ASSESSING PHOSPHORUS REMOVAL EFFICIENCY OF MAGNETIC PARTICLES TO MITIGATE LAKE EUTROPHICATION IN MICROCOSMS EXPERIMENTS
Phosphorus.Magnetic Particles. P sorbent. Lake Restoration.
Phosphorus (P) is a key nutrient in the eutrophication of inland freshwater, therefore it must be controlled to reduce the problems caused by nutrient enrichment. The employment of coagulating agents (e.g. PAC) coupled with lanthanum modified bentonite (LMB) to remove particulate phosphorus from the water column is a known technique to aid restoration of eutrophic lakes. However, its efficiency can be affect by site specific conditions such as pH, humic substances and sediment resuspension. An alternative method that is currently being studied is the use of iron (Fe) magnetic particles (MPs) to remove dissolved inorganic P from the water. One of the main advantages of this method is its potential to be more cost effective, as the material can be reused. The aim of this work is to test Magnetic Particles as a possible mitigation method to help reversing the eutrophication of shallow lakes in semiarid regions. I will test the feasibility of reusing the MPs, analysing its P removal efficiency in natural waters after being washed and reused. And I will compare the P removal efficiency of the use of MPs with LMB and LMB+PAC.