Electrochemical elimination of Microcystis aeruginosa with boron-doped diamond anode in different electrolyte systems: chemical and biological mechanisms

• Published in: Environmental science and pollution research international Vol. 29; no. 19; pp. 27677 - 27687
• Main Authors: Long, Yujiao, Li, Hongna, Jin, Hongmei, Ni, Jinren
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.04.2022; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Algae; Anodes; Aquatic Pollution; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Boron; Boron - metabolism; Cell density; Cell morphology; Chlorides; Chlorine; Chlorine - metabolism; Chlorophyll; Chlorophyll - metabolism; Chlorophyll A - metabolism; Cytology; Deoxyribonucleic acid; Diamond; Diamonds; DNA; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecotoxicology; Electrochemistry; Electrodes; Electrolytes; Electrolytic cells; Environment; Environmental Chemistry; Environmental Health; Environmental science; Enzymes; Hydrogen peroxide; Hydrogen Peroxide - metabolism; Lipid peroxidation; Lipids; Membrane permeability; Membranes; Microcystin-LR; Microcystins - metabolism; Microcystis; Microcystis - metabolism; Microcystis aeruginosa; Morphology; Oxidants; Oxidants - metabolism; Oxidation-Reduction; Oxidizing agents; Permeability; Peroxidation; Phosphates - metabolism; Research Article; Sulfates; Sulfates - metabolism; Superoxide dismutase; Superoxide Dismutase - metabolism; Waste Water Technology; Water Management; Water Pollution Control; Blue algae; Boron-doped diamond; Electrochemical oxidation; Mechanism; Cyanobacteria; Microcystin-LR
• ISSN: 0944-1344; 1614-7499
• DOI: 10.1007/s11356-021-18254-z

The chemical and biological mechanisms of electrochemical elimination of Microcystis aeruginosa ( M. aeruginosa ) using boron-doped diamond (BDD) anode were comparatively explored in three different electrolytes (chloride, sulfate, and phosphate solutions). The most efficient elimination of M. aeruginosa was observed in chloride solution, which was attributed to the greatest total long-lived oxidants from the favorable formation of active chlorine. Moreover, the high permeability of active chlorine resulted in profound intracellular damages to chlorophyll- a , microcystin-LR (MC-LR), superoxide dismutase (SOD) enzyme, and DNA in the chloride system. The change of membrane permeability and degradation of the released MC-LR induced by active chlorine were further confirmed by the increase of extracellular MC-LR in the initial 5 min and a complete decay in the subsequent 15 min, while the change in morphology of algae cells was insignificant from SEM images. In sulfate and phosphate electrolytes, membrane damages were much more pronounced based on lipid peroxidation observation, although changes in cell morphology was found more significant in phosphate system. The higher concentrations of oxidants (·OH, O 3 , H 2 O 2 , S 2 O 8 2− ) generated in sulfate than in phosphate solution explained the greater efficiency of electrochemical elimination of M. aeruginosa in the sulfate electrolyte in terms of changes of cell density, OD 680 , chlorophyll- a , MC-LR, lipids, SOD enzyme, and DNA.