Starving Algae
Researchers aim to prevent harmful algae blooms using novel materials
H
armful algal blooms are a growing problem in water across the nation, but OSU researchers may have one piece of the solution thanks to groundbreaking research and new funding. A pair of researchers are focusing on developing novel materials that could prevent the growth of algae blooms and recycle the nutrients, creating an environmentally friendly cycle. “The objective of the research is to develop a novel technology for sustainably and economically preventing harmful algal blooms in farm watering ponds,” said Dr. Allen Apblett, a professor in the OSU department of chemistry. The research is focused on algae in waterways affected by fertilizer runoff. Some fertilizers wash off fields and into farm ponds and waterways, which then feeds algae, creating harmful algal blooms. Algal blooms can create dangerous toxins. “People don’t really understand what causes them to actually start producing the toxins,” Apblett said. “But the easiest thing is, if you don’t let them bloom, then they don’t grow, then they don’t produce the toxin. “We already know what causes algae, and that is food. So, the goal is to have a practical solution [to prevent feeding the algae].” For plants, food comes mainly in the form of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. Too little nitrogen and phosphorus will limit the growth of plants. The solution, the team hopes, will come in the form of a granular substance, designed to absorb nitrogen and phosphorus. “As we identify ponds that are prone to overgrowth of algae, what we plan to do is remove the nutrients that algae need to grow and load them into a material that essentially then becomes fertilizer,” Apblett said. “So rather than fertilizing algae, we’re going to fertilize crops for people and animals to eat and leave our water pristine.”
2 O S U R E S E A R C H M AT T E R S
STORY HARRISON HILL | PHOTOS NICHOLAS MATERER AND GARY LAWSON
