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<\/a>Dr. Jason Huntley, associate professor in the UToledo Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, is developing new technology to address harmful algal blooms.<\/p><\/div>\n
\u201cOne of our big pushes here at UToledo is to not just do science for science\u2019s sake, but to ask questions about how it can improve human health,\u201d Huntley said. \u201cThis isn\u2019t just a Toledo problem. There are harmful algal blooms all across the country and all across the world. This is a solution to a global health problem.\u201d<\/p>\n
Water treatment plants primarily use activated carbon to capture the microcystin toxins released during some harmful algal blooms. While effective, there are drawbacks. It can be expensive, there\u2019s a limit to how much toxin can be removed from the water and the process generates microcystin-laden waste products that have to be dealt with.<\/p>\n
Huntley and his research team believe their bacteria could help address those issues. Biofilters could be used to treat drinking water before it reaches the tap, and the bacteria could be added to the treatment plant byproducts to degrade the lingering toxins.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s also an inexpensive solution.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not free, but it\u2019s really cheap to grow these bacteria that chew up and degrade the toxins. We grow them in water, that\u2019s it. We think we can use them to treat water coming into the treatment plant as well as eliminating toxins in the water treatment byproducts, eliminating the need to incinerate these waste products or send them to a landfill,\u201d Huntley said.<\/p>\n
Prior to large-scale testing at the Toledo wastewater treatment plant, researchers will work to further develop and test the biofilters in a range of conditions, such as different water pressures and temperatures.<\/p>\n
The research team also will work to isolate and identify the bacterial enzymes that break down microcystin, with a goal of being able to produce them on an industrial scale. Some of that work will be done in collaboration with the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory \u2014 a connection that was made during 2019\u2019s National Lab Day at UToledo. The long-term goal is to develop water treatment tablets or droplet bottles that could be used to quickly detoxify water while boating, at family cabins or while hiking.<\/p>\n
Huntley\u2019s early work on this issue was funded by the Ohio Department of Higher Education\u2019s Harmful Algal Bloom Research Initiative and the Ohio Sea Grant. The success of that research helped UToledo earn the NOAA grant.<\/p>\n