Effect of Chlorination on Removal of Cyanobacterial Microcystins

The effective removal of microcystins by chlorination was investigated on a laboratory scale. With an initial chl.a concentration of more than 1,000 $\mu\textrm{g}$/ℓ, the required chlorine dose for the effective removal of microcystins from the raw water was more than 8.0 mg/ℓ. Whereas, a chlorine dose of 3.0 mg/ℓcould effectively remove microcystins from raw water containing a chl.a concentration of less than 1,000 $\mu\textrm{g}$/ℓ. The microcystin removal was more effective below pH 8.0, plus the optimum pH range was unrelated to the concentration of toxic algal material. Although chlorination is one of the most effective methods for reducing the toxin from blue-green algae, it causes cell lysis and toxin release. However, it was demonstrated that the released cell lysates and toxins could be effectively removed by a higher dose of the oxidant. The highest removal efficiency of dissolved microcystins(initial concentration: 280 $\mu\textrm{g}$ L$\^$-1/) was with a chlorine dose of 5.0 mg/ℓ.