plant-based plastics offer a new way to ensure clean water for Arkansas.