Cyanobacterial control in natural water bodies by commercially available ultrasound: biomass reduction and cyanotoxin degradation

Low-frequency and low-intensity commercially available ultrasound to control algal growth in natural water bodies was studied. To evaluate the efficiency of ultrasound on cyanobacteria biomass removal and microcystins release and degradation a large-scale lab experiment with 150 L of high density M...

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Main Authors: Aleksandra Krivograd Klemenčič, Tina Eleršek
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: University of Ljubljana Press (Založba Univerze v Ljubljani) 2025-04-01
Series:Acta Biologica Slovenica
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.uni-lj.si/abs/article/view/21912
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author Aleksandra Krivograd Klemenčič
Tina Eleršek
author_facet Aleksandra Krivograd Klemenčič
Tina Eleršek
author_sort Aleksandra Krivograd Klemenčič
collection DOAJ
description Low-frequency and low-intensity commercially available ultrasound to control algal growth in natural water bodies was studied. To evaluate the efficiency of ultrasound on cyanobacteria biomass removal and microcystins release and degradation a large-scale lab experiment with 150 L of high density Microcystis aeruginosa suspension simulating natural conditions was conducted at different times of ultrasonication: 0, 15 min, 1 h, 5 h, 24 h, and 48 h. The first effect of ultrasonication on biomass reduction was evident at 24 h of continuous ultrasonication with the highest removal rates of 97% and 93% for cell count and chlorophyll a, respectively, at 48 h of continuous ultrasound treatment. The growth inhibition test showed biomass reduction in the samples exposed to ultrasonication for at least one hour with increasing effect from here on. The most efficient in M. aeruginosa reduction was the longest tested ultrasound treatment of 48 h with the growth inhibition of 96%, followed by 24-h ultrasound treatment with 50%, and 5-h ultrasound treatment with 17% growth inhibition after 9 days of incubation. At five hours of ultrasonication a sharp increase in dissolved microcystins in the medium was observed as a result of ultrasound induced stress followed by drop of dissolved microcystins under detection limit at 24 h of continuous ultrasonication. This study showed that commercially available ultrasound devices are highly efficient for cyanobacterial bloom control already at relatively low times of exposure, one to two days, with no health risks due to increased dissolved toxins after continuous ultrasound treatment for 24 h or more.
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spelling doaj-art-7df933d8931c4eef8fae8480e353113e2025-08-20T02:29:00ZengUniversity of Ljubljana Press (Založba Univerze v Ljubljani)Acta Biologica Slovenica1854-30732025-04-0168310.14720/abs.68.3.21912Cyanobacterial control in natural water bodies by commercially available ultrasound: biomass reduction and cyanotoxin degradationAleksandra Krivograd Klemenčič0Tina Eleršek1University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Civil and Geodetic Engineering, Institute for Sanitary Engineering, Hajdrihova 28, SI-1000 Ljubljana, SloveniaNational Institute of Biology, Department of Genetic Toxicology and Cancer Biology, Večna pot 121, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia Low-frequency and low-intensity commercially available ultrasound to control algal growth in natural water bodies was studied. To evaluate the efficiency of ultrasound on cyanobacteria biomass removal and microcystins release and degradation a large-scale lab experiment with 150 L of high density Microcystis aeruginosa suspension simulating natural conditions was conducted at different times of ultrasonication: 0, 15 min, 1 h, 5 h, 24 h, and 48 h. The first effect of ultrasonication on biomass reduction was evident at 24 h of continuous ultrasonication with the highest removal rates of 97% and 93% for cell count and chlorophyll a, respectively, at 48 h of continuous ultrasound treatment. The growth inhibition test showed biomass reduction in the samples exposed to ultrasonication for at least one hour with increasing effect from here on. The most efficient in M. aeruginosa reduction was the longest tested ultrasound treatment of 48 h with the growth inhibition of 96%, followed by 24-h ultrasound treatment with 50%, and 5-h ultrasound treatment with 17% growth inhibition after 9 days of incubation. At five hours of ultrasonication a sharp increase in dissolved microcystins in the medium was observed as a result of ultrasound induced stress followed by drop of dissolved microcystins under detection limit at 24 h of continuous ultrasonication. This study showed that commercially available ultrasound devices are highly efficient for cyanobacterial bloom control already at relatively low times of exposure, one to two days, with no health risks due to increased dissolved toxins after continuous ultrasound treatment for 24 h or more. https://journals.uni-lj.si/abs/article/view/21912algae controlcyanobacteriaultrasoundcyanotoxinsMicrocystis aeruginosa
spellingShingle Aleksandra Krivograd Klemenčič
Tina Eleršek
Cyanobacterial control in natural water bodies by commercially available ultrasound: biomass reduction and cyanotoxin degradation
Acta Biologica Slovenica
algae control
cyanobacteria
ultrasound
cyanotoxins
Microcystis aeruginosa
title Cyanobacterial control in natural water bodies by commercially available ultrasound: biomass reduction and cyanotoxin degradation
title_full Cyanobacterial control in natural water bodies by commercially available ultrasound: biomass reduction and cyanotoxin degradation
title_fullStr Cyanobacterial control in natural water bodies by commercially available ultrasound: biomass reduction and cyanotoxin degradation
title_full_unstemmed Cyanobacterial control in natural water bodies by commercially available ultrasound: biomass reduction and cyanotoxin degradation
title_short Cyanobacterial control in natural water bodies by commercially available ultrasound: biomass reduction and cyanotoxin degradation
title_sort cyanobacterial control in natural water bodies by commercially available ultrasound biomass reduction and cyanotoxin degradation
topic algae control
cyanobacteria
ultrasound
cyanotoxins
Microcystis aeruginosa
url https://journals.uni-lj.si/abs/article/view/21912
work_keys_str_mv AT aleksandrakrivogradklemencic cyanobacterialcontrolinnaturalwaterbodiesbycommerciallyavailableultrasoundbiomassreductionandcyanotoxindegradation
AT tinaelersek cyanobacterialcontrolinnaturalwaterbodiesbycommerciallyavailableultrasoundbiomassreductionandcyanotoxindegradation