Life Sciences Commons^™

Biodegradable Biomaterials As Suitable Alternatives To Water Treatment Technologies, Most Farzana Yesmin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Nitrates and phosphates are essential nutrients for plants growth. Their excess presence in water, however, could cause eutrophication affecting the water quality and altering the aquatic ecosystem. Algal blooms and the presence of toxins such as microcystin in freshwater bodies are hazardous to humans, animals, and wildlife. Conventional technologies such as ion exchange, distillation, reverse osmosis, and bioreactors aid immensely to remove nutrients; however, they are expensive. Furthermore, building new nitrate and phosphate treatment units, maintenance and post-disposal are costly too. In this regard, there exists an unmet need for alternative processes that are renewable and cost-effective to treat contaminated …