Mitigation of CyanoHABs Using Phoslock ® to Reduce Water Column Phosphorus and Nutrient Release from Sediment

Ji Li, Kevin Sellner, Allen Place, Jeffrey Cornwell and Yonghui Gao
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Ji Li: School of Oceanography, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200030, China
Kevin Sellner: Center for Coastal & Watershed Studies, Hood College, Frederick, MD 21701, USA
Allen Place: Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, Baltimore, MD 21202, USA
Jeffrey Cornwell: Horn Point Laboratory, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, Cambridge, MD 21613, USA
Yonghui Gao: School of Oceanography, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200030, China

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 24, 1-16

Abstract: Cyanobacterial blooms can be stimulated by excessive phosphorus (P) input, especially when diazotrophs are the dominant species. A series of mesocosm experiments were conducted in a lake dominated by a cyanobacteria bloom to study the effects of Phoslock ® , a phosphorus adsorbent. The results showed that the addition of Phoslock ® lowered the soluble reactive phosphate (SRP) concentrations in water due to efficient adsorption and mitigated the blooms. Once settled on the sediments, Phoslock ® serves as a barrier to reduce P diffusion from sediments into the overlying waters. In short-term (1 day) incubation experiments, Phoslock ® diminished or reversed SRP effluxes from bottom sediments. At the same time, the upward movement of the oxic–anoxic interface through the sediment column slightly enhanced NH 4 + release and depressed N 2 release, suggesting the inhibition of nitrification and denitrification. In a long-term (28 days) experiment, Phoslock ® hindered the P release, reduced the cyanobacterial abundance, and alleviated the bloom-driven enhancements in the pH and oxygen. These results suggest that, through suppression of internal nutrient effluxes, Phoslock ® can be used as an effective control technology to reduce cyanobacteria blooms common to many freshwater systems.

Keywords: Phoslock ®; cyanobacteria bloom; phosphate removal; nutrient fluxes; coupled nitrification–denitrification (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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