The BBE Phyco Instruments described were used in a scientific project at Yangcheng Lake, China. The primary focus was the establishment of an early warning system for cyanobacterial toxins at a drinking water reservoir in order to optimize the water treatment process in the event of cyanobacterial blooms.
Some treatment processes destroy cyanobacterial cells, and the resulting cell lysis can release toxin, taste, and odor compounds into the water. To detect cell lysis, the excitation and emission wavelengths in the BBE Phyco Instruments have been optimized to the fluorescence characteristics of the cyanobacterial pigment phycocyanin. The detection of unbound phycocyanin can then be used as an indicator of cell lysis, providing an early warning of the release of toxin, taste, and odor compounds. It can then be shown that some treatment processes destroy the cells, leading to increased concentrations of toxin, taste, and odor compounds.
The results of this study and further investigation into cyanobacteria are published in the article “Early warning method for cyanobacteria toxin, taste and odor problems by the evaluation of fluorescence signals” in the journal Science of The Total Environment.
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