A novel all-weather photo–electric synergistic process for inactivating alga in fresh waters: Performance and mechanism
摘要
It is urgent to control the excess growth of alga. Thus, a novel photo-electric synergistic treatment (PEST) system was designed for effective algae removal in this study. The results indicated that PEST achieved the removal of 67.6% for Microcystis aeruginosa (M. aeruginosa), 83.1% for chlorophyll a and 90.7% for microcystin–LR after 100 min, respectively, which were higher than those of photocatalysis and electrocatalysis. The photocatalyst of PEST (MoS2/WO3/CF-5%) demonstrated an excellent reusability and stability. Additionally, the inactivation mechanism of the PEST on M. aeruginosa was explored. Reactive oxygen species generation during the PEST were able to damage the cell membrane, DNA and protein, leading to cellular function disruption and algal cells apoptosis. An all–weather photo–electric synergistic reactor (AWPESR) was developed based on the PEST to achieve continuous removal of algae under natural conditions. The AWPESR demonstrated a high removal (78.4%) of M. aeruginosa, with a treatment load of 5.51 × 108 cells•(m–2•d–1). Moreover, the operation of the AWPESR is simple and relies solely on solar irradiation. The demonstration of algal removal in the novel PEST and AWPESR systems under natural conditions provides a potential green strategy for algal blooms control.