Session B4
Paper #6025
Disclaimer — This paper partially fulfills a writing requirement for first year (freshman) engineering students at the
University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering. This paper is a student, not a professional, paper. This paper
is based on publicly available information and may not be provide complete analyses of all relevant data. If this paper is used
for any purpose other than these authors’ partial fulfillment of a writing requirement for first year (freshman)
engineering students at the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering, the user does so at his or
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THE APPLICATION OF MICROALGAE FOR THE REMOVAL OF HEAVY
METALS FROM AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS
Patrick J. Kane, pjk38@pitt.edu, Vidic 2:00, Henry Mallison, hjm26@pitt.edu, Mena Lora 6:00
Revised Proposal — Heavy metals such as cadmium,
chromium and zinc are used in a variety of industrial
applications. As a result of this widespread use, these metals
often leech into aquatic ecosystems surrounding the
industrial facilities they are used in. After entering the
biosphere, these heavy metals are quickly absorbed by the
plants, animals, and most critically the water [1]. The three
contaminated parts of the wetland system that come in
contact with the toxins are then used by humans in a variety
of ways.
Drinking water or eating food which has been
contaminated with high levels of these heavy metals can be
deadly to humans. High levels of cadmium affect the stomach
by causing erosion of the intestinal tract, which in extreme
cases can be deadly. Chromium and Zinc are also deadly in
high concentrations, and in low concentrations they will
cause severe health problems such as vomiting, diarrhea,
hemorrhage and in severe cases blood loss into the
gastrointestinal tract [1]. We propose to eliminate the threat
of heavy metal pollute on at the source by introducing the
microbes such as Chlorella Vulgaris to aquatic ecosystems;
these microbes absorb the heavy metals directly from the
water removing the threat to plants, animals, and humans.
The microbe Chlorella Vulgaris detoxifies the heavy
metals by absorbing the cadmium, chromium and zinc
through the cell membrane and then bonding the heavy
metals to internal molecular components or compounds [2].
The Chlorella Vulgaris cell will absorb large amounts of
heavy metals from the water at once. The cell will then safely
transfer the newly entered heavy metals to the components of
the cell which convert the toxic heavy metal ions to safe
biological compounds that are eventually returned to the
environment [3].
In our paper we will outline the threat posed by high
levels of toxic heavy metal ions in aquatic ecosystem to both
indigenous species and humans. We will then describe the
effects and benefits of introducing microbes such as Chlorella
Vulgaris to the contaminated aquatic environments. We will
also explain in detail the process through which the toxic
heavy metal ions are absorbed and detoxified by Chlorella
Vulgaris and other strains of microalgae. Our presentation
University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering 1
2016/01/28
will conclude by outlining a plan through which microbes
can safely and effectively be introduced to polluted areas.
REFERENCES
[1] P. B Tchounwou, C. G. Yedjou, A. K. Patlolla, D. J.
Sutton. (2014). “Heavy Metal Toxicity and the
Environment”. US National Library of Medicine National
Institutes
of
Health.
(Online
Article).
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4144270/
[2] G. Edris, Y. Alhamed, A. Alzahrani. (2013). “Bioabsorption of Cadmium and Lead from Aqueous Solutions by
Chlorella vulgaris Biomass: Equilibrium and Kinetic Study”.
King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals. (Online
Article).
http://web.a.ebscohost.com/ehost/command/detail?sid=8ef5d
1c2-dbd2-441f-b41374b24494e3aa%40sessionmgr4004&vid=6&hid=4209
[3] L. L. Fang, , B. Valverde-Pérez, A. Damgaard, B. Gy.
Plósz, ,M. Rygaard. (2016). “Life cycle assessment as
development and decision support tool for wastewater
resource recovery technology”. Water Research. (Online
Article).
http://web.a.ebscohost.com/ehost/command/detail?sid=64380
59d-a059-432c-93b3df45b25ee0fb%40sessionmgr4005&vid=9&hid=4209
ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY
C. Halpin, P. D. Elderfield, H. E. James, R Zimmermann, B.
Dunbar, C. Robinson. (1989). “The reaction specificities of
the thylakoidal processing peptidase and Escherichia coli
leader peptidase are identical”. The Embryo Journal. (Online
Article).
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC402083/
The Embryo Journal is a peer reviewed journal focusing
on cells and cell mechanisms. This article contains in depth
information about the internal mechanisms of cells such as
Chlorella Vulgaris. This study was cited in the earlier Water
Research Journal and we used this source to gain a better
understanding of the mechanism described in the later study.
Patrick Kane
Henry Mallison
on the health effects of different medicines and compounds.
This source contained information about the dangerous
effects that heavy metals have on the body. We have used the
information to discuss and present the threat that heavy metal
pollution possesses to society.
Drora Kaplan. (2013). “Absorption and Adsorption of Heavy
Metals by Microalgae”. Department of Environmental
Hydrology & Microbiology, Zuckerberg Institute for Water
Research, Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research,
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Sede Boqer, Israel.
(Online
Article).
http://www.bashanfoundation.org/drora/droraabsorption.pdf
The Department of Environmental Hydrology and
Microbiology at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev is
another highly accredited University located in Israel, in this
article the interactions between Chlorella Vulgaris and heavy
metals in the water are extensively explained. This article
helped my partner and I to actually visualize the process in an
attempt to understand it as completely as possible. From this
we were able to have a better understanding of the process
and explain it in our proposal more clearly.
S.K. Mehta. (2005). “Use of algae for removing heavy metal
ions from wastewater: progress and prospects”. US National
Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health. (Online
Article). http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16294830
This article was written by the National Institute of
Medicine, a reputable government run organization, focusing
on public health. This article describes the process in which
algae like Chlorella Vulgaris can be used to remove toxic
heavy metal ions from contaminated waste water. Patrick and
I used this article to better understand the process and to aid
in the production of our idea for using Chlorella Vulgaris to
remove these dangerous heavy metals.
G. Edris, Y. Alhamed, A. Alzahrani. (2013). “Bio-absorption
of Cadmium and Lead from Aqueous Solutions by Chlorella
vulgaris Biomass: Equilibrium and Kinetic Study”. King
Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals. (Online Article).
http://web.a.ebscohost.com/ehost/command/detail?sid=8ef5d
1c2-dbd2-441f-b41374b24494e3aa%40sessionmgr4004&vid=6&hid=4209
The King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals is a
public University of Saudi Arabia and is regarded as a top
University in the country. This study examines the
effectiveness of using Chlorella Vulgaris to remove heavy
metals such as cadmium from wastewater. We have used this
study as part of the basis of our proposal for the elimination
of heavy metals using Chlorella Vulgaris.
Qian, Haifeng; Li, Jingjing; Pan, Xiangjie; Sun, Zhengqi; Ye,
Chengbin; Jin, Gongqin; Fu, Zhengwei. (2012). “Effects of
streptomycin on growth of algae Chlorella vulgaris and
Microcystis aeruginosa”. Department of Biotechnology,
College of Biological and Environmental Engineering,
Zhejiang University of Technology. (Online Article).
https://www.engineeringvillage.com/search/doc/abstract.url?
pageType=quickSearch&searchtype=Quick&SEARCHID=6
d6b36a3M8f11M4000M818aMce66a154f94f&DOCINDEX=
3&database=3&format=quickSearchAbstractFormat&dedup
ResultCount=&SEARCHID=6d6b36a3M8f11M4000M818a
Mce66a154f94f
This article was written by a group from a reputable
Chinese University about the growth potential of Chlorella
Vulgaris. We used this article to research if using Chlorella
Vulgaris to remove pollutants would result in algae blooms.
This source helped us to realize that using Chlorella Vulgaris
did not present a threat of algae blooms or over growth in the
applied wetlands.
L. L. Fang, , B. Valverde-Pérez, A. Damgaard, B. Gy. Plósz,
,M. Rygaard. (2016). “Life cycle assessment as development
and decision support tool for wastewater resource recovery
technology”.
Water
Research.
(Online
Article).
http://web.a.ebscohost.com/ehost/command/detail?sid=64380
59d-a059-432c-93b3df45b25ee0fb%40sessionmgr4005&vid=9&hid=4209
Water Research is a peer reviewed journal which focuses
on up and coming controversial topics scientifically related to
water such as water decontamination. This article contained
information on the mechanisms of the individual cells of
Chlorella Vulgaris, and the potential these mechanisms have
to help keep our water and aquatic ecosystems healthy. We
used this source to explain and gain a better understanding of
what happens inside the individual cells.
Farooq Ahmad, Amin U. Khan and Abdullah Yasar. (2013).
“THE POTENTIAL OF CHLORELLA VULGARIS FOR
WASTEWATER TREATMENT
AND BIODIESEL
PRODUCTION”. Sustainable Development Study Centre,
G.C University, Lahore, Pakistan. (Online Article).
http://www.pakbs.org/pjbot/PDFs/45%28S1%29/61.pdf
During this study at the Sustainable Development Centre
at G.C. University, scientists introduced Chlorella Vulgaris
into polluted ponds in surrounding the area. They discovered
that the microalgae almost completely eliminated the
pollution within the ponds. Also, the scientists discovered
that the more pollution in the ecosystem, the quicker the
microalgae will grow. This is because Chlorella Vulgaris
requires nutrients from the pollution to grow and thrive. My
partner and I found this very interesting and this helped us
make the decision to pursue this project. Chlorella Vulgaris
P. B Tchounwou, C. G. Yedjou, A. K. Patlolla, D. J. Sutton.
(2014). “Heavy Metal Toxicity and the Environment”. US
National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health.
(Online
Article).
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4144270/
This article was written by the National Library of
Medicine, which is a federally run organization that focuses
2
Patrick Kane
Henry Mallison
certainly has a future as a water purifier and this article
helped us to solidify our realization of this.
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