Effect of CaCO Nucleation Modes on Algae Removal from Alkaline Water

The role of calcite heterogeneous nucleation was studied in a particle-coagulation treatment process for removing microalgae from water. Batch experiments were conducted with Scenedesmus sp. and Chlorella sp. in the presence and absence of carbonate and in the presence and absence of magnesium to delineate the role of CaCO nucleation on microalgae removal. The results indicate that effective algae coagulation (e.g., up to 81% algae removal efficiency) can be achieved via heterogeneous nucleation with CaCO; however, supersaturation ratios between 120 and 200 are required to achieve at least 50% algae removal, depending on ion concentrations. Algae removal was attributed to the adsorption of Ca onto the cell surface, which provides nucleation sites for CaCO precipitation. Bridging of calcite particles between the algal cells led to rapid aggregation and formation of larger flocs. However, at higher supersaturation conditions, algae removal was diminished due to the dominance of homogeneous nucleation of CaCO. The removal of algae in the presence of Ca and Mg required higher supersaturation values; however, the shift from heteronucleation to homonucleation with increasing supersaturation was still evident. The results suggest that water chemistry, pH, ionic strength, alkalinity, and Ca concentration can be optimized for algae removal via coagulation and sedimentation.