Algae keep cleaning wastewater even when plastic bits are present
Sousa PMS, Orge CA, Soares OSGP, Sousa CA, Simões M
Phytoremediation
The same green scum you might skim off a backyard pond or fish tank is being tested as a cheap, living filter for the plastic-laced water our treatment plants struggle to clean.
Scientists added five types of tiny plastic fragments, the kind that wash into sewage from packaging and clothing, to water tanks growing a common green alga called Chlorella vulgaris. Even though the plastics made the algae cells stressed out and produce more harmful molecules inside themselves, the algae still managed to soak up most of the nitrogen, phosphorus, and sugar pollution from the water. The algae did best when nitrogen was scarce and worst when carbon was scarce, showing that how you manage the water conditions matters as much as the plastic itself.
Key Findings
Despite oxidative stress and reduced esterase activity from microplastic exposure, Chlorella vulgaris removed more than 75% of nitrogen, 60% of phosphorus, and 70% of glucose from synthetic wastewater.
Nitrogen-limited conditions boosted nutrient uptake and biomass production, while a 12h/12h light-dark cycle lowered nitrogen removal but increased glucose consumption through heterotrophic metabolism.
Carbon-limited conditions worsened oxidative stress and nutrient removal efficiency, leaving residual pollutant levels above legal discharge limits.
chevron_right Technical Summary
A common pond and lab alga can still clean up wastewater nutrients even when plastic particles are floating in it, though the plastics do stress its cells out along the way.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
Influence of microplastics on microalgal performance during wastewater polishing.
Microplastics (MPs) are emerging contaminants that are increasingly accumulating in aquatic ecosystems due to excessive anthropogenic activity and insufficient mitigation strategies, posing serious...
open_in_new Read full abstractAbstract copyright held by the original publisher.
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Chlorella vulgaris is a species of green microalga in the division Chlorophyta. This unicellular alga was discovered in 1890 by Martinus Willem Beijerinck as the first microalga with a well-defined nucleus. It is the type species of the genus Chlorella. It is found in freshwater and terrestrial h...