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Modelling the thresholds of nitrogen/phosphorus concentration and hydraulic retention time for bloom control in reclaimed water landscape

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Abstract

The risks posed by algal blooms caused by nitrogen and phosphorus in reclaimed water used in urban water landscapes need to be carefully controlled. In this study, the combined effects of the nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations and the light intensity and temperature on the specific growth rates of algae were determined using Monod, Steele, and Arrhenius models, then an integrated algal growth model was developed. The algae biomass, nitrogen concentration, and phosphorus concentration mass balance equations were used to establish a new control model describing the nitrogen and phosphorus concentration and hydraulic retention time thresholds for algal blooms. The model parameters were determined by fitting the models to data acquired experimentally. Finally, the control model and numerical simulations for six typical algae and mixed algae under standard conditions were used to determine nitrogen/phosphorus concentration and hydraulic retention time thresholds for landscape water to which reclaimed water is supplied (i.e., for a reclaimed water landscape).

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Key Program of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51738005).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control State Key Joint Laboratory, State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Microorganism Application and Risk Control (SMARC), School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China

    Keying Song, Shufeng Zhu, Yun Lu, Yinhu Wu, Zhuo Chen, Shengnan Wang, Junhan Liu & Hong-Ying Hu

  2. Beijing Laboratory for Environmental Frontier Technologies, Beijing, 100084, China

    Keying Song, Shufeng Zhu, Yun Lu, Yinhu Wu, Zhuo Chen, Shengnan Wang & Junhan Liu

  3. Faculty of Environmental Science and Engineering, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, 650500, China

    Guohua Dao

  4. Key Laboratory of Poyang Lake Environment and Resource Utilization, Ministry of Education, and School of Resources, Environmental & Chemical Engineering, Nanchang University, Nanchang, 330031, China

    Wenguang Zhou

  5. Research Institute for Environmental Innovation (Suzhou) Tsinghua, Jiangsu, Suzhou, 215163, China

    Hong-Ying Hu

Authors
  1. Keying Song
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  2. Shufeng Zhu
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  3. Yun Lu
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  4. Guohua Dao
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  5. Yinhu Wu
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  6. Zhuo Chen
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  7. Shengnan Wang
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  8. Junhan Liu
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  9. Wenguang Zhou
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  10. Hong-Ying Hu
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Hong-Ying Hu.

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Highlights

• A new model for bloom control in open landscape water was constructed.

• It considers the effects of temperature and light on algae growth.

• It describes threshold curve of nitrogen, phosphorus and hydraulic retention time.

• Light and temperature dependent growth parameters of typical algae were obtained.

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Song, K., Zhu, S., Lu, Y. et al. Modelling the thresholds of nitrogen/phosphorus concentration and hydraulic retention time for bloom control in reclaimed water landscape. Front. Environ. Sci. Eng. 16, 129 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-022-1564-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-022-1564-1

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