Laboratory desalination experiments with some algal toxins

Author Posting. © The Author(s), 2011. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of Elsevier B.V. for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Desalination 293 (2012): 1-6, doi:10.1016/j.desal.2012.02.014.Over the last several decades, countries throughout the world have experienced an escalating and worrisome trend in the incidence of harmful algal blooms (HABs). A concern is that highly potent algal toxins might be retained in the treated water, posing a threat to human health. Seawater contaminated with saxitoxins, domoic acid, okadaic acid, and brevetoxins was desalinated using small (<100 mL capacity) reverse osmosis and distillation equipment. Analyses of desalinated water samples indicated efficient removal of the four toxins to greater than 99%, except brevetoxins for which some carryover was observed during distillation. Hypochlorite concentrations of 4 ppm or higher were sufficient to react with all of the saxitoxins, domoic acid and okadaic acid in the samples that contained initial toxin concentrations up to 1,250 ng.mL-1 . Brevetoxins appeared to be unaffected in experiments in which the toxins were exposed to up to 30 ppm hypochlorite in seawater at 35 °C for 60 min. These results and their implications in terms of desalination plant design and operation are discussed.This work was also supported in part by the Woods Hole Center for Oceans and Human Health (NSF Grants OCE-0430724 and OCE-0911031; NIEHS Grant P50ES012742-01) and Effects of Inhaled Florida Red Tide Brevetoxins (NIH Grant P01 ES010594-09)

Electrochemical removal and recovery of humic-like substances from wastewater

The secondary effluent from paper and food industry wastewater still contains a high chemical oxygen demand and color intensity caused by the presence of difficult degradable organic compounds. These compounds are mostly humic-like substances. This study focused on two promising electrochemical methods for removal and recovery of humic like substances from industrial secondary effluent: membrane electrolysis and electro-coagulation. Membrane electrolysis removed 70% of the color at energy consumption 3 kWh/m3. The chemical oxygen demand reduction in the electrolysis process was less efficient. Organic compounds were partly removed at the cathode by precipitation and partly transported to the anode side, which was dependent on the membrane material. The electro-coagulation treatment process efficiently removes chemical oxygen demand and color. The method has a lower operational cost compared to the membrane electrolyses and would be the best option for high polluted wastewater. These results show that the electrochemical methods are an interesting option for humic like substances removal/recovery and could compete with conventional oxidation and coagulation methods.