Selective method for cyanobacterial bloom removal: hydraulic jet cavitation experience

The aim of this study was to investigate the suitability of hydraulic jet cavitation as a method for cyanobacterial water-bloom management. Effects of cavitation were studied on laboratory culture of the cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosa, on a culture of a green alga Chlorella kessleri (as a non-target species) as well as on a real cyanobacterial biomass with Microcystis sp. as a dominant species. Our results suggested that the cavitation treatment of cyanobacteria is capable of causing the disintegration of their gas vesicles. Using this treatment, up to 99 % removal efficiency of cyanobacteria was achieved. Moreover, no effect on cyanobacterial membrane integrity or metabolic activity was detected by flow cytometry; thus, hydraulic cavitation seems to be harmless from the viewpoint of possible release of cyanotoxins into the water column. The green algae (here C. kessleri) were not affected negatively by the cavitation, and thus, they may still act as the natural nutrient competitors of cyanobacteria in lakes, ponds or reservoirs treated by cavitation.