The evaluation of methods for the removal of cyanobacterial toxins and formation of treatment by-products

TL;DRAbstract

The presence of potentially toxic cyanobacteria in many drinking water reservoirs around the World requires a thorough understanding of treatment options for regulatory authorities. Methods for the removal of a range of cyanotoxins was examined in this thesis and results indicate that the typical drinking water disinfectant, chlorine, may prove to be a sound option for the degradation of cyanotoxins, with minimal increased risk to health.In this study the reaction of chlorine with two cyanotoxins classes, cylindrospermopsin and saxitoxins, was examined thoroughly. Results indicated that under controlled conditions, ie. solution pH ≥ 6 and 8 for cylindrospermopsin and saxitoxins respectively, chlorine readily reacted with the cyanotoxins and lead to their degradation. This study also identified the need for a sufficient free chlorine residual (typically > 0.5 mg/L) after an adequate contact time. In general a contact time of 30 minutes was found to be ample time, given kinetic studies

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