Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Applied and Environmental Microbiology logoLink to Applied and Environmental Microbiology
. 1976 Jun;31(6):801–806. doi: 10.1128/aem.31.6.801-806.1976

Toxicity of ammonia to algae in sewage oxidation ponds.

A Abeliovich, Y Azov
PMCID: PMC169837  PMID: 7192

Abstract

Ammonia, at concentrations over 2.0 mM and at pH values over 8.0, inhibits photosynthesis and growth of Scenedesmus obliquus, a dominant species in high-rate sewage oxidation ponds. Photosynthesis of Chlorella pyrenoidosa, Anacystis nidulans, and Plectonema boryanum is also susceptible to ammonia inhibition. Dark respiration and cell morphology were unaffected by any combination of pH and ammonia concentrations tested, thus limiting the apparent effect to inhibition of the normal function of the chloroplasts. Methylamine had the same effect as ammonia, and its penetration into the cells was found to be pH dependent. Therefore, the dependence of toxicity of amines to algae on pH apparently results from the inability to penetrate the cell membrane in the ionized form. When operated at 120-h detention time of raw wastewater, the high-rate oxidation pond maintained a steady state with respect to algal growth and oxygen concentration, and the concentration of ammonia did not exceed 1.0 mM. Shifting the pond to 48-h detention time caused an increase in ammonia concentration in the pond water to 2.5 mM, and the pond gradually turned anaerobic. Photosynthesis, which usually elevates the pH of the pond water to 9.0 to 10.0, could not proceed beyond pH 7.9 because of the high concentration of ammonia, and the algal population was washed out and reduced to a concentration that could maintain a doubling time of 48 h without photosynthesis bringing the pH to inhibitory levels. Under these conditions, the pH of the bond becomes a factor that limits the operational efficiency of the oxidation pond.

Full text

PDF
801

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Avron M., Shavit N. Inhibitors and uncouplers of photophosphorylation. Biochim Biophys Acta. 1965 Nov 29;109(2):317–331. doi: 10.1016/0926-6585(65)90160-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Cohn D. E., Cohen W. S., Bertsch W. Inhibition of photosystem II by uncouplers at alkaline pH and its reversal by artificial electron donors. Biochim Biophys Acta. 1975 Jan 31;376(1):97–104. doi: 10.1016/0005-2728(75)90208-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Crofts A. R. Uptake of ammonium ion by chloroplasts, and the mechanism of amine uncoupling. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 1966 Jul 6;24(1):127–134. doi: 10.1016/0006-291x(66)90420-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. GOOD N. E. Activation of the Hill reaction by amines. Biochim Biophys Acta. 1960 Jun 3;40:502–517. doi: 10.1016/0006-3002(60)91391-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Golueke C. G., Oswald W. J., Gee H. K. Effect of nitrogen additives on algal yield. J Water Pollut Control Fed. 1967 May;39(5):823–834. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. LOWRY O. H., ROSEBROUGH N. J., FARR A. L., RANDALL R. J. Protein measurement with the Folin phenol reagent. J Biol Chem. 1951 Nov;193(1):265–275. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Natarajan K. V. Toxicity of ammonia to marine diatoms. J Water Pollut Control Fed. 1970 May;42(5 Suppl):R184+–R184+. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Rottenberg H., Grunwald T., Avron M. Direct determination of DeltapH in chloroplasts, and its relation to the mechanisms of photoinduced reactions. FEBS Lett. 1971 Feb 12;13(1):41–44. doi: 10.1016/0014-5793(71)80659-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. SHILO MOSHE, SHILO MIRIAM Conditions which determine the efficiency of ammonium sulphate in the control of Prymnesium parvum in fish breeding ponds. Appl Microbiol. 1953 Nov;1(6):330–333. doi: 10.1128/am.1.6.330-333.1953. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Safferman R. S., Morris M. E. Observations on the Occurrence, Distribution, and Seasonal Incidence of Blue-green Algal Viruses. Appl Microbiol. 1967 Sep;15(5):1219–1222. doi: 10.1128/am.15.5.1219-1222.1967. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. WARREN K. S. Ammonia toxicity and pH. Nature. 1962 Jul 7;195:47–49. doi: 10.1038/195047a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. ZEHNDER A., GORHAM P. R. Factors influencing the growth of Microcystis aeruginosa Kutz, emend, Elenkin. Can J Microbiol. 1960 Dec;6:645–660. doi: 10.1139/m60-077. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Applied and Environmental Microbiology are provided here courtesy of American Society for Microbiology (ASM)

RESOURCES