Grantee Research Project Results
2020 Progress Report: Wetland and peroxide treated harmful algal blooms
EPA Grant Number: SU839870Title: Wetland and peroxide treated harmful algal blooms
Investigators: Vela, Jeseth Delgado
Institution: Howard University
EPA Project Officer: Page, Angela
Phase: I
Project Period: October 1, 2019 through September 30, 2020 (Extended to September 30, 2021)
Project Period Covered by this Report: October 1, 2019 through September 30,2020
Project Amount: $25,000
RFA: P3 Awards: A National Student Design Competition Focusing on People, Prosperity and the Planet (2019) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: P3 Awards , P3 Challenge Area - Safe and Sustainable Water Resources
Objective:
This research is focused on designing and testing a pollution control strategy for nonpoint nutrient sources. We hypothesize the proposed strategy will reduce nutrient emissions that lead to Cyanobacteria Harmful Algal Blooms (CHABs) and provide a continuous release of hydrogen peroxide that will provide targeted control of toxin producing cyanobacteria. This type of targeted control provides multiple benefits to the watershed and is a completely innovative way to manage nonpoint nutrient emissions. The outcomes of this research will lead to an improved strategy for reducing the proliferation of CHAB and eliminating toxin production.
Progress Summary:
Students were recruited after the project was initiated (late Fall 2019). One student working in Fall 2019-Spring 2020 was a Junior Civil Engineering major (Siani Brown). Another student was a Senior Environmental Studies major (Caleb Edwards, Legal and Strategic Communications minor). Siani led the lab portion of the work and began developing methods to measure hydrogen peroxide during Spring 2020. She also started culturing a Microcystis aeruginosa strain in the lab. Caleb began doing a literature review that would be used for the life cycle assessment. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic slowed progress on this project and both Siani and Caleb were not able to continue their work past late March 2020.
During Fall 2020 a new team was recruited (all Junior, Civil Engineering majors): Lauren Moore, Renika Montgomery, Tiajahlyn Fur, and Savion Smith. Howard University is fully online, so the students focused the semester on their literature review and life cycle assessment. The students familiarized themselves with the technology and developed a knowledge core on OpenLCA. The student team developed a baseline scenario to compare with: dosing the Gulf Coast HAB with hydrogen peroxide.
Future Activities:
Howard University continues to be online for Spring 2021, with students unable to access the laboratory as they are dispersed globally. The students will continue focusing on the Life Cycle Assessment remotely and the PI will re-start Microcystis aeruginosa cultures in the laboratory. The PI will test concentrations of hydrogen peroxide to inform the student’s baseline scenario. She will also begin building the microbial electrolysis cell with the hopes that students can engage in research in-person during Summer 2021. The Spring 2021 team will continue to be the same, with the involvement of additional students enrolled in PI’s Undergraduate Research Credit course.
Supplemental Keywords:
Drinking water, water, chemicals, effluent, bacteria, ecosystem, aquatic, clean technologies, innovativetechnology, remediation, restoration, cost-benefit, socio-economic, biology, social science, engineering
Progress and Final Reports:
Original AbstractThe perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.