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A team of researchers at Clarkson University has conducted a successful field test of its innovative process to combat harmful algal blooms (HABs).

The team, led by Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering Yang Yang, in collaboration with Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Co-Director of the Center of Excellence in Healthy Water Solutions Stefan Grimberg, Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering Siwen Wang, and Professor Emeritus Michael Twiss, has developed a process called electrochemical ozonation.

The study is published in the journal Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology.

This process has been scaled up to a pilot-scale boat-mounted reactor with a treatment capacity of approximately 500 m³/day and is capable of inactivating harmful algae and destroying cyanotoxins within minutes. Demonstrations of this system have been successfully conducted in Lake Neatahwanta and Oneida Lake in New York State.

The frequency and severity of HABs has been on the rise in New York State, and experts expect this trend to continue, according to Yang. Warmer water temperatures due to climate change coupled with nutrient pollution from agricultural runoff, wastewater, and stormwater, have created favorable conditions for these blooms, which can be harmful to both humans and animals.

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